1 00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:03,560 As has been mentioned, we have several of our members that are 2 00:00:03,560 --> 00:00:05,200 missing today for whatever reason. 3 00:00:05,200 --> 00:00:09,640 But we have a wonderful crowd because you're here and we 4 00:00:09,640 --> 00:00:11,880 welcome you and we thank you for being here. 5 00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:16,160 And it is my privilege, it is my pleasure to be able to speak 6 00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:18,280 concerning the word of God today with you. 7 00:00:19,680 --> 00:00:21,840 I hope that what we have to consider for a little while 8 00:00:21,840 --> 00:00:24,280 would be edifying and encouraging to you as we 9 00:00:24,280 --> 00:00:27,440 continue to learn at the feet of the master. 10 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:31,520 And that's Jesus as he preached that masterful sermon so long 11 00:00:31,520 --> 00:00:34,160 ago. His masterpiece, The Sermon on 12 00:00:34,160 --> 00:00:38,520 the Mount, Matthew 5-6 and seven, we've now in our sermon 13 00:00:38,520 --> 00:00:41,560 in our series, have now come to the latter part of Matthew, 14 00:00:41,560 --> 00:00:44,840 Chapter 7. We're on the last section, and 15 00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:47,400 you remember in the last two sections I mentioned this last 16 00:00:47,400 --> 00:00:50,560 time, the last two sections of Matthew, Chapter 5. 17 00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:55,880 Jesus deals with our reaction and our behavior toward our 18 00:00:55,880 --> 00:00:59,720 enemies. In the passages prior to these, 19 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:05,360 Jesus dealt with our reaction or he dealt with certain restraints 20 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:10,000 when it comes to our enemies. And he did so as we entitled our 21 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:13,560 remarks, as Jesus did when he talked about second mile 22 00:01:13,560 --> 00:01:15,480 religion or going the second mile. 23 00:01:16,760 --> 00:01:18,960 Now, in these passages that we're going to notice this 24 00:01:18,960 --> 00:01:23,000 morning, Jesus is going to talk about in our position toward our 25 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:27,000 enemies, our actions, and he calls it loving. 26 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:30,360 Our enemies and we're. Going to talk about what that 27 00:01:30,360 --> 00:01:32,640 actually means, What does it mean to actually love your 28 00:01:32,640 --> 00:01:34,680 enemies? And there's so much here that 29 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:36,800 Jesus dealt with and we'll get into that in just a moment. 30 00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:39,920 But let me just say before we begin and before we go any 31 00:01:39,920 --> 00:01:44,560 further, when you put the last two sections of Matthew Chapter 32 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:47,440 5, you put them together and you can bind them. 33 00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:51,800 As I said before, you have a perfect code of conduct. 34 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:56,440 I'm going to tell you something. Everybody struggles sometimes 35 00:01:56,440 --> 00:02:00,440 with conduct or how we behave or how we respond. 36 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:05,280 But if you put the last two sections of Matthew Chapter 5 37 00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:08,560 together, regardless of opposition, regardless of what 38 00:02:08,560 --> 00:02:12,000 people would say to you by way of hostility or even your 39 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:17,520 enemies, you have a perfect code of conduct and it has tremendous 40 00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:19,360 blessings and benefits. And we'll get into that. 41 00:02:19,360 --> 00:02:23,120 Let's begin with our sermon Now, Matthew 5, beginning in verse 42 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:29,960 43, Jesus said you have heard that it was said you shall love 43 00:02:29,960 --> 00:02:31,520 your neighbor and hate your enemy. 44 00:02:32,480 --> 00:02:36,280 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse 45 00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:40,680 you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who 46 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:43,480 spitefully use you and persecute you. 47 00:02:44,760 --> 00:02:48,200 This, in this passage, is the 6th and final contrast that 48 00:02:48,200 --> 00:02:51,880 Jesus makes between the old law of Moses and the new law of 49 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:54,440 Jesus Christ. And in each of the others you 50 00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:59,600 will find in the previous ones, Jesus either quoted or summed up 51 00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:02,000 the old law. And then he gave new 52 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:04,720 authoritative law. In other words, he gave Mosaic 53 00:03:04,720 --> 00:03:07,640 legislation, and then he gave new authoritative law. 54 00:03:08,120 --> 00:03:10,160 He's giving things that would supersede it. 55 00:03:10,240 --> 00:03:12,160 And that really is the point that I want to make here. 56 00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:16,440 Jesus was not destroying the old law of Moses when he said that 57 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:18,880 he was saying You have heard that. 58 00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:24,080 It was said this like you said, as it was commanded, you shall 59 00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:27,960 not commit murder. But Jesus says, if you're angry 60 00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:30,560 with your brother without a 'cause, you've committed murder 61 00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:33,200 in your heart. In other words, he was giving 62 00:03:33,200 --> 00:03:35,440 something. He was giving a principle that 63 00:03:35,440 --> 00:03:39,240 was universal, that would supersede what the old law had 64 00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:41,280 stipulated or stated. He wasn't destroying the old 65 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:44,360 law, he said. Also, you have heard that it was 66 00:03:44,360 --> 00:03:46,320 said you shall not commit adultery. 67 00:03:46,320 --> 00:03:50,480 But then Jesus says, but I say to you that whoever looks upon a 68 00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:53,520 woman to lust after her has already committed adultery in 69 00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:56,760 his heart. In other words, a principle that 70 00:03:56,760 --> 00:04:00,080 supersedes what was told in the Old Testament. 71 00:04:00,320 --> 00:04:03,240 OK, the same is true with our passage too. 72 00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:09,280 He begins by saying this. You shall love your neighbour. 73 00:04:09,680 --> 00:04:15,800 Couple things about neighbour Cohen taught on Love last Sunday 74 00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:19,560 afternoon and he mentioned about a neighbor and he was right 75 00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:22,760 about a neighbor. He said a neighbor is defined as 76 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:25,040 someone who lives next to you or nearby. 77 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:28,160 That's true. But then he says Jesus is going 78 00:04:28,160 --> 00:04:30,240 to expand on that and we'll get to that in just a moment. 79 00:04:30,240 --> 00:04:33,560 He was right about that too. But there's so much more. 80 00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:39,160 Did you know this that God has always commanded that his people 81 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:41,120 would love their neighbor? It was nothing new. 82 00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:44,400 It goes all the way back to the Old Testament. 83 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:45,560 They were to love their neighbor. 84 00:04:45,680 --> 00:04:48,640 In fact, do you remember in Luke chapter 10, before Jesus gave 85 00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:51,360 the masterful parable of the Good Samaritan that I mentioned 86 00:04:51,480 --> 00:04:55,320 to you last time? The lawyer comes to Jesus in the 87 00:04:55,320 --> 00:04:58,720 Bible, says that that lawyer comes, and he tries to test 88 00:04:58,800 --> 00:05:02,440 Jesus and he says, tell me what must I do to inherit eternal 89 00:05:02,440 --> 00:05:04,640 life? And Jesus turns it right back on 90 00:05:04,640 --> 00:05:06,800 him. And Jesus says, all right, what 91 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:08,880 does the law say? And how do you read it? 92 00:05:10,080 --> 00:05:13,160 He said, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, 93 00:05:13,160 --> 00:05:16,520 soul, mind and strength and your neighbor as yourself. 94 00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:20,080 And Jesus says you have said right. 95 00:05:21,520 --> 00:05:26,920 Do likewise, he says, go and do, and you will live, in fact. 96 00:05:27,720 --> 00:05:29,760 But then the man says, well, who's my neighbor? 97 00:05:29,760 --> 00:05:31,840 And how many times have I said this? 98 00:05:33,080 --> 00:05:35,960 I've even said, well, obviously the man didn't want to love his 99 00:05:35,960 --> 00:05:38,200 neighbor, so he wanted Jesus to draw the parameters. 100 00:05:38,200 --> 00:05:39,520 And that's true. But there's more. 101 00:05:41,280 --> 00:05:44,360 Under the old law of Moses, there were parameters that were 102 00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:47,760 drawn about who your neighbor actually was. 103 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:51,480 So when Jesus was speaking to that lawyer, he wants to know, 104 00:05:51,480 --> 00:05:53,600 wait a minute, I understand history here. 105 00:05:53,800 --> 00:05:56,960 So who really is my neighbor? And then he gave the masterful 106 00:05:56,960 --> 00:06:01,320 parable of the Good Samaritan. So here's the question. 107 00:06:01,880 --> 00:06:06,040 What was the concept of a neighbor in the context of Old 108 00:06:06,040 --> 00:06:08,600 Testament scriptures? The only way we can answer that 109 00:06:08,720 --> 00:06:10,640 is go to Old Testament scriptures. 110 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:15,080 Let's go to the book of Leviticus, chapter 19 and verse 111 00:06:15,080 --> 00:06:18,840 18. You shall not take vengeance nor 112 00:06:18,840 --> 00:06:23,560 bear any grudge against the children of your people. 113 00:06:25,040 --> 00:06:26,720 Then it says immediately following. 114 00:06:26,720 --> 00:06:29,960 But you shall love your neighbor as yourself. 115 00:06:30,280 --> 00:06:33,200 I am the Lord. So what's the point? 116 00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:36,600 The point is the children of Israel under the law of Moses 117 00:06:36,760 --> 00:06:39,600 had parameters drawn on who was their neighbor? 118 00:06:39,640 --> 00:06:42,240 Who was that those of like nationality. 119 00:06:42,280 --> 00:06:45,960 That was their neighbor. So when Jesus says you heard 120 00:06:45,960 --> 00:06:48,160 that it was said you shall love your neighbor. 121 00:06:48,320 --> 00:06:52,560 He's talking about this. You shall love those of your own 122 00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:56,560 nation. You heard that was said of old. 123 00:06:58,480 --> 00:07:02,240 Now in other words, your fellow Israelites. 124 00:07:02,360 --> 00:07:07,120 Here's the point. As Cohen mentioned, as the scope 125 00:07:07,120 --> 00:07:12,080 of the gospel goes out to the world in the Kingdom of Christ, 126 00:07:13,200 --> 00:07:17,160 then therefore the Kingdom is now spread to the world. 127 00:07:17,160 --> 00:07:20,920 It's not a nation. So somebody that's considered a 128 00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:25,640 a neighbor becomes anyone that you come in contact with any 129 00:07:25,640 --> 00:07:29,040 fellow man because the gospel goes out to the world. 130 00:07:31,200 --> 00:07:32,720 Jesus is saying something's different. 131 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:36,080 Now I'm taking away the parameters of who your neighbor 132 00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:38,960 is. I'm taking that away. 133 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:45,000 But then Jesus says this, and this is interesting because he 134 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:47,680 says, you heard that it was said you shall love your neighbor, 135 00:07:47,680 --> 00:07:51,360 but then he says and hate your enemy. 136 00:07:51,560 --> 00:07:56,040 Was there really a time when God wanted or Moses declared that 137 00:07:56,040 --> 00:08:00,080 man would hate their enemies? The answer to that is yes, but 138 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:03,840 enemies in this context has to refer to what he's already 139 00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:06,680 speaking about. He's talking about national 140 00:08:06,680 --> 00:08:10,040 enemies because he's talking about who you love. 141 00:08:10,040 --> 00:08:14,080 Your neighbor is your your those of your own country. 142 00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:22,400 Now interesting, The Bible does not encourage prejudice, even in 143 00:08:22,400 --> 00:08:28,560 the Old Testament. In fact, if somebody was coming 144 00:08:28,560 --> 00:08:30,800 from another country, an individual, they were to be 145 00:08:30,800 --> 00:08:34,520 treated with kindness. Notice Leviticus Chapter 9 146 00:08:34,520 --> 00:08:38,000 beginning in verse 33. And if a stranger dwells with 147 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:41,400 you in your land, you shall not mistreat him. 148 00:08:41,960 --> 00:08:45,600 The stranger who dwells among you, you shall be to you as one 149 00:08:45,600 --> 00:08:48,720 born among you, and you shall love him as yourself. 150 00:08:48,920 --> 00:08:51,320 For you were strangers in the land of Egypt. 151 00:08:51,360 --> 00:08:56,240 I am the Lord your God. OK, so under Mosaic law, Israel 152 00:08:56,240 --> 00:08:59,040 was commanded to hate their national enemies. 153 00:08:59,760 --> 00:09:02,840 That attitude, by the way, brought about battles and 154 00:09:02,840 --> 00:09:05,840 bloodshed. In fact, in Deuteronomy Chapter 155 00:09:05,840 --> 00:09:10,960 7, the 1st 16 verses commanded the destruction of foreigners, 156 00:09:11,200 --> 00:09:14,200 including the Ammonites and the Moabites. 157 00:09:14,640 --> 00:09:16,840 Who were they? Just really briefly, the 158 00:09:16,840 --> 00:09:20,400 Ammonites were the descendants of Ammon, the Moabites were the 159 00:09:20,400 --> 00:09:24,960 descendants of Moab, and those two individuals were the sons of 160 00:09:24,960 --> 00:09:28,080 Lot. From the incestuous relationship 161 00:09:28,240 --> 00:09:31,880 with his daughters, those descendants were the Ammonites 162 00:09:31,880 --> 00:09:36,960 and the Moabites and they were, and it was decreed for their 163 00:09:36,960 --> 00:09:40,240 destruction. There were some exceptions 164 00:09:40,240 --> 00:09:42,920 though, like the Egyptians. I'm going to give you two. 165 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:45,040 Number one is the Egyptians And why was that? 166 00:09:45,720 --> 00:09:48,880 Because there was a time when God's people actually dwelt in 167 00:09:48,880 --> 00:09:51,040 their land. You remember under Egyptian 168 00:09:51,040 --> 00:09:54,040 bondage, the children of Israel were for over 400 years. 169 00:09:54,040 --> 00:09:56,640 So they were off limits with that destruction. 170 00:09:57,040 --> 00:09:58,840 There was another one, the Edomites. 171 00:09:59,360 --> 00:10:02,480 The Edomites because they were related to the Israelites. 172 00:10:02,960 --> 00:10:05,320 The Edomites were the descendants of Esau. 173 00:10:05,640 --> 00:10:11,000 Esau was the brother of Jacob. Jacob bore had begat 12 sons. 174 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:13,880 Those 12 sons represented the 12 tribes of Israel. 175 00:10:14,640 --> 00:10:18,400 So because of that relationship they were off limits. 176 00:10:18,960 --> 00:10:23,880 However, Israel was to hate other nations and why was that? 177 00:10:25,520 --> 00:10:28,680 They were to hate that because of the rationale behind the 178 00:10:28,680 --> 00:10:34,360 command is because of the influence that idolatry had and 179 00:10:34,360 --> 00:10:38,240 also mingling with the heathen and the terrible influence that 180 00:10:38,240 --> 00:10:42,800 that had. Exodus chapter 34 Beginning in 181 00:10:42,800 --> 00:10:46,720 verse 12, take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with 182 00:10:46,720 --> 00:10:50,040 the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be 183 00:10:50,040 --> 00:10:52,360 a snare in your midst. But you shall destroy their 184 00:10:52,360 --> 00:10:55,800 altars, break their sacred pillars, and cut down their 185 00:10:55,800 --> 00:10:59,120 wooden images, for you shall worship no other God, For the 186 00:10:59,120 --> 00:11:01,920 Lord whose name is jealous is a jealous God. 187 00:11:01,920 --> 00:11:06,600 So that's what the Jewish people would have known and understood. 188 00:11:06,600 --> 00:11:09,160 And Jesus is speaking to a Jewish audience in this 189 00:11:09,160 --> 00:11:11,800 masterful sermon. But guess what happens in verse 190 00:11:11,800 --> 00:11:14,720 44? He's coming with new 191 00:11:14,800 --> 00:11:18,480 authoritative law, and this is what he says. 192 00:11:21,400 --> 00:11:29,320 But I say to you, I know that you come from the idea of loving 193 00:11:29,320 --> 00:11:32,480 your neighbor and hating your enemy. 194 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:39,600 But Jesus says, but I say to you, love your enemies. 195 00:11:39,600 --> 00:11:41,760 I'm going to tell you what, that is really hard. 196 00:11:43,320 --> 00:11:45,160 It is really hard to love your enemy. 197 00:11:46,680 --> 00:11:51,200 This is in stark contrast to what they were all about under 198 00:11:51,200 --> 00:11:54,800 the under the law of Moses and how they felt about their 199 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:58,240 enemies. But the Kingdom of Jesus Christ 200 00:11:58,240 --> 00:12:01,080 is a Kingdom of peace. That's what it's about. 201 00:12:01,080 --> 00:12:04,440 It's a Kingdom of peace. In fact, we don't repay evil for 202 00:12:04,440 --> 00:12:06,680 evil. We don't overcome evil with 203 00:12:06,680 --> 00:12:07,840 evil. And that's difficult. 204 00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:10,720 You know why? Because what we want to do is we 205 00:12:10,720 --> 00:12:13,520 want revenge sometimes, and we want to take it back. 206 00:12:13,640 --> 00:12:17,600 We want to get ours. We want to repay what was has 207 00:12:17,600 --> 00:12:19,200 come to us. And that's just our nature. 208 00:12:19,200 --> 00:12:23,880 Sometimes we want to fight back. That's kind of what we do, 209 00:12:23,880 --> 00:12:26,960 right? What's the Bible say about that? 210 00:12:27,960 --> 00:12:29,560 And I got to tell you something. I want to tell you something. 211 00:12:29,560 --> 00:12:35,560 I'm going to slip this in. I am learning more now. 212 00:12:35,560 --> 00:12:40,960 Let me back up. I am being reminded more about 213 00:12:40,960 --> 00:12:44,760 what it's really like to be a Christian in the study of 214 00:12:44,760 --> 00:12:47,840 Matthew, Chapter 5 so far than any time in my life. 215 00:12:49,400 --> 00:12:52,320 It is a tremendous reminder. You know why? 216 00:12:52,400 --> 00:12:55,200 Because it takes away the human side, the human element. 217 00:12:55,680 --> 00:12:58,640 It takes away our impulses and says no, wait a minute, the Lord 218 00:12:58,640 --> 00:13:01,000 is saying no, wait a minute, I'm telling you this, you're going 219 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:04,120 to love your enemies. He's going to get specific on 220 00:13:04,120 --> 00:13:06,400 how you do that too. But that's the point. 221 00:13:06,640 --> 00:13:08,520 Look at Romans chapter 12. What Paul said. 222 00:13:08,520 --> 00:13:13,280 Beloved, do not avenge yourself, but rather give place to wrath. 223 00:13:13,440 --> 00:13:15,160 Do you know what it means to give place to wrath? 224 00:13:15,840 --> 00:13:19,600 It means you give it to the one who will take vengeance. 225 00:13:19,600 --> 00:13:22,320 And that's God. You give it to God, you take it 226 00:13:22,320 --> 00:13:26,560 away from yourself. You give place to wrath, for it 227 00:13:26,560 --> 00:13:28,080 is written. Vengeance is mine. 228 00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:30,520 I will repay, says the Lord. Therefore, if your enemy is 229 00:13:30,520 --> 00:13:32,360 hungry, feed him. If he's thirsty, give him a 230 00:13:32,360 --> 00:13:35,720 drink, for in doing so you will heap coals of fire on his head. 231 00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:38,520 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. 232 00:13:38,520 --> 00:13:41,280 And I got to tell you, I'm going to get back to coals of fire on 233 00:13:41,280 --> 00:13:44,200 their head. And I have changed my position 234 00:13:44,320 --> 00:13:47,840 on what that means after studying this. 235 00:13:48,760 --> 00:13:51,040 Going to get back to that in just a minute though, What does 236 00:13:51,040 --> 00:13:54,200 it mean for coals of fire on their head when you do something 237 00:13:54,200 --> 00:13:56,040 good? Back to that in just a moment. 238 00:13:56,960 --> 00:14:00,720 Obviously the words of Jesus sting the Jewish people because 239 00:14:00,720 --> 00:14:03,880 they were living among their enemy, who was their national 240 00:14:03,880 --> 00:14:06,880 enemy at the time. Obviously their national enemy 241 00:14:06,880 --> 00:14:09,160 was wrong. They were living under the 242 00:14:09,160 --> 00:14:12,880 oppressive thumb of of Roman domination and all they wanted 243 00:14:12,960 --> 00:14:16,440 was please release it, relieve it from us, and remove it. 244 00:14:17,680 --> 00:14:20,040 Even misunderstood, when Jesus would come to establish His 245 00:14:20,040 --> 00:14:21,720 Kingdom, they thought it was going to be an earthly Kingdom 246 00:14:21,720 --> 00:14:23,520 and going to finally get Rome off their back. 247 00:14:24,440 --> 00:14:28,080 But here's my point. The Lord's words are 248 00:14:28,080 --> 00:14:32,120 unmistakable. His followers have to love their 249 00:14:32,120 --> 00:14:35,240 enemies. Whether those enemies are 250 00:14:35,240 --> 00:14:43,720 personal, national, I'm going to say it political or even social. 251 00:14:46,560 --> 00:14:51,960 And that's agape love, not filet O love, Not a love of feeling, 252 00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:55,360 not the warm fuzzies. Because there's some people, as 253 00:14:55,360 --> 00:14:58,160 you heard me say a million times, there's some people that 254 00:14:58,160 --> 00:15:00,120 you love because you really feel that way. 255 00:15:00,120 --> 00:15:02,040 And then there's other people that you love because God said 256 00:15:02,040 --> 00:15:05,760 you had to. That's just the truth. 257 00:15:07,640 --> 00:15:09,680 I'm not talking about feelings and fuzzies. 258 00:15:10,920 --> 00:15:13,720 I'm talking about behaviour and action and words. 259 00:15:14,680 --> 00:15:19,920 That's agape love. Even if someone oh, you mean I 260 00:15:19,920 --> 00:15:22,800 got to talk nice to people that disagree with me politically? 261 00:15:22,800 --> 00:15:26,160 I'm going to tell you something. You want to get people fired up. 262 00:15:26,960 --> 00:15:30,440 You want to get 2 pretty tame, mild people fired up. 263 00:15:31,600 --> 00:15:34,520 Just get two people together that disagree politically and 264 00:15:34,520 --> 00:15:36,360 put them together in the same room and let them go at it. 265 00:15:39,160 --> 00:15:43,520 And sometimes the ugliness that comes and how people take it 266 00:15:43,520 --> 00:15:47,280 personally, because their political stand is different 267 00:15:47,440 --> 00:15:49,240 than the political stand of someone else. 268 00:15:49,240 --> 00:15:50,680 And I'm going to tell you something else, you know, where 269 00:15:50,680 --> 00:15:55,760 it's really bad on social media. And you know me. 270 00:15:55,760 --> 00:15:57,040 I'm not on social media. I don't. 271 00:15:57,120 --> 00:16:04,320 I don't Facebook or Instagram or hashtag or whatever Tweet. 272 00:16:05,400 --> 00:16:06,480 I don't. I don't do any of that. 273 00:16:08,040 --> 00:16:12,760 I don't even know how, but I have seen stuff posted on 274 00:16:12,760 --> 00:16:19,120 Facebook. They're absolutely absurd, The 275 00:16:19,120 --> 00:16:23,960 hateful things back and forth because somebody disagrees with 276 00:16:23,960 --> 00:16:27,920 your political stand. And may I just add something 277 00:16:27,920 --> 00:16:32,000 else to If you're a Christian, be careful what you like on 278 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:35,240 Facebook. Make sure you read the whole 279 00:16:35,240 --> 00:16:38,320 thing. You may agree with the 280 00:16:38,320 --> 00:16:40,040 principle, but read the whole thing. 281 00:16:40,040 --> 00:16:42,480 Read the fine print before you give her a like, because I'm 282 00:16:42,480 --> 00:16:44,880 going to tell you something. Sometimes there's some trash on 283 00:16:44,880 --> 00:16:47,200 there and you're giving her a like, don't do that. 284 00:16:48,880 --> 00:16:50,080 Make sure you read the whole thing. 285 00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:55,280 What does it mean to love those that are even our political 286 00:16:55,280 --> 00:16:56,920 enemies? It is agape love. 287 00:16:57,080 --> 00:17:00,200 It's the love that seeks the highest interest in others. 288 00:17:00,320 --> 00:17:02,680 That's what that means. If you want to know about love, 289 00:17:02,720 --> 00:17:04,720 and I want you to do this in your own time, don't do it 290 00:17:04,720 --> 00:17:07,520 today. Don't do it now because I want 291 00:17:07,520 --> 00:17:11,800 your attention. But later on at some point read 292 00:17:11,800 --> 00:17:14,720 First Corinthians chapter 13. If you want to know about what 293 00:17:14,720 --> 00:17:20,160 love is, that is agape love. It is a love that always behaves 294 00:17:20,160 --> 00:17:24,200 itself in a proper way. It is the love also that's 295 00:17:24,200 --> 00:17:27,839 always attributed to God in the most famous passage in all the 296 00:17:27,839 --> 00:17:30,160 Bible that everybody knows is John 316. 297 00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:35,160 For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son 298 00:17:35,160 --> 00:17:37,680 that whoever believes in him should not perish but have 299 00:17:37,680 --> 00:17:40,040 everlasting life. You know, the word so there has 300 00:17:40,640 --> 00:17:46,200 does not mean an amount like I might say to somebody I love you 301 00:17:46,200 --> 00:17:50,480 so much, meaning an amount. That's not what that means. 302 00:17:51,480 --> 00:17:55,080 The word so in that passage means as demonstrated by what's 303 00:17:55,080 --> 00:17:59,640 coming. In other words, God loved the 304 00:17:59,640 --> 00:18:04,240 world in such a way that he demonstrated it with what he 305 00:18:04,240 --> 00:18:06,000 did. He sent Jesus. 306 00:18:07,120 --> 00:18:09,000 How do you describe the love of God? 307 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:11,960 He sent Jesus. That's agape love. 308 00:18:12,760 --> 00:18:15,280 That's a love of sacrifice. It's not a feeling. 309 00:18:16,600 --> 00:18:21,160 It is a love, by the way, too. That manifests itself in three 310 00:18:21,160 --> 00:18:25,960 very radical ways. Here they are in blessing, in 311 00:18:25,960 --> 00:18:31,280 doing good and in pray. First of all, what about 312 00:18:31,280 --> 00:18:34,360 blessing? What does it mean to bless those 313 00:18:34,360 --> 00:18:36,760 who curse you? So first he says this, you're 314 00:18:36,760 --> 00:18:39,160 going to love your enemies. How you going to do that to got 315 00:18:39,160 --> 00:18:40,600 a love? First thing you're going to do 316 00:18:40,760 --> 00:18:42,240 is you're going to bless those that curse you. 317 00:18:43,880 --> 00:18:47,440 What's that mean? Blessing somebody that curses 318 00:18:47,440 --> 00:18:53,160 you means you return good words for evil words. 319 00:18:54,400 --> 00:18:59,320 And that's hard by the way. Nobody's got it figured out. 320 00:18:59,360 --> 00:19:02,640 Everybody misbehaves from time to time and sometimes we make 321 00:19:02,640 --> 00:19:05,680 the wrong choice and say the wrong thing. 322 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:09,320 How many times have you said something and thought, man, I 323 00:19:09,320 --> 00:19:11,720 wish I could reel her back in, but it's too late. 324 00:19:13,880 --> 00:19:15,400 Me a lot. Because you know what? 325 00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:21,080 In my life I've been one of those fast responding people. 326 00:19:21,520 --> 00:19:24,480 I quickly respond that's wrong. Bible says don't do that. 327 00:19:25,200 --> 00:19:27,960 So I'm working on that. I had to work on it my whole 328 00:19:27,960 --> 00:19:31,800 life because I want to respond. I'm better than I used to be. 329 00:19:31,800 --> 00:19:34,320 I'm not perfect, but I've always wanted to do that quickly. 330 00:19:36,480 --> 00:19:39,520 It's better to sit back, think about it, take a deep breath. 331 00:19:39,520 --> 00:19:41,320 My dad used to tell me all the time. 332 00:19:41,320 --> 00:19:42,520 You know what? Instead of opening your big 333 00:19:42,520 --> 00:19:43,640 mouth, he told me this all the time. 334 00:19:44,440 --> 00:19:48,480 Just sit back, take a deep breath and swallow 1st and think 335 00:19:48,480 --> 00:19:52,080 about what you want to say. A lot of truth to that. 336 00:19:52,760 --> 00:19:55,480 You know why? Because when somebody speaks 337 00:19:55,480 --> 00:19:59,520 words of evil to you, the way that you bless those that curse 338 00:19:59,520 --> 00:20:03,960 you, showing agape love in the first radical thing, he says. 339 00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:08,600 You're going to speak kindly back to them that speak those 340 00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:12,320 ugly words to you. That is not natural. 341 00:20:12,840 --> 00:20:16,200 It's very, very natural to speak good about people that you 342 00:20:16,200 --> 00:20:18,520 admire and your friends. That is natural. 343 00:20:18,680 --> 00:20:21,000 What Jesus is talking about is hard stuff. 344 00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:23,680 That's why it's command. He's talking about things that 345 00:20:23,680 --> 00:20:27,840 are unnatural, speaking kindness. 346 00:20:28,200 --> 00:20:32,360 When something is being hurled at you negatively, it's the kind 347 00:20:32,360 --> 00:20:34,320 of love that gives a soft answer. 348 00:20:35,240 --> 00:20:38,120 In hopes of turning away wrath, I'm going to give you 2 passages 349 00:20:38,120 --> 00:20:40,760 here. The wise man Solomon of old in 350 00:20:40,760 --> 00:20:45,760 Proverbs 15 and one said this. A soft answer turns away wrath, 351 00:20:46,880 --> 00:20:49,400 but a harsh word stirs up anger. And that's true. 352 00:20:52,600 --> 00:20:57,840 He ever said something to someone in a soft tone. 353 00:21:00,080 --> 00:21:04,640 When they've said something in a harsh tone and there's really 354 00:21:04,640 --> 00:21:06,400 nothing for them to say in response. 355 00:21:08,520 --> 00:21:11,480 What they may want to do is they want you to respond ugly so they 356 00:21:11,480 --> 00:21:13,520 can justify their behavior and keep it coming. 357 00:21:15,600 --> 00:21:24,320 But when you speak gently or you speak in a soft answer, it turns 358 00:21:24,320 --> 00:21:24,960 away. Wrath. 359 00:21:26,320 --> 00:21:28,040 Give me another passage. I said I was going to get back 360 00:21:28,040 --> 00:21:29,280 to this. We'll spend a little bit of time 361 00:21:29,280 --> 00:21:30,200 on this. Not too much. 362 00:21:31,480 --> 00:21:33,600 Romans 12 and verse 20. Therefore, if your enemy is 363 00:21:33,600 --> 00:21:35,160 hungry, feed him. If he's thirsty, give him a 364 00:21:35,160 --> 00:21:38,400 drink, for in doing so you will heap coals of fire on his head. 365 00:21:38,680 --> 00:21:41,760 I'm going to tell you, I've read all kinds of commentaries and 366 00:21:41,760 --> 00:21:45,240 scholars and there's all manner of interpretations of what it 367 00:21:45,240 --> 00:21:48,600 means when you heap coals of fire on their head. 368 00:21:48,880 --> 00:21:54,640 One interpretation was this, because God is the avenger, and 369 00:21:54,640 --> 00:21:57,520 when you give place to to wrath, you give it to God and he's the 370 00:21:57,520 --> 00:22:01,640 one that's the avenger. So what this means is when I'm 371 00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:06,520 good to somebody that's rotten to me, it heaps coals of fire on 372 00:22:06,520 --> 00:22:09,800 his head, meaning God is going to judge them and God will 373 00:22:09,800 --> 00:22:12,680 punish them. Well, while it's true that God 374 00:22:12,680 --> 00:22:15,960 does those things, is that really the context of this 375 00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:18,520 passage? And is that really what the 376 00:22:18,520 --> 00:22:21,800 ideal was? What Paul was saying when he was 377 00:22:21,800 --> 00:22:25,040 describing the reasons why you would be good to somebody, Was 378 00:22:25,040 --> 00:22:26,920 he really saying so that God gets them? 379 00:22:28,080 --> 00:22:32,560 Come on, let me tell you what I used to think this means. 380 00:22:34,480 --> 00:22:36,480 And by the way, there may be a little truth to each one, or 381 00:22:36,520 --> 00:22:38,600 some merit. Oh, there's a better 382 00:22:38,600 --> 00:22:42,320 explanation, I believe. I used to think what this means 383 00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:46,280 is this. You see, what this means is if 384 00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:52,640 I'm good to somebody that's bad to me or mean to me, it's going 385 00:22:52,640 --> 00:22:55,320 to keep coals of fire on his head because it's going to 386 00:22:55,320 --> 00:22:57,600 really irritate him, because really what he really wants is a 387 00:22:57,600 --> 00:23:02,520 fight. Maybe. 388 00:23:04,440 --> 00:23:06,200 But I think there's a better explanation. 389 00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:11,680 Fire here. There's an illusion to fire 390 00:23:12,400 --> 00:23:16,240 where they would fire or subject metals to flames of fire. 391 00:23:17,760 --> 00:23:20,400 Do you know what happens when you put a fire? 392 00:23:20,400 --> 00:23:22,480 You got a fire and you put metal to the fire. 393 00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:24,880 You know what happens? You melt it. 394 00:23:27,440 --> 00:23:31,280 What's the point? What was Paul actually saying? 395 00:23:32,040 --> 00:23:35,480 He was saying this in Romans chapter 12 and verse 20. 396 00:23:35,880 --> 00:23:40,200 It's about melting something. It's about melting with his 397 00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:42,520 shame. You melt his hostility. 398 00:23:44,840 --> 00:23:49,760 That's really the point. If I'm doing good to someone 399 00:23:49,760 --> 00:23:54,040 that's doing rotten things to me, it heaps coals of fire on 400 00:23:54,040 --> 00:23:59,120 his head with his shame because of his behavior, therefore it's 401 00:23:59,120 --> 00:24:02,520 going to melt his hostility. Isn't that the whole point? 402 00:24:04,520 --> 00:24:06,720 The point isn't I'm going to do this until he gets punished. 403 00:24:07,600 --> 00:24:09,400 The point is that I'm going to do this and it really gets to 404 00:24:09,400 --> 00:24:15,880 get really stick it to him. No, the point is, I want to melt 405 00:24:15,880 --> 00:24:19,920 his hostility. It's the same thing as the 406 00:24:19,920 --> 00:24:23,680 previous passage in Proverbs 15, and one where a soft answer 407 00:24:23,680 --> 00:24:25,400 turns away wrath. OK. 408 00:24:25,920 --> 00:24:29,760 But if you ever stop to consider also that the words of Jesus are 409 00:24:29,760 --> 00:24:34,120 also very evangelistic, think about it. 410 00:24:34,200 --> 00:24:37,880 If you're a Christian and somebody's your enemy and 411 00:24:37,880 --> 00:24:40,480 they're treating you horribly, but you do good things for them 412 00:24:40,480 --> 00:24:43,160 and they know the reason you do that is because you're a 413 00:24:43,160 --> 00:24:46,800 Christian, because you have somebody that's greater than you 414 00:24:46,800 --> 00:24:50,280 that you follow, that's Jesus. And being a Christian means you 415 00:24:50,280 --> 00:24:52,600 are Christ, like in your behavior. 416 00:24:52,600 --> 00:24:55,920 And that's what you're doing. You're acting like Jesus. 417 00:24:56,000 --> 00:24:58,440 You know what happens? You may have an influence over 418 00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:03,720 them someday without ever preaching the gospel to them. 419 00:25:03,720 --> 00:25:06,200 You may have some sort of an influence in their life. 420 00:25:06,400 --> 00:25:09,520 Don't you see it's all about being evangelistic. 421 00:25:10,320 --> 00:25:14,000 How you going to ever have the influence to convert somebody 422 00:25:15,440 --> 00:25:17,480 when you're hateful and horrible back to them? 423 00:25:17,560 --> 00:25:20,320 You're just not. You're just not. 424 00:25:21,880 --> 00:25:23,440 You open up doors of opportunity. 425 00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:29,120 As one scholar said, chasms of hatred can only be bridged with 426 00:25:29,160 --> 00:25:32,320 acts of love. I know this is challenging and I 427 00:25:32,320 --> 00:25:35,120 know people looking at it from a worldly standpoint or a fleshly 428 00:25:35,120 --> 00:25:36,520 standpoint. They can't understand. 429 00:25:36,760 --> 00:25:40,280 How could it possibly be that goodness can thrive in the midst 430 00:25:40,280 --> 00:25:42,560 of bitter hatred? I'm going to tell you how I can, 431 00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:47,520 because chasms of hatred can only be bridged by acts of love. 432 00:25:48,360 --> 00:25:52,320 OK, that's the second thing. That's the bless those that 433 00:25:52,320 --> 00:25:53,560 curse you. Here's the second one. 434 00:25:54,880 --> 00:25:59,040 Do good to those who hate you, as I said before about your 435 00:25:59,040 --> 00:26:01,880 friends, from your friends and showing kindness to people that 436 00:26:01,880 --> 00:26:04,720 are deserving, it's easy to do that, it's easy to sacrifice for 437 00:26:04,720 --> 00:26:07,480 them. But it's quite a different story 438 00:26:07,480 --> 00:26:10,200 to do that for somebody that hates us. 439 00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:13,720 Remember, true love John says is linked together with works. 440 00:26:13,720 --> 00:26:16,480 First John chapter seven or three in the beginning of verse 441 00:26:16,480 --> 00:26:19,400 17. But whoever has this world's 442 00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:22,480 goods and sees his brother in need and shuts up his heart from 443 00:26:22,480 --> 00:26:25,200 him, how does the love of God abide in him? 444 00:26:25,360 --> 00:26:28,400 My little children, let us not love in Word or in tongue, but 445 00:26:28,400 --> 00:26:33,480 in deed and in truth. So the two ways that agape 446 00:26:33,560 --> 00:26:37,320 manifests itself to radical way so far is blessing those that 447 00:26:37,320 --> 00:26:41,880 curse you by returning good words for evil words and doing 448 00:26:41,880 --> 00:26:46,120 good for those who hate you. But I want to spend some time on 449 00:26:46,120 --> 00:26:51,800 the last one and pray for those who spitefully use you and 450 00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:53,200 persecute you. Let me ask you this. 451 00:26:53,200 --> 00:26:55,640 How many was the last time that we? 452 00:26:55,960 --> 00:26:57,480 That's I'm not. I'm not going to put it on you. 453 00:26:58,720 --> 00:27:01,800 Me too. When's the last time that we 454 00:27:01,800 --> 00:27:07,480 prayed for someone like that? I mean, really prayed for him 455 00:27:07,480 --> 00:27:12,520 with the right heart. I don't mean pray that God will 456 00:27:12,520 --> 00:27:15,480 take care of their behavior. Straighten them out. 457 00:27:15,480 --> 00:27:19,360 I mean, when's the last time that we have prayed for someone 458 00:27:20,440 --> 00:27:23,920 that spitefully used us and persecuted us? 459 00:27:26,920 --> 00:27:29,360 I will say this a very bold statement. 460 00:27:30,400 --> 00:27:35,000 A Christian has reached a great level, a greater level of 461 00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:38,360 maturity, when he prays for his enemies. 462 00:27:38,360 --> 00:27:40,640 Now, I did not say this. I did not say that. 463 00:27:40,640 --> 00:27:43,440 A Christian reaches a higher level of holiness. 464 00:27:43,640 --> 00:27:50,480 And by the way, you don't. In fact, there's nothing more 465 00:27:50,480 --> 00:27:56,040 off putting than somebody that walks around with a haughty 466 00:27:56,040 --> 00:28:03,720 spirit or a holier than thou attitude that they get it and 467 00:28:03,720 --> 00:28:06,480 you don't. There's nothing more off putting 468 00:28:06,480 --> 00:28:07,360 than that. And I'm going to tell you 469 00:28:07,360 --> 00:28:09,720 something else too, if that's the person's demeanor. 470 00:28:09,720 --> 00:28:12,880 You have no influence. You have no influence on people 471 00:28:12,880 --> 00:28:16,720 in the world. I'm going to say this from an 472 00:28:16,720 --> 00:28:22,400 evangelistic, an evangelist viewpoint with people every day. 473 00:28:24,040 --> 00:28:26,840 Do you know the kind of person that really has influence? 474 00:28:27,720 --> 00:28:29,800 Talk about the kind of Christian that really has influence. 475 00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:36,720 It's somebody that walks around with a humble spirit, somebody 476 00:28:36,720 --> 00:28:42,080 that is a real genuine person that's not perfect and knows it 477 00:28:45,080 --> 00:28:51,040 and people sometimes see it. And sometimes maybe somebody 478 00:28:51,160 --> 00:28:55,440 made some mistakes in the past. Maybe they messed up. 479 00:28:59,320 --> 00:29:06,120 Maybe they did some things that they regret and they know it, 480 00:29:09,680 --> 00:29:14,200 but they recovered. And they're on this side of 481 00:29:14,200 --> 00:29:19,800 those mistakes now, and they're the genuine article, the genuine 482 00:29:19,800 --> 00:29:23,920 person. Maybe the world's kicked him 483 00:29:23,920 --> 00:29:31,360 around a little, but now they've got the battle scars to be able 484 00:29:31,360 --> 00:29:35,680 to relate to somebody else. You want to talk about 485 00:29:35,680 --> 00:29:41,280 influence, be a genuine person. You never reach a higher level 486 00:29:41,280 --> 00:29:44,200 of holiness. And if a person thinks that they 487 00:29:44,200 --> 00:29:48,800 have come on down, If anybody could have been like that, it 488 00:29:48,800 --> 00:29:51,040 was Jesus. But Jesus is the Bible describes 489 00:29:51,040 --> 00:29:53,120 him. Jesus says Jesus himself. 490 00:29:53,360 --> 00:30:01,920 I am meek and lowly in heart. That's what Jesus said and you 491 00:30:01,920 --> 00:30:07,840 shall find rest unto your soul. For my yoke is easy and my 492 00:30:07,840 --> 00:30:12,560 burden is light. When you pray for your enemies, 493 00:30:12,560 --> 00:30:14,200 it indicates a couple things, folks. 494 00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:18,920 It indicates that God number one is in control. 495 00:30:18,920 --> 00:30:20,800 That's what you're saying. When you pray for your enemies 496 00:30:21,960 --> 00:30:28,120 #2, you are also demonstrating to God that you want the very 497 00:30:28,120 --> 00:30:32,760 best for your enemies. That's number two and #3, and 498 00:30:32,760 --> 00:30:36,080 especially that you want them to be saved. 499 00:30:37,320 --> 00:30:43,280 My question is this. What is the practical effect, or 500 00:30:43,280 --> 00:30:47,040 what is the actual outcome of praying for your enemies? 501 00:30:48,080 --> 00:30:50,400 Is God going to actually change their heart? 502 00:30:50,520 --> 00:30:53,680 If God wants to, If it's his will, And if he says yes, then 503 00:30:53,680 --> 00:30:58,720 he will. But there's no guarantee, so 504 00:30:58,720 --> 00:30:59,840 what's the point? You might say. 505 00:30:59,840 --> 00:31:02,360 Wait a minute. If I pray for my enemies, if I 506 00:31:02,360 --> 00:31:05,440 pray for those that spitefully use me and persecute me, and 507 00:31:05,440 --> 00:31:07,800 really there's no guarantee that it's going to work, why pray for 508 00:31:07,800 --> 00:31:09,280 them? You're missing the point. 509 00:31:12,040 --> 00:31:15,080 It's not about changing their heart. 510 00:31:17,320 --> 00:31:25,040 It's about changing yours. It's about changing yours. 511 00:31:26,120 --> 00:31:29,880 That's a guarantee. Can God providentially change 512 00:31:29,880 --> 00:31:31,000 the heart of somebody? Yes. 513 00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:34,200 And I pray all the time. If I know somebody with a 514 00:31:34,200 --> 00:31:36,600 hardened heart, I pray that their hearts will be changed. 515 00:31:36,720 --> 00:31:38,920 And I pray God will do something to change their heart. 516 00:31:39,080 --> 00:31:41,880 And I pray that with everything I've got, there's no guarantee. 517 00:31:43,280 --> 00:31:45,360 We pray in our time. God answers in his time 518 00:31:45,360 --> 00:31:47,240 according to his will. God's going to make that 519 00:31:47,240 --> 00:31:49,000 decision. God's going to make that choice. 520 00:31:49,120 --> 00:31:50,920 So that's not a guarantee of changing their heart. 521 00:31:51,040 --> 00:31:54,240 What is a guarantee is when I pray for those that spitefully 522 00:31:54,240 --> 00:31:57,640 use me and persecute me, those that are enemies of mine, it's 523 00:31:57,640 --> 00:32:00,840 going to for sure change my heart. 524 00:32:05,600 --> 00:32:08,520 But let me give you 2 things that are 100% sure. 525 00:32:08,720 --> 00:32:10,560 This is why it changed your heart. 526 00:32:10,560 --> 00:32:14,440 Two things. When you pray for your enemy, 527 00:32:16,120 --> 00:32:20,640 you relinquish anger, you really do. 528 00:32:22,680 --> 00:32:27,360 You can't sincerely ask God's blessings upon your enemy if you 529 00:32:27,360 --> 00:32:30,920 hate them. You can't. 530 00:32:33,080 --> 00:32:35,400 Jesus, We're saying I'm not trying to tell you to go fix the 531 00:32:35,400 --> 00:32:39,040 world. I'm telling you to fix you and 532 00:32:39,040 --> 00:32:41,560 your behavior and your influence. 533 00:32:41,840 --> 00:32:44,920 And by the way, all this works together also with personal 534 00:32:44,920 --> 00:32:47,560 forgiveness. Give me 3 examples quickly. 535 00:32:49,040 --> 00:32:52,240 How about Joseph? In the Old Testament, sold by 536 00:32:52,240 --> 00:32:55,480 his brothers into slavery, terrible things happened to him. 537 00:32:55,920 --> 00:32:58,120 He was later reconciled to his brothers, right? 538 00:32:58,120 --> 00:33:00,320 We know the story has a happy ending down the road. 539 00:33:01,480 --> 00:33:03,880 But before he was ever reconciled to his brothers, 540 00:33:03,880 --> 00:33:06,320 before his brothers ever asked for forgiveness. 541 00:33:06,320 --> 00:33:10,160 Do you know what Joseph did? The Bible says he named his 542 00:33:10,160 --> 00:33:13,760 first born son Manasseh. And then it says what Manasseh 543 00:33:13,760 --> 00:33:17,600 means right after that passage. God has made me to forget. 544 00:33:19,520 --> 00:33:21,960 He didn't lose his memory. He made a choice. 545 00:33:22,800 --> 00:33:25,520 God has made me to forget. Then it says Forget what? 546 00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:28,760 All the trouble of my father's house. 547 00:33:28,880 --> 00:33:31,520 What was Joseph doing? He was making a decision. 548 00:33:31,680 --> 00:33:34,720 I'm not going to be negatively influenced by this anymore. 549 00:33:34,720 --> 00:33:39,240 I make a choice. I don't let my brothers off the 550 00:33:39,240 --> 00:33:41,880 hook. I let me off the hook. 551 00:33:44,200 --> 00:33:46,440 I got a friend of mine. You already told me I'm working 552 00:33:46,440 --> 00:33:47,960 on it. He's better. 553 00:33:47,960 --> 00:33:49,560 Always better. I got a friend of mine told me 554 00:33:49,560 --> 00:33:53,040 he has a list of all the people that have done bad to him. 555 00:33:53,040 --> 00:33:55,320 I don't even want to know what you want to do with the list, 556 00:33:57,120 --> 00:33:58,520 but he's got a list. He said he had a list. 557 00:33:59,520 --> 00:34:02,000 After a couple years being friends and talking a lot about 558 00:34:02,000 --> 00:34:03,360 this kind of stuff, he told me the other day. 559 00:34:03,360 --> 00:34:07,080 He said I threw away the list. I said good for you, you know 560 00:34:07,080 --> 00:34:08,440 why? Good for you? 561 00:34:09,679 --> 00:34:13,600 Because you just let yourself off the hook. 562 00:34:16,480 --> 00:34:18,480 You said I'm not going to be negatively influenced by that 563 00:34:18,480 --> 00:34:20,360 guy anymore. And by the way, one little thing 564 00:34:20,360 --> 00:34:22,520 I got to slip in. If somebody's done you wrong and 565 00:34:22,520 --> 00:34:27,040 you have animosity toward him and you have you have built up 566 00:34:27,040 --> 00:34:28,800 inside you and you're holding the grudge, let me tell you 567 00:34:28,800 --> 00:34:29,520 something. Don't do that. 568 00:34:29,520 --> 00:34:31,480 You know why? First of all, for the reasons 569 00:34:31,480 --> 00:34:32,639 that we just said. But I'm going to give you 570 00:34:32,639 --> 00:34:34,639 another reason. If somebody's wronged you, 571 00:34:34,920 --> 00:34:36,520 you're boiling inside about what they did. 572 00:34:36,520 --> 00:34:38,239 But they're going about their life, not even thinking about 573 00:34:38,239 --> 00:34:40,760 you. They haven't thought of you 574 00:34:40,760 --> 00:34:43,040 again at all. They just did their thing and 575 00:34:43,040 --> 00:34:46,520 that's it. Don't give them that kind of 576 00:34:46,520 --> 00:34:50,719 power to destroy you inside. Let it go. 577 00:34:50,800 --> 00:34:53,360 You relinquish anger. Anger when you forgive. 578 00:34:53,360 --> 00:34:54,199 Awesome. Give another one. 579 00:34:54,199 --> 00:34:57,840 Stephen Acts Chapter 7. He's being stoned to death. 580 00:34:57,920 --> 00:35:00,480 He looks up into the heavens. He says, behold, I see the 581 00:35:00,480 --> 00:35:03,840 heavens open and I see Jesus standing on the right hand of 582 00:35:03,840 --> 00:35:05,600 God. They were infuriated. 583 00:35:05,600 --> 00:35:07,680 There ran on him and they stoned him to death. 584 00:35:07,800 --> 00:35:12,160 What did Stephen say? Lord lay not this sin to their 585 00:35:12,160 --> 00:35:18,200 charge, and God's the only forgiver and forgiveness only 586 00:35:18,200 --> 00:35:20,640 comes from God with repentance. That's true. 587 00:35:22,160 --> 00:35:25,440 But Stephen by his words shows that he forgave. 588 00:35:26,080 --> 00:35:30,880 He did. And then the master one more is 589 00:35:30,880 --> 00:35:35,320 Jesus when he's hanging on the cross dying for the sins of the 590 00:35:35,320 --> 00:35:39,160 world, he says Father forgive them, for they know not what 591 00:35:39,160 --> 00:35:42,840 they do. God has to be the forgiver of 592 00:35:42,840 --> 00:35:49,000 sin only comes with repentance. But Jesus in a physical human 593 00:35:49,000 --> 00:35:54,640 sense had forgiven and that he didn't pull the grudge against 594 00:35:54,640 --> 00:35:57,400 what they were doing to him. You let yourself off the hook 595 00:35:57,400 --> 00:36:00,440 when you forgive, whether a person is deserving or not. 596 00:36:00,440 --> 00:36:06,960 Let me give you an example. Several years ago there were two 597 00:36:06,960 --> 00:36:09,400 players that played for the same professional football team. 598 00:36:11,800 --> 00:36:16,200 They played on a Sunday, went out Sunday night, did things 599 00:36:16,200 --> 00:36:19,840 they shouldn't do. They were both intoxicated. 600 00:36:19,840 --> 00:36:24,080 They got in a car. They drove really fast, went 601 00:36:24,080 --> 00:36:26,560 around the corner and flipped the car. 602 00:36:29,360 --> 00:36:36,680 The driver had minimal injuries. The passenger, his teammate and 603 00:36:36,680 --> 00:36:44,680 good friend was killed. The driver was distraught beyond 604 00:36:44,680 --> 00:36:50,080 belief, the guilt because he killed his friend because of a 605 00:36:50,080 --> 00:36:56,000 bad choice. The next football game. 606 00:36:56,000 --> 00:36:58,840 He was not dressed, but he was on the sidelines and the stadium 607 00:36:59,040 --> 00:37:03,000 was booing to get him out of there with hatred. 608 00:37:05,160 --> 00:37:07,400 It got so bad that the professional football team he 609 00:37:07,400 --> 00:37:12,120 was playing for had him leave the field and not stand with his 610 00:37:12,120 --> 00:37:15,920 teammates. Legal issues were coming. 611 00:37:17,240 --> 00:37:18,560 All manner of things were coming. 612 00:37:21,560 --> 00:37:24,960 He was so distraught and in tears, he talked to his friend's 613 00:37:24,960 --> 00:37:28,200 mother, the mother of the boy that died. 614 00:37:30,840 --> 00:37:35,280 He said Everybody hates me, he said. 615 00:37:36,240 --> 00:37:41,480 And I hate myself for what I did. 616 00:37:44,640 --> 00:37:46,840 I don't even know if I should come to the funeral because 617 00:37:47,160 --> 00:37:49,560 there's so much animosity from the family to me. 618 00:37:50,920 --> 00:37:56,000 Maybe it's best if I don't come. You know what The mother said 619 00:37:56,920 --> 00:37:59,760 She said. Son, you come to that funeral. 620 00:38:01,440 --> 00:38:05,920 You sit next to me because I forgive you. 621 00:38:10,280 --> 00:38:12,480 She made the choice. I'm not going to be negatively 622 00:38:12,480 --> 00:38:15,040 influenced by this, even though my heart is broken. 623 00:38:17,920 --> 00:38:19,920 You want to relieve yourself. You want to release yourself. 624 00:38:19,920 --> 00:38:21,680 You want to let yourself go do that. 625 00:38:23,480 --> 00:38:24,800 He still had to deal with the law. 626 00:38:24,880 --> 00:38:26,560 He still had other ramifications. 627 00:38:27,360 --> 00:38:32,520 But in her heart, when we're going to bring her son back, she 628 00:38:32,520 --> 00:38:33,360 said. I forgive you. 629 00:38:38,590 --> 00:38:40,550 The first thing that happens when you pray for your enemies. 630 00:38:40,550 --> 00:38:45,000 You relinquish anger #2. You take the focus off yourself 631 00:38:46,040 --> 00:38:51,160 and you put your eyes on God. Anger is often multiplied when 632 00:38:51,160 --> 00:38:53,680 we try to handle our enemies by ourself. 633 00:38:55,080 --> 00:38:58,960 But when you turn your anger over to God, then God's love 634 00:38:58,960 --> 00:39:03,440 overshadows hate. So the practical things that 635 00:39:03,440 --> 00:39:06,040 happen when you pray for your enemies, you relinquish anger, 636 00:39:06,040 --> 00:39:07,160 anger. And that's great. 637 00:39:07,160 --> 00:39:12,560 You let yourself go and then you focus on God and take your focus 638 00:39:12,560 --> 00:39:14,880 off yourself and your own personal feelings. 639 00:39:14,880 --> 00:39:20,520 And just maybe when you pray, God may change their heart too. 640 00:39:21,960 --> 00:39:25,400 Wow, I think Jesus knew what he was talking about. 641 00:39:27,280 --> 00:39:29,360 The plan's perfect. This is hard to do. 642 00:39:31,600 --> 00:39:35,640 In conclusion, Jesus then gives reasons and three verses. 643 00:39:35,640 --> 00:39:37,280 I'm not going to comment on these verses. 644 00:39:37,280 --> 00:39:39,000 I'm going to read what they are. And then we're going to sum it 645 00:39:39,000 --> 00:39:43,240 up with one final verse beginning in verse 45, after he 646 00:39:43,240 --> 00:39:46,400 said that said, you do all this. And then here's the here's the 647 00:39:47,080 --> 00:39:50,520 What happens as a result? That you may be the sons of your 648 00:39:50,520 --> 00:39:53,800 Father in heaven? For he makes his Son to rise on 649 00:39:53,800 --> 00:39:56,800 the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on 650 00:39:56,800 --> 00:39:59,520 the unjust. For if you love those who love 651 00:39:59,520 --> 00:40:03,080 you, what reward of you? Do not even the tax collectors 652 00:40:03,080 --> 00:40:05,320 do the same? And if you greet your brethren 653 00:40:05,320 --> 00:40:07,440 only, what do you do more than others? 654 00:40:08,520 --> 00:40:11,000 Do not even the tax collectors do so? 655 00:40:13,160 --> 00:40:15,560 So then he says this, the final verse. 656 00:40:16,520 --> 00:40:23,040 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is 657 00:40:23,280 --> 00:40:26,080 perfect. Oh, you mean I got to be 658 00:40:26,080 --> 00:40:29,040 perfect? What's that mean? 659 00:40:30,800 --> 00:40:36,080 First of all, perfect here does not mean sinless perfection, and 660 00:40:36,080 --> 00:40:40,040 it does not mean without a flaw. That's not what this means at 661 00:40:40,040 --> 00:40:42,760 all. In fact, the word perfect has a 662 00:40:42,760 --> 00:40:47,120 variety of connotations and the context must bear out or 663 00:40:47,120 --> 00:40:50,120 determine its meaning. For example, the word perfect in 664 00:40:50,120 --> 00:40:53,320 this passage is the same word perfect that's found in Second 665 00:40:53,320 --> 00:40:57,200 Timothy 316 and 17, where the Bible says there about the word 666 00:40:57,200 --> 00:41:01,120 of God that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and 667 00:41:01,120 --> 00:41:04,760 is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for 668 00:41:04,760 --> 00:41:07,840 instruction and righteousness, that the man of God may be 669 00:41:07,840 --> 00:41:12,240 perfect telios. The word telios thoroughly 670 00:41:12,240 --> 00:41:15,160 equipped for every good work. What does that word mean? 671 00:41:15,240 --> 00:41:18,000 In the connotation of the context that that is given, it 672 00:41:18,000 --> 00:41:21,760 means complete. The man of God, the child of 673 00:41:21,760 --> 00:41:24,840 God, is going to be complete with the word of God, and you 674 00:41:24,840 --> 00:41:26,520 need nothing else. That's what that means. 675 00:41:27,320 --> 00:41:31,520 But the same Greek word, teleos in this passage has a different 676 00:41:31,520 --> 00:41:35,080 connotation to it, and the context has to bear it out. 677 00:41:35,280 --> 00:41:40,720 What's the context? Loving your enemies, That's the 678 00:41:40,720 --> 00:41:43,240 context. Got to stick with the context. 679 00:41:44,200 --> 00:41:48,680 So the connotation of being perfect in this regard is really 680 00:41:48,800 --> 00:41:53,160 the word mature. Now you know what? 681 00:41:53,200 --> 00:41:56,280 I can't be perfect meaning flawless, but I can be mature. 682 00:41:57,640 --> 00:42:02,400 I'm not very mature, but I can be mature when it comes to what 683 00:42:02,400 --> 00:42:04,400 he just commanded to be to be mature. 684 00:42:04,400 --> 00:42:08,360 But I can do that. You can sum it up like this. 685 00:42:08,360 --> 00:42:12,640 Therefore you shall be mature just as your Father in heaven is 686 00:42:12,800 --> 00:42:15,120 mature. The context is loving your 687 00:42:15,120 --> 00:42:17,800 enemies. So how do we sum it up when we 688 00:42:17,800 --> 00:42:21,560 are to follow God's example of having a mature love which will 689 00:42:21,560 --> 00:42:23,960 always be demonstrated in action? 690 00:42:24,160 --> 00:42:27,480 That's God's point. And that makes sense. 691 00:42:30,960 --> 00:42:37,200 That makes sense. Jesus says you heard that it had 692 00:42:37,200 --> 00:42:42,320 been said you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. 693 00:42:43,440 --> 00:42:49,960 But I say to you, love your enemies, That's agape love. 694 00:42:49,960 --> 00:42:55,360 That's always demonstrated in action, in words, in deeds, in 695 00:42:55,360 --> 00:42:58,760 behavior. And in example. 696 00:42:59,760 --> 00:43:01,520 It's the love. It's always attributed to God. 697 00:43:02,120 --> 00:43:03,960 I'm finished. Thank you so much for being such 698 00:43:03,960 --> 00:43:07,360 a good listening audience. We never close a time that we 699 00:43:07,640 --> 00:43:10,000 teach from God's word without extending an invitation. 700 00:43:10,000 --> 00:43:11,440 It's the greatest invitation in the world. 701 00:43:11,440 --> 00:43:12,760 You know what? It's not my invitation. 702 00:43:12,760 --> 00:43:17,320 It's the Lord's invitation, the first thing we must do to be 703 00:43:17,320 --> 00:43:18,800 saved. You got to hear the word of God. 704 00:43:18,800 --> 00:43:21,600 Romans 10/17. So that faith comes by hearing 705 00:43:21,600 --> 00:43:25,200 and hearing by the word of God. But the word of God produces 706 00:43:25,200 --> 00:43:26,920 something. We have a choice to make. 707 00:43:27,280 --> 00:43:29,160 We have to believe it with all of our heart. 708 00:43:29,520 --> 00:43:31,600 Hebrews 11:00 and 6:00. But without faith it's 709 00:43:31,600 --> 00:43:34,560 impossible to please him. For he who comes to God must 710 00:43:34,560 --> 00:43:38,000 believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of those who 711 00:43:38,000 --> 00:43:42,040 diligently seek Him. Jesus also said he that believes 712 00:43:42,040 --> 00:43:45,080 and is baptized will be saved. Also. 713 00:43:45,080 --> 00:43:47,400 We need to repent of our sins and all that means I got to make 714 00:43:47,400 --> 00:43:48,880 a change. I've been going in this 715 00:43:48,880 --> 00:43:50,160 direction. I don't want to do that anymore. 716 00:43:50,160 --> 00:43:51,960 I'm going to change and go in that direction. 717 00:43:52,080 --> 00:43:55,800 Change my mind, change my heart leads to a change of behavior, 718 00:43:55,920 --> 00:43:58,280 change of action. And here's the best part. 719 00:43:58,640 --> 00:44:00,840 It leads to a change in my relationship with Jesus. 720 00:44:01,000 --> 00:44:04,400 Great stuff, truly these times of ignorance, God overlooked but 721 00:44:04,400 --> 00:44:06,560 now commands all men everywhere to repent. 722 00:44:06,560 --> 00:44:10,160 That's what Jesus said. Then we got to be willing to say 723 00:44:10,200 --> 00:44:13,600 the best thing you'll ever say, confessed that Jesus Christ is 724 00:44:13,600 --> 00:44:16,360 the Son of God. Acts 837 Then Philip said, if 725 00:44:16,360 --> 00:44:17,600 you believe with all your heart, you may. 726 00:44:18,000 --> 00:44:21,680 And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the 727 00:44:21,680 --> 00:44:24,360 Son of God. All these steps lead toward the 728 00:44:24,360 --> 00:44:27,840 point of salvation, but the point of salvation is the next 729 00:44:27,840 --> 00:44:31,120 one. It's being baptized for the 730 00:44:31,120 --> 00:44:33,280 remission of sins. Mark 1616. 731 00:44:33,440 --> 00:44:37,400 He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does 732 00:44:37,400 --> 00:44:40,160 not believe will be condemned. If you've never taken those 733 00:44:40,160 --> 00:44:42,360 steps of obedience, we would love to assist you in that. 734 00:44:43,000 --> 00:44:46,000 Excuse me in that, if you will. Maybe you have. 735 00:44:46,840 --> 00:44:48,760 Maybe there's something that's on your heart. 736 00:44:49,720 --> 00:44:51,120 Maybe there's something on your mind. 737 00:44:52,720 --> 00:44:54,640 Maybe there's something you'd like to get off of your mind, 738 00:44:54,640 --> 00:44:58,120 Your heart. You'd like the prayers of the 739 00:44:58,120 --> 00:45:00,760 congregation on your behalf, whatever that might be. 740 00:45:01,360 --> 00:45:03,560 Be one of either class. Come forward while we stand, 741 00:45:03,600 --> 00:45:06,720 while we say. We thank you for listening to 742 00:45:06,720 --> 00:45:12,080 our podcast put on by The Church of Christ at 2215 Plans Rd. in 743 00:45:12,080 --> 00:45:14,360 Bakersfield. If you would like. 744 00:45:14,360 --> 00:45:17,960 Any additional information or you would like to receive a free 745 00:45:17,960 --> 00:45:20,080 Bible correspondence course by mail? 746 00:45:20,840 --> 00:45:26,160 Please e-mail us at info@churchofchristbakersfield.com. 747 00:45:26,880 --> 00:45:32,080 Our service times are Sundays at 10:30 AM and 5:00 PM and 748 00:45:32,080 --> 00:45:36,560 Wednesdays at 7:30 PM. Please make plans to join us. 749 00:45:37,040 --> 00:45:39,160 We would love for you to be our honored guest.