1 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:05,960 Welcome to the Liberty Baptist Sermon Archives. 2 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:09,040 The message you're about to hear was preached at Liberty Baptist 3 00:00:09,040 --> 00:00:13,040 Church in Easton, MA. You can find out more about us 4 00:00:13,040 --> 00:00:17,120 or contact us at mylibertybaptist.org or just 5 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:19,760 look us up on Facebook. And now we hope that this 6 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:22,040 message from God's Word will be a blessing to you. 7 00:00:24,680 --> 00:00:29,800 Open your Bibles, please do Matthew chapter #5 again, we're 8 00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:32,080 outside of our series this evening as well. 9 00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:35,840 This morning, looking at fear from Ezra chapter #3 and so not 10 00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:39,840 in second Peter, and then this evening, not in Second Samuel 11 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:44,200 will be in Matthew Chapter 5. As we look at the issue of the 12 00:00:44,240 --> 00:00:47,480 extra mile. And you know, you hear a lot 13 00:00:47,480 --> 00:00:50,680 about giving the extra mile or going the extra mile. 14 00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:53,720 You hear that a lot. And a lot of times it's in 15 00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:56,520 reference to customer service. You know you'll like it when a 16 00:00:56,520 --> 00:01:00,800 company will go the extra mile. You can hear it in the 17 00:01:00,800 --> 00:01:02,760 workplace. A lot of times your employer 18 00:01:02,760 --> 00:01:04,920 wants you to go the extra mile. Not necessarily. 19 00:01:04,920 --> 00:01:09,320 They'll go the extra mile for you in school or in sports. 20 00:01:09,320 --> 00:01:11,680 It's about someone going that extra mile. 21 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:13,720 You hear it in all of these different places. 22 00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:17,600 And I think the term has been used so many times that people 23 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:21,160 outside of the church and maybe inside of the church forget that 24 00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:24,880 the term extra mile is not something that was just coined 25 00:01:24,880 --> 00:01:28,600 and put into the lexicon, is something that somebody thought 26 00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:31,440 was clever, but it was actually a phrase that was spoken by 27 00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:35,640 Jesus Christ. The idea of going the extra mile 28 00:01:35,640 --> 00:01:41,160 was not given by some guru of business or ACEO or of a 29 00:01:41,160 --> 00:01:43,720 philosopher. It was by none other than, well, 30 00:01:43,880 --> 00:01:46,960 the Son of God. And so because of that, well, 31 00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:51,720 the extra mile mentality might be good for food service, or it 32 00:01:51,720 --> 00:01:55,600 might be good for a business, or it might be good for a sports 33 00:01:55,600 --> 00:01:58,600 team. But really, Jesus Christ talked 34 00:01:58,600 --> 00:02:01,280 about going the extra mile in the realm of being a believer, 35 00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:05,680 that you and I as believers should go the extra mile. 36 00:02:05,680 --> 00:02:08,600 In fact, there were many other things that he spoke about this 37 00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:12,760 very same thought process here in Matthew chapter 5, which we 38 00:02:12,760 --> 00:02:16,240 know as the Sermon on the Mount. Now I would encourage you this 39 00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:18,920 morning or I'd encourage you this morning too, but especially 40 00:02:18,920 --> 00:02:20,600 since it's the evening, I'll encourage you this evening. 41 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:23,640 I'll encourage you this evening that if you have never spent any 42 00:02:23,640 --> 00:02:27,560 time studying the Sermon on the Mount, you would do well to read 43 00:02:27,560 --> 00:02:31,520 Matthew chapter 5-6 and seven. If you ever looking for a place 44 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:34,640 in the Bible, Bible to memorize and that you'd like to memorize 45 00:02:34,640 --> 00:02:38,360 some scripture, you can start in Matthew 5-6 and seven because 46 00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:41,320 the Sermon on the Mount, starting with the Beatitudes. 47 00:02:41,320 --> 00:02:45,000 Blessed are the blessed are the blessed are the over and over 48 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:48,520 and over again, very memorable and very easy to memorize. 49 00:02:48,760 --> 00:02:52,480 And then going into all of this other teaching as well are some 50 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:55,640 of the very most foundational teachings that you will find 51 00:02:55,840 --> 00:02:58,520 about being a Christian. And it also goes into that same 52 00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:02,560 realm that we talked about this morning, that it's so simple for 53 00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:06,240 us to understand, but it's not easy to do the things of which 54 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:10,120 Jesus brings up to us in Matthew chapter 5-6 and seven. 55 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:13,280 And as Christians, this idea of going the extra mile is 56 00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:16,080 something that should be important to us again, not just 57 00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:19,080 at the restaurant, not just at the work site or not just on the 58 00:03:19,080 --> 00:03:22,600 ball field or in the classroom, that we as Christians should be 59 00:03:22,600 --> 00:03:25,960 compelled to go the extra mile. And I think often times we try 60 00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:28,840 to have the mentality this how little can I do and still get 61 00:03:28,840 --> 00:03:32,000 away with things. And there's a part of us that 62 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:34,680 kind of feel good about that because you think I can exert 63 00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:37,680 the minimum amount of effort and how can I get the most amount of 64 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:39,160 praise out of that minimum amount of effort? 65 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:43,360 But the Christian life is about us being more than just the 66 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:45,520 minimum. The Christian life is about us 67 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:49,280 doing more than just getting by, that if we are to make a 68 00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:51,760 difference in this world, we are to be different. 69 00:03:51,960 --> 00:03:54,840 And listen, you see plenty of that out in the world today. 70 00:03:55,440 --> 00:03:58,720 You see plenty of those who have no desire to work, no desire to 71 00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:02,520 do, no desire to serve, no desire to get anything done. 72 00:04:02,520 --> 00:04:05,200 And if they are compelled to do so, they're going to complain 73 00:04:05,200 --> 00:04:08,520 about it the whole time. I've told you before, my very 74 00:04:08,520 --> 00:04:11,840 first job was at McDonald's, I was getting paid $5.00 an hour. 75 00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:14,880 Who would have thought that it would be a high-priced $1516.00 76 00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:17,880 an hour like it is right now? But $5.00 an hour? 77 00:04:17,920 --> 00:04:20,079 And I know some of you could quote prices that were lower 78 00:04:20,079 --> 00:04:21,079 than that. You're making an hour. 79 00:04:21,079 --> 00:04:24,440 But for me, $5.00 an hour, that was what it was back in the day. 80 00:04:24,840 --> 00:04:26,880 And I thought that was great. And I was working hard and it 81 00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:29,920 was amazing to me that there were others that just would not 82 00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:32,240 work. It's like, look, take the fries 83 00:04:32,280 --> 00:04:37,320 out of the fryer and do this. Take the register and you don't 84 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:40,160 even have to add anything up. You just push the Big Mac button 85 00:04:40,160 --> 00:04:44,680 and the Big Mac price comes up. Take a broom and sweep and take 86 00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:47,440 a mop and clean. I mean, there's not that much to 87 00:04:47,480 --> 00:04:50,840 it, but it's amazing that there are those who just don't even 88 00:04:50,840 --> 00:04:53,600 want to do the minimum or they do the minimum. 89 00:04:53,600 --> 00:04:57,760 They are going to whine about it the whole time like they are 90 00:04:57,760 --> 00:05:01,880 doing something that is so monumental that everybody needs 91 00:05:01,880 --> 00:05:03,080 to be aware that they're at work. 92 00:05:04,240 --> 00:05:05,480 But as Christian, shouldn't we be different? 93 00:05:06,280 --> 00:05:07,560 As Christian, should we be better? 94 00:05:08,080 --> 00:05:10,200 And if we're going to change society, shouldn't we have a 95 00:05:10,240 --> 00:05:14,240 different mentality And the way that we handle even the way we 96 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:17,760 approach work and we approach other people and we approach 97 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:21,320 situations that maybe not our favorite things to do or even be 98 00:05:21,320 --> 00:05:23,920 compelled to do something that we don't want to do, Shouldn't 99 00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:26,760 we look at these things differently than the world looks 100 00:05:26,760 --> 00:05:28,000 at them? Well, that's what we're going to 101 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:29,560 find in Matthew chapter 5 this evening. 102 00:05:29,560 --> 00:05:31,320 So why don't you stand please, for the reading God's Word if 103 00:05:31,320 --> 00:05:33,040 you're able. Matthew chapter 5 beginning 104 00:05:33,040 --> 00:05:42,280 verse #38. It says, you have heard that 105 00:05:42,280 --> 00:05:45,760 it's been said, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. 106 00:05:46,480 --> 00:05:49,120 But I say unto you that he resists not evil. 107 00:05:49,560 --> 00:05:53,040 But whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him 108 00:05:53,040 --> 00:05:56,160 the other also. And if any man will sue thee at 109 00:05:56,160 --> 00:05:59,800 the law and take away thy coat, let him have that cloak also. 110 00:06:00,280 --> 00:06:03,720 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain, 111 00:06:04,120 --> 00:06:06,840 give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow 112 00:06:06,840 --> 00:06:11,760 of thee, turn not thou away. And Jesus is going to take an 113 00:06:11,760 --> 00:06:15,080 Old Testament law, and he's going to turn it on its head. 114 00:06:15,680 --> 00:06:18,160 And it's not that he's saying the Old Testament law was wrong, 115 00:06:18,280 --> 00:06:20,680 because it wasn't, because it's the word of God. 116 00:06:21,160 --> 00:06:23,680 What he's saying is you're thinking about this the wrong 117 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:25,880 way. And Jesus, as he often has to do 118 00:06:25,880 --> 00:06:29,120 with us, has to correct our thinking about how we apply the 119 00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:30,640 word of God. So let's look at that this 120 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:33,040 evening as we look at the extra mile, you may be seated and then 121 00:06:33,040 --> 00:06:36,800 let's pray together. Heavenly Father, do thank you 122 00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:37,880 for this night. And I do pray. 123 00:06:37,880 --> 00:06:40,600 Just help me to be able to say what needs to be said rightly. 124 00:06:41,320 --> 00:06:44,240 Lord, I, I do think this is a situation and an issue that 125 00:06:44,240 --> 00:06:48,880 oftentimes we, we don't think correctly about, whether it's 126 00:06:48,880 --> 00:06:53,640 out of laziness or out of disdain for others and disdain 127 00:06:53,640 --> 00:06:56,920 for the world. We oftentimes don't look at this 128 00:06:56,920 --> 00:06:59,840 the way that Jesus told us to. So I pray that you help us to 129 00:06:59,840 --> 00:07:02,680 adjust our thinking, adjust our thought process, help us to be 130 00:07:02,680 --> 00:07:05,920 more like Christ and help us to take the word of God and apply 131 00:07:05,920 --> 00:07:08,640 it rightly as he told his disciples to do there on that 132 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:11,080 mountain. And we do ask it in Jesus name, 133 00:07:11,560 --> 00:07:14,120 Amen. Now the sermon of the Mount is 134 00:07:14,120 --> 00:07:16,520 all about the deeper issues of the heart. 135 00:07:16,840 --> 00:07:20,840 Jesus over and over is going to say, it has been said or it has 136 00:07:20,840 --> 00:07:23,200 been said in old time, or it has been written. 137 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:27,240 And he says, But I say unto you, now listen, if I come to you and 138 00:07:27,240 --> 00:07:29,680 say, listen, I know what the Bible says, but here's what I'm 139 00:07:29,680 --> 00:07:31,960 going to say to you. If you hear me say that, it's 140 00:07:31,960 --> 00:07:34,960 about time for you to find a new church because I don't have the 141 00:07:34,960 --> 00:07:38,840 right and I don't have the opportunity as a mere person to 142 00:07:38,840 --> 00:07:41,840 be able to say I know what the Bible says, but here's what I 143 00:07:41,840 --> 00:07:44,280 say and my word supersedes the word of God. 144 00:07:44,440 --> 00:07:47,000 I can't say that. By the way, that's what the 145 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:49,800 cults that we're studying about on Sunday mornings or teachers 146 00:07:49,800 --> 00:07:51,600 about those things. And that's why they are so 147 00:07:51,600 --> 00:07:55,560 dangerous and so heretical. But when Jesus says here's 148 00:07:55,560 --> 00:07:59,120 what's been said, but I say unto you, that is completely 149 00:07:59,120 --> 00:08:01,440 different than me trying to take, well, here's what the word 150 00:08:01,440 --> 00:08:03,360 of God says, but here's my spin on it. 151 00:08:03,520 --> 00:08:04,960 You say, well, why is that different, pastor? 152 00:08:04,960 --> 00:08:07,000 Well one, because Jesus was the living word. 153 00:08:07,760 --> 00:08:09,480 Jesus could not contradict himself. 154 00:08:10,160 --> 00:08:13,040 Jesus in the beginning was the word and the Word was with God 155 00:08:13,040 --> 00:08:15,600 and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning of 156 00:08:15,600 --> 00:08:16,720 God. John 11. 157 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:20,520 The idea that Jesus Christ was the living Word, Jesus Christ 158 00:08:20,520 --> 00:08:24,480 was not in contradiction to himself, but over and over in 159 00:08:24,480 --> 00:08:28,440 the Beatitudes and well, really in the Sermon on the Mount, 160 00:08:28,440 --> 00:08:31,360 beyond those first few verses, Jesus is saying this. 161 00:08:31,680 --> 00:08:34,480 This is what was written in the past, but it has been 162 00:08:34,480 --> 00:08:38,400 misapplied. It has been mistaken and taken 163 00:08:38,400 --> 00:08:40,440 in different directions by the Pharisees. 164 00:08:40,679 --> 00:08:45,280 And I want you to know that this is what that is truly meant by 165 00:08:45,280 --> 00:08:47,440 that verse, or he's saying something along these lines. 166 00:08:47,720 --> 00:08:51,000 You are simply just following that verse to the letter, but 167 00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:53,480 you're missing the deeper issues of the heart. 168 00:08:53,520 --> 00:08:56,680 For instance, Jesus said, some of you were saying that you've 169 00:08:56,680 --> 00:08:59,960 never committed adultery. He says, but I want to tell you 170 00:09:00,240 --> 00:09:03,280 that if you've committed lust in your heart, that you've 171 00:09:03,280 --> 00:09:05,160 committed adultery. He's saying you've missed the 172 00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:08,600 deeper issue of the law. And so Jesus is doing the same 173 00:09:08,600 --> 00:09:10,800 thing here, and he does so by saying this. 174 00:09:10,960 --> 00:09:14,800 You've heard that it's been said, an eye for an eye and a 175 00:09:14,800 --> 00:09:17,440 tooth for a tooth. Now, I'd say that almost 176 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:21,880 everyone, whether they know the Lord or not, again, is familiar 177 00:09:21,880 --> 00:09:25,160 with this phrase, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. 178 00:09:25,160 --> 00:09:27,640 And I would say there's a certain age of people who are 179 00:09:27,640 --> 00:09:29,800 here tonight that they are probably familiar with it, 180 00:09:29,800 --> 00:09:32,200 whether here or out in the world, are familiar with it. 181 00:09:32,200 --> 00:09:35,600 Probably from some old Western where some guy is squinting in 182 00:09:35,600 --> 00:09:37,560 the sun. Probably he's got something in 183 00:09:37,560 --> 00:09:40,760 his mouth hanging out of it like a piece of weed or something, 184 00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:44,560 and he pulls it out. He says an eye for an eye and a 185 00:09:44,560 --> 00:09:46,800 tooth for a tooth. You kind of got to say it like 186 00:09:46,800 --> 00:09:48,560 that, don't you? That may be able to make it 187 00:09:48,560 --> 00:09:50,680 effective. You know, and a lot of people's 188 00:09:50,680 --> 00:09:53,520 ideas of the eye for the eye and the tooth for the tooth come 189 00:09:53,520 --> 00:09:58,120 from old world out West, revenge. 190 00:09:59,440 --> 00:10:02,360 And even today there's a lot of misunderstanding about what is 191 00:10:02,360 --> 00:10:04,840 meant by an eye for an eye and a tooth for tooth. 192 00:10:04,840 --> 00:10:08,440 So I say this because for us to be able to understand what Jesus 193 00:10:08,440 --> 00:10:11,120 is trying to get us to understand, we've got to 194 00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:14,280 understand the verse and source material that it came from in 195 00:10:14,280 --> 00:10:16,400 the 1st place. So leave your spot right there 196 00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:18,640 in Matthew chapter 5. Put your ribbon there and go to 197 00:10:18,640 --> 00:10:23,440 Leviticus chapter #24 Leviticus chapter #24 198 00:10:37,660 --> 00:10:40,060 Leviticus 24. We'll start at verse #17 When 199 00:10:40,060 --> 00:10:48,900 you get there, it says this. And he that killeth any man 200 00:10:49,380 --> 00:10:52,400 shall surely be put to death. And he that killeth a beast 201 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:54,560 shall make it good, beast for beast. 202 00:10:55,120 --> 00:10:57,640 And if a man cause a blemish to his neighbor, or in his 203 00:10:57,640 --> 00:11:01,880 neighbor, as he has done, so shall it be done to him, Breach 204 00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:04,400 for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. 205 00:11:04,720 --> 00:11:08,280 As he has caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him 206 00:11:08,280 --> 00:11:10,360 again. And he that killeth a beast, 207 00:11:10,360 --> 00:11:13,400 shall he restore it. He that killeth a man, he shall 208 00:11:13,400 --> 00:11:16,120 be put to death. You shall have one manner of law 209 00:11:16,320 --> 00:11:19,320 as well for the stranger As for one of your own country. 210 00:11:19,480 --> 00:11:24,040 I am the Lord your God. So you can see the phrase, an 211 00:11:24,040 --> 00:11:27,280 eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth is not something that is 212 00:11:27,280 --> 00:11:30,760 to be applied in random situations where vigilante 213 00:11:30,760 --> 00:11:33,800 justice is to be applied. In fact, what's interesting 214 00:11:33,800 --> 00:11:37,720 about this, it's quite the opposite that the phrase an eye 215 00:11:37,720 --> 00:11:41,880 for an eye and a tooth for a tooth is not a law of vigilante 216 00:11:41,880 --> 00:11:46,960 justice, but rather it's a law of restraint and a law of 217 00:11:46,960 --> 00:11:51,040 equitability. Meaning this, that if you had a 218 00:11:51,040 --> 00:11:55,000 blemish pace placed upon your face because of something that 219 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:58,200 took place with someone else, that that person was not going 220 00:11:58,200 --> 00:12:01,920 to receive capital punishment. That if an animal did wrong, 221 00:12:01,920 --> 00:12:04,960 that did not mean that the owner of the animal was necessarily 222 00:12:04,960 --> 00:12:07,800 going to die. It meant this is that whatever 223 00:12:07,800 --> 00:12:12,120 the just or whatever the crime was, that the punishment had to 224 00:12:12,120 --> 00:12:15,200 be fitting for the crime. In fact, we have some of that 225 00:12:15,200 --> 00:12:17,120 built into our Constitution, don't we? 226 00:12:17,120 --> 00:12:20,200 The prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. 227 00:12:20,320 --> 00:12:22,320 And we kind of take that for granted today, don't we? 228 00:12:22,320 --> 00:12:25,440 That we know that if you, you know, illegally park your car, 229 00:12:25,440 --> 00:12:27,520 you're probably not going to be locked up for 10 to 20. 230 00:12:28,920 --> 00:12:31,440 You're going to pay a lot more than 10 to $20 nowadays, I'll 231 00:12:31,440 --> 00:12:33,200 tell you that. But if you're illegally parked, 232 00:12:33,200 --> 00:12:36,560 you're going to have a, a punishment that is equitable to 233 00:12:36,560 --> 00:12:38,080 the crime. OK, I shouldn't have parked 234 00:12:38,080 --> 00:12:41,160 there, but is it really worth me getting locked up for, you know, 235 00:12:41,200 --> 00:12:43,920 a certain amount of years? No, it's not cruel and unusual 236 00:12:43,920 --> 00:12:45,400 punishment. You can't have that. 237 00:12:45,760 --> 00:12:48,960 We understand that during these times that was not the case at 238 00:12:48,960 --> 00:12:50,920 all, that the law was usually the king. 239 00:12:51,080 --> 00:12:54,680 The law was usually the head of the nation or the city state or 240 00:12:54,680 --> 00:12:56,320 the people group or wherever it was. 241 00:12:56,480 --> 00:12:59,560 And their word was the law. And if you looked at them in the 242 00:12:59,560 --> 00:13:02,600 wrong way and they wanted you gone, you were gone. 243 00:13:03,360 --> 00:13:05,280 And nobody said anything because that was the law. 244 00:13:05,440 --> 00:13:08,960 The person was the law. And what we find here is that it 245 00:13:08,960 --> 00:13:11,560 is being taught in the Old Testament that there is a law of 246 00:13:11,560 --> 00:13:14,600 equitability and a law of restraint, that the punishment 247 00:13:14,600 --> 00:13:17,640 must fit the crime. For instance, we find that 248 00:13:17,640 --> 00:13:23,040 Jacob's sons found that their daughter had been taken by a man 249 00:13:23,040 --> 00:13:26,480 of the place of Shechem, and had been done very much wrong to. 250 00:13:26,480 --> 00:13:30,040 And instead of the justice being applied to that one man, as it 251 00:13:30,040 --> 00:13:33,160 should have been placed upon him for the wrong that he had done, 252 00:13:33,400 --> 00:13:36,440 two of the brothers went into Shechem and slew everybody. 253 00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:41,880 What was that inequitable justice, when one should have 254 00:13:41,880 --> 00:13:46,640 died for his transgression? Instead, a whole family, a whole 255 00:13:46,640 --> 00:13:50,880 small group died because of one. What is that? 256 00:13:51,200 --> 00:13:53,720 That was not the fulfilling of an eye for an eye and a tooth 257 00:13:53,720 --> 00:13:54,880 for two. Some people would say that's it, 258 00:13:54,880 --> 00:13:56,600 revenge. An eye for an eye, tooth for 259 00:13:56,600 --> 00:13:58,440 two. You kill us, we'll call all of 260 00:13:58,440 --> 00:14:01,720 you. No, it says one dies, then 261 00:14:01,720 --> 00:14:04,680 another dies. One is harmed and another is 262 00:14:04,680 --> 00:14:07,440 harmed. An animal does wrong, then the 263 00:14:07,440 --> 00:14:10,800 punishment is to the animal that that's what's being told here. 264 00:14:11,320 --> 00:14:15,240 And so here, when we get to Matthew chapter #5 as we see 265 00:14:15,520 --> 00:14:18,320 that Jesus is going to bring up this issue and you can go ahead 266 00:14:18,320 --> 00:14:20,680 and turn back to Matthew chapter #5 we're not going to spend long 267 00:14:20,680 --> 00:14:23,400 there in Leviticus at all. But I want you to just see that 268 00:14:23,400 --> 00:14:29,120 as background material tonight, because as we look at this 269 00:14:29,120 --> 00:14:31,560 thought process of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth from 270 00:14:31,560 --> 00:14:35,720 Leviticus chapter #24 we find that Jesus is is trying to reset 271 00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:38,720 the minds of those who are listening to disciples and those 272 00:14:38,720 --> 00:14:41,440 others who are listening to him, They're on that mountainside. 273 00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:44,880 And so he says, you have heard it been said, an eye for an eye 274 00:14:44,880 --> 00:14:48,920 and a tooth for a tooth. But I say unto you again, he 275 00:14:48,920 --> 00:14:51,560 says, some of you are taking this the wrong way. 276 00:14:52,120 --> 00:14:55,480 Some of you have taken this in a completely different direction 277 00:14:55,480 --> 00:14:57,760 than what is intended. Beyond that. 278 00:14:57,760 --> 00:15:01,480 He is saying that that those who are believers, and I believe we 279 00:15:01,480 --> 00:15:06,360 find this here in the in the Sermon on the Mount, that we as 280 00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:09,240 believers are not just held to the standards of the law. 281 00:15:09,240 --> 00:15:12,480 Listen, we're held to a higher standard here. 282 00:15:12,480 --> 00:15:14,240 Here's where I think sometimes Christians get it wrong. 283 00:15:14,240 --> 00:15:15,560 But we're not under the law anymore. 284 00:15:15,560 --> 00:15:17,320 Well, of course we're not under the law anymore. 285 00:15:17,440 --> 00:15:20,080 We find that that that the law has been abolished and the law 286 00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:22,760 never saved a soul. The law only told people how 287 00:15:22,760 --> 00:15:25,280 lost they were. It was their schoolmaster to 288 00:15:25,280 --> 00:15:27,720 bring them to Jesus Christ. But here's the thing, once we 289 00:15:27,720 --> 00:15:30,720 are saved, we're held to a higher standard, which is this. 290 00:15:31,480 --> 00:15:34,840 That were to be like Christ, we're to be like him. 291 00:15:35,480 --> 00:15:37,600 I don't know about you. I'd rather be held to the law 292 00:15:38,560 --> 00:15:39,880 than to be like Christ. Why? 293 00:15:39,880 --> 00:15:42,520 Because boy, that's a high standard and one that this 294 00:15:42,520 --> 00:15:46,760 pastor misses every single day and every single one of us do. 295 00:15:47,680 --> 00:15:50,120 And so Jesus starts with this thought process of you. 296 00:15:50,360 --> 00:15:53,440 You've heard it said that an eye for an eye and a tooth for a 297 00:15:53,440 --> 00:15:55,240 tooth. But I say unto you. 298 00:15:55,560 --> 00:15:59,480 And then he goes on and he gives some powerful examples. 299 00:15:59,480 --> 00:16:02,960 In fact, he gives 4 examples beyond just going the extra 300 00:16:02,960 --> 00:16:05,280 mile. But he gives 4 examples. 301 00:16:05,800 --> 00:16:08,120 And what he's telling his disciples is this. 302 00:16:08,400 --> 00:16:10,560 Listen. And instead of looking to get 303 00:16:10,560 --> 00:16:16,080 even, you need to do extra so it'll never get even. 304 00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:20,080 I think about that for a second. Instead of just getting even. 305 00:16:20,080 --> 00:16:22,840 Isn't that what our flesh wants? Hey, someone cuts you off. 306 00:16:22,920 --> 00:16:26,640 You cut them off. They yell at you, then you yell 307 00:16:26,640 --> 00:16:29,160 at them. As I've told you before, Peyton 308 00:16:29,480 --> 00:16:32,320 surprised us once when we said something happened in the car. 309 00:16:32,320 --> 00:16:33,920 I don't remember what it was. And she says this. 310 00:16:34,040 --> 00:16:35,600 You mess with us, we mess with you. 311 00:16:38,720 --> 00:16:40,920 But I'd love to say that that was like 7 or 8 years ago, but 312 00:16:40,920 --> 00:16:42,200 that was like last week, wasn't it? 313 00:16:42,200 --> 00:16:45,360 No, you messed with us. We messed with you. 314 00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:47,280 And like, man, that's the flesh, isn't it? 315 00:16:47,840 --> 00:16:49,920 That's what we like. You cut us off, we cut you off 316 00:16:49,920 --> 00:16:53,040 and and on and on it goes. So instead of getting even, what 317 00:16:53,040 --> 00:16:56,200 do we do? We do extra good. 318 00:16:56,680 --> 00:17:00,120 So it's never even. And my flesh doesn't like that. 319 00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:02,480 In fact, my flesh doesn't even like being on the record. 320 00:17:02,480 --> 00:17:04,960 Saying this tonight because I might listen to this in a year 321 00:17:04,960 --> 00:17:07,880 or two and find out. Whoa, I don't know that I'm 322 00:17:07,880 --> 00:17:10,560 holding myself to that standard, the standard that Christ holds 323 00:17:10,560 --> 00:17:13,079 us to. And so He gives us 4 examples to 324 00:17:13,079 --> 00:17:15,720 help us understand. And the first example is this. 325 00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:17,280 He gives us the physical example. 326 00:17:17,560 --> 00:17:19,760 Look at verse #39 He gives us the physical example. 327 00:17:19,760 --> 00:17:23,520 It says this, But I say unto you that you resist not evil, but 328 00:17:23,520 --> 00:17:26,200 whatsoever or whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek, 329 00:17:26,720 --> 00:17:30,920 turn to him the other also. So Jesus says right 330 00:17:30,920 --> 00:17:34,440 out-of-the-box, he says if someone is to smite you, you are 331 00:17:34,440 --> 00:17:37,440 to turn the other cheek. Now I want to start here by 332 00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:39,240 saying this. This is not saying that as a 333 00:17:39,480 --> 00:17:43,160 person you are not to defend, to defend yourself, that if you are 334 00:17:43,160 --> 00:17:45,200 in harm's way or if someone else is in harm's way. 335 00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:47,840 I think we just spoke about that a few moments ago, didn't we? 336 00:17:47,840 --> 00:17:50,600 Without bringing up the whole conversation we just had a few 337 00:17:50,600 --> 00:17:53,560 moments ago, that it is nothing wrong and there's nothing 338 00:17:53,560 --> 00:17:56,960 immoral about defending yourself when necessary. 339 00:17:57,120 --> 00:18:00,720 What Jesus is talking about is a general principle, and that 340 00:18:00,720 --> 00:18:04,480 general principle is this, that the natural reaction of a person 341 00:18:04,480 --> 00:18:09,040 is to strike back when struck. Isn't that our natural reaction? 342 00:18:09,040 --> 00:18:12,080 If someone is to strike you, you want to strike back. 343 00:18:12,320 --> 00:18:15,400 But will the William Barclay, the commentator said this about 344 00:18:15,400 --> 00:18:18,080 this verse. He says Jesus is here saying 345 00:18:18,280 --> 00:18:22,200 that the true Christian has learned to resent no insult and 346 00:18:22,200 --> 00:18:24,200 to seek retaliation for no slight. 347 00:18:25,760 --> 00:18:28,400 Now listen to that again. He says Jesus saying here that 348 00:18:28,400 --> 00:18:32,960 the true Christian has learned to resent no insult and to seek 349 00:18:32,960 --> 00:18:38,200 retaliation for no slight. And there's a big difference 350 00:18:38,200 --> 00:18:41,320 between defending yourself exacting revenge. 351 00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:47,160 There's a big difference between defending yourself and getting a 352 00:18:47,160 --> 00:18:50,280 pound of flesh. And So what are we told here in 353 00:18:50,280 --> 00:18:53,320 this physical example? It's that it's it's not that 354 00:18:53,320 --> 00:18:55,920 you're not to defend yourself if you find yourself in a fight 355 00:18:55,920 --> 00:18:58,960 that you were never looking for or someone's trying to harm you 356 00:18:58,960 --> 00:19:01,600 or someone that you love. But it is saying this, the 357 00:19:01,600 --> 00:19:06,480 natural reaction of man to want to harm someone else when 358 00:19:06,480 --> 00:19:09,960 they've been harmed or to exact something out of someone else 359 00:19:09,960 --> 00:19:14,040 when they have been exacted. To be a testimony, to be a light 360 00:19:14,360 --> 00:19:18,240 is to say I could hurt you right now, but I'm not. 361 00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:21,560 You know, there's something very powerful about the thought 362 00:19:21,560 --> 00:19:25,200 process that says I could hurt you but I will not hurt you. 363 00:19:25,960 --> 00:19:29,440 See, a lot of times I think particularly men think power. 364 00:19:29,480 --> 00:19:31,600 Power comes from, you know, I got to lift the most weights. 365 00:19:31,600 --> 00:19:33,840 You know, I'm not going to be the £95 weakling. 366 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:35,720 You know, they're going to kick sand in the face of it. 367 00:19:35,720 --> 00:19:37,920 I'm going to go out there and I'm going to be the strongest 368 00:19:37,920 --> 00:19:41,840 one out there. But real power comes from saying 369 00:19:42,280 --> 00:19:47,280 I could do harm. I won't do harm, I will restrain 370 00:19:47,400 --> 00:19:50,160 myself. That's why Bible, the Bible 371 00:19:50,160 --> 00:19:53,000 calls Moses the meekest man that was upon the face of the earth. 372 00:19:53,480 --> 00:19:57,080 And and I'll tell you the word meekness has awful PR in the 373 00:19:57,080 --> 00:19:59,880 sense that people think meekness is just an awful thing. 374 00:20:00,760 --> 00:20:03,440 If it's weak, it's exactly right. 375 00:20:03,480 --> 00:20:05,680 But but what do we find in the word of God? 376 00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:10,880 Moses was no weakling. Moses when he wasn't truly right 377 00:20:10,880 --> 00:20:12,840 with the Lord, when he saw one of his. 378 00:20:13,400 --> 00:20:18,000 Israelite brothers in a fight, he said, listen, ain't you 379 00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:20,400 Egyptian that's trying to harm one of my brothers? 380 00:20:20,400 --> 00:20:24,320 Let me tell you, you're dead. And he was dead, by the way. 381 00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:26,040 It cost him about 40 years of his life. 382 00:20:27,240 --> 00:20:30,360 But when that was under control, what do we find? 383 00:20:30,880 --> 00:20:35,400 That man was no coward. That man was not weak. 384 00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:39,560 But I'll tell you, he had power under control. 385 00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:42,640 And that's what meekness is. And so what's the physical 386 00:20:42,640 --> 00:20:46,320 example for us here? It's that we do not exact the 387 00:20:46,320 --> 00:20:50,520 revenge that we want to exact, that we do not try to get even 388 00:20:50,520 --> 00:20:52,600 get back to the measure that we want. 389 00:20:52,600 --> 00:20:55,800 No, Do we defend ourselves? Certainly defense is necessary 390 00:20:55,800 --> 00:20:57,400 and it's right to be able to do so. 391 00:20:57,680 --> 00:20:59,600 Listen, I've heard a preacher, an independent Baptist preacher 392 00:20:59,920 --> 00:21:02,120 once say that something along the lines that he wouldn't 393 00:21:02,120 --> 00:21:03,680 defend his family. And the reason he wouldn't 394 00:21:03,680 --> 00:21:06,400 defend his family physically from harm was because he was 395 00:21:06,400 --> 00:21:10,200 just going to trust the Lord. And that was one of the most 396 00:21:10,200 --> 00:21:11,560 foolish things I've ever heard someone say. 397 00:21:12,600 --> 00:21:16,840 So you know, that family was trusting the Lord that their 398 00:21:17,880 --> 00:21:21,520 leader was going to take care of them and he should have taken 399 00:21:21,520 --> 00:21:23,240 care of them. He said he wouldn't do that, 400 00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:27,240 that that that that pseudo spiritual garbage is what that 401 00:21:27,240 --> 00:21:29,680 is. But I will say this, that 402 00:21:29,720 --> 00:21:34,040 oftentimes it's in our flesh and it's in our desire to try to get 403 00:21:34,040 --> 00:21:38,640 even when what does God say? Hey, don't get even, make it 404 00:21:38,640 --> 00:21:43,200 uneven so that it goes firmly into their favor and God will 405 00:21:43,200 --> 00:21:45,000 listen. Take care of you. 406 00:21:45,880 --> 00:21:47,760 God will take care of. Search the physical example. 407 00:21:47,960 --> 00:21:49,440 But then second, we see the legal example. 408 00:21:49,440 --> 00:21:54,040 Look at verse #40 it says if any man will sue thee at the law and 409 00:21:54,040 --> 00:21:57,480 take away that coat, let him have that cloak also. 410 00:21:58,200 --> 00:22:01,640 Now when it's talking about the coat and it's talking about the 411 00:22:01,880 --> 00:22:05,520 outer garment while the cloak is talking about the inner garment, 412 00:22:06,360 --> 00:22:11,280 Jesus is saying that it's better to have to give up your garments 413 00:22:12,040 --> 00:22:15,880 than to lose your testimony. It would just be better to give 414 00:22:15,880 --> 00:22:19,080 up your garments than to lose your testimony. 415 00:22:19,520 --> 00:22:21,240 You know, we dealt with this years ago, and I know some of 416 00:22:21,240 --> 00:22:23,400 you have heard this story before, but when we first moved 417 00:22:23,400 --> 00:22:26,360 into this building, it looked very similar to this in some 418 00:22:26,360 --> 00:22:28,000 ways. But there was a small platform 419 00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:30,680 that was up here and that platform was fixed to the 420 00:22:30,680 --> 00:22:31,840 ground. In fact, Jim Jerome was here. 421 00:22:31,840 --> 00:22:34,400 The first prayer meeting that we had here on a Sunday night, we 422 00:22:34,400 --> 00:22:37,040 went from our apartment over here and we prayed before we 423 00:22:37,040 --> 00:22:40,560 even moved into this building. And there was a small platform 424 00:22:40,560 --> 00:22:43,760 that was here. We had a inspection from the 425 00:22:43,760 --> 00:22:45,360 town. The town came in and said that 426 00:22:45,360 --> 00:22:48,960 platform can't be here because it's not ADA accessible, meaning 427 00:22:49,120 --> 00:22:52,680 a wheelchair couldn't come up on it and I asked them how long the 428 00:22:52,680 --> 00:22:55,480 ramp would have to be and they said well it's a 13 inch 429 00:22:55,480 --> 00:22:59,360 platform so it has to be a 13 foot ramp now for those of you 430 00:22:59,360 --> 00:23:01,040 that are trying to figure out how long that would be that 431 00:23:01,040 --> 00:23:04,480 would be a platform from where that speaker is to where that 432 00:23:04,480 --> 00:23:07,880 second banner is at the end. You could see that that was 433 00:23:07,880 --> 00:23:10,960 going to cause a pretty big problem in the building, 434 00:23:11,360 --> 00:23:14,560 especially for a wheelchair that we've in 12 years, we've had 435 00:23:14,560 --> 00:23:16,360 people with wheelchairs, obviously overview, but never 436 00:23:16,360 --> 00:23:18,600 that need to be on the platform. And even explained that if 437 00:23:19,200 --> 00:23:21,120 someone in a wheelchair should have been on the platform, we 438 00:23:21,120 --> 00:23:22,560 would bring a pulpit down to the ground. 439 00:23:22,560 --> 00:23:24,280 We would do whatever we would need you to accommodate. 440 00:23:24,280 --> 00:23:26,400 Nope, that's the law. That's just the way it needs to 441 00:23:26,400 --> 00:23:28,240 be. And I'll tell you when that 442 00:23:28,400 --> 00:23:35,840 conversation was done, I was mad and I was smiling, but I was not 443 00:23:35,840 --> 00:23:38,280 happy. And So what did I do? 444 00:23:38,480 --> 00:23:40,600 Well, I called the Christian Law Association. 445 00:23:41,280 --> 00:23:43,320 They give free legal advice to churches. 446 00:23:43,320 --> 00:23:45,360 And so I, I called them and I said, what do you do? 447 00:23:45,360 --> 00:23:48,840 And they put me in touch with a Christian Law Association lawyer 448 00:23:48,840 --> 00:23:51,240 here in Massachusetts to understand Massachusetts law. 449 00:23:52,040 --> 00:23:56,520 And this is what the lawyer said to me in general, he said, if 450 00:23:56,520 --> 00:24:00,480 you want, you can take this to court and you could win. 451 00:24:00,480 --> 00:24:04,160 But it's gonna be a lot of time. It's be a lot of money. 452 00:24:04,680 --> 00:24:06,840 He says this. And if you're a new church in 453 00:24:06,840 --> 00:24:09,800 that town, do you want the first thing that people hear about you 454 00:24:10,360 --> 00:24:18,400 is taking the town to court? But I'm right, So I preyed on 455 00:24:18,400 --> 00:24:20,840 it. I decided, well, we're going to 456 00:24:20,840 --> 00:24:23,560 leave it as it is. So we end up doing is actually 457 00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:26,040 taking the whole platform down. There was no platform here for 458 00:24:26,040 --> 00:24:29,760 several years at all. And the town was quite pleased 459 00:24:29,760 --> 00:24:31,120 with that. And then we got to the place 460 00:24:31,120 --> 00:24:33,080 where we said, you know what, can we put a platform up if it's 461 00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:34,840 movable? And they said, yeah, if it's 462 00:24:34,840 --> 00:24:36,560 movable, you can do that. If you ever wonder why there's 463 00:24:36,560 --> 00:24:39,400 seems on this platform all over, it's because technically it's a 464 00:24:39,400 --> 00:24:42,800 mobile platform and so it is able to be moved and we were 465 00:24:42,800 --> 00:24:45,760 able to find a compromise. That man that, that that 466 00:24:45,880 --> 00:24:49,280 building inspector who came here that very first year that I, I 467 00:24:49,960 --> 00:24:53,400 couldn't stand the guy. How could you do this to me? 468 00:24:53,400 --> 00:24:56,560 You know, that building inspector has been here every 469 00:24:56,560 --> 00:24:59,120 year since every year he's done, he gives me a hug. 470 00:25:00,280 --> 00:25:01,800 I don't know a lot about building inspectors, but they're 471 00:25:01,800 --> 00:25:07,040 not supposed to hug people. He hugs me, Reverend, where you 472 00:25:07,040 --> 00:25:08,640 got a cup of coffee this year, Reverend? 473 00:25:08,640 --> 00:25:10,040 I said I'm ready when you are brother. 474 00:25:10,920 --> 00:25:13,920 I, I want to see him come to church and I, I've been able to 475 00:25:13,920 --> 00:25:16,200 give him some of the gospel over the years. 476 00:25:16,200 --> 00:25:20,520 And listen, I was able to do that because of that situation. 477 00:25:20,960 --> 00:25:23,800 Oh, pastor, I see. So, so a, a Christian should 478 00:25:23,800 --> 00:25:26,840 never defend their rights. Listen, should you defend 479 00:25:26,840 --> 00:25:29,040 yourself physically? Yes. 480 00:25:29,960 --> 00:25:32,360 Are there reasons to defend yourself legally? 481 00:25:32,760 --> 00:25:36,520 Yes, I'm not saying that you should never defend yourself 482 00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:38,000 over those things that are right. 483 00:25:38,240 --> 00:25:40,440 I'm not saying that I don't believe the word of God is 484 00:25:40,440 --> 00:25:42,360 saying that. But I'm saying this that we do 485 00:25:42,360 --> 00:25:45,440 need to be careful that we're our overarching desire to be 486 00:25:45,440 --> 00:25:51,240 right doesn't erase all of our Christian testimony in the quest 487 00:25:51,240 --> 00:25:55,120 to be right. And that's hard because one of 488 00:25:55,120 --> 00:26:01,720 my, one of my real stumbling blocks as far as sin is the 489 00:26:01,720 --> 00:26:04,280 desire to be right. I want to be right. 490 00:26:05,080 --> 00:26:06,240 I mean, who wants to be wrong, by the way? 491 00:26:06,240 --> 00:26:09,680 That's weird. But I mean, I want to be right 492 00:26:10,440 --> 00:26:13,160 even I'm talking to someone on the phone and it's for a, a 493 00:26:13,160 --> 00:26:15,560 company or something like that. I want to be able to tell them 494 00:26:15,560 --> 00:26:19,280 why they're wrong. And wouldn't it just be better 495 00:26:19,280 --> 00:26:21,720 to get what I need and just call it a day? 496 00:26:23,400 --> 00:26:27,320 But often times we handle our situation in such a way that we 497 00:26:27,320 --> 00:26:29,240 can't even share the gospel with someone when we're done. 498 00:26:30,720 --> 00:26:34,440 Now, listen, here's a good way you can find how you how you fit 499 00:26:34,440 --> 00:26:37,120 in this. After you are done handling your 500 00:26:37,120 --> 00:26:40,240 situation, would you be able to give a tract to someone and tell 501 00:26:40,240 --> 00:26:43,320 them where you went to church? Would you be able to tell them 502 00:26:43,320 --> 00:26:45,920 you're a Christian? Maybe even better, would they 503 00:26:45,920 --> 00:26:48,360 see you were a Christian during the process as well? 504 00:26:49,520 --> 00:26:52,000 Well, I, I, you're saying I can't defend myself. 505 00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:55,200 No, no, they went to court. They were actually in court 506 00:26:55,200 --> 00:26:59,520 here, but what was said was no, there's something greater that I 507 00:26:59,520 --> 00:27:02,760 need to find here than just being right is that there's 508 00:27:02,760 --> 00:27:07,280 Kingdom business that takes place and I'm an ambassador of 509 00:27:07,280 --> 00:27:10,760 the Kingdom. And whether I'm in court or 510 00:27:10,760 --> 00:27:15,720 whether I'm on the block or whether I'm in my front yard or 511 00:27:15,720 --> 00:27:20,440 whether I'm at my workspace or whether I'm at my school, I want 512 00:27:20,440 --> 00:27:23,280 to reflect Christ wherever I am. That doesn't mean I let people 513 00:27:23,280 --> 00:27:25,480 steamroll me. That doesn't mean that I let 514 00:27:25,480 --> 00:27:27,160 people just take advantage of me. 515 00:27:27,680 --> 00:27:30,120 It does mean this. I show them Christ no matter 516 00:27:30,120 --> 00:27:32,520 what I do. So there's a physical example. 517 00:27:32,520 --> 00:27:35,040 There's a legal example #3 there's a mental example. 518 00:27:35,040 --> 00:27:38,400 Look at verse #41 it says, And whosoever shall compel thee to 519 00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:41,800 go a mile, go with him. Twain, they say, pastor, that's 520 00:27:41,800 --> 00:27:43,520 physical, that that's not mental. 521 00:27:43,520 --> 00:27:46,760 Why would you say that walking a mile or walking 2 miles? 522 00:27:46,760 --> 00:27:49,040 This is that second mile that you're talking about. 523 00:27:49,400 --> 00:27:52,200 So going the extra mile, why would you say that's a mental 524 00:27:52,200 --> 00:27:54,400 example? Well, certainly this is both 525 00:27:54,600 --> 00:27:58,920 physical and mental, but I would say this, that there is much 526 00:27:58,920 --> 00:28:02,240 more of a mental element that's here than you would think 527 00:28:02,680 --> 00:28:05,880 because listen, the the physical is this, and this is where this 528 00:28:05,880 --> 00:28:09,160 comes from. If you were a Roman soldier, you 529 00:28:09,160 --> 00:28:13,920 were allowed to take your pack off and compel a common citizen 530 00:28:14,080 --> 00:28:17,040 to have them carry your pack for the equivalent of a mile. 531 00:28:17,640 --> 00:28:21,480 However, after a mile they had to put it down. 532 00:28:21,680 --> 00:28:24,680 They were not able to compel them to carry it. 533 00:28:24,720 --> 00:28:28,720 An extra mile and those Roman soldiers packs would have been 534 00:28:28,720 --> 00:28:30,600 quite heavy. I've seen that they could be up 535 00:28:30,600 --> 00:28:32,760 to £100. I don't know a lot about the 536 00:28:32,760 --> 00:28:35,280 military, but I do know this. They carry a lot of stuff they 537 00:28:35,280 --> 00:28:38,280 need to and so it wouldn't be necessarily light. 538 00:28:38,280 --> 00:28:41,320 I see that hand and so, but it wouldn't be light. 539 00:28:41,320 --> 00:28:43,560 So what do we find? It would be very heavy. 540 00:28:43,840 --> 00:28:45,880 It would be dusty, it would be hot. 541 00:28:46,200 --> 00:28:49,840 And could you imagine not only that, but being a Jew with 542 00:28:49,920 --> 00:28:54,440 animosity towards the Roman occupation of your land? 543 00:28:54,840 --> 00:28:57,240 So here's an occupier. Now think about this, an 544 00:28:57,240 --> 00:29:00,480 occupier of your land who comes up to you and says, citizen, 545 00:29:01,080 --> 00:29:04,200 carry my pack. I don't know about you, but 546 00:29:04,200 --> 00:29:06,840 there's something I don't. I don't like that. 547 00:29:06,840 --> 00:29:11,080 I don't like the sound of that. But there's nothing you could do 548 00:29:11,080 --> 00:29:15,120 about it, so you pick it up. That's physical. 549 00:29:15,960 --> 00:29:20,680 But I'll tell you this, for 5280 feet, the battle is not really 550 00:29:20,680 --> 00:29:25,320 physical, it's mental. Because every step I'm thinking, 551 00:29:25,320 --> 00:29:31,360 I hate this. I hate this government, I hate 552 00:29:31,360 --> 00:29:39,480 this law, I hate this pack and I hate this man for compelling me 553 00:29:39,920 --> 00:29:41,880 to do this. And there's not a thing I can do 554 00:29:41,880 --> 00:29:46,600 about it. And every step is a battle all 555 00:29:46,600 --> 00:29:51,160 5280 feet. But Can you imagine getting to 556 00:29:51,160 --> 00:29:54,880 the end? And the soldier who has been 557 00:29:54,880 --> 00:29:59,120 keeping track in his mind of how far he goes because he knows he 558 00:29:59,120 --> 00:30:01,520 could get himself into trouble if he compelled someone to go 559 00:30:01,520 --> 00:30:04,280 further. He says, you may put the pack 560 00:30:04,280 --> 00:30:09,440 down, you're done. And they look at the guy and 561 00:30:09,440 --> 00:30:12,000 say, you know, I think I'll go a little further. 562 00:30:13,280 --> 00:30:15,120 How many times you think he's heard that in his life? 563 00:30:16,200 --> 00:30:20,600 How about never? That every single person drops 564 00:30:20,600 --> 00:30:23,600 that pack and runs the opposite direction the fastest they can. 565 00:30:24,680 --> 00:30:30,120 But mentally, they said this. No, I want to do more. 566 00:30:30,600 --> 00:30:33,120 Why? Why would someone do something 567 00:30:33,120 --> 00:30:35,800 like that? Because nobody else would do 568 00:30:35,800 --> 00:30:38,880 something like that. No, think about this. 569 00:30:39,040 --> 00:30:41,080 Why would someone do something like that? 570 00:30:41,280 --> 00:30:44,120 It's because no one else would do something like that. 571 00:30:44,640 --> 00:30:46,800 Would that not get the attention of the soldier? 572 00:30:47,200 --> 00:30:49,800 Would that not cause them to ponder and wonder? 573 00:30:49,800 --> 00:30:53,160 Maybe even the most hard, hardest of soldiers, maybe the 574 00:30:53,160 --> 00:30:56,240 most Pagan of soldiers would have to stop and say what's this 575 00:30:56,240 --> 00:30:59,040 man's deal? Why would he do this? 576 00:30:59,240 --> 00:31:01,760 It doesn't make any sense. He it's not even that he's of 577 00:31:01,760 --> 00:31:04,920 the Roman government or he's of the Roman citizenry. 578 00:31:05,240 --> 00:31:08,880 He's just a Jew of which were occupying what would compel him 579 00:31:08,880 --> 00:31:13,360 to go even further for me. And that difference could make 580 00:31:13,360 --> 00:31:18,440 him have cause to think about why would he do this? 581 00:31:20,040 --> 00:31:25,360 For who would he do this? And it could be, it just could 582 00:31:25,360 --> 00:31:28,880 be that he finds out it's because of the relationship of 583 00:31:28,960 --> 00:31:32,000 Jesus Christ that would compel someone to go the extra mile. 584 00:31:32,520 --> 00:31:35,560 Listen, if you want opportunities to tell people 585 00:31:35,560 --> 00:31:37,760 about Jesus, if you don't get anything else I say tonight, 586 00:31:38,640 --> 00:31:41,480 listen to this. If you want opportunities to 587 00:31:41,480 --> 00:31:44,720 tell other people about Jesus Christ, then go the extra mile. 588 00:31:46,160 --> 00:31:49,000 Because there are people that will never listen to you, that 589 00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:51,960 have no desire to talk to Christians, that would never 590 00:31:51,960 --> 00:31:55,760 darken the door of this church. But you go out of your way to 591 00:31:55,760 --> 00:31:59,280 help them, and they will be compelled to listen to you. 592 00:32:00,160 --> 00:32:02,400 They want to know why you're different. 593 00:32:02,720 --> 00:32:04,600 You know why? Because the world is so cynical. 594 00:32:05,400 --> 00:32:08,760 The world is so bitter. The world is so jaded. 595 00:32:08,760 --> 00:32:11,360 Look, we've seen it all online. Listen, we're to the point 596 00:32:11,360 --> 00:32:13,040 nowadays that we see something online. 597 00:32:13,040 --> 00:32:16,160 We don't even know it's real. You see a photo, you don't know 598 00:32:16,160 --> 00:32:18,880 if it's real. You see a video, you don't know 599 00:32:18,880 --> 00:32:21,640 it's real. We don't know the difference 600 00:32:21,640 --> 00:32:25,200 between truth and falsehood anymore in the sense of what the 601 00:32:25,200 --> 00:32:27,800 world sees around them now. We know truth because we see 602 00:32:27,800 --> 00:32:31,600 truth in this book, but the world is so confused by what's 603 00:32:31,600 --> 00:32:34,360 out there. When they see a genuine believer 604 00:32:35,120 --> 00:32:38,560 acting above and beyond, it'll make them stop. 605 00:32:39,480 --> 00:32:41,040 It'll make them think. I didn't say you'll win them all 606 00:32:41,040 --> 00:32:43,080 to Christ, but I'll tell you this. 607 00:32:43,080 --> 00:32:44,880 You want an opportunity to talk to someone about Christ. 608 00:32:45,120 --> 00:32:47,960 It just could be that. The most powerful way to give 609 00:32:47,960 --> 00:32:52,080 someone a track is to be able to go the second mile first. 610 00:32:52,080 --> 00:32:53,120 Now, can you do that with everybody? 611 00:32:53,120 --> 00:32:54,880 You can't. And if you're just giving out 612 00:32:54,880 --> 00:32:56,600 track to those people, you're going the second mile for it. 613 00:32:56,600 --> 00:32:57,840 You're not going to give out many tracks. 614 00:32:59,040 --> 00:33:03,360 But I will say this, it causes people to want to know why 615 00:33:03,360 --> 00:33:06,040 you're different. And that's the mental example 616 00:33:06,040 --> 00:33:09,280 that you're willing to battle the flesh on the inside. 617 00:33:09,360 --> 00:33:12,440 I hate them all. I hate the whole thing. 618 00:33:12,640 --> 00:33:15,000 And listen, can't we get to that place in this world we live in 619 00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:18,000 today? But we see all the forces 620 00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:21,720 against us as believers. We see all the forces that play 621 00:33:21,720 --> 00:33:23,880 against the things that are good and right. 622 00:33:24,760 --> 00:33:28,320 Can't we within us just say, Lord, if this place burns itself 623 00:33:28,320 --> 00:33:30,560 down, let it burn down. I've got a home in heaven. 624 00:33:31,240 --> 00:33:34,560 It's easy to get there. I'll tell you this. 625 00:33:34,800 --> 00:33:37,640 That's not God's way. It's not God's plan. 626 00:33:38,440 --> 00:33:40,240 The mental example. You got to fight that. 627 00:33:40,240 --> 00:33:43,320 You got to fight that thinking to be the physical example, the 628 00:33:43,320 --> 00:33:45,600 legal example, the mental example, the number 4, the 629 00:33:45,600 --> 00:33:49,000 charitable example. Look at verse #42 Give to him 630 00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:51,920 that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee, turn 631 00:33:51,920 --> 00:33:56,160 not thou away. If someone has a need, help them 632 00:33:56,160 --> 00:33:58,720 in any need in any way that you were able. 633 00:33:59,760 --> 00:34:02,960 Again, we have to be careful today because a lot of those who 634 00:34:03,560 --> 00:34:07,720 are in need today often times aren't in the same need that 635 00:34:07,720 --> 00:34:09,520 maybe we would see in Bible times. 636 00:34:10,280 --> 00:34:12,639 There's a lot of times that if you were just to hand money to 637 00:34:12,639 --> 00:34:16,280 somebody, you could be actually aiding substance abuse. 638 00:34:17,159 --> 00:34:20,159 If you were just to hand money to someone today, you could be 639 00:34:20,159 --> 00:34:24,520 aiding and abetting someone who is in a very difficult situation 640 00:34:24,520 --> 00:34:26,679 and you could actually make their situation worse. 641 00:34:27,600 --> 00:34:29,360 I'll be honest with you. When I see someone on the street 642 00:34:29,360 --> 00:34:32,520 and when I see someone that's asking for money, my first 643 00:34:32,520 --> 00:34:35,480 reaction is this. No, no. 644 00:34:36,239 --> 00:34:38,880 I do think there's some very good causes for that to be the 645 00:34:38,880 --> 00:34:41,080 case. I do believe a lot of times that 646 00:34:41,080 --> 00:34:44,560 there are those who are simply looking to buy a beer or buy 647 00:34:44,560 --> 00:34:49,440 cigarettes or even worse. But I will say that seeing those 648 00:34:49,719 --> 00:34:53,360 types of people, even some of the professionals that are out 649 00:34:53,360 --> 00:34:59,640 there, I would say to us in America in 2025, can often make 650 00:34:59,640 --> 00:35:04,720 us jaded to anybody who has a need because we get so often, we 651 00:35:04,720 --> 00:35:09,520 so often are willing to say no, no, no, that when someone might 652 00:35:09,520 --> 00:35:14,160 have a need, what happens we our first trigger reaction is no. 653 00:35:17,000 --> 00:35:19,920 This may sound controversial, but it it ought not to be. 654 00:35:20,600 --> 00:35:24,320 One of the reasons government programs have so exploded over 655 00:35:24,320 --> 00:35:28,680 the past 100 years, if you will, is because the church stopped 656 00:35:28,680 --> 00:35:32,520 doing its job to be able to help one another. 657 00:35:32,960 --> 00:35:35,760 And when the church evacuated that space, the government was 658 00:35:35,760 --> 00:35:39,160 very happy to take over. Has our has our nation been 659 00:35:39,160 --> 00:35:43,720 bettered for that? I would say not that when 660 00:35:43,720 --> 00:35:47,000 churches looked after people, when churches help the widow, 661 00:35:47,200 --> 00:35:50,040 the the widowless, the fatherless and the widows. 662 00:35:50,040 --> 00:35:51,280 I've never heard of widowless before. 663 00:35:51,280 --> 00:35:53,680 I just made-up a word, made-up a whole new term right there. 664 00:35:55,160 --> 00:35:57,280 When the churches were the ones helping the fathers and the 665 00:35:57,280 --> 00:36:04,240 widows, which we're called to do, It's biblical that we moved. 666 00:36:04,240 --> 00:36:07,040 As I said, we we weren't around during that time, but when the 667 00:36:07,040 --> 00:36:10,520 church in general removed, the government very gladly took over 668 00:36:10,520 --> 00:36:13,720 that space. So what do we need to do? 669 00:36:13,760 --> 00:36:17,200 Be givers. Be givers with each other here 670 00:36:17,200 --> 00:36:19,160 in the church. I'm so thankful there's a giving 671 00:36:19,160 --> 00:36:21,840 church. It's amazing to me how people 672 00:36:21,840 --> 00:36:24,280 love on one another, care for when they give each other food 673 00:36:24,280 --> 00:36:29,240 and and and and and items and sometimes finances and are 674 00:36:29,520 --> 00:36:33,000 giving with their encouragement, giving with their love, giving 675 00:36:33,000 --> 00:36:34,640 with their grace. I'm thankful for that. 676 00:36:35,360 --> 00:36:38,360 But I will say it is oftentimes easier to give to the people in 677 00:36:38,360 --> 00:36:41,480 this building than it is outside this building because a lot of 678 00:36:41,480 --> 00:36:43,680 times we get along a lot better with the people in this building 679 00:36:43,960 --> 00:36:45,440 than the people outside of this building. 680 00:36:46,120 --> 00:36:48,160 So what do we need to do? Be giving to them? 681 00:36:48,840 --> 00:36:52,360 The charitable effect is, listen, our natural tendency is 682 00:36:52,360 --> 00:36:58,560 we want to hold on to, I want more, but God says this, our 683 00:36:58,560 --> 00:37:01,320 natural tendency should really be this, to give. 684 00:37:02,280 --> 00:37:04,440 Well, if I just give everything well, what would I have left? 685 00:37:04,440 --> 00:37:06,800 Give and it shall be given unto you. 686 00:37:06,800 --> 00:37:09,520 And again, I'm not talking about being unwise. 687 00:37:09,520 --> 00:37:12,000 I'm not talking about I'm a tie the 100% and the Lord will no, 688 00:37:12,000 --> 00:37:14,200 no, again, we're not talking about the extremes. 689 00:37:14,200 --> 00:37:17,160 You could take extremes about any of these examples, but we're 690 00:37:17,160 --> 00:37:19,800 talking about a general principle here, that when you 691 00:37:19,800 --> 00:37:25,440 give, it shall be given unto you, and that we as believers 692 00:37:25,440 --> 00:37:28,480 should be the most generous people on this planet. 693 00:37:29,320 --> 00:37:31,640 There should be no one more generous than God's people. 694 00:37:31,680 --> 00:37:34,120 And I'm not talking about the total amount of money, because 695 00:37:34,120 --> 00:37:37,840 we may not have a lot, but in percentage. 696 00:37:37,840 --> 00:37:40,600 And I'm not even talking about just tithes and offerings. 697 00:37:40,600 --> 00:37:42,720 I'm just talking about meeting the needs of others. 698 00:37:42,720 --> 00:37:45,680 We should be the most charitable of people. 699 00:37:47,520 --> 00:37:50,280 Jesus gives us these 4 examples to tell us that as Christians, 700 00:37:50,560 --> 00:37:54,160 if we want to make a difference, life isn't just about my rights, 701 00:37:55,080 --> 00:37:57,640 What I am allowed to have, what I am allowed to do. 702 00:37:57,840 --> 00:38:00,120 That if we want to make a difference, there are times that 703 00:38:00,120 --> 00:38:03,200 we not think of our rights first, but that we think about 704 00:38:03,200 --> 00:38:05,760 others. Or as we are exercising our 705 00:38:05,760 --> 00:38:11,320 rights, we're doing so in a way that is becoming of a believer. 706 00:38:12,600 --> 00:38:15,440 If you're always going to look out for your rights, you're 707 00:38:15,440 --> 00:38:19,200 going to miss out on ministering to a very large group of people, 708 00:38:19,320 --> 00:38:22,040 people that wouldn't listen to you otherwise. 709 00:38:23,920 --> 00:38:30,920 I the mentality often times as a it can be like this. 710 00:38:30,920 --> 00:38:32,960 I think of all of our children like this. 711 00:38:32,960 --> 00:38:35,640 I think children in general are like this, whether it's ours or 712 00:38:35,640 --> 00:38:38,320 not. But if we tell we have told our 713 00:38:38,400 --> 00:38:42,280 our kids to clean their room, often times they will clean 714 00:38:42,280 --> 00:38:47,240 their own stuff in the room, you know, well, I cleaned up my 715 00:38:47,240 --> 00:38:49,080 stuff. Well, did you just clean the 716 00:38:49,080 --> 00:38:50,600 room? No, I cleaned up my stuff. 717 00:38:50,960 --> 00:38:52,800 Well, can you just clean the room? 718 00:38:52,800 --> 00:38:55,360 And they're so worried about whose stuff it was. 719 00:38:55,360 --> 00:38:56,800 Any remember who touched it last? 720 00:38:57,160 --> 00:38:58,800 They're trying to figure out who touched the game last. 721 00:38:58,800 --> 00:39:00,720 Well, I think they touched it. No, they touched it last. 722 00:39:00,720 --> 00:39:02,400 Like you could have cleaned it by now. 723 00:39:03,200 --> 00:39:07,520 What you arguing about? You know, but I remember when I 724 00:39:07,520 --> 00:39:09,920 was a Cub Scout and I was a Cub Scout and I made all the way to 725 00:39:09,920 --> 00:39:13,240 we blows, you know, which is pretty, pretty low. 726 00:39:13,240 --> 00:39:18,000 But we went camping. And I remember going camping. 727 00:39:18,000 --> 00:39:20,680 One of the things they taught us is this is that when you go to a 728 00:39:20,680 --> 00:39:22,440 campsite, you leave it better than you found it. 729 00:39:23,600 --> 00:39:26,560 You know, you don't, you don't go in and say, well, I didn't 730 00:39:26,560 --> 00:39:30,880 leave that candy wrapper there. You know, that's not my beer 731 00:39:30,880 --> 00:39:35,160 bottle. And it better not be for a 732 00:39:35,160 --> 00:39:38,600 multitude of reasons. You know what you do, you pick 733 00:39:38,600 --> 00:39:43,040 it up, you carry it out, you make things better than you 734 00:39:43,040 --> 00:39:46,720 found it. Listen, I hope the testimony of 735 00:39:46,720 --> 00:39:50,440 my life is this, that whatever I've come in contact with, I've 736 00:39:50,440 --> 00:39:54,400 left it better than I found it. Not that I was just always about 737 00:39:54,400 --> 00:39:57,120 why didn't touch that? Why didn't make that mess? 738 00:39:57,840 --> 00:40:00,240 I'm not dealing with that. Just won't. 739 00:40:00,600 --> 00:40:04,520 God's brought some situations across my path, and not all of 740 00:40:04,520 --> 00:40:06,440 them necessarily the ways that I wanted them to go. 741 00:40:07,000 --> 00:40:10,560 But in each and every situation, I want to make it better than I 742 00:40:10,560 --> 00:40:16,080 found it by the grace of God. No, I can give you a lot of 743 00:40:16,080 --> 00:40:18,640 illustrations to close this evening, but I think the most 744 00:40:18,640 --> 00:40:21,480 powerful illustration is the simplest illustration. 745 00:40:22,200 --> 00:40:27,440 Who went the extra mile? Well, Jesus himself, about three 746 00:40:27,440 --> 00:40:31,640 years later, could have gone to the hill of Calvary and said 747 00:40:32,760 --> 00:40:38,560 they're sinners, they're going to spit at me, they're going to 748 00:40:38,560 --> 00:40:41,400 mock me. They put nails in my hands and 749 00:40:41,400 --> 00:40:43,960 feet. I'm not going to do it. 750 00:40:44,400 --> 00:40:47,080 And listen, He would have been within his right to do so 751 00:40:47,840 --> 00:40:50,200 because you and I don't deserve salvation. 752 00:40:51,400 --> 00:40:54,880 He would have been within his right to do so, but he went, 753 00:40:54,880 --> 00:40:57,720 quote UN quote, the extra mile for us. 754 00:40:58,480 --> 00:41:00,240 And isn't your life better for it? 755 00:41:01,640 --> 00:41:03,560 I mean, if there's not something you could say Amen about that. 756 00:41:03,560 --> 00:41:06,560 If you can't say there's nothing you could say Amen about, your 757 00:41:06,560 --> 00:41:08,640 life is better. My life is better because Jesus 758 00:41:08,640 --> 00:41:11,960 went that mile that no one else could or would go. 759 00:41:12,920 --> 00:41:18,080 Romans 5 talks about that. If God made such a difference in 760 00:41:18,080 --> 00:41:22,080 our lives by showing us Jesus Christ who went the extra mile, 761 00:41:22,840 --> 00:41:27,280 then why can't you or I find ways to be able to go to extra 762 00:41:27,280 --> 00:41:30,160 mile for those who equally do not deserve it? 763 00:41:31,200 --> 00:41:32,920 Say, Pastor, those people out there are crazy. 764 00:41:33,560 --> 00:41:37,200 I've heard those people out there are out of their minds. 765 00:41:37,200 --> 00:41:41,200 Yeah, I see it too. Those people are lunatics, 766 00:41:42,120 --> 00:41:44,520 right? And they need someone to go the 767 00:41:44,520 --> 00:41:47,200 extra mile for him. And it could be that's the only 768 00:41:47,200 --> 00:41:51,560 way they'll ever find Jesus Christ is by someone going the 769 00:41:51,560 --> 00:41:55,280 distance that no one else will go and showing them the one who 770 00:41:55,280 --> 00:41:58,400 truly went the distance for them, and that's Jesus Christ. 771 00:41:59,440 --> 00:42:02,080 Thank you for listening to the sermon from the pulpit of 772 00:42:02,080 --> 00:42:05,000 Liberty Baptist Church. If this message was a blessing 773 00:42:05,000 --> 00:42:08,480 to you, or if there's any way we can serve you, please let us 774 00:42:08,480 --> 00:42:13,080 know by contacting us at info@mylibertybaptist.org. 775 00:42:13,400 --> 00:42:17,920 Or you can visit us this Sunday at 800 Washington St. in Easton, 776 00:42:17,920 --> 00:42:20,760 MA. May the Lord bless you as you 777 00:42:20,760 --> 00:42:21,920 grow in His Word.