The Gospel of Luke #27

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.679 And let us now ask God's blessing and illumination upon his word. And now, 2 00:00:06.719 --> 00:00:10.759 our God and Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ, we do come 3 00:00:10.800 --> 00:00:18.160 to thee this morning. We are but one one congregation among thousands upon thousands 4 00:00:18.160 --> 00:00:22.760 that are gathering on this day to give you praise. But Lord, you 5 00:00:22.800 --> 00:00:29.320 are present everywhere, and you are especially present in the gathering together of your 6 00:00:29.320 --> 00:00:34.560 people. And you are present there to bless, and you are present there 7 00:00:34.600 --> 00:00:39.600 to guide and to lead. And Lord, you are present to illuminate your 8 00:00:39.640 --> 00:00:45.439 word. And Father, your word is truly a light to our path, 9 00:00:45.560 --> 00:00:50.560 that a lamp to our feet. Your word truly is all that we need 10 00:00:51.439 --> 00:00:56.359 for life and godliness. And so Lord, we come to you this morning 11 00:00:56.399 --> 00:01:00.640 to your word. And though we look at one small portion enough, yet 12 00:01:00.719 --> 00:01:07.200 there is an eternity and an infinity of things that are brought forth in this 13 00:01:07.400 --> 00:01:11.599 short little passage that you taught us. And so Lord, I pray that 14 00:01:11.680 --> 00:01:15.400 as we read it and as I expound it, Lord you would illuminate the 15 00:01:15.439 --> 00:01:21.959 word, keep me from error, help me to faithfully expound the word. 16 00:01:22.719 --> 00:01:26.239 And Lord me your people be drawn closer to you and closer to each other. 17 00:01:26.799 --> 00:01:32.840 If we pray this in Christ name. Amen, we're looking at the 18 00:01:32.920 --> 00:01:36.879 Gospel of Luke. I told you I wasn't going to get through the entire 19 00:01:37.000 --> 00:01:41.599 gospel, but we got all the way to chapter six, so we did 20 00:01:41.640 --> 00:01:46.959 well. And I'm going to be looking, um, actually at a much 21 00:01:47.040 --> 00:01:51.560 longer Well, it's not a long passage, but it's I would I would 22 00:01:51.599 --> 00:01:57.840 probably normally do this in less or more sermons, and I'm doing it this 23 00:01:57.920 --> 00:02:00.959 morning. But Luke chapter six, getting with verse twenty seven and going through 24 00:02:01.079 --> 00:02:06.599 verse thirty six, here is God's word. But I say to you who 25 00:02:06.719 --> 00:02:10.479 hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, Bless 26 00:02:10.520 --> 00:02:15.199 those who curse you, Pray for those who abuse you. To one who 27 00:02:15.240 --> 00:02:19.960 strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also. And from one who 28 00:02:20.000 --> 00:02:23.120 takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic. Either, give to 29 00:02:23.240 --> 00:02:27.159 everyone who begged from you. And from one who takes away your goods, 30 00:02:27.199 --> 00:02:30.039 do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to 31 00:02:30.159 --> 00:02:35.639 you, do so even to them. If you love those who love you, 32 00:02:35.840 --> 00:02:38.080 what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love 33 00:02:38.159 --> 00:02:42.360 them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, 34 00:02:42.479 --> 00:02:46.960 what benefit is that to you, for even sinners to the same. And 35 00:02:46.000 --> 00:02:50.199 if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is 36 00:02:50.240 --> 00:02:53.240 that to you? Even sinners lend the sinners to get back the same amount. 37 00:02:54.000 --> 00:02:59.800 But love your enemies and do good and land expecting nothing in return, 38 00:03:00.439 --> 00:03:02.319 and your reward will be great. And you will be sons of the most 39 00:03:02.400 --> 00:03:07.520 High for his kind, for his kind to the ungrateful and the evil. 40 00:03:08.159 --> 00:03:14.000 Be merciful, even as your father is merciful. That's what And the reading 41 00:03:14.039 --> 00:03:23.800 of God's word please be seated. I was. I was asked by the 42 00:03:23.800 --> 00:03:28.560 all children if I could come up with a clever, funny title. I 43 00:03:28.639 --> 00:03:32.360 made reference in a previous sermon that I had done that one time and nobody 44 00:03:32.360 --> 00:03:36.039 got it. So I decided it wasn't a good thing for me to do. 45 00:03:36.759 --> 00:03:39.840 UM But I failed. I totally failed at that. I couldn't come 46 00:03:39.919 --> 00:03:45.000 up with a clever title for this. The only thing I could think about 47 00:03:45.039 --> 00:03:51.159 this morning was that we are we are missing half of our leadership today and 48 00:03:51.680 --> 00:03:59.680 I think um, Bill and Ted are off on some excellent adventure today. 49 00:04:00.599 --> 00:04:05.520 That's my attempt. Well, we are moving forward to UH in the Gospel 50 00:04:05.560 --> 00:04:10.159 of Luke. And we've looked at the beatitudes and and things like this, 51 00:04:10.199 --> 00:04:14.240 And like I say, as we read the Texas morning, I could easily 52 00:04:14.360 --> 00:04:18.000 preach uh two or three messages at minimum are these passages. And I had 53 00:04:18.040 --> 00:04:23.319 to cut out lots of material in order to make this a sermon I could 54 00:04:23.360 --> 00:04:28.160 do in one morning. We do not have Sunday school following this morning and 55 00:04:28.160 --> 00:04:30.560 and other things, so of course I can go much much longer today. 56 00:04:30.560 --> 00:04:34.240 So I have a little bit of a benefit. Uh, don't get nervous. 57 00:04:35.199 --> 00:04:39.759 But anyway, we have a lot of stuff here that Christ tells us 58 00:04:39.800 --> 00:04:42.920 about love, and UH, love is I'm gonna talk about, is the 59 00:04:42.959 --> 00:04:46.800 foundation of everything and in the Kingdom of God, and so of course there's 60 00:04:46.839 --> 00:04:49.240 so much to be said about that. And Christ is going to talk about 61 00:04:49.279 --> 00:04:55.839 love peculiarly to the our enemies. But nevertheless, I want us to remember 62 00:04:55.920 --> 00:05:00.759 that if Christ uh commands us to love our enemies, how much more ought 63 00:05:00.839 --> 00:05:05.680 we to love our brothers and sisters in Christ as well? And so I 64 00:05:05.800 --> 00:05:11.160 want to include that idea, And so we'll be looking not only at our 65 00:05:11.240 --> 00:05:15.319 love to enemies, but our love to brothers and sisters and also our love 66 00:05:15.360 --> 00:05:19.560 to God and God's love to us as well, and by looking at how 67 00:05:19.680 --> 00:05:25.120 that is demonstrated in the Gospel. So let's begin by looking at Versus twenty 68 00:05:25.240 --> 00:05:30.399 seven to thirty. Let me lay down some fundamental principles about love. That 69 00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:35.480 this is the very first time that Luke uses the word love in his gospel. 70 00:05:35.560 --> 00:05:40.199 This is the first time we have it. You're probably familiar many of 71 00:05:40.240 --> 00:05:43.839 you are, anyway, probably with the fact that there are different words for 72 00:05:44.040 --> 00:05:48.720 love in the Greek and the first word that is they have is the word 73 00:05:48.800 --> 00:05:54.839 ara us, which is a word for more physical, passionate love and actually 74 00:05:54.920 --> 00:05:58.839 is not found anywhere in the Bible and the New Testament, at least that 75 00:05:58.959 --> 00:06:03.759 is translated into from Greek. The second word filia is usually referred to as 76 00:06:03.800 --> 00:06:09.680 a friendship love and uh that is another kind of love. The third word 77 00:06:09.720 --> 00:06:14.240 that most of us are probably familiar with is the Greek word agape, and 78 00:06:14.519 --> 00:06:19.560 this is probably the most difficult word for us to define. One thing that 79 00:06:19.639 --> 00:06:24.759 seems apparent is is one of those words. There are a few words that 80 00:06:24.879 --> 00:06:28.879 Christian writers took a word out of the Greek and kind of put their own 81 00:06:29.040 --> 00:06:31.800 spin upon it, and the copy is one of those words. Act lyca 82 00:06:31.920 --> 00:06:34.959 might be another one. There are others as well. But this is a 83 00:06:35.000 --> 00:06:39.920 word where the Church kind of made it, or Christ or however you want 84 00:06:40.000 --> 00:06:45.839 to say, this made it into a whole different kind of meaning uh than 85 00:06:46.040 --> 00:06:50.279 than it was in those days. It has been described as a sacrificial kind 86 00:06:50.399 --> 00:06:55.800 of love, the kind of love the Godhead and giving his only begotten son 87 00:06:55.879 --> 00:06:59.759 into the world, the kind of love the Christ showed and coming into the 88 00:06:59.800 --> 00:07:02.759 world world and giving himself as a sacrifice, that kind of love the Holy 89 00:07:02.839 --> 00:07:09.120 Spirit shows in giving uh an applying the work of Christ to the hearts of 90 00:07:09.199 --> 00:07:14.279 believers. And and so this is one of those words. Romans third Team 91 00:07:14.360 --> 00:07:18.040 ten says love does no wrong to a neighbor. Therefore, love is the 92 00:07:18.079 --> 00:07:24.399 fulfilling of the law. And there the word in both of its occurrences in 93 00:07:24.480 --> 00:07:28.680 that verse is the Greek word a gop a. And so Paul says, 94 00:07:28.720 --> 00:07:31.879 the way we fulfill the law of God, just like Jesus says and said 95 00:07:31.959 --> 00:07:39.199 in our Law passage this morning, is by showing love to one another and 96 00:07:39.319 --> 00:07:45.319 love to God. John MacArthur says, the most foundational mark of a genuine 97 00:07:45.360 --> 00:07:49.199 believer in the Lord Jesus Christ is love. We love God, we love 98 00:07:49.199 --> 00:07:55.680 other believers in Christ, and we are even commanded here to love our enemies. 99 00:07:56.120 --> 00:08:00.560 And in this passage Jesus is giving especially to j he Ism, but 100 00:08:00.839 --> 00:08:05.800 to the world itself. He is giving some of the most revolutionary teachings. 101 00:08:05.839 --> 00:08:09.319 And we need to understand this. These words are so familiar to us, 102 00:08:09.360 --> 00:08:11.680 they just kind of kind of just go off of us without thinking too much 103 00:08:11.720 --> 00:08:16.839 about him. But in those days, these words that Jesus taught, they 104 00:08:16.879 --> 00:08:22.439 were not being taught. These are revolutionary things what Jesus is going to say, 105 00:08:22.519 --> 00:08:26.759 and it starts with the command love your enemies. The teachers of that 106 00:08:26.839 --> 00:08:31.519 time we're not teaching this at all. Hendrickson says, when he said love 107 00:08:31.600 --> 00:08:37.120 your enemies, he must have startled his audience, for he was saying something 108 00:08:37.159 --> 00:08:43.039 that probably never before had been said so succinctly, positively, and forcefully. 109 00:08:43.440 --> 00:08:48.480 The old saying that has been repeated many times, originally attributed to Sons, 110 00:08:48.480 --> 00:08:54.960 who is keep your friends close and keep your enemies closer. I don't think 111 00:08:54.960 --> 00:08:58.639 by close in his saying, he's referring to the closeness of love. But 112 00:08:58.720 --> 00:09:05.799 the or Jesus is referring to the closeness of love and speaking of that kind 113 00:09:05.840 --> 00:09:11.360 of love to our enemies. Now, after this command, Jesus is going 114 00:09:11.039 --> 00:09:16.759 to give a series of instructions on how to do that. Anybody have a 115 00:09:16.840 --> 00:09:20.799 guess as to how many instructions? So seven good, Yes, So they 116 00:09:20.840 --> 00:09:24.960 did learn one thing right when I was here, So that's that's good. 117 00:09:24.039 --> 00:09:30.440 Yes, seven instructions concerning how we are to do that. And again, 118 00:09:30.480 --> 00:09:33.039 and the two great commandments that we looked at this morning. The second one 119 00:09:33.159 --> 00:09:37.720 is thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, but it doesn't say thou shalt 120 00:09:37.759 --> 00:09:43.919 love thy enemy as thyself. But then Jesus gave us a parable later on 121 00:09:43.039 --> 00:09:48.279 in Luke concerning a Samaritan. And he gives it in response to a question 122 00:09:48.320 --> 00:09:52.799 that was asked of him, who is my neighbor? If we should love 123 00:09:52.799 --> 00:09:56.799 our neighbor as myself? Who is our neighbor? And Jesus gave a parable 124 00:09:58.360 --> 00:10:03.759 that seemed to indicate at anyone that is in need is our neighbor. And 125 00:10:03.039 --> 00:10:07.559 so we say, can our enemy be our neighbor? Or can our neighbor 126 00:10:07.679 --> 00:10:11.480 be our enemy? And at least I think we can admit the second is 127 00:10:11.519 --> 00:10:16.840 possible. So if anyone can be my neighbor, then I must be willing 128 00:10:16.879 --> 00:10:22.279 to show love to anyone at all. And I want to come back to 129 00:10:22.360 --> 00:10:26.000 that parable and an illustration of it at the end of the message this morning. 130 00:10:26.919 --> 00:10:33.000 So the first command that he gives is do good to those who hate 131 00:10:33.039 --> 00:10:35.679 you. Last week we looked at the be attitudes when Jesus said, we 132 00:10:35.759 --> 00:10:41.200 are blessed when people hate us and speak evil of us. And I spoke 133 00:10:41.600 --> 00:10:45.399 about the fact that there can be various reasons that people hate us that are 134 00:10:45.440 --> 00:10:48.360 not actually blessings, that there are own faults, that our own problems, 135 00:10:48.720 --> 00:10:52.679 and that that cannot be the case for what Jesus was speaking about here. 136 00:10:54.159 --> 00:10:58.960 But no matter why people hate us, Jesus commands us to do good to 137 00:10:58.200 --> 00:11:03.000 them, which, at some point out here is a command to actually do 138 00:11:03.360 --> 00:11:09.200 unnatural deeds. It isn't natural for us to do good things to our enemies. 139 00:11:09.519 --> 00:11:13.039 We don't. We don't. We might do that naturally as believers to 140 00:11:13.399 --> 00:11:18.000 to other Christians, but it isn't natural to do it to those who hate 141 00:11:18.080 --> 00:11:22.320 us. James Edwards says, the commandments here are non intuitive. In other 142 00:11:22.360 --> 00:11:28.200 words, they may not seem reasonable, and they enjoy behaviors that did not 143 00:11:28.360 --> 00:11:33.159 come naturally. John MacArthur says, when believers face hatred, there to respond 144 00:11:33.240 --> 00:11:39.840 by seeking the welfare of those that hate them, thereby reinforcing their supernatural message 145 00:11:41.279 --> 00:11:48.279 with supernatural love. Well, that's difficult to do in I moved to Sacramento, 146 00:11:48.320 --> 00:11:52.559 California with my wife and small daughter at the time. We only had 147 00:11:52.559 --> 00:11:56.279 one child at the time, and we were going to start a streat ministry 148 00:11:56.279 --> 00:12:03.360 and Sacramento, and uh, the the problem was I didn't have a lot 149 00:12:03.360 --> 00:12:07.799 of money. So we got our apartment building and not the ideal place or 150 00:12:07.919 --> 00:12:13.440 the ideal area of Sacramento to live in, and we lived above a family 151 00:12:13.120 --> 00:12:20.399 that basically kept hours completely opposite to our hours. So when we were awake, 152 00:12:20.720 --> 00:12:24.279 they were asleep, and when we were asleep, they were awake. 153 00:12:24.840 --> 00:12:31.840 And that pointed out or caused many different problems, uh for us, especially 154 00:12:31.840 --> 00:12:35.080 with one small child that might have had some difficulty in sleeping and and all 155 00:12:35.080 --> 00:12:39.639 of that. And they could be quite noisy during the night. And um, 156 00:12:39.039 --> 00:12:46.200 I happened to notice one morning that the kids there was actually some teenagers 157 00:12:46.240 --> 00:12:48.600 living with what I think was the grandmother. I guess. I don't know 158 00:12:48.679 --> 00:12:52.559 that for sure, but but I would see the kids coming home with car 159 00:12:52.639 --> 00:12:58.120 stereos under their arms with the wires kind of ripped off and hanging from them, 160 00:12:58.440 --> 00:13:01.399 and I had an idea what they might have been doing, uh in 161 00:13:01.759 --> 00:13:07.240 the night during that time. And when I had left North Dakota, which 162 00:13:07.279 --> 00:13:11.720 is where it passed her before we came to California, I, um, 163 00:13:11.840 --> 00:13:16.799 they're a family in the church had given to me this cassette player. Now, 164 00:13:16.240 --> 00:13:20.039 for those of you that are younger, cassette was like our CDs. 165 00:13:20.360 --> 00:13:24.960 Uh they were. They were like tape things that ran and got caught up 166 00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:28.159 in your tape player and messed all up, and then you had to spend 167 00:13:28.240 --> 00:13:31.759 hours trying to straighten it out and put it back in the cassette. Um. 168 00:13:31.840 --> 00:13:35.600 So it was a little a little less um usable than the c d 169 00:13:35.279 --> 00:13:39.720 M. But anyway, um, it was the best they had at that 170 00:13:39.759 --> 00:13:45.039 time. And the Salmon had given us a premier Jensen recorder that played these 171 00:13:45.080 --> 00:13:50.679 cassettes like they sounded so much better than anywhere else we we could play them. 172 00:13:50.720 --> 00:13:52.919 And one morning, um, I got into my car and noticed that 173 00:13:54.039 --> 00:13:58.200 the player was gone, and I had a pretty good idea who had taken 174 00:13:58.240 --> 00:14:03.840 that at that time, and remembering the scripture, I told my wife, 175 00:14:03.919 --> 00:14:07.679 you know, why don't you bake a tray of brownies and uh, I'll 176 00:14:07.679 --> 00:14:11.519 take it down to them and give it to them. And so she did, 177 00:14:11.039 --> 00:14:13.519 and I took him down, knocked on the door, and the grandmother, 178 00:14:13.759 --> 00:14:16.919 if that's what was answered, the answered the door and I said, 179 00:14:16.919 --> 00:14:20.399 I just want to say, my wife has baked you some brownies and we 180 00:14:20.440 --> 00:14:24.440 wanted to give again to you as a neighborly gesture. And she grabbed the 181 00:14:24.480 --> 00:14:28.279 brownies and she looked over a friend that was with me in the street ministry 182 00:14:28.279 --> 00:14:31.840 at that time, at a car that was parked and it was a little 183 00:14:31.840 --> 00:14:35.720 bit on the lawn and she was that cars on the lawn and then she 184 00:14:35.799 --> 00:14:39.679 closed the door. So it didn't end very good. I can't say that 185 00:14:39.720 --> 00:14:41.919 it made that we made a huge impact on their life or anything like that. 186 00:14:43.519 --> 00:14:46.720 Um. We never did make a close relationship of that family because we 187 00:14:46.799 --> 00:14:50.759 moved out of that neighborhood as soon as we could. UM. But loving 188 00:14:50.879 --> 00:14:54.519 enemies can be a hard thing to do. And if we find that we 189 00:14:54.559 --> 00:15:00.879 think it's easy, the problem is we probably don't have real enemies. Enemies 190 00:15:00.960 --> 00:15:03.799 are those who hate us because of Christ and the life that we live. 191 00:15:05.279 --> 00:15:07.159 And that's, like I said, what the real reason people should Hey, 192 00:15:07.200 --> 00:15:11.159 if they're gonna hate us, that's why they should hate us, not for 193 00:15:11.200 --> 00:15:16.240 other reason. And I want to refer to a book that Philip Rikin refers 194 00:15:16.279 --> 00:15:18.919 to in his commentary, but it also has made into a movie. I 195 00:15:18.919 --> 00:15:22.360 haven't read the book. I have seen the movie years ago and it's it's 196 00:15:22.360 --> 00:15:26.879 a good movie. It's a war movie and it's called To End All Wars. 197 00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:31.879 And maybe some of you have seen that uh particular movie. It's based 198 00:15:31.919 --> 00:15:37.840 on the memoirs of a pow by the name of Ernest Gordon, and he 199 00:15:37.960 --> 00:15:43.759 spent time in the Dreaded prison camp, Japanese prison camp by the River Kwai. 200 00:15:43.919 --> 00:15:46.720 Now I know that isn't the only war movie that deals with the River 201 00:15:46.840 --> 00:15:52.960 Kuai, but nonetheless, uh in um. In Rkin's book, Uh, 202 00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:58.240 he talks about the book by Gordon and he said that during the time they 203 00:15:58.279 --> 00:16:02.120 were in this was a dreaded camp. Very few people made it out alive. 204 00:16:02.759 --> 00:16:07.000 And he said, during that time Gordon writes about it. He said 205 00:16:07.000 --> 00:16:11.120 he nearly died. He writes this, I was headed for the death house. 206 00:16:11.639 --> 00:16:15.399 I was so ill I didn't much care, but I was hardly prepared 207 00:16:15.440 --> 00:16:18.679 for what I found there. The death house had been built at one of 208 00:16:18.720 --> 00:16:22.320 the lowest points of the camp. The monsoon you're familiar with that was on, 209 00:16:22.879 --> 00:16:26.440 and as a result, the floor of the hut was a sea of 210 00:16:26.559 --> 00:16:30.360 mud, and there were the smells tropical ulcers eating in the flesh and bone. 211 00:16:30.480 --> 00:16:37.360 Latrines overflowed, unwashed man, untended men, sick men, Humanity gone 212 00:16:37.399 --> 00:16:42.080 sour, humanity rotting. The last shreds of my numb sensibilities rebelled against my 213 00:16:42.159 --> 00:16:47.360 surroundings, against the bedbugs, the life, the stenches, the blood, 214 00:16:47.440 --> 00:16:52.360 mucus, excrement stained sleeping platforms, the die and the dead bed mates, 215 00:16:52.639 --> 00:16:59.120 the victory of corruption. This was the lowest level of life. But by 216 00:16:59.200 --> 00:17:03.039 God's grace, Gordon didn't die. But he and many others in the camp 217 00:17:03.160 --> 00:17:08.680 lived and came to know Jesus Christ. But Wryking goes on to say that 218 00:17:08.759 --> 00:17:14.359 even though these men learned to love each other, the one thing they couldn't 219 00:17:14.400 --> 00:17:19.119 find out how to do was how to love their enemies. Gordon says this 220 00:17:19.400 --> 00:17:25.079 is from his words We have learned from the gospels that Jesus had his enemies 221 00:17:25.519 --> 00:17:30.000 just as we had ours, but there was a difference. He loved his 222 00:17:30.160 --> 00:17:33.799 enemies. He prayed for them, even as the nails were being hammered through 223 00:17:33.799 --> 00:17:37.279 his hands and feet. He cried out, Father, forgive them, for 224 00:17:37.359 --> 00:17:42.799 they know not what they do. We hated our enemies. We could see 225 00:17:42.839 --> 00:17:48.359 how wonderful it was that Jesus forgave in this way. Yet for us to 226 00:17:48.480 --> 00:17:55.720 do the same seemed beyond our attainment. The enemies had been brutal, they 227 00:17:55.720 --> 00:18:02.440 had made them suffer the most inhumane treatment. They had real enemies, and 228 00:18:02.519 --> 00:18:08.799 it seemed insurmountable for them to overcome that. And maybe we don't have enemies 229 00:18:08.880 --> 00:18:14.000 quite like that. But I want to come back to that story at the 230 00:18:14.119 --> 00:18:18.599 end of the message. The second way to love our enemies is to bless 231 00:18:18.640 --> 00:18:22.880 the ones who curse us. In his first command of how we treat our 232 00:18:22.960 --> 00:18:27.920 enemies, Jesus speaks of unnatural deeds, of doing good to those that hate 233 00:18:29.000 --> 00:18:33.240 us and those that are enemies. Now he speaks about unnatural words, and 234 00:18:33.359 --> 00:18:38.599 he speaks about blessing those who curse us. And normally I expound a lot 235 00:18:38.680 --> 00:18:42.119 more on this, but I don't have time. The third way to love 236 00:18:42.160 --> 00:18:48.279 our enemies is to pray for those who mistreat us, and again you can 237 00:18:48.440 --> 00:18:52.279 fill in the exposition for that this morning. The fourth way is the famous 238 00:18:52.359 --> 00:18:56.880 turn the other cheek commands. Jesus said, if someone strikes you on the 239 00:18:57.039 --> 00:19:04.400 cheek, and then offer the other one as well. I think that that 240 00:19:04.440 --> 00:19:10.039 particular saying has come down to us so often and is so well known that 241 00:19:10.119 --> 00:19:14.359 translators don't like the mess with it. But it's important to notice that the 242 00:19:14.440 --> 00:19:19.039 word here for cheek is actually the word jawbone, and the word for strike 243 00:19:19.160 --> 00:19:23.880 actually means to smite hard, to hit hard. So what we're talking about 244 00:19:23.960 --> 00:19:29.880 here is a smack to the jaw. We're not talking about a little hit 245 00:19:29.960 --> 00:19:33.480 to the cheek. We're talking about a smack to the jaw. Last week, 246 00:19:33.559 --> 00:19:37.279 we saw in our evening message that Samson used a jawbone to kill his 247 00:19:37.519 --> 00:19:42.079 enemies. But here we are learning that we should turn our other jaw bone 248 00:19:42.400 --> 00:19:48.240 to the enemy. And I want to treat this command that Jesus gives us 249 00:19:48.240 --> 00:19:52.799 the same way I'm going to treat the next three commands. So again I 250 00:19:52.839 --> 00:19:56.200 want to come back to those in the exposition, because I think it's important 251 00:19:56.559 --> 00:20:00.720 before we understand that that we we realize something that's that's to be said here. 252 00:20:00.720 --> 00:20:03.960 The fifth way is if someone takes our cloak, we shouldn't withhold our 253 00:20:04.039 --> 00:20:08.599 tunic from them either. The sixth ways were to give to everyone who begs 254 00:20:08.640 --> 00:20:12.440 from us, and the seventh is if someone takes our goods from us, 255 00:20:12.720 --> 00:20:18.920 we shouldn't ask for them back. Lensky says, the disciple loses less by 256 00:20:18.000 --> 00:20:23.200 letting his things be taken wrongfully. Then he would buy with the selfish heart, 257 00:20:23.680 --> 00:20:30.759 clamoring to have them returned. The disciple loses less by having the things 258 00:20:30.880 --> 00:20:34.400 taken wrongfully. Well, I want to spend most of my time and application, 259 00:20:34.480 --> 00:20:38.079 as I've kind of referred to this morning, So let me just quickly 260 00:20:38.119 --> 00:20:41.920 go through Versus thirty one to thirty four. Here we have the famous golden 261 00:20:42.039 --> 00:20:45.799 rule in verse dirty one, and we have to admit that there are other 262 00:20:47.000 --> 00:20:49.920 versions of the same kind of thing that are found in other teachers, teachers 263 00:20:49.960 --> 00:20:56.839 both before and after Christ, even Jewish teachers uh that taught here the taught 264 00:20:56.920 --> 00:21:00.200 this. But we have to notice one thing that is of ent us, 265 00:21:00.279 --> 00:21:03.799 and and I think it does mean something is that all of those teachers taught 266 00:21:03.880 --> 00:21:08.319 this in the negative. Christ was the first one who put it into the 267 00:21:08.400 --> 00:21:15.519 positive. For example, Socrates said, do not do to others that which 268 00:21:15.599 --> 00:21:21.200 angers you when they do it to you. Confucius says, and this is 269 00:21:21.240 --> 00:21:26.160 not a joke, now, but Confucius says, never imposed on others which 270 00:21:26.160 --> 00:21:30.799 you would not choose for yourself. And there are other versions as well that 271 00:21:30.920 --> 00:21:34.480 you can find. But Jesus actually puts it in the positive. He said, 272 00:21:34.519 --> 00:21:38.240 we are to Actually he's not saying don't do this, he's saying do 273 00:21:38.319 --> 00:21:42.359 this. He's saying, do the things that you would want to be done 274 00:21:42.400 --> 00:21:48.319 to you, you do them to them. And and so Luke says, 275 00:21:48.359 --> 00:21:51.319 as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. 276 00:21:51.799 --> 00:21:55.240 Matthew says, so whatever you wish that others would do to you, do 277 00:21:55.440 --> 00:21:57.960 also to them, for this is the law and the profits. And so 278 00:21:59.039 --> 00:22:03.160 in his sense, Jesus is summing up the entire teaching of this section by 279 00:22:03.240 --> 00:22:10.359 giving us this particular rule. And and one of the problems that people have, 280 00:22:10.680 --> 00:22:14.680 I think as a rule in this teaching and this teaching of love, 281 00:22:15.279 --> 00:22:19.799 is sometimes we divorce the second commandment from the first, and we think about 282 00:22:19.799 --> 00:22:22.279 our love to our neighbor and all of that, and that's fine, and 283 00:22:22.359 --> 00:22:27.160 that's good. But but many people, including some liberal Christians and Heathens, 284 00:22:27.440 --> 00:22:32.480 have divorced it so that when they speak about love, they only speak about 285 00:22:32.480 --> 00:22:37.799 the second commandment. They only speak about love towards other people, and that's 286 00:22:37.839 --> 00:22:41.640 all they speak about. And we see many of these kind of trite sayings 287 00:22:41.680 --> 00:22:45.920 and things at different places that we go into in souvenir shops and the like, 288 00:22:45.319 --> 00:22:48.720 where where they're all these sayings. And we we have a cup that 289 00:22:49.200 --> 00:22:55.359 our Landlord has left for us in our condominion that we've been staying in that 290 00:22:55.480 --> 00:22:59.160 says uh. And everything you do, do it in love. And it's 291 00:22:59.200 --> 00:23:03.519 all great, but it's it's not referring to the first commandment, which is 292 00:23:03.599 --> 00:23:08.359 to love God. And it's easy for people to forget that that is the 293 00:23:08.440 --> 00:23:15.160 utmost and most important commandment of all. And then in Versus thirty two through 294 00:23:15.160 --> 00:23:22.000 thirty four, Jesus characterizes what should separate Christians from unbelievers, or as Christ 295 00:23:22.079 --> 00:23:26.559 refers to them, sinners. Now, that word is used in various contexts 296 00:23:26.599 --> 00:23:30.799 in the Gospels, and sometimes it's used about people that are exceeding sinners, 297 00:23:30.799 --> 00:23:33.640 people that have done some horrendous things. Uh. It's used for example, 298 00:23:33.680 --> 00:23:38.119 of a woman as the prostitute in the Gospels as well. But Jesus is 299 00:23:38.200 --> 00:23:42.720 basically referring to all unbelievers and says that even though, but even if we 300 00:23:42.759 --> 00:23:48.200 want to take it to the most extreme case, that we want to think 301 00:23:48.240 --> 00:23:53.200 about extreme sinners, extreme sinners, they do show love to other extreme sinners. 302 00:23:53.279 --> 00:23:57.799 They do do good to those that are other sinners. And and again 303 00:23:59.440 --> 00:24:03.559 Jesus said, what benefit if you do that? If you show love to 304 00:24:03.640 --> 00:24:06.559 those that show love to you, what benefit? And the word there for 305 00:24:06.640 --> 00:24:11.400 benefit is caress, and that is the Greek word that is most overwhelmingly translated 306 00:24:11.400 --> 00:24:15.599 in the New Testament as grace. What grace is that to you? You 307 00:24:15.640 --> 00:24:19.119 know we talk about people, Oh she has such grace. Well, Jesus 308 00:24:19.200 --> 00:24:25.680 is saying, what grace is this to you? None? In Verses thirty 309 00:24:25.680 --> 00:24:30.279 five and thirty six, Jesus basically sums up uh and all that he's been 310 00:24:30.319 --> 00:24:34.240 saying, and he begins with the statement he made at the beginning, love 311 00:24:34.279 --> 00:24:38.079 your enemies, and then he mentions a couple of things he said, do 312 00:24:38.240 --> 00:24:44.359 good and lend, expecting nothing in return, And he says, a couple 313 00:24:44.400 --> 00:24:48.680 of things then that are the result. He says, our reward will be 314 00:24:48.720 --> 00:24:52.480 great, and the reward we can say will certainly be a reward of grace. 315 00:24:53.400 --> 00:25:00.519 Hendrickson says, the reward is in proportion to yet always far greater than 316 00:25:00.559 --> 00:25:04.559 the sacrifice God is in no man's debt. And then he says, we 317 00:25:04.680 --> 00:25:10.480 will be sons of the most High. And he closes it by saying, 318 00:25:10.519 --> 00:25:15.680 be merciful, even as your father is merciful. But like I said, 319 00:25:15.720 --> 00:25:22.039 I want to spend most of the time this morning an application as we look 320 00:25:22.160 --> 00:25:25.799 at all of these commands that Jesus gives us. And this is I think 321 00:25:25.839 --> 00:25:30.200 important because I think I could have ended here and I would not be given 322 00:25:30.240 --> 00:25:33.559 to you. What is the right thing to say out of this passage? 323 00:25:33.599 --> 00:25:37.559 Now? We are people who believe that the word of God should be taken 324 00:25:37.640 --> 00:25:44.400 literally. We believe that the miracles that Jesus did were literal miracles. We 325 00:25:44.480 --> 00:25:49.000 believe he did literally feed five thousand people with five small loaves and two small 326 00:25:49.039 --> 00:25:52.759 fishes. We do believe that he did walk on the water. We do 327 00:25:52.920 --> 00:25:59.240 believe that Lazarus did raise from the dead after he had been dead for four 328 00:25:59.319 --> 00:26:03.799 days. But we also believe that not all scriptures are to be taken literally, 329 00:26:04.640 --> 00:26:10.920 and one way we determine that is by comparing scriptures with other scriptures. 330 00:26:10.960 --> 00:26:15.319 So when John and Revelation speaks of the seven spirits of God, we don't 331 00:26:15.400 --> 00:26:22.319 take that to mean that there are literally seven holy spirits. We believe indeed, 332 00:26:22.359 --> 00:26:26.839 by going back to Ephesians and comparing scriptures that Paul said there is one 333 00:26:26.880 --> 00:26:30.559 spirit. So we believe that that is a symbolic interpretation. It refers to 334 00:26:30.680 --> 00:26:37.559 perhaps the seven attributes of the spirit that Isaiah gets gives us in chapter eleven. 335 00:26:37.960 --> 00:26:41.640 So we compare scripture with scripture. So when Jesus says, when one 336 00:26:41.759 --> 00:26:47.359 strikes you on the jawbone and offer the other one also, are we to 337 00:26:47.480 --> 00:26:55.279 take that has has been binding on us and absolutely literal? And if so, 338 00:26:56.240 --> 00:27:00.680 why did the people in the Bible not do that? In next two 339 00:27:02.079 --> 00:27:06.480 we read this and the high Priest and and i as commanded those who stood 340 00:27:06.480 --> 00:27:11.759 by Paul to strike him on the mouth. Well, this is the great 341 00:27:11.799 --> 00:27:15.559 apostle Paul, right, so we know what he's gonna do. He's gonna 342 00:27:15.640 --> 00:27:18.279 turn the other cheek right and say hit me on this side. Also, 343 00:27:19.640 --> 00:27:23.240 well, here's what the next verse says. Then Paul said to him, 344 00:27:23.400 --> 00:27:29.119 God is gonna strike you, you whitewashed wall. Are you sitting to judge 345 00:27:29.160 --> 00:27:33.000 me according to the law, and yet contrary to the law you order me 346 00:27:33.039 --> 00:27:37.680 to be struck? Wow? That doesn't sound like sermon on the mount stuff, 347 00:27:37.759 --> 00:27:41.440 doesn't. Um. It's a little a little confusing perhaps, But let 348 00:27:41.519 --> 00:27:48.559 me give you a better example, better than Paul. Yep John. When 349 00:27:48.559 --> 00:27:52.799 he had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with 350 00:27:52.920 --> 00:27:59.359 the hand, saying, is that how you answer the High priest? So 351 00:27:59.480 --> 00:28:04.319 does Jesus is turned the other cheek verse twenty three. Jesus answered him, 352 00:28:04.400 --> 00:28:08.359 if what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong. But if 353 00:28:08.440 --> 00:28:15.559 what I said is right, why do you strike me? He doesn't literally 354 00:28:15.200 --> 00:28:22.160 turn the other cheek. And when Jesus commands us here that we are to 355 00:28:22.720 --> 00:28:27.559 give to everyone who begs of you, does that mean as I'm driving my 356 00:28:27.599 --> 00:28:33.799 way down Craycroft that every street corner I gotta stop because someone's asking money of 357 00:28:33.880 --> 00:28:37.720 me, and I have to reach in my wallet and pull out a twenty 358 00:28:37.799 --> 00:28:41.279 and then go to the next block and there's another person asking of me. 359 00:28:41.480 --> 00:28:44.559 So I got to reach in my pocket and pull out another twenty and do 360 00:28:44.640 --> 00:28:48.720 that. If I did that, I would be broke. Is that with 361 00:28:48.960 --> 00:28:52.400 Jesus literally? Is he literally telling us that everyone who begs of us we 362 00:28:52.599 --> 00:28:57.240 must give to them. I would submit to you. It's not possible. 363 00:28:57.920 --> 00:29:03.839 We can't do it. So let me give you this application. If we 364 00:29:03.920 --> 00:29:10.680 take everything that Jesus says in his passage has absolutely literal, we could never 365 00:29:10.759 --> 00:29:15.200 ever follow it. We couldn't do it. We can't give to everyone that 366 00:29:15.359 --> 00:29:18.480 asked. If someone shoots us in the back, we don't turn around and 367 00:29:18.519 --> 00:29:22.559 say, hey, get me in the stomach too. We just can't do 368 00:29:22.640 --> 00:29:26.480 that. Someone robs our house, we don't run out with our car keys 369 00:29:26.480 --> 00:29:30.960 and go, hey, I forgot my car. We don't do that. 370 00:29:30.920 --> 00:29:33.920 And if a woman comes to me as a pastor and says her husband is 371 00:29:33.920 --> 00:29:38.200 physically abusing her again and again and again, I can't just say, oh, 372 00:29:38.240 --> 00:29:41.599 well take it. You know, that's the way it is turned the 373 00:29:41.680 --> 00:29:47.799 other cheek. No, we can't do that. We have to understand that 374 00:29:47.880 --> 00:29:52.759 what Jesus is teaching here cannot be in contradiction to the law of God because 375 00:29:52.079 --> 00:29:56.200 Jesus gave that law, so she's not going to contradict that law as well. 376 00:29:56.799 --> 00:30:02.920 For example, ex says, if ever you take your neighbor's cloak and 377 00:30:03.000 --> 00:30:08.119 pledge you shall return it to him before the sun goes down. In six 378 00:30:08.240 --> 00:30:11.960 thirty, Jesus says, from the one who takes away your goods, do 379 00:30:12.119 --> 00:30:18.559 not demand them back. But let's take that in context with Exodus seven. 380 00:30:18.880 --> 00:30:22.000 If a man gives to his neighbor money or goods to keep safe, and 381 00:30:22.039 --> 00:30:25.759 it's stolen from the man's house, if the thief is found, he shall 382 00:30:25.839 --> 00:30:30.720 pay double. That seems to be the exact opposite of what is being said 383 00:30:30.759 --> 00:30:34.359 here. But what I want to say is the seeming impossibility of us doing 384 00:30:34.480 --> 00:30:41.559 this should not keep us from challenging ourselves in the way we live and the 385 00:30:41.599 --> 00:30:45.920 way we give. We can't say, well, I can't shift everybody that 386 00:30:47.039 --> 00:30:52.880 asked me, so I just won't give anything an illustration in my own life 387 00:30:52.880 --> 00:30:56.920 that I just used for illustration. It is not to put any greatness on 388 00:30:56.000 --> 00:31:00.880 me. Please understand it. It wasn't that great a deal. But there's 389 00:31:00.920 --> 00:31:03.559 a time in my life when not too long ago, actually, when somebody 390 00:31:03.599 --> 00:31:07.799 came to an individual I had been working with in jail ministry and they were 391 00:31:07.799 --> 00:31:12.119 getting out and trying to make a new start in life, and and they 392 00:31:12.119 --> 00:31:17.559 had found an apartment, but they couldn't afford the security deposit, and they 393 00:31:17.599 --> 00:31:21.759 asked if I could help them. So I went to my wife and I 394 00:31:21.839 --> 00:31:25.480 said, you know, so and so has asked for for money for a 395 00:31:25.519 --> 00:31:30.000 security deposit. I said, you know, he says he's going to pay 396 00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:32.799 it back, but in all likelihood, we need to know we're never going 397 00:31:32.839 --> 00:31:37.279 to see this money again. And so would you be an agreement that we 398 00:31:37.319 --> 00:31:41.400 would still give it to him and try to help him to get a good 399 00:31:41.440 --> 00:31:45.039 start, And and my wife agreed that we should do it. So we 400 00:31:45.119 --> 00:31:52.559 gave him the money for the security deposit. Within about one or two weeks, 401 00:31:52.599 --> 00:31:56.319 he had made a stupid move of taking a trip up to Michigan where 402 00:31:56.319 --> 00:31:59.599 his car had gotten impounded, and he was put back in jail and we 403 00:31:59.720 --> 00:32:04.960 lost the security he lost the security deposit, and uh, we lost what 404 00:32:05.000 --> 00:32:08.799 we had put into it. So was that wise, You'd say, no, 405 00:32:08.960 --> 00:32:13.839 I don't think that was very wise pastor not at all? And perhaps 406 00:32:13.839 --> 00:32:20.079 it wasn't. But on the other hand, we have continued to remain in 407 00:32:20.160 --> 00:32:24.160 contact with this individual, and um he has continued to tell me, even 408 00:32:24.160 --> 00:32:29.480 though it's been about five years that that he is still planning on paying us 409 00:32:29.640 --> 00:32:35.000 back and to do that. And so sometimes we're just challenged to do things 410 00:32:35.039 --> 00:32:38.039 that maybe aren't wise, maybe aren't smart, maybe don't work out so great, 411 00:32:38.960 --> 00:32:43.960 but sometimes we need to be challenged. I certainly haven't given to every 412 00:32:44.000 --> 00:32:46.559 individual who has come to me with the need, and I'm sure you haven't 413 00:32:46.599 --> 00:32:52.559 either, but probably in your life you have done something like I just mentioned 414 00:32:52.559 --> 00:32:55.920 that I have done. That was giving something out of the ordinary to try 415 00:32:55.920 --> 00:32:59.960 to help somebody, and maybe it didn't work out so well for you either. 416 00:33:00.000 --> 00:33:05.240 Her. So we walk this line of tension, knowing we can't meet 417 00:33:05.279 --> 00:33:08.000 every need, but being willing to be challenged in our giving as well. 418 00:33:09.079 --> 00:33:14.720 We keep in mind what the apostle John said in First John four twenty one. 419 00:33:14.880 --> 00:33:19.920 If anyone says I love God and hates his brother, he's a liar. 420 00:33:20.599 --> 00:33:22.319 For he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot 421 00:33:22.359 --> 00:33:27.200 love God whom he has not seen. In this commandment we have from him 422 00:33:27.240 --> 00:33:31.039 whoever loves God must love his brother earlier, he said in chapter three. 423 00:33:31.079 --> 00:33:35.079 By this we know love that he laid down his love for us, and 424 00:33:35.119 --> 00:33:37.039 we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. But if anyone has 425 00:33:37.079 --> 00:33:42.440 the world's good and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against 426 00:33:42.480 --> 00:33:47.079 him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children? John's favorite 427 00:33:47.200 --> 00:33:52.960 term for believers, let us not love in word or talk, but indeed 428 00:33:52.000 --> 00:33:57.759 in truth. But let us go back to verse thirty five, which I 429 00:33:57.799 --> 00:34:02.400 think helps us properly interpret what Jesus is saying. He says, if we 430 00:34:02.559 --> 00:34:09.840 do these things that he's commanding, we're actually imitating God, who is kind 431 00:34:09.880 --> 00:34:15.440 to the ungrateful and the evil. And I think we have to admit that 432 00:34:15.599 --> 00:34:21.679 is true. Matthew says a little bit more on this and speaks about God 433 00:34:21.800 --> 00:34:27.480 sending rain on both the just and the unjust. All of creation, not 434 00:34:27.559 --> 00:34:31.559 just believers, enjoy God's creation. You know, I mentioned it before, 435 00:34:31.599 --> 00:34:37.920 What beautiful creation things you have here in this area, How many beautiful things 436 00:34:37.960 --> 00:34:45.159 to look at, and and glorious structures and formations and rocks and mountains and 437 00:34:45.280 --> 00:34:49.960 deserts and all of these things, and you enjoy them, but unbelievers enjoy 438 00:34:50.079 --> 00:34:57.360 them as well. But does God give to everyone who asked of him what 439 00:34:57.400 --> 00:35:01.000 they asked for? No, he doesn't, not, not even God, 440 00:35:01.000 --> 00:35:06.440 who has the ability to answer any prayer, any need, and give to 441 00:35:06.519 --> 00:35:12.800 us exactly what we ask for. God doesn't do that. Can any of 442 00:35:12.880 --> 00:35:15.960 us sitting in here say that whenever you've asked for something of God, you've 443 00:35:16.039 --> 00:35:22.519 always gotten that. Now this was word of faith church this morning, Maybe 444 00:35:22.559 --> 00:35:24.760 you'd say yes, But it's not except if you might say to me, 445 00:35:24.800 --> 00:35:28.039 well, Pastor, I always pray if it be Thy will, so I 446 00:35:28.079 --> 00:35:30.639 always get what I asked for. Well, that's good, that's good. 447 00:35:30.679 --> 00:35:34.480 That's how we should pray. But my my point is we don't always get 448 00:35:34.599 --> 00:35:38.760 exactly what it is we're wanting when we ask of God. But God is 449 00:35:38.840 --> 00:35:45.519 generous and God is bountiful, and so we need to be that way as 450 00:35:45.559 --> 00:35:51.440 well. But what prohibits us? I want to give you a couple of 451 00:35:51.440 --> 00:35:55.280 problems that I think prohibit us in the church. And here, First of 452 00:35:55.280 --> 00:36:00.559 all, understand I'm speaking of something that I can tell you positively a big 453 00:36:00.599 --> 00:36:04.440 problem in my own life. If it's not a problem in yours. Fine, 454 00:36:04.519 --> 00:36:09.039 just listen, move on. But here is the problem that I have. 455 00:36:09.679 --> 00:36:13.280 First of all, I need to say I'm not a political preacher. 456 00:36:13.320 --> 00:36:15.400 I don't get up and say this is what you should vote for elections coming 457 00:36:15.480 --> 00:36:19.320 up. You know you have enough TV ads to tell you about that. 458 00:36:19.400 --> 00:36:22.360 But I'm not here to talk about that. I'm not trying here to tell 459 00:36:22.400 --> 00:36:25.199 you what party and this anything like that. I'm not doing that. I'm 460 00:36:25.239 --> 00:36:30.280 not criticizing anyone, any pastor who might tell you how to vote. I'm 461 00:36:30.280 --> 00:36:34.519 not criticizing them. I'm just saying my own procedure has not been to ever 462 00:36:34.599 --> 00:36:39.000 do that. But I do speak out on issues I believe are moral issues. 463 00:36:40.320 --> 00:36:45.480 And we all know the political divide in our country right now is probably, 464 00:36:45.639 --> 00:36:49.920 i'd say most assuredly greater than it's ever been, at least in my 465 00:36:50.039 --> 00:36:55.360 lifetime, the divide between right and left, and the temptation when I hear 466 00:36:55.440 --> 00:37:00.199 certain politicians who are not on my side of the aisle get up and say 467 00:37:00.239 --> 00:37:04.920 things, I get angry. I get mad, and I want to answer 468 00:37:04.960 --> 00:37:07.880 to them, and I want to say something to them. And if I 469 00:37:07.920 --> 00:37:12.000 think they're promoting certain things that go against God and what God has commanded. 470 00:37:12.519 --> 00:37:16.519 I believe they are the enemy. But this is where my shortcoming comes in. 471 00:37:17.239 --> 00:37:22.559 This is where my problem. I can perceive them very easily as the 472 00:37:22.679 --> 00:37:28.000 enemy. But can I then go the next step and love my enemy? 473 00:37:29.280 --> 00:37:34.719 But but they're speaking curses against the Church? Can I bless them that curse 474 00:37:34.840 --> 00:37:38.559 us? The Mediana brow says. If we find that our love is limited 475 00:37:38.559 --> 00:37:43.840 to people like us, say, our skin color, our education level, 476 00:37:44.199 --> 00:37:47.360 our political party, And if we find ourselves doing good only for those who 477 00:37:47.360 --> 00:37:53.320 have done us some favor, then that may only be self love spread over 478 00:37:53.400 --> 00:38:01.639 a slightly while wider area can And I pray for those who mistreat believers? 479 00:38:04.280 --> 00:38:09.320 Do I view them more as my enemy or my mission field? And that's 480 00:38:09.320 --> 00:38:15.119 where I fail. I tend to believe them more is my enemy. But 481 00:38:15.199 --> 00:38:19.280 God would say there my mission field, and I am supposed to love. 482 00:38:21.760 --> 00:38:24.679 And I realized and I believe that the only way we will see change, 483 00:38:24.679 --> 00:38:29.239 if we do see change in our country, it's not gonna be politics. 484 00:38:29.280 --> 00:38:34.440 It's going to be God's people praying and doing the commands of Christ. Have 485 00:38:34.559 --> 00:38:38.280 come by a change of heart that only God can do. But there's another 486 00:38:38.320 --> 00:38:43.760 problem that we have that sometimes hinders us in what Jesus teach us here, 487 00:38:45.800 --> 00:38:51.480 there's something within most of us that loves the idea of vengeance. Don't we 488 00:38:51.480 --> 00:38:54.480 we love? Don't we love movies about vengeance? You know? We love 489 00:38:54.719 --> 00:39:00.199 John Wayne, a Magnificent Seven, Dirty Harry, John Wick. We love 490 00:39:00.239 --> 00:39:05.559 all these guys that rise up against their enemies and and dispatch them one by 491 00:39:05.639 --> 00:39:10.280 one. And I understand justice, I understand judgment and all that, and 492 00:39:10.360 --> 00:39:15.280 it does seem that injustice people should suffer vengeance for what they have done. 493 00:39:17.599 --> 00:39:21.800 But that hinders me when I think in that way of showing the kind of 494 00:39:21.840 --> 00:39:24.719 love that Christ would have me to show. Please don't misunderstand. I'm not 495 00:39:24.760 --> 00:39:29.239 saying to watch those movies. I'm just saying we need to be careful how 496 00:39:29.280 --> 00:39:34.119 we look at it. But let me speak about a different kind of vengeance. 497 00:39:35.360 --> 00:39:38.480 Let me go back to the story I spoke about earlier about the prisoners 498 00:39:38.480 --> 00:39:43.840 of war in the Japanese prison camp on the River Kuai. And I told 499 00:39:43.840 --> 00:39:46.320 you at that point that they said that although they learned to love each other, 500 00:39:46.440 --> 00:39:52.639 they could never bring themselves to love their enemies. But I want to 501 00:39:52.679 --> 00:39:57.480 pick up the story after they made it through the war, and they're taking 502 00:39:57.519 --> 00:40:04.639 a long train ride trip back to Britain. This event happens according now from 503 00:40:04.639 --> 00:40:08.719 the book To End All Wars, We had found ourselves on the same track 504 00:40:09.320 --> 00:40:15.000 with several carloads of Japanese wounded. They were on their own and without medical 505 00:40:15.039 --> 00:40:19.599 care, no longer fit for action. They've been packed into railroad trucks which 506 00:40:19.639 --> 00:40:22.519 were being returned to Bangkok. Whenever one of them died on route, he 507 00:40:22.559 --> 00:40:28.199 was thrown off into the jungle. The ones who survived to reach Bangkok would 508 00:40:28.199 --> 00:40:31.400 presumably receive some form of medical treatment there, but they were given none. 509 00:40:31.440 --> 00:40:36.880 In the way. They were in a shocking state. I'd never seen men 510 00:40:36.960 --> 00:40:42.360 filth here. The uniforms were encrusted with mud, blood and excrement. He 511 00:40:42.440 --> 00:40:46.440 then speaks more plainly about their condition, including the magots and infested their wounds, 512 00:40:47.719 --> 00:40:52.320 and he said that by watching how the Japanese treated their own, they 513 00:40:52.360 --> 00:40:58.239 began to understand why they were treated the way they were treated. He goes 514 00:40:58.320 --> 00:41:00.559 on to write, without a word, most to the officers in my section 515 00:41:00.679 --> 00:41:05.599 unbuckled their packs, took out the part of their ration and a rag or 516 00:41:05.599 --> 00:41:08.840 two, and with water canteens in their hand, went over to the Japanese 517 00:41:08.840 --> 00:41:15.480 train to help them. Their own guards sought to prevent them from doing this, 518 00:41:15.559 --> 00:41:19.039 but they did it anyway. They gave food and water and said a 519 00:41:19.119 --> 00:41:22.719 kind word or two. Quoting again, he says, an allied officer from 520 00:41:22.760 --> 00:41:28.480 another section of the train had been taking it all in. What bloody fools 521 00:41:28.519 --> 00:41:30.199 you are? All are? He said to me. Don't you realize these 522 00:41:30.199 --> 00:41:35.920 are the enemy? Gordon replied by relating the parable of the good Samaritan. 523 00:41:36.480 --> 00:41:39.840 The officer replied, but that's different. That's in the Bible. These are 524 00:41:39.880 --> 00:41:45.800 the swine who starved us and beat us. They've murdered our comrades. These 525 00:41:45.960 --> 00:41:52.880 are our enemies. But in a marvelous work of grace, Gordon and his 526 00:41:52.000 --> 00:41:59.840 fellow prisoners had learned to show love to the enemies. So let me close, 527 00:42:00.000 --> 00:42:04.760 I saying, ultimately, love is defined by who God is first John 528 00:42:04.800 --> 00:42:07.920 four eight. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God 529 00:42:07.039 --> 00:42:10.880 is love first John four sixteen. So we have come to know and believe 530 00:42:10.960 --> 00:42:15.239 the love that God has for us. God is love, And whoever abides 531 00:42:15.280 --> 00:42:21.039 and love abides in God, and God abides in him. And God's love 532 00:42:21.159 --> 00:42:25.920 is shown. Of course, most brilliantly and clearly in John three s. 533 00:42:28.199 --> 00:42:32.119 For God so loved the world he gave his only son that whosoever believes in 534 00:42:32.199 --> 00:42:39.719 him should not perish, but have eternal life. In the commentary on Luke 535 00:42:39.760 --> 00:42:45.639 written by Kent Hughes, he makes reference to a famous statement made by a 536 00:42:45.719 --> 00:42:49.639 long time talk show host by the name of Field Donahue that some of you 537 00:42:50.039 --> 00:42:54.639 may be old enough to remember. Donna Hue made this statement, If God 538 00:42:54.719 --> 00:42:59.599 the Father is so all love and loving, why didn't he come down and 539 00:42:59.599 --> 00:43:02.039 go to Calvary? Then Jesus could have said, this is my father, 540 00:43:02.159 --> 00:43:06.920 and whom I am well pleased. How could an all knowing, all loving 541 00:43:06.960 --> 00:43:09.800 God allow his son to be murdered on a cross in order that he might 542 00:43:09.920 --> 00:43:17.119 redeem my sins. Of course, that question has several problems in it, 543 00:43:19.039 --> 00:43:22.119 and there are several answers that can easily be given to that question. It's 544 00:43:22.159 --> 00:43:28.960 not that right of a question. Perhaps foremost of the problems in that statement 545 00:43:29.119 --> 00:43:34.440 is clearly the man has no comprehension of the trinity and what the Trinity means, 546 00:43:36.239 --> 00:43:40.800 and so because that is a difficult doctrine, maybe we can forgive him 547 00:43:40.840 --> 00:43:47.360 for not understanding that. But the decision the Christ to come into the world 548 00:43:47.559 --> 00:43:53.360 was a trinitarian decision. It was a decision made by the Father's son and 549 00:43:53.440 --> 00:44:00.239 Holy Spirit. And in the death of Christ we see the ultimate fulfillment of 550 00:44:00.320 --> 00:44:07.559 the command to love our enemies and all the difficult things our Lord asked us 551 00:44:07.599 --> 00:44:14.480 to do in regards to our enemies. One thing that he doesn't ask is 552 00:44:14.519 --> 00:44:20.480 that we die for them, because only Christ can die for them and their 553 00:44:20.559 --> 00:44:24.880 sins, and that is what he did Romans five eight. God shows his 554 00:44:24.960 --> 00:44:30.239 love for us. And while we are sinners, Christ died for us when 555 00:44:30.280 --> 00:44:32.920 we were enemies, he says in verse ten. For if while we were 556 00:44:34.119 --> 00:44:37.599 enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his son, much more 557 00:44:37.679 --> 00:44:44.360 than that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. Christ 558 00:44:44.440 --> 00:44:49.800 died for you, and he died for me, not as friends, but 559 00:44:49.920 --> 00:44:55.800 his enemies, that he might make us his friends. John says in this 560 00:44:55.960 --> 00:45:00.400 is love, not that we have loved God, but that He loved us 561 00:45:00.559 --> 00:45:06.519 and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. There's a lot 562 00:45:06.559 --> 00:45:10.039 of commands in our section this morning, a lot of things told to do, 563 00:45:10.159 --> 00:45:15.719 But our religion is not a religion of just doing. In fact, 564 00:45:15.199 --> 00:45:21.880 we're very careful to explain that coming to Christ, that our being regenerate is 565 00:45:21.920 --> 00:45:25.880 not a result of any works we have ever done. That we can never 566 00:45:25.920 --> 00:45:30.039 be saved by works. We can never do enough works. We believe, 567 00:45:30.199 --> 00:45:35.760 as John says in First John in in this is love, not that we 568 00:45:35.800 --> 00:45:38.400 have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be 569 00:45:38.480 --> 00:45:45.920 the propitiation for our sins. Not a thing that I can do, not 570 00:45:46.159 --> 00:45:49.480 one of the I can say. I'm gonna try to fulfill all of these 571 00:45:49.599 --> 00:45:54.480 verses. None of that will ever earn me salvation. I must put everything 572 00:45:54.519 --> 00:46:00.960 away and simply, in grace come to Christ and recognize that his death is 573 00:46:01.000 --> 00:46:07.960 all I Need's I close. Let me quote from an old him. Nothing 574 00:46:07.320 --> 00:46:14.880 either great or small, nothing, sinner, No, Jesus did it, 575 00:46:15.239 --> 00:46:22.440 did it all long long ago. It is finished, Yes, indeed finished, 576 00:46:22.639 --> 00:46:28.440 every jot sinner. This is all you need tell me, is it 577 00:46:28.480 --> 00:46:37.679 not? And this very I just love this line. Cast your deadly doing 578 00:46:37.119 --> 00:46:49.239 down down at Jesus feet, standing him in him alone, gloriously complete because 579 00:46:49.280 --> 00:46:53.760 of his love in dying for us, Can we pray, Our God and 580 00:46:53.880 --> 00:47:00.079 Father, we thank you that you gave us commands that are difficult I and 581 00:47:00.079 --> 00:47:05.159 you helped us to understand how we can best fulfill those commands. And we 582 00:47:05.320 --> 00:47:09.360 understand in our life we can't do everything that you've literally commanded. It would 583 00:47:09.360 --> 00:47:15.760 be impossible. But yet you challenge us in our own love towards our brothers 584 00:47:15.800 --> 00:47:21.559 and sisters, towards those that are outside the church. Do we show love 585 00:47:21.679 --> 00:47:25.000 as we should? Are we willing to show love? And Lord, in 586 00:47:25.079 --> 00:47:30.039 doing so, you have shown to us the greatest love of all and sending 587 00:47:30.119 --> 00:47:36.360 your son to die for our sins, and Christ in coming and Holy Spirit 588 00:47:36.400 --> 00:47:40.440 and applying it. And so Lord, I pray, if nothing else this 589 00:47:40.480 --> 00:47:46.440 morning, there might be those who be challenged to cast their deadly doing down 590 00:47:47.440 --> 00:47:53.559 and simply embrace Christ as the answer to all of their needs. That there's 591 00:47:53.679 --> 00:47:59.920 nothing we can do to earn it, but the Christ on the cross has 592 00:48:00.039 --> 00:48:04.679 paid the price. And I asked this in Christ's name. Amen,