Love Your Enemies
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Transcript
Last week we looked at the beatitudes. Jesus was explaining to the people who came out that despite their circumstances, they were blessed. Now Jesus is going on to tell them that despite what is going on, how they are being oppressed that they are called to 2 love their enemies, the one’s who are oppressing them.
In this passage, the overall point that Jesus is getting at is v.36. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
Same as Ephesians 5:1-2, be imitators as beloved children!!
If we want to call ourselves children of God, we’d better imitate Him, we’d better pay attention to what He does and act like Him.
How does God act?
How does God act?
The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”
Adam sin’s and blames the woman and God all in one breath.
We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.”
Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?”
God finally brings them into the land, what happens?
And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals.
We see that God was merciful whenever people would cry out because of what they were going through.
Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them.
But the continued to sin, after the Judges we come to the time of the kings.
He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin; he did not depart from them.
And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, as his fathers had done. He did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin.
but he walked in the way of the kings of Israel. He even burned his son as an offering, according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel.
Do you see a pattern? Do they get punished, yes they do. But God is longsuffering abounding in mercy. Slow to anger, punishment comes but God allows time for repentance.
1450-58 BC That’s almost 1400 years of mercy be from release from Egypt to when the temple was destroyed.
God says we must be merciful like that. What about how He is merciful towards us?
Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.
The sin that we commit is direct transgression against God. Sure we might hurt others but God sees it as an attack on Him. Why? because it is against His commands.
Judah hitting chair with a sword. After being told to stop, looks Sarah in the eye and does it again.
Our Father is merciful towards us in ways that He doesn’t need to be.
Matthew 18:21-35
Matthew 18:21-35
No matter what someone has done to you, it doesn’t compare to what you have done to God. He has forgiven you your debt and demonstrated mercy. Will you do the same for others?
What love looks like
What love looks like
This is what it means to love.
It is not an emotional feeling which is something we have no control over, then it would be none-sense. But Jesus tells us that this is a duty, a requirement.
If you live for Jesus the amount of adversaries you have will grow, Christians are beginning to be labeled as hateful bigots. If you stand for Jesus you will be to.
Pray for your adversaries
If they curse you, do you pray for them? Not that they would be successful in their evil but that their hearts would be changed that they might be spared the wrath of God.
Someone who is directly opposed to you, can you pray for them? This is what it means to love them.
Don’t retaliate
Strike the cheek, probably a reference to an insult
Do we retaliate, or do we take it in stride?
Be charitable
Do we help people in need? Do we look for people who are suffering and attempt to help them?
This needs to be exercised with caution or else we could go broke or be enabling people, but as believers we shouldn’t be marked by greed.
What love doesn’t look like
What love doesn’t look like
Love with expectation
Do you only love those who love you? Care about those who love you? Anybody can do that.
Lend with expectation
Giving to those who can give back. Giving with the thought of “what can this person do for me?”
Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful
Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful