Raising the Bar

Raising the Bar Raising the Bar Michael Morse / General CrossFit / Love; Golden Rule; Mercy and Compassion; Agape / Luke 6:27-36 To achieve fitness goals you must raise the bar - both in doing the heavy lifting and metaphorically in raising the resistance or weight - changing the standard. Luke brings us to Jesus raising the bar for His disciples when it comes to love. The challenge is great and the bar or standard is God Himself. Jesus is raising the bar for His disciples on how we are to love. Introduction 1. To raise the bar means to increase the standard acceptable or the goal you want to achieve a. The bar was here and now it is raised to here. b. If the bar was never raised there would be no more growth or achievement i. Crossfitters are always challenging themselves to be better and as such are always raising the bar - yesterdays achievement is no longer enough they must get better and improve 2. Luke this morning continues in Jesus's sermon on the plain - and here Jesus raises the bar for His disciples. a. It is not enough to love - but Jesus is raising the bar on what love for His disciples is to be. b. Now the other side of raising the bar - is that CrossFitters add weight to their lifts (commons sense to get stronger) but its not the act of adding the weight but the raising of the bar that gives growth and strength i. They have to raise the bar to work the muscles ii. Jesus is raising the bar for us this morning on loving as His disciples - now we must also raise the bar by taking this weight and working to raise the bar up to lift the weight iii. Lets follow along and see how Jesus is raising this bar - › SLIDE Luke 6:27-29 CSB 27 "But I say to you who listen: Love your enemies, do what is good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If anyone hits you on the cheek, offer the other also. And if anyone takes away your coat, don't hold back your shirt either. › SLIDE Luke 6:30-32 CSB 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and from someone who takes your things, don't ask for them back. 31 Just as you want others to do for you, do the same for them. 32 If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. › SLIDE Luke 6:33-34 CSB 33 If you do what is good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners to be repaid in full. › SLIDE Luke 6:35-36 CSB 35 But love your enemies, do what is good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High. For he is gracious to the ungrateful and evil. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. › SLIDE Love the Unlovable › SLIDE Luke 6:27-30 CSB 27 "But I say to you who listen: Love your enemies, do what is good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If anyone hits you on the cheek, offer the other also. And if anyone takes away your coat, don't hold back your shirt either. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and from someone who takes your things, don't ask for them back. 1. Love your enemies a. Who is supposed to love their enemies? Jesus says the one who is listens or is listening i. If you are here this morning - hear this morning Jesus is saying to love the unlovable by loving your enemies 1. Just to clear any misconceptions - this means the one who opposes you - actively and continually b. This is a simple command from Jesus - easy for us to understand - in fact we recoil at it because we very well understand it. i. It is simple to understand yet remains so difficult to obey ii. Jesus even told us how to love our enemies c. There are many words used in the Greek language to describe the English word love i. Storge - which is the Greek word to describe love within family 1. Natural or Instinctual love - mother and child ii. Eros - romantic love 1. It is the kind of love that sexual a. It is based on attraction b. It is temporary - transitioning and transferable iii. Phileo - the love of friends or brothers - think Philadelphia city of brotherly love 1. It is a beautiful kind of love - based on common interests 2. It requires reciprocity 3. If I give to you you give back to me. It takes two contributing iv. Agapeo - this love is different from all other forms of love 1. It is entirely independent from externals or other people 2. Agape is independent within itself - rising out of the disposition and heart of the person who chooses to love - who wills to love › SLIDE Out of all the Greek words used for love, only AGAPE love can be used to describe love for enemies, because the other three require favorable circumstances. 2. How to love your enemies › SLIDE In order to love your enemies you must do what is good to those who hate you a. Thats what Jesus says at the end of verse 27. i. We love our enemies by doing good to them even though they may hate us b. Jesus then gives us several acts of agape love - verse 28-30 i. Bless those who curse you 1. Bless - eulogeo - speak well of - we get the word eulogy from this word a. No Jesus is not saying deal with your enemies how you want as long as you give the eulogy ii. Pray for them when they mistreat you 1. I used to think this meant pray imprecatory prayers - prayers of cursings against them 2. But this prayer is to be one of for their good - not their punishment › SLIDE Christian Standard Bible Chapter 23 32 Two others-criminals-were also led away to be executed with him. 33 When they arrived at the place called The Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals, one on the right and one on the left. 34 Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing." › SLIDE Acts 7:59-60 CSB 59 While they were stoning Stephen, he called out: "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!" 60 He knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them!" And after saying this, he died. iii. If anyone hits you offer the other side too 1. It would be wrong and misguided to think that Jesus means we cannot resist or defend a physical attack 2. The hit on the cheek - is a slap - culturally was a deep insult a public embarrassment 3. Jesus is saying do not retaliate or respond in kind iv. If they take your cloak give them your shirt and give to everyone who asks of you and those who take from you 1. Jesus says to love your enemies with a love that can be costly in resources also 2. Your love must be ready to give, give and give › SLIDE In order to love our enemies we MUST be willing to suffer WRONG and suffer WRONGLY › SLIDE Love Distinctly › SLIDE Luke 6:31-34 CSB 31 Just as you want others to do for you, do the same for them. 32 If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 If you do what is good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners to be repaid in full. 1. Do not love like everyone else a. It doesnt stand out and it is not special i. Everyone already loves those who love them - it doesnt take anything special ii. It is easy to do good to those who do good to you 1. A good deed done is easy to return iii. Even banks and institutions are ready to loan money to those who can pay them back iv. If you love like the world you will be just like the world 1. As Jesus says here - even the sinners can love like this - your love is to be greater - I am raising the bar › SLIDE Christian love is to be distinctly deeper than a reciprocal love b. Do for them what you want them to do for you - not what they do for for you i. This is known as the golden rule - treat others as you would like to be treated - this is such a novel idea because we instinctively want to treat others how they treat us ii. Jesus flips this idea on its head because now we treat others how we want to be treated choosing good for our enemies. iii. This love is an active love › SLIDE - Hillel What is hateful to thee, do not do to another › SLIDE - the Stoics What you do not wish to be done to yourself, do not do to any other Confucious said the same thing but Jesus says it is not enough to not do something - I am calling you to do something - I am raising the bar 2. More must be expected and given by the Christian, by the disciple of Jesus a. We claim to have something that others do not i. We claim to be renewed, repentant and redeemed b. We in fact have something that others do not i. We are in fact renewed repentant and redeemed c. We have a power others do not have i. We have Christ and the Holy Spirit dwelling within us › SLIDE Colossians 1:27 CSB 27 God wanted to make known among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. › SLIDE Philippians 4:13 CSB 13 I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me. › SLIDE 1 Corinthians 3:16 CSB 16 Don't you yourselves know that you are God's temple and that the Spirit of God lives in you? › SLIDE - John Stott No comment should be more hurtful to the Christian than the words, "but you are no different from anybody else." The church is distinctly different from the world and should look, behave and love differently. › SLIDE Love Without Expectation › SLIDE Luke 6:35-36 CSB 35 But love your enemies, do what is good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High. For he is gracious to the ungrateful and evil. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. 1. Agape love is sacrificial and unconditional a. These ideas of how love should be are foreign to us - apart from God i. This is why Jesus points us to the Father as the example - the bar that we strive for ii. Jesus raises the bar to the Father 1. For He is gracious to the ungrateful and evil 2. Thats right God loves the unlovable - and proves his love in His actions despite our actions › SLIDE Romans 5:8 CSB 8 But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. › SLIDE Romans 5:10 CSB 10 For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. 2. Love without expectation - with a kind of reckless abandon a. Defined as a complete surrender to natural impulses without restraint or moderation - freedom from inhibition b. Going all out without a care towards the end results of your actions i. Jesus says love your enemies, do what is good and lend - expecting nothing in return ii. The motivation for these actions is the love itself - it is to have no ulterior motives. Conclusion In raising the bar Jesus tells us our love is not to be dependent on others' behavior but our example from God the Father Love is not emotions - for emotions cannot be commanded Love is active and from our will - therefore it can be commanded The bar Jesus is raising is not rules to be obeyed but an attitude of the heart to be lived. › SLIDE 1 John 4:19 CSB 19 We love because he first loved us. › SLIDE 1 John 4:8-11 CSB 8 The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his one and only Son into the world so that we might live through him. 10 Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another. Christmas is Wednesday - we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ (even though we know its not likely His real birthday) we celebrate His birth because of the message of love it shares. That a world lost in sin and headed for judgment was seen in the eyes of God with mercy compassion and a perfect love that He sent His son to be born that He would die on the cross to pay the penalty of sin for all and those who would believe in Him would have forgiveness of their sin and live forever with God God didnt love us because we were good or lovable - we are in fact unlovable and evil - God didnt love us because we started acting right - He loved us from the beginning and chose to sacrifice His son for us since the foundation of the world - while we were yet still enemies of His - He demonstrated His love by sending Jesus to die on the cross that we would be forgiven We are called to love in the same way - as exemplified by God to us. Page . Exported from Logos Bible Software, 11:43 AM December 21, 2019.