Scripture Matthew5:38-48 - 38"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth/ 39But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also, 40And if someone wants to sue you and take you tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41If someone forces you to go one mile, go two miles. 42Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. 43"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. 44But I tell you; love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are you even the tax collectors doing that? 47And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Sermon series, 5 pt.......from the sermon on the mount.......good stuff
Who is Jesus speaking to?
These rules were for their neighbors
Jew upon Jew
He is talking about the kind of community he wants to create
We struggle with these sayings
Do you always turn the other cheek?
In the old, old west, a devout Quaker cowboy had been needled and harrassed until he could stand no longer. Speaking up to his tormentors, he announced: "Sir, I do not believe in violence and I would not harm thee for anything in the world. But my compassion for all men compels me to warn thee that thee are standing in the place where I am about to shoot."
What is Jesus saying
He was responding to some bad thinking
What was he speaking to?
Not life long universal application - not a forever and even amen
8If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. 1Timothy5:8
Borrower is slave to the lender - Proverbs22:7
If you fave to everyone who asked, no one would be able to build a house on the rock or sand
Jesus is talking about the kind of community that he wants to devlelop
When they love one another, they treat each other kindly
churches are famous for fighting
over the color of the carpet
steely glances shared from across the room - one family to another
Famous for guilting people
Someone didn't get their way.....
It is if, in the place where the best should display, the worst is sometimes seen
The law of love or the law of hurting....one good hurt deserves another
The Christians have the only army that shoots it's wounded
It can not be so here
Ever now and then we have to remember what kind of people we are called to be
We are going to be kind. We are going to emulate Christ
We are going to dispense grace.
Hebrew12:15 See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many
Instead let us practice...Fruit of the Spirit Galatians5
love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control.
This is who and what we are called to be
There is a difficult saying in the passage
Be ye perfect even as your father in heaven is perfect
God is seeking that we have a perfect heart......Holiness is nothing to be afraid of.
Holiness shows its face when you are kind to people. Holiness is not religious or arrogant, It is, even in the face of hurt, kind gracious and forgiving. When we show such kindness, we are perfect, even as our father in Heaven are perfect.
the kind of church that I want us to have
includes basic principles and values of character
I saw a person this past week at a church function. I do not know them very well.
I observed them
They hid someone else's cookie
They got down on their hands and knees to pick up crumbs of food
They worked like a dog
Character that I want us to emulate
Humor, humility, hard work
We have to decide.............
How we treat people that are different than us
How we treat people that we disagree with
How we treat people that are mean to us or others
How we treat people that leave our church
Wesley left 3 general rules for living
Do No Harm, Do Good, Stay in love with God
Ephesians4:29-32
29Do not let an unwholesome talk come our of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were seated for the day of redemption. 31Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
What kind of community do we want to have
We have the opportunity and the responsibility to shape our culture. To creat and sustain an environment where love is not simply spoken of, but is lived out.
If begins here....Starts here and moves to our homes. To our work places
34"A new command I give you: Love one another, as I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John13:34-35
A Turkish officer raided and looted an Armenian home. He killed the aged parents and gave the daughters to the soldiers, keeping the eldest daughter for himself. Some time later she escaped and trained as a nurse. As time passed, she found herself nursing in a ward of Turkish officers. One night, by the light of a lantern, she saw the face of this officer. He was so gravely ill that without exceptional nursing he would die. The days passed, and he recovered. One day, the doctor stood by the bed with her and said to him, "But for her devotion to you, you would be dead." He looked at her and said, "We have met before, haven't we?" "Yes" she said, "We have bet before." "Why didn't you kill me?" he asked. She replied "I am a follower of him who said "Love your enemies."
Henry Ward Beecher was one of the great preachers of the nineteenth century. Beecker was one of those disciples of Christ who could respond in love and compassion to those who attacked and disturbed him. So much so, in fact, that throughout his Brooklyn parish it was said that, "If you want a favor from Beecher, kick him."
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