Creekside Church || Wasilla, AK
02.25.24 || LOVE YOUR ENEMIES
Weekly Sermon Notes
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Creekside Church || Wasilla, AK
2201 S Knik-Goose Bay Rd, Wasilla, AK 99654, USA
Sunday 9:00 AM
Sunday 11:00 AM
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MATT 22:34-40 ESV
34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
-Not only did Jesus point out that this was the first and greatest commandment, but scripture also tells us that how we love one another is actually the identifying characteristic of a true believer. Jesus put it this way…
John 13:35
“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
-Hopefully you are beginning to see just how central this theme of love is in the life of every believer. And as we move into our topic for today, I think you will see that how we love our enemies is actually at the very core of the very Gospel itself…
John 13:35
“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
-Hopefully you are beginning to see just how central this theme of love is in the life of every believer. And as we move into our topic for today, I think you will see that how we love our enemies is actually at the very core of the very Gospel itself…
- Matthew 5:43-45
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
-Simple words, but not easy words to put into action!!! This teaching of Jesus comes right on the heels of another difficult teaching of Jesus about rejecting retaliation. This was when Jesus said that if someone slaps you on the right cheek that you’re to turn to them the other. And if someone was to sue you and take your tunic that you should give to them your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, you go two! Remember this? Well… these two teachings are meant to go together. And in fact… if you look at the Gospel of Luke (Luke 6:27-36), you will see that both of these teachings are actually blended into one seamless teaching.
-I think it’s common among Christians today to think of this teaching in terms of what I like to call the “doormat principle”. That essentially, under these type of circumstances, that we should just do nothing. You should just hold your tongue. You should just quietly submit. We’re to roll over and allow ourselves to be walked all over. That’s how many people understand Jesus teaching. But that’s NOT at all what Jesus said…
Instead, Jesus teaches that somehow, we’re to find compassion and love for that person. Not only are you NOT just doing nothing, instead, you’re actually going above and beyond! It’s not a lack of response. Instead, it’s a loving response where a loving response is unwarranted! It’s undeserved favor! It’s a picture of grace!
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
-Simple words, but not easy words to put into action!!! This teaching of Jesus comes right on the heels of another difficult teaching of Jesus about rejecting retaliation. This was when Jesus said that if someone slaps you on the right cheek that you’re to turn to them the other. And if someone was to sue you and take your tunic that you should give to them your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, you go two! Remember this? Well… these two teachings are meant to go together. And in fact… if you look at the Gospel of Luke (Luke 6:27-36), you will see that both of these teachings are actually blended into one seamless teaching.
-I think it’s common among Christians today to think of this teaching in terms of what I like to call the “doormat principle”. That essentially, under these type of circumstances, that we should just do nothing. You should just hold your tongue. You should just quietly submit. We’re to roll over and allow ourselves to be walked all over. That’s how many people understand Jesus teaching. But that’s NOT at all what Jesus said…
Instead, Jesus teaches that somehow, we’re to find compassion and love for that person. Not only are you NOT just doing nothing, instead, you’re actually going above and beyond! It’s not a lack of response. Instead, it’s a loving response where a loving response is unwarranted! It’s undeserved favor! It’s a picture of grace!
The scandal of God’s Grace!
God is a Gracious God, Merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love! In fact, our God is SO loving and Gracious that his mercy reaches right down to those people that we would consider the worst of the worst! People we would consider unworthy!
The book of Jonah is the story of a man coming to terms with the scandal of God's Grace!
-Jonah didn't want to go to Nineveh because the Ninevites were his enemies. They were brutal!
-So what did Jonah do? He jumped on a boat to Tarshish which was about as far as you could possibly go in the opposite direction! And you know the rest of the story. God sent a huge storm. So huge that the crew of the boat knew that God must be angry, so they threw Jonah overboard. And low and behold, God sends a giant fish that swallowed up Jonah. And Jonah spent 3 days in the belly of that fish before he was spit back out onto dry land. And then once again, God called out to Jonah. Jonah… Arise, and go to Nineveh!
Jonah 3:10
“When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.”
-Now… You would think, that as a prophet of God, that Jonah would be pretty excited by the response to his sermon! He shows up, delivers a 5 word sermon, and everyone in the city repents including the cows!!! For a prophet, you gotta think that’s pretty good bragging rights!! But is Jonah happy about this?
Jonah 4:1-3
“But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”
-So is Jonah happy about God relenting on Nineveh? No… he’s ticked! In fact, he didn’t flea to Tarshish because he was fearful. He fled to Tarshish because he knew how God would respond. He says… I knew you would do this! I knew it!!!
God is a Gracious God, Merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love! In fact, our God is SO loving and Gracious that his mercy reaches right down to those people that we would consider the worst of the worst! People we would consider unworthy!
The book of Jonah is the story of a man coming to terms with the scandal of God's Grace!
-Jonah didn't want to go to Nineveh because the Ninevites were his enemies. They were brutal!
-So what did Jonah do? He jumped on a boat to Tarshish which was about as far as you could possibly go in the opposite direction! And you know the rest of the story. God sent a huge storm. So huge that the crew of the boat knew that God must be angry, so they threw Jonah overboard. And low and behold, God sends a giant fish that swallowed up Jonah. And Jonah spent 3 days in the belly of that fish before he was spit back out onto dry land. And then once again, God called out to Jonah. Jonah… Arise, and go to Nineveh!
Jonah 3:10
“When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.”
-Now… You would think, that as a prophet of God, that Jonah would be pretty excited by the response to his sermon! He shows up, delivers a 5 word sermon, and everyone in the city repents including the cows!!! For a prophet, you gotta think that’s pretty good bragging rights!! But is Jonah happy about this?
Jonah 4:1-3
“But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”
-So is Jonah happy about God relenting on Nineveh? No… he’s ticked! In fact, he didn’t flea to Tarshish because he was fearful. He fled to Tarshish because he knew how God would respond. He says… I knew you would do this! I knew it!!!
-Now there’s a bit of irony mixed in here, and I don’t want you to miss it. Because as Jonah describes God here, he’s actually quoting God Himself.
Exodus 34:5-6
“The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,”
-And Jonah is quoting God's description of Himself when he appeared to Moses back on Mt. Sinai when He gave them the 10 Commandments.
-The 1st Commandment was “You shall have no other gods before me”
-The 2nd Commandment was to not make graven images or bow down to idols.
-So Moses delivered the 10 Commandments to the Israelites, and then he headed back up onto the Mountain again to await further instructions from the Lord! But while Moses was up on the mountain, the people got antsy. And what exactly did they do? It says that the Israelites collected everyone’s jewelry and melted it all down and created a Golden Calf. Then it says that they worshipped it, and made sacrifices to it.
-But then it says that Moses interceded for the Israelites and pleaded with God on their behalf. And what did God do? He showed Grace and Mercy towards them. And here’s where we understand the context for God giving his name. It says that God descended in the cloud and spoke to Moses. “The Lord, the Lord, a god merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness”.
-The irony for Jonah was that he was mad at God for being exactly the same way to the Ninevites as he was to the Israelites. The irony was that Jonah and the Israelite people wouldn’t even exist if God wasn’t merciful and gracious!
Exodus 34:5-6
“The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,”
-And Jonah is quoting God's description of Himself when he appeared to Moses back on Mt. Sinai when He gave them the 10 Commandments.
-The 1st Commandment was “You shall have no other gods before me”
-The 2nd Commandment was to not make graven images or bow down to idols.
-So Moses delivered the 10 Commandments to the Israelites, and then he headed back up onto the Mountain again to await further instructions from the Lord! But while Moses was up on the mountain, the people got antsy. And what exactly did they do? It says that the Israelites collected everyone’s jewelry and melted it all down and created a Golden Calf. Then it says that they worshipped it, and made sacrifices to it.
-But then it says that Moses interceded for the Israelites and pleaded with God on their behalf. And what did God do? He showed Grace and Mercy towards them. And here’s where we understand the context for God giving his name. It says that God descended in the cloud and spoke to Moses. “The Lord, the Lord, a god merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness”.
-The irony for Jonah was that he was mad at God for being exactly the same way to the Ninevites as he was to the Israelites. The irony was that Jonah and the Israelite people wouldn’t even exist if God wasn’t merciful and gracious!
-If I'm honest, I’m just like Jonah!
I love the grace of God when it’s pointed at me, but not so much when it’s pointed at people that are guilty and undeserving. But guess what… I’m guilty and undeserving!
-Scripture tells us that outside of Christ, that you and I were at Enmity with God. What does that mean? It means that WE are the enemies!
-It was my sin that put him on that cross! It was your sin that put him on the cross! I’m no different than the very soldiers that nailed him to that cross and then cracked jokes about him while they gambled for his clothing! And yet how did Jesus respond? “Father forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing!"
Loving our enemies is a picture of God’s Grace, and there’s not a one of us that isn’t saved because of that Grace! When we love our enemies, we are actually fleshing out the Gospel and doing exactly for others what Jesus did for us!
I love the grace of God when it’s pointed at me, but not so much when it’s pointed at people that are guilty and undeserving. But guess what… I’m guilty and undeserving!
-Scripture tells us that outside of Christ, that you and I were at Enmity with God. What does that mean? It means that WE are the enemies!
-It was my sin that put him on that cross! It was your sin that put him on the cross! I’m no different than the very soldiers that nailed him to that cross and then cracked jokes about him while they gambled for his clothing! And yet how did Jesus respond? “Father forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing!"
Loving our enemies is a picture of God’s Grace, and there’s not a one of us that isn’t saved because of that Grace! When we love our enemies, we are actually fleshing out the Gospel and doing exactly for others what Jesus did for us!
So how do we do it?
-The 1st thing is this… Pray for your enemies. Don’t forget the words of Jesus on this…
-Matthew 5:44
“Love your enemies, and PRAY for those who persecute you”.
-The first half of this verse is the commandment, and the 2nd half of this verse is the prescription! The first half of this verse tells us what to do, and the 2nd half of this verse tells us how to do it!
-Start by praying for your enemies! Anybody who has ever tried this will tell you, that when you begin praying regularly for your enemies, that something transformative begins to happen. And it’s not typically that your enemy changes. Instead, its that God begins to do a work in your own heart! God begins changing YOU!
-The 2nd thing is this… CHOOSE to love them. In our culture today, we have a distorted view of what the word love means. We tend to think of love as a feeling. So when we think about loving our enemies, we naturally think about somehow having warm and endearing feelings toward them. That is not a Biblical picture of love. Instead, love is far more about a decision that we make. When I married my wife nearly 32 years ago, of course I did have some warm and endearing feelings toward her. But when I entered into the covenant of marriage it was about more than feelings. I CHOSE to love her forever. For rich or for poor, in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad times. No matter what circumstances bring our way, I choose to love her always! Love is a choice, and in the same way that we can decide to love a spouse, we can decide to love our enemies. I may not feel warm feelings toward them but I will choose to show them love through my actions!
-Finally… How in the world do we love our enemies? The answer is that we really CAN’T under our own power. We need God’s help on this! We need the Holy Spirit’s help!
-Ezekiel 36:26-27
“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”
Loving your enemies will always be impossible under your own power! It’s only through the Spirit of God living in us that we can love others the way Christ loved us!
-The 1st thing is this… Pray for your enemies. Don’t forget the words of Jesus on this…
-Matthew 5:44
“Love your enemies, and PRAY for those who persecute you”.
-The first half of this verse is the commandment, and the 2nd half of this verse is the prescription! The first half of this verse tells us what to do, and the 2nd half of this verse tells us how to do it!
-Start by praying for your enemies! Anybody who has ever tried this will tell you, that when you begin praying regularly for your enemies, that something transformative begins to happen. And it’s not typically that your enemy changes. Instead, its that God begins to do a work in your own heart! God begins changing YOU!
-The 2nd thing is this… CHOOSE to love them. In our culture today, we have a distorted view of what the word love means. We tend to think of love as a feeling. So when we think about loving our enemies, we naturally think about somehow having warm and endearing feelings toward them. That is not a Biblical picture of love. Instead, love is far more about a decision that we make. When I married my wife nearly 32 years ago, of course I did have some warm and endearing feelings toward her. But when I entered into the covenant of marriage it was about more than feelings. I CHOSE to love her forever. For rich or for poor, in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad times. No matter what circumstances bring our way, I choose to love her always! Love is a choice, and in the same way that we can decide to love a spouse, we can decide to love our enemies. I may not feel warm feelings toward them but I will choose to show them love through my actions!
-Finally… How in the world do we love our enemies? The answer is that we really CAN’T under our own power. We need God’s help on this! We need the Holy Spirit’s help!
-Ezekiel 36:26-27
“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”
Loving your enemies will always be impossible under your own power! It’s only through the Spirit of God living in us that we can love others the way Christ loved us!
PRAYER AND COMMUNION…
Q- Who are your "enemies"? Who are the people that you struggle to have a good attitude about?
Q: Are you allowing the Spirit of God to work in your life and change your heart?
Q: Are you giving the Spirit of God control over your life so that he causes you to walk in His statutes?
Q: Are you praying for your enemies?
Q: Are you choosing to show love towards your enemies or are you harboring bad feelings?
Q- Who are your "enemies"? Who are the people that you struggle to have a good attitude about?
Q: Are you allowing the Spirit of God to work in your life and change your heart?
Q: Are you giving the Spirit of God control over your life so that he causes you to walk in His statutes?
Q: Are you praying for your enemies?
Q: Are you choosing to show love towards your enemies or are you harboring bad feelings?