Sunday, January 29, 2017

Love your Enemies- Master Teacher- Matthew 5:38-48

 By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35
In these tumultuous times, we need a little reprieve from the fear and hate that permeates the airwaves. Those talking heads espouse “news” which is nothing more than rhetoric we are expected to believe. Celebrities who are not experts in any field, and who don’t hold degrees, citing men who have degrees from places we wouldn’t respect if we were to visit their campuses, come across like they know more just because they have a microphone. Drop the mic and realize what is going on. Everyone is backtalking, backstabbing, those things that were once held in high esteem. Some think it’s funny, and others think it’s cool to put down and then kick it while it’s down. What happened to common values and decency? Before we go pointing fingers, we need to realize the ones on our own hand pointing back at us. Church, where are you? Why is hatred and fear running rampant and love and compassion has not hedged the wounds on our society? The church is supposed to be a hospital, not a morgue. Our teacher has not left the room. He’s still with us. The lesson is still ongoing.
Is it hard to love those around you? Probably not since most of us surround ourselves with like-minded and likeable people and avoid people we don’t care to be around. Recently, our church held a fast and prayer time where we met every night to corporately pray. We all “Sunday” know each other, but don’t really ‘know’ each other. Yet, over the past few weeks we’ve come to truly find brotherly affection for one another, and to grow in the love of the Lord toward each other as we’ve shared in prayer. It has made us closer to one another, but more importantly, it’s made us want to share that love with more people than just those present in the room. The Master Teacher has been teaching us, practically, that love is contagious. He shared that with the crowd of believers 2000 years ago on the mount when He taught:  
You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist the evildoer. But whoever strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other to him as well. And if someone wants to sue you and to take your tunic, give him your coat also. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give the one who asks, and do not reject the one who wants to borrow from you.” Matthew 5:38-42
It is hard to comprehend what it is Jesus is saying here. Is he asking us to allow ourselves to be doormats? Well, yes, in a way he is. He’s asking us to do what is necessary to win someone over to the cause. He is not saying not to fight when it’s necessary to fight for righteousness sake. We must remember this Jesus is the Lamb of God, but he is also the Lion of Judah. Exodus 15:3 says, “The Lord is a man of war, The LORD is His name.” A warrior is not someone who goes picking a fight. A true warrior is one who fights when the battle is called for and rests, when there is no need to fight. That is what the Lord Jesus is teaching here. He is saying, if it’s of the flesh, it’s not worth fighting for, but if it is of the eternal, then yes, we will be called to fight for it.  The expression, “Pick your battle” doesn’t apply here. The Lord picks the battle. It’s found in His word. Proverbs 6:16-19 says, “These six things the LORD Hates, Yes, seven are and abomination to Him: A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that swift in running to evil, A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren.” In short, pride, murder, strife, maliciousness, contentiousness, envy, and disunity within our members and as we reach out to others.
We are called to fight these things, not only in others, but mostly with in our own nature. We are called to wrestle it down daily in our own body and throw it repeatedly upon that altar of sacrifice. Dying to self is exhausting work! It seems like I get one limb tied down and another breaks free, and I cry out, “Lord, help me! I can’t get this old sinful self to lie still! The knots I tie keep slipping!” Maybe it’s because I keep tying the same flimsy knots instead of allowing God to take the cord. When He says, “Put your finger here and I’ll pull it tot,” it works. It’s just hard for me to look that sacrifice in the face, because it’s my face looking back at me, and I see the agony I’m putting myself through. But when God sees it, He sees his Son’s sacrifice to defeat that sin that is dying on that altar, and He knows the necessity of it. I want to set me free, But He says, “It must be done for without it, I cannot be with you, and this old thing will rise up and beat the life out of you.” God knows how to fight, and I just need to fight His way, with love.
We, as believers, must know who how to fight, and the Teacher gave us instruction on that as well. Ephesians 6:13-18 “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.”
We should know the truth of God, which can only come through relationship with our Master Teacher, by sitting in that classroom day in and day out, and doing our lessons faithful, and taking the good and the bad, trudging through our training in all that is required of us. We must suck it in for that girding of the truth, because it’s important we are transformed and not conformed. We will be fitted for that breastplate and learn to wear it even when it chaffs our softer materialists spots we want a little more freedom instead of protection over. The shodding of our feet with the preparation shoes, well, they might cause people to wonder why we’re not wearing the latest style instead of spouting those out of date philosophies, so maybe we’ll want to just kick them right off and play the game barefoot instead and take our chances among the thorns and thistles. Our shield can become a little heavy to carry at times too. Sometimes, we just want to lower it just a little because after all, our helmet is on our head, since we prayed a prayer when we were young, right? Isn’t that enough? Isn’t saying, “Here,” when the roll is called enough for being in school?  Then there’s the whole wielding of the sword of the Spirit training. Isn’t a couple of minutes a day, and knowing John 3:16 enough to pass the test? Let’s admit it. We need some serious attention to our Master Teacher. He’s calling us to attention, and we’d better be giving him our full and undivided attention. His lesson continues as he tells who we’re fighting against.
You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor, and ‘hate your enemy’. But I say to you, love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be like your Father in heaven, since He causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors do the same, don’t they? And if you only greet your brothers, what more do you do? Even the Gentiles do the same, don’t they? So then be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:43-48
            By now you might be wondering if I’m asking you to fight or to love. I’m asking you to fight with love; or fight to love with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a battle call. The world is not ready, at this time, to be loved. Imagine the child who is in the middle of a tantrum, and the father of that child picks him up and says to him, “Son, I see you. I know you’re angry. I know you’re scared and afraid, but I’m here now, and I see you. I hear you. It doesn’t matter if the child is wrong or right. What matters to the child is that daddy is there to comfort him. That’s what is going on in the world today. There are so many angry, scared, misdirected people throwing tantrums amid a chaotic world, and the real enemy is wanting to keep them there. Church, we should see them as people, not the enemy, but as victims of the enemy of God.
Before we armored up we were told in Ephesians 6:10-12, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” We’re not fighting people, we’re fighting against systems and ideologies that enslave people. We, the Church, should be looking at these ideologies that seek to destroy life, that hurt and enslave people, and declare war on those, and send in special teams, like Christian SEAL teams that will come in and do rescue missions to get out as many people as possible. The traps of the enemy are meant to kill, steal, and destroy, and they are vicious. We need to use our weaponry and be well trained and reaching for no less than the Well Done from our Master Teacher.
Let’s be practical. What does life look like for the average believer as we go through life:
1.      Fellowship-We first must be in fellowship. No soldier can go into a fight and expect to make it out alone. We need a family of believers. As “out dated” as I’ve heard people say the local church is it is not outdated. If you don’t like your church it’s probably because you’re not plugged into it. If you have a good idea go talk to your pastor. You might find a man who wants more good ideas, and needs a lot more help. Also, get involved with small home Bible study groups. These are people you really do life with and have accountability with for the long term. You can’t know everyone in your church, but if you know a group of people it makes your spiritual family matter to you.
2.      Read your Bible goes without saying, but seriously, if you want to know God then go get Him. He’s right there, but read it cover to cover, and never stop reading it. You might see something one way one time and then see it another way as God guides you through life. Be a Berean and search Him out. You will always be His student.
3.      Pray! Pray all the time, stay in constant contact with Him. Ask Him for the small things and the big things. Be willing to be told yes, and told no, and be told wait, and be told go. Learn to speak during prayer times, but also be willing to listen too.
4.       Worship- Take time alone to have those intimate times with God, with no one else but the two of you. When you’re there with Him remember who He is, and who you are to Him. Your identity is found not in the world, or in who others say you are, but in who the one who created you finds you to be when you find Him.
5.      Serve others- You can die to self much faster if you put self to good use. Practice your religion. And religion, as defined in the Bible, is found in James 1:27, “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit the orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” If you’re so focused on feeding the hungry you don’t think about what color your apron is. You think about feeding the hungry. You might just find you enjoy doing it. Fight the good fight of loving others. Remember what love looks like.
 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.
 John 15:13

No comments:

Post a Comment