Love your enemies

m, Luke 6:27–38

27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, 28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. 29 And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also. 30 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. 31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. 32 For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. 33 And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. 34 And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. 35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. 36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.

Jesus mentioned seven aspects of unconditional love.

These actions, not done naturally by human nature, require supernatural enabling—and are thus proof of true righteousness:

Introduction:

Review

Outlive your enemies

How do you view yourself?

Poverty, hunger, sorrow, rejection…a blessing?  Riches, satisfaction, happiness and popularity…a curse?

Anybody who doesn’t view themselves like that isn’t in the Kingdom.

Now we look at our view of others.

God is calling us to the impossible.

We will be made distinctive in how we view our enemies.

Need to be retaught about love

Matthew 5:43

43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

How do we learn about love?

You have experienced the hurt of someone telling you they dont love you anymore.

You have see it in the movies that if your find your soulmate life is easy.

You have heard it said by an angry father to your mother she is worthless.

You have worked hard to be loved by someone and felt rejected.

You have heard songs that say “I’ll love you until I die.” but you rarely seen it lived out in real life.

What we have heard said about love isn’t very helpful.

We are getting instruction as believers.

Specific Distinctions in Scripture

Not addressing sinners. They love differently.

1 Corinthians 2:14

14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Sinners love those who love them.

Luke 6:32 (AV)

32 For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.

Even the IRS loves some people

Matthew 5:46 (AV)

46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?

Sinners do good to those who do good to them

Luke 6:33

33 And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.

Sinners do good unto those who will do good unto them.

Luke 6:34

34 And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.

Teaching is addressed to those that can hear.

Luke 6:27

27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,

Do not attempt this at home, do not attempt as an unbeliever.

We are to be different

The Way Back: How Christians Blew Our Credibility and How We Get It Back 5. The Line That Never Ended

•  Elevating the role of women in the culture

•  Refusing to have abortions

•  Valuing female children as much as males

•  Men loving and caring for their wives, and not pursing sex outside of marriage

•  Experiencing joy even in persecution

•  Committing to help the poor and needy

•  Taking care of widows and orphans

•  Pooling their meager possessions to share with those in need

RODNEY STARK, THE RISE OF CHRISTIANITY

In fact a tribute about the nursing skill of fellow Christians during the Antonine Plague of 165

Heedless of danger, they took charge of the sick, attending to their every need and ministering to them in Christ, and with them departed this life serenely happy; for they were infected by others with the disease, drawing on themselves the sickness of their neighbors and cheerfully accepting their pains. Many, in nursing and curing others, transferred their death to themselves and died in their stead …

Dionysius also wrote about the reaction of those outside the Christian community to the plague:

The heathens behaved in the very opposite way. At the first onset of the disease, they pushed the sufferers away and fled from their dearest, throwing them into the roads before they were dead and treated unburied corpses as dirt, hoping thereby to avert the spread and contagion of the fatal disease; but do what they might, they found it difficult to escape.

How is it we can hear and now can love differently?

We came hungry

We came weeping

We came knowing we were sick.

We came poor.

Opposite of the world that thinks they need to work on their resume. We came with a blank piece of paper.

Love your enemies

Do good to those who hate you.

Bless those who curse you.

Pray for those who mistreat you.

Do not retaliate

Give freely

Treat others the way you want to be treated.

(1) Love your enemies.

Luke 6:27 (AV)

27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,

So who Is our enemy?

Those who curse you v.27

Those who despitefully use you. v.28

Those who harm you or rob you v.30

Those who are unthankful v.35

Love those who do not love you!

Luke 6:32 (AV)

32 For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.

Who is your "Neighbor" Is Not Just Friends and Brothers

Jesus answers the question of who is my neighbor by the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10)

One law of Love: Love your neighbor even if he is your enemy

Examples given

Exodus 23:4–5 (AV)

4 If thou meet thine enemy’s ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. 5 If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him.

Leviticus 19:18 (AV)

18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.

(2) Do good to those who hate you.

Luke 6:27 (AV)

27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,

Love is shown as an action toward them.

We are demonstrating something about the love of God when we do.

Psalm 103:10 AV

10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

God is seen as merciful and al satisfying when we act in this manner!

Pray right now God would show you what that good thing is.

We will look at 3 examples before I ask you to respond today.

(3) Bless those who curse you.

Luke 6:28 (AV)

28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.

What is commonly believed?

Matthew 5:43 (AV)

43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

Example of the story of the father of the prodigal son. Son viewed the Father as dead. Father’s view of the son was a desire for blessing in his sons life.

End of story showed father’s heart toward someone who have cursed him

Luke 15:32 (AV)

32 It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.

(4) Pray for those who mistreat you.

Luke 6:28 (AV)

28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.

Stephen praying for those who were killing him.

Acts 7:60 (AV)

60 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

(5) Do not retaliate

Luke 6:29 (AV)

29 And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also.

David didn’t live by emotion

David’s refusal to kill Saul on two occasions when it seemed that God had delivered Saul into David’s hands is a classic biblical example of this principle.

Romans 12:17 (AV)

17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.

How do you do this? Find your treasure outside of retaliation.

Psalm 63:3 AV

3 Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.

What feels better than revenge? Obedience to God.

What feels better than taking things into your own hands? Leaving them in His.

Deuteronomy 32:35

35 To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.

(6) Give freely v. 29b–30

Luke 6:30 (AV)

30 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.

How can you live so generously when everyone would criticize you?

Mark 14:3–6 (AV)

3 And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head. 4 And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made? 5 For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her. 6 And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me.

Are actions shouldn’t always be understand by unbelievers.

We can be generous when they don’t think we should.

Want an alabaster box? Pout out on someone who doesn’t love you as unto the Lord.

(7) Treat others the way you want to be treated.

Luke 6:31 (AV)

31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.

We want understanding

We want compassion

Even when we don’t know the word we want grace

We would want someone to share the Gospel with us.

God’s love for us is to great to give us what we deserve!

Let that be our example to follow.

What are some ways we can show love to our enemies (or those who do not love us)

1. Greet them

Matthew 5:47 (AV)

47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?

Do not ignore them. Embrace them.

2. Meet their physical needs

The evil are those who hate God. But God gives them sunshine and rain.

Many times you want to give your enemies lighting and thunder.

Matthew 5:45 (AV)

45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

Romans 12:20 (AV)

20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.

3. Pray for them.

Prayer for your enemies is one of the deepest forms of love, because it means that you have to really want that something good happen to them

This is how we demonstrate the love of God to a broken world.

Luke 6:36 (AV)

36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.

Incredible we get to extend this wonderful thing called mercy.

It does not exist outside of God.

We have access to it because we are children of the highest.

Luke 6:35 (AV)

35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.

Loving your enemy doesn't earn you the reward of heaven. Treasuring the reward of heaven empowers you to love your enemy.

Conclusion

Ask God to change your heart and mind toward those who do not love you.

Make a decision to today to demonstrate love to someone who you know can not repay

Commit to viewing love from God’s perspective and not the worlds.