Sermon for 2/20/22 16 Minutes "Love, With God's Help!"

Luke 6:27-38

This morning I'll be reading Luke chapter 6 verses 27 through 38. And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. Luke 6:27-38 These verses are a continuation of the verses that we looked at last week and a continuation of the sermon that Jesus was giving. Luke 6:27–38 (HCSB) — 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 one 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. 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. 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 sons of the Most High. For He is gracious to the ungrateful and evil. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. 37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you; a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over—will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning. Let us pray: Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen. ----------------------------------------------------------- Last week we looked at Luke 6:17-26 and seen how we must put God first in our life,,, and we saw that God would take care of Jesus’ followers when they began to be persecuted because of following Him,,, and the blessings that they would receive in the future.

We also have that same assurance,,, of the blessings in the future,,, if we obey as we should,,, but of course,,, we also run the danger of facing the punishment like the ones that Jesus warned would receive if they didn’t take care of others like they should.

These verses that we will look at this morning,,, a continuation of the verses we looked at last week,,, will show us what we have inside of us.

Whether we have the fruit of the Spirit,,, or the fruit of the flesh.

These things that Jesus mentions can only be obtained on a consistent basis by listening to the Holy Spirit as we go about our day.

This isn't something that we are capable of accomplishing alone.

And,,, thankfully,,, we do have God's help through these things,,, if we pay attention.

So let’s look at these verses and see how they will help us in our walk with God this week.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verses 27 through 31 say: 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 one 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.

How many times have we heard these words before,,, and yet,,, how many times do we hear them,,, and then,,, go about our lives just like we’ve never heard them at all.

That’s what we have to be careful of,,, hearing,,, then ignoring what we hear,,, or else,,, we will be included in the same punishment as the woes that we looked at last week.

But,,, here Jesus is giving advice that we,,, as human beings,,, can’t accomplish on our own for any length of time.

Sure we can for a little bit,,, but our human nature usually takes over,,, unless we are really paying attention to the Holy Spirit like we should.

And,,, these are hard things to do as well!

Love your enemies,,, do what is good to those who hate you,,, and all of the other things that Jesus list,,, that’s very hard.

That means that the person that you truly can’t stand to be around,,, that really gets on your last nerve,,, says bad things about you,,, hits you,,, steals from you,,, on and on,,, you must love,,, and,,, then,,, do something good for them!

Plus,,, Pray for them,,, bless them,,, and give them the shirt off your back,,, if they want it!

Those are all hard to do.

Then,,, you have Luke’s writing of the golden rule,,,

31 Just as you want others to do for you, do the same for them.

That cannot be accomplished without God’s help,,, that’s why our relationship,,, our daily relationship with God,,, not just when we need Him relationship,,, but each and every day personal,,, relationship,,, is so very important!

----------------------------------------------------------- Verses 32 through 34 say: 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.

Jesus is telling us,,, that we,,, as followers of Him,,, must be different.

We must be better than,,, sinners,,, those that are only concerned for themselves!

The ones that are only thinking of this moment and time,,, never thinking about their future,,, their eternity!

----------------------------------------------------------- Verses 35 and 36 say: 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 sons of the Most High. For He is gracious to the ungrateful and evil. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

The things that we do now,,, for those that don’t know Jesus,,, the ones that are only selfishly thinking of themselves,,, will be things that we will be rewarded for one day!

Loving,,, as God first loved us,,, while we were yet sinners ourselves,,, using that perfect example of love,,, brings blessings to us today,,, by improving our attitude,,, knowing that we are doing the right thing,,, and then,,, it brings future blessings as well!

----------------------------------------------------------- Verse 37 says: 37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

There are two things that love doesn’t do—it doesn’t judge and it doesn’t condemn.

So many times,,, we don’t know the whole story about something that we see or hear about,,, and we definitely don’t know what’s in their heart,,, so we must be careful of what we say and do.

But then,,, there are certain areas,,, or times,,, however,,, that Christians must judge.

We must be able to see whether other people are true Christians; otherwise we could never recognize an unequal yoke as seen in 2 Corinthians 6:14 “Do not be mismatched with unbelievers. For what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?”

Sin must be judged in the home,,, and in the church.

In other words,,, we must judge between good and evil,,, but being sure that we don’t guess about anyone's motives,,, or,,, attack their character.

Everything must be done,,, in a loving way,,, so that they can be set back on the right path,,, just as God helped each one of us to see,,, that we were going in the wrong direction,,, and turned us around as well.

The last part of that verse,,, needs mentioning as well,,, Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

We must remember the Lord’s prayer,,, “forgive us our trespasses,,, as we forgive those who trespass against us”,,, not just say the words,,, but to “live” the words,,, so that we,,, who are so undeserving,,, are forgiven,,, as well!

God cannot forgive us when we are unwilling to forgive one another.

He doesn’t act that way,,, and He cannot have a relationship with us when we aren’t obedient.

If we don’t forgive others,,, it will be like a wall,,, between us and God,,, but it’s torn down,,, by forgiving others,,, and that relationship is restored.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verse 38 says: 38 Give, and it will be given to you; a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over—will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”

The Christian ministry can be compared to a well run business,,, or store.

The more money that you put into a business or store,,, through the better products that you buy,,, the more products that you buy,,, all of this will result in a profit almost unimaginable.

While,,, if you put very little effort and money into the products that you buy and sell,,, your profit will be very small and your business will never survive.

It’s the same with your Christian walk with God,,, it takes some effort on your part to make the relationship work,,, but if you do your part,,, “Oh let me tell you!” What a blessing that will be!

----------------------------------------------------------- All of these seem impossible to do,,, and without God’s help they are.

But,,, if we rely on His help like we should,,, all of these are possible.

My Believer’s Bible Commentary says that love like this,,, is unbeatable.

The world can usually conquer the man who fights back.

It is used to jungle warfare and to the principle of retaliation.

But it does not know how to deal with the person who repays every wrong with a kindness.

It is utterly confused and disorganized by such other-worldly behavior.

----------------------------------------------------------- As Christians,,, we are to be different than those of the world.

The light that Christ puts in us must be visible for all to see.

And it shines the brightest,,, when we are doing good things for others,,, especially those,,, that could be considered an enemy.

----------------------------------------------------------- So remember these verses this week,,, and the way that we are supposed to act.

Remember that our relationship with God makes all of this possible,,, we can’t do this on our own,,, so be sure that you do the things that continue to build up your relationship with God,,, and keep it strong,,, so that this will be accomplished.

Because we know the words of Jesus are true,,, in Matthew 19:26 He said,,, “But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- Hymn: 337 - Oakdale Hymn: 337 - Seminary Benediction ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------