Love Without Limits (Luke 6:27-36)

Loving people who love you is easy. Loving people who hurt you is something else entirely.

In this week's message from Luke 6, Pastor Todd explores one of the most challenging teachings of Jesus: "Love your enemies." In a world that tells us to get even, hold grudges, and only give to those who deserve it, Jesus calls His followers to live differently.

Discover what it means to love beyond feelings, extend grace when it's undeserved, and show mercy the same way God has shown mercy to us. Jesus didn't just teach enemy-love—He demonstrated it on the cross, praying for those who mocked, rejected, and crucified Him.

This message will challenge you to ask some important questions: Who do you need to love this week? Are you giving people what they deserve or what God gave you? And when people watch how you respond to those who hurt you, do they see the heart of your Heavenly Father?

The family resemblance of a believer is mercy. When we love the way Jesus loves, we point people to Him.

Listen now and learn how Kingdom love changes everything.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

So good morning, everybody. Um have you ever noticed? You ever noticed uh how easy it is to love people who love you? You ever notice how how it's easy to walk up to somebody that's wearing a cowboy's jersey and be like, we're we suffer together in friendship, right? Right? How easy it is uh to love people that look like you, how easy it is to love people that drive as good as you. The people that are not easy to love are the ones that don't always do what we want them to do. Can I tell you a pet peeve that I have this morning? These are the people that as I'm working through love others as Christ love you, these people came to my mind. It's the person that's in the front row at a red light, the person that's the very first car at a red light, and the light turns green, and nothing happens. Right. Why does nothing happen? Because they're on their phone. Get off your phone and get your right foot on the gas and go. But God tells us this morning we should love those people. I'm like, ugh, my God, I don't know that I can love those people. And here's what's worse when you give them the courtesy, you know, not the not the rude the courtesy, the sub bro. And then they throw their hands up at you like it's your fault that they weren't paying attention. It's like you had one responsibility. Listen, if you are front car at a stoplight, your responsibility is to pay attention. I should be on my phone because you're paying attention, and when you move, I should be able to move with you. Although that didn't work out, our beloved Pastor Zoe, who's gone on to another church, she did that one time and read a red light and gotten a wreck, but uh it's neither here nor there. Uh huh, yeah. Get her, get her on the live feed. Um, but it's easy to be kind to people when they're kind to you. It's easy to help people when they help you. It's easy to forgive people who apologize. Anyone ever have a have a time in marriage where you know that you need to apologize, but you're not gonna apologize because you're right. And everybody uncomfortably laughs next to the person who maybe you had that fight this morning on the way to church. You know, I I think the devil loves Saturday night and Sunday mornings because sometimes we just have that argument on the way here. Here's the thing, here's what I've learned. Apologies never hurt anything. Just especially in marriage, except for when you apologize and they go, Well, what are you apologizing for? I don't know, I'm apologizing. What else do you need? What else do you need from me? I'm sorry, what are you sorry for? I don't know. For being me, that's what I'm sorry for, right? But listen, Jesus isn't interested in teaching us how to do what comes naturally, He wants to teach us how to do what comes unnaturally to us. And in Luke 6, now Luke 6 has been a spicy chapter for us. Jesus teaches us that life in the what life in the kingdom of God looks like. And it's completely upside down from the world around us. I think we've seen this week after week after week after week. The world says, get even. The world says protect yourself, the world says pay people back for what they give you. But God says, love those who don't deserve it. Jesus says, love your enemies, not tolerate them, not avoid them, not secretly hope that God spikes them from heaven with a thunderbolt. What does he say? Love them. Here's the problem, guys. We can't put love God, love people on the building if we don't love people. Following Jesus means love people who don't deserve it because you know why? That's exactly how God loves you. There's not a one in of us this morning that are in this room that deserve God's love. You know why? Because we're all sin. We're all sinners. That while we were yet sinners, what did Christ do for us? He took the punishment for us on the cross. Why? Not because you deserved it, not because you're a good person, because he loves you. So this morning, the title of my message if you're taking notes is Love Without Limits. Love in any language. Anybody remember that one? Street from the Hawk pulls us up together. Y'all know that one? Okay, moving on. That was the Sandy Patty song. I actually sang it on stage with Sandy Patty. I'll give you autographs after service, okay? Never mind. She pulled every kid in the audience on the stage. That doesn't matter. That's not in the story. Love without limits. So if you have your Bibles, grab them, go to Luke chapter 6. We're gonna skip down to verse 27. Luke chapter 6, starting at verse 27 this morning. If you don't have your Bibles, don't worry about it. Tap the NFC tag on the chair in front of you, download the Church Center app, hit sermon notes, follow along. You have fill in the blank sermon notes there for us this morning. So Luke chapter six, starting in verse 27. But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you, to the one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and for the one who takes away the cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs for you, and from one who takes away your goods, do not demand them back. The first point this morning is love is a verb. Love is a verb. If you didn't pay attention in English class like me, that means love is an action. Love is not something you feel, love is something you do. Notice that Jesus doesn't say, or Jesus does not say, he doesn't say, feel warm and affection towards your enemies. No, he says, love them, do good to them, bless them, pray for them. These are actions. The command is aimed at the will, not at your emotions. Why? Because we've said over and over and over and over and over again, your emotions fail you all the time. Jesus understands something about us. Feelings often follow actions. You may not feel loving towards someone who hurt you. But listen, love is not an emotion to wait for, love is an action to choose.

unknown 7:36

Woo!

SPEAKER_00 7:37

That'll preach. I don't know if somebody felt that this morning, but that'll preach. Love is not an emotion to wait for, love is an action to go after. Now listen, you know, there's times that I don't feel loving. There's times in your life that you're not gonna feel loving towards others. There's times in your life that, like for me, that I don't necessarily want to be up here. But God calls me to do it anyway. But listen, Jesus isn't asking us to do something he wasn't willing to do himself. Remember, as he hung on a cross, beaten, mocked, nailed, thereby the very people he came to save. What was his prayer for them? Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Jesus didn't teach, just teach love of enemies, he demonstrated it for us. So who comes to your mind when you hear the word enemy? Maybe it's not an enemy, maybe it's just someone who hurts you. Maybe you have someone that betrayed to you, maybe you have someone that has blasted hateful lies about you on social media nonstop. Or maybe this person makes your life difficult. You know, believe it or not, I know you're like, Pastor, you're a very loving, love, lovable person. You know, I have those people in my life. You're not supposed to laugh at that. You laughed way too much for that, right? But, you know, I have those people in my life. I've had people in my life that have that would not spit on me if I was on fire. But you know what I have to do when I see them in Walmart? I have to say hi. Because I'm not just Todd, I'm Pastor Todd, and God calls me to a higher calling. In fact, I have loved so people so well that I've gotten emails about loving them too well. Monica laughs out loud. I've been too nice to people that have left and spit on me on their way out. Now, I'm not doing that to prop me up, I'm doing that to say that's what God is calling us to do. Because this week God is calling us to stop asking, how do I feel about them? And start asking, what would love do? How would Jesus love? Because Jesus never said feel good about your enemies. He said love them. The measure of Christian love isn't your feelings towards people, it's your actions towards them. Listen, God never said you have to like them. He just says you have to love them. And listen, I think sometimes we're waiting for the moment that we like somebody before we do something towards them. And God said, Listen, you've done nothing for me to like you. But I still love you anyway. You're quiet because you're thinking, verse 31. And as you wish that others would do to you, do also for them. It's the golden rule, right? If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those who lend to whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners to get back the same amount. Wow. Just tell me how it really is, Jesus. You love those who love you? Even sinners do that. You give money to those that'll pay it back to you, even sinners do that. Thanks, Jesus. Number two, love people when they don't deserve it. Love people when they don't deserve it. Jesus inserts the golden rule right in the middle of love your enemies. Why? Because kingdom love is not based on what others deserve, it's based on how God has treated us. You're called to love others because you're not lovable either. The world operates on reciprocity. Now, if you weren't paying attention in school, that means I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine. Okay? Now you can use this in a sentence to say, this world is not based upon reciprocity. And like, wow, Walt's really paying attention in church. Right? The world is based on you scratch my back, I'll scratch yourself. You help me, I'll help you. You respect me, I'll respect you. Doesn't this world love to say respect is earned? Well, I don't think God said respect is given by him. Um Jesus says that nothing is special. Even sinners do that. Anyone can love lovable people, anybody can be generous to those that will return an investment, anybody can help people who will help them back. The distinguishing mark of a disciple is loving when there is no benefit to love someone. He loved us because that's who he is. God is love. And if you don't have the distinguishing mark of God, can you truly be a Christ follower? If you don't have love in your heart, if you don't have love in your life, do you truly know God? So ask yourself this. Do I only love people who love me back? Do I only help people who help me? Because Jesus calls us beyond that. This week, I want you to find one person that you can bless with no expectation of getting anything in return. You know, there's been many times that Crystal and I have blessed people in our lives and they say, Why do you do that? Because that's what God calls us to do. And you know what? Our world just doesn't get that. They just don't understand why you would do that. Because that's what God calls you to do. Because if our love only flows towards those who deserve it, we're loving like the world, we're not loving like Jesus. Now, you ready for me to tell you a secret? I got a secret for you. I got a secret that I've been holding a really long time that I'm ready to tell you. Are you ready to hear it? Okay. There's a group of people that don't deserve our love that we're gonna love anyway over an Alvaredo. Amen. I told you I'd make an Alvaredo joke. There's some unlovable people in Alvaredo. I'm just kidding, Walt, but we love you. Here's the thing: God has called us to love people all over, and God has given us another great opportunity to plant another work of God. And so, if you will go look up on your Google Maps or Apple Maps, Alvaredo Worship Center. That building has become available and has been offered to us by the assemblies of God. And so this will be very similar to Meridian, but very different. It's gonna be very different, is because there's no church there, it's empty. And so we're excited to have Noah and Amanda Salcedo are gonna travel all the way to Alvarado, and they're gonna plant Hope Church Alvaredo. We were holding the secret because there was no water, and we didn't want you to go there and see it and not have anywhere to go to the bathroom. Uh so now the water sticks. Now we have bathrooms, and now you can go and help us clean it out. Amen. And so we're hoping to get it started. Uh may not be this year. We're we're we're shooting probably for 2027, but knowing Amanda need a group of people that are gonna go and help them plant a healthy, vibrant church in Alvaredo, Texas. So by 2027, remember what I talked about in the next 15? God calls us to be a church planning church. By 2027, we will have three locations of Hope Church. Amen. Amen. We're gonna take over Johnson County and Boski County for Jesus. And here's the thing: I don't believe that is all. I believe God has more. I believe God is calling us to sin more. I believe, listen, I'm not about multi-sites uh for my entertainment at each each one of these locations. Andrew is preaching uh in they started nine minutes in Meridian. Andrew is preaching, it's not me on a screen. Noah is gonna be preaching in Alvaredo, it's not gonna be me on a screen. We are print planting healthy, vibrant churches uh that are gonna do great work for the Lord. Because here's the thing when we called, we're called to love God and love people, we have to take that love of people into different communities all over our our our all over our county, all over and eventually, hope church is gonna take over the world, right? Just kidding. Some of you got that. Some of you're like, what is he talking about? Never mind, never mind. It was a cartoon I wasn't allowed to watch as a kid. Uh all right, let's keep going. Verse 35. So, side note, if you're interested in helping the work in Alvaredo, uh, Noah and Amanda, they need people to go with them. If you're just interested in in helping them, you can do that and stay here. But if you're interested in going, uh they need a team of people that will help. Don't go just fill a seat. They don't need people to go fill seats, they need people to go help. If you want to fill a seat, stay here, okay? Uh, but if you need if you want to go and help and volunteer, they need that, they need good people to help them build a healthy church. And I know that they're gonna do that, okay? Let's keep going. Verse 35. But love your enemies and do good to them and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will you will be sons of the most high, for he is kind and grateful to the great ungrateful and evil. Be merciful even as your father is merciful. The third point today is how you love points to Jesus, how you love others points to Jesus. This is the heart of the message. Why love your enemies? Because God does that. God is kind to people who ignore him, God is merciful to people who reject him, God sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. God gives breath to people who never thank him. And while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. The motivation for the enemy is love, isn't self-improvement. It isn't moral superiority, it isn't hoping that others change. We don't love our enemies to become God's children. We love our enemies because we already are God's children. Have you ever seen a kid and immediately know who their parents are? I am told, I'm told many times by many people that my kids look exactly like me. Okay, I don't get to I don't see myself as much as you see me. So I see their mother in them more than I see myself. Until they pop off at me, and then I'm like, shut up. Like, man. But have you ever seen some kids and and know exactly who their parents for parents are? Because they have the same smile, uh, same mannerism, same expression. Uh, you don't even have to ask, they just look like their father. That's what we're called to be. We're called to look like our fathers. And what do our fathers look like? Our father looks like love. Our father looks like caring for people even when they don't deserve it. Because the question is isn't, do they deserve mercy? The question is, have I received mercy? And the answer is, yes. We were all sinners. We were all far from God, yet Jesus pursued us, forgave us, and saved us. So we are called to give this away what we've already received. And that is mercy. Guys, the greatest evidence that you've received God's mercy is that you give God's mercy. The greatest evidence of a life that is changed by God is you extending that same grace and mercy that Jesus has given you to other people. But I know what you're saying, but listen, Pastor, you don't know the people that I have to deal with. You don't know the crazy family that I have. You've met a lot of my crazy family. They go here, right? Just kidding. I love you guys. Yeah. I'm actually the crazy one of the family, they'll tell you that. Y'all calm down. Jeez. Man. You know, we don't get to choose our family. We don't get to, oftentimes we don't get to choose the our co-workers and people around us. But listen, maybe God has put some crazy co-workers in your life so that you can minister to them. Maybe God has put some hard to deal with people in your life to teach you that maybe you're hard to deal with too. What? Maybe just maybe you're not perfect and you need God's grace and mercy as well. You know, I've seen this a lot in marriages. And when marriages start to break down is when spouses start to keep score. When you start to keep score in relationships, that doesn't necessarily go very well. I learned as a very young man, newly married, of course, I only made this mistake in the first years. I don't make these mistakes anymore, right? But when I'd come home and ask my wife in a in a judgmental tone, what did you do today? The ladies in the room, you already know how that went, right? But Crystal, full of grace and mercy, was always very kind to me when I asked those questions. At least that's what I say from the stage, right? But I noticed my job is not to have expectations on her to do certain things for me. Because I'm not you notice in the Bible, it doesn't say love your wife as she has loved you. No, it doesn't say that. What does it say? Love your wife as Christ loved the church and gave his life for her. That means I'm supposed to give up my life for her, even if she does and never does anything for me. Because that's what God called me to do. I think many of us spend so much time worried about what other people are doing instead of focusing on the one thing that we can control. What's the one thing you can control? You. Let me tell you, people, if you are going through marriage problems, here's one thing you can do. Be the best spouse that your spouse can have and see if things don't change. Stop keeping score. Stop going to them and saying, Hey, I need you to do this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, and when you complete this, I'll have another list for you. That's not gonna help. What you're supposed to do is love your spouse. The reason I use the marriage relationship, because that's the relationship that God uses the most to make you into who God's called you to be. Now, listen, if you're not married, let me let me give you some advice. If you want to find out how truly selfish you are, get married. Because you're like, before you get married, you're like, I'm a I'm a pretty easy to get along with person. Until you walk in the bathroom and the toilet paper is on the holder the wrong way. And then you're like, I didn't know I could have this rage inside of me. Like, like you never knew, like, you know, it automatically makes sense. It's like, now I know why they each other killed each other, right? And you know, I see how people get there. I would never do that, but I see how they get there, right? Over over toothpaste. Or some of you have your pet peeves of where you want your stuff. Like, like my thing is is when we clean the house, don't start with my stuff. Like, I know where all my stuff is. And so if you clean my stuff, I don't know where any of my stuff is. And it slows me down. I don't know where anything is. Yeah, but then but then that's not loving my wife the way she needs to be loved, right? I need to encourage my wife. Thank you so much for cleaning up my stuff. I'm so grateful that I can't find anything anymore because the house is clean, right? That's the way to do it, right? But if you're young and you're single, what I want to encourage you is notice in your own personal relationships, notice how selfish we can be. And those of you that are married, we're called to do the same thing with everybody else around him. Love them as God loved the church and gave himself up for him. Now, listen, I'm not saying that you should compromise boundaries and hurt yourself. I'm not saying that. What I'm saying is you were called to love everybody around you and make a difference for Jesus. You were called to look like your father, and your father is love. So, what are our transformational moments this morning? I was I was relieved when I reviewed the notes and I was like, oh, I kind of feel like this is a nicer message today. I don't know that it turned out that way, uh, but I felt like it was a nicer one. I was like, Oh, it's about love. Woohoo! But number one, who do you need to love this week? As I've been preaching through this, there's probably been a few names that have come to your mind. And let me tell you, I believe the Holy Spirit is working. I believe if we do church the right way, it's not my words up here, it's the Lord's. And so as I've been speaking, if there's someone that has come to your mind, I think the Lord is saying, This week you need to invest in this person. Now, if over and over and over again that person comes up, and even as I say that, you go, Oh no, Pastor, not that person. Let me push back at you and say, absolutely that person. Because listen, I have, I need to be careful how I say this. I have people in my life that I need to do the same with as well. I have people in my life that because of circumstances that will probably go on this week, I'm gonna have to deal with loved ones and family members that I cannot stand. But you know what I'm called to do? You amen that one real hard. Uh you know what I'm called to do? Love them. Care for them. And I'm not called to say, Lord, I'm gonna love them so much that you heat burning coals on their head. No, that's not what I'm called to do. Love them. Number two, are you giving people what they deserve or what God gave you? Guys, here's what I want to encourage you this morning. Aren't you grateful that God never gave us what we deserve? Because I don't want what I deserve. What I deserve is eternal punishment banished to hell. That's what I deserve. But God sent his son on a rescue mission for me. Why? Because he loves me. Not because I deserve it, but because he loves me. And number three, do people see your father and how you treat those who hurt you? Do people see your father in you? Because listen, we are all called to look like our father. And this week is Father's Day. If you didn't know that, Sunday coming up is is the 20th ranked holiday. You know, Arbor Day is before Father's Day. Uh, but just to give you a heads up, Father's Day is coming up. Uh, and it and if you got a good guy in your life, he deserves to be celebrated. But our Heavenly Father, just as we're all called to love our earthly fathers, our Heavenly Father wants us to emulate his actions. And just like many times you'll you'll see things that I do, and you'll be like, ah, you sound like Ronnie there. And sometimes I'll say things to my kids and I'll go, I sound like my dad. Noah, Noah got a haircut this week, and I said, Did you get all your hair cut? I'm like, oh, sound like my dad, right? I texted Crystal, has he fixed his hair yet? And she said, His hair is fixed. I go, Oh, sound like my dad, right? But here's the thing. It's okay to sound like my dad. Because I think my dad's a pretty good guy. But our heavenly father is even greater, right? And he's a guy we should really be like. And the Bible tells us that he is love. So, in just a moment, the worship team's up here. And we're gonna have some altar time. And listen, this time is not for you to rush to the bathroom or to rush out into the parking lot and beat everybody out of here. This time is for you to truly get down here, sit in your chair, be down here in the altar, and truly worship Jesus. And I want you to take some time this morning to say, Father, I need your love. Because listen, I don't think we're capable in our humanness to have the kind of love our Heavenly Father asks us to do. But with His help, we can do it. But before we get there, I'm gonna ask everybody to bow their head and close their eyes all over this room. Here's the thing that we need to know this morning. There's some of us in here that have not accepted that first love. And that first love, I've talked about it all morning. God came to this, Jesus came to this earth on a rescue mission sent by God for us. Why? Not because we deserve it. Why? Because He loves us. And as your head is bowed this morning, I just want you to know if you've never heard this before, God loves you. And He wants to have a relationship with you, but it starts with you. You have to give your life, your heart over to Him. So just a moment, I'm about to pray a prayer. You can pray with me. You don't have to do it super loud. But I truly believe this morning, if you pray this prayer with me and you believe it, that this is step one in the rest of your life with Jesus. But repeat after me, dear Jesus, I'm a sinner. I need your love in my life. Forgive me where I failed you. I give my heart to you today. Take my life, use it for your purpose. In Jesus' name. Amen.