WEBVTT 00:00:02.720 --> 00:00:06.719 Hi, and thanks so much for joining us on the Sierra Bible Church Sermon of the Week. 00:00:06.879 --> 00:00:10.320 I hope that you enjoy this message by Nate Milman. 00:00:14.640 --> 00:00:14.960 Okay. 00:00:17.519 --> 00:00:18.719 Thanks, Gail. 00:00:19.679 --> 00:00:25.199 I was thinking about the Romans 12 verses we're gonna read later and just how you're doing that. 00:00:25.440 --> 00:00:26.800 So thank you. 00:00:27.039 --> 00:00:31.760 Um I didn't put these in order before I got up here, so that's fun. 00:00:32.479 --> 00:00:33.119 All right. 00:00:33.600 --> 00:00:35.600 Um my name's Nate. 00:00:36.079 --> 00:00:38.880 I again am a volunteer. 00:00:39.200 --> 00:00:44.719 And uh part of volunteering is Nate reaches out to me and says, Hey, will you uh will you speak? 00:00:45.119 --> 00:00:47.840 And he gives me a date, usually a month out. 00:00:48.079 --> 00:01:01.759 And so um sometimes I get to hear on Sunday and I think I am overwhelmed, and my spirit is overwhelmed, and the nature of that overwhelming is something that is wildly unpredictable that happened that week, I'm sure you can relate. 00:01:02.000 --> 00:01:05.280 This, however, was a totally predictable overwhelming week. 00:01:05.439 --> 00:01:06.799 Let me explain why for a second. 00:01:06.959 --> 00:01:09.280 So we are discussing, again, belonging. 00:01:09.840 --> 00:01:17.760 Um uh, and in we have this series going right now, and we're discussing belonging, and today we're discussing love your enemies. 00:01:17.920 --> 00:01:22.400 But with the idea of belonging, there's been an immense amount of belonging in my household this week. 00:01:22.560 --> 00:01:28.159 So if you look at the screen, you'll see that I have a child named Levi who was born on July 5th. 00:01:28.319 --> 00:01:33.439 So if you really quickly check notes, that was a week ago. 00:01:33.599 --> 00:01:34.480 Okay, not so bad. 00:01:34.560 --> 00:01:35.760 You could handle that, right? 00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:40.879 And then we had another son named Jonah on July 7th. 00:01:41.439 --> 00:01:43.040 So he had a birthday this week as well. 00:01:43.200 --> 00:01:43.920 He turned eight. 00:01:44.079 --> 00:01:46.480 So Levi turned five, Jonah turned eight. 00:01:46.640 --> 00:01:50.719 And then we had another son named Jude. 00:01:51.280 --> 00:01:52.239 Checks notes. 00:01:52.480 --> 00:01:57.439 That was yesterday, and he turned all of ten. 00:01:58.319 --> 00:02:00.400 And then you come to today. 00:02:02.319 --> 00:02:09.759 And I didn't do this first service, but my wife is gonna stand up, and we're all gonna sing happy birthday. 00:02:32.639 --> 00:02:34.719 First service didn't get to do that, okay? 00:02:34.960 --> 00:02:35.680 It's exciting. 00:02:35.759 --> 00:02:36.319 I'm not kidding. 00:02:36.400 --> 00:02:37.199 She wasn't here, you know. 00:02:37.280 --> 00:02:37.919 It's great. 00:02:38.159 --> 00:02:40.800 I told them we're gonna do the second service, they were all in on it. 00:02:41.039 --> 00:02:49.439 Um, you know, so what Heidi just felt right there, I'd like to point out, is a deep sense of belonging, okay? 00:02:49.840 --> 00:02:51.199 Um, with all of you. 00:02:51.439 --> 00:02:54.639 In fact, she feels so belonged, we're gonna put her Venmo up on the screen. 00:02:54.719 --> 00:02:56.639 And no, I'm I'm teasing. 00:02:56.800 --> 00:02:59.680 Um, but that's the idea of belonging. 00:02:59.840 --> 00:03:04.479 What's interesting is I want to start this out, and I thought, okay, this is a way to get someone to feel that they belong. 00:03:04.639 --> 00:03:06.960 But then I also want to tell you a contrary story. 00:03:07.120 --> 00:03:10.400 I want to tell you what it's like to sort of not belong. 00:03:10.639 --> 00:03:12.800 Um, what does it mean to not belong? 00:03:13.039 --> 00:03:17.120 Well, uh, number one, it's uh feels bad. 00:03:17.439 --> 00:03:20.800 It uh a lot of times feels like a stressful experience. 00:03:20.960 --> 00:03:23.120 And this was brought to me in an example. 00:03:23.199 --> 00:03:25.199 I'm gonna tell you a story about really quick. 00:03:25.439 --> 00:03:33.759 And so a few weeks ago, I took my family to Lake Tahoe for a soccer tournament for the 10-year-old. 00:03:33.840 --> 00:03:35.520 And he had a soccer tournament. 00:03:35.759 --> 00:03:37.280 We had an awesome time. 00:03:37.439 --> 00:03:39.759 But while we were there, we say this Airbnb. 00:03:39.840 --> 00:03:43.520 And this Airbnb was this really nice big house, a house I couldn't afford. 00:03:43.759 --> 00:03:45.120 We got lucky to get it. 00:03:45.280 --> 00:03:47.280 And uh, and so we we check in. 00:03:47.439 --> 00:03:51.199 We only took our older two boys who were sitting over here with Heidi, the 10 and the eight-year-old. 00:03:51.439 --> 00:03:54.400 And it was just four of us, small family. 00:03:54.560 --> 00:03:59.120 So we ended up with a slightly larger Airbnb than we needed because we left the two young ones at home. 00:03:59.280 --> 00:04:01.759 And so we had this four-bedroom house. 00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:04.639 And the house you walked up to the middle level. 00:04:04.719 --> 00:04:07.599 So there's a garage underneath and a middle level, then this upper level. 00:04:07.759 --> 00:04:10.960 And the middle level had like a family room and three of the bedrooms. 00:04:11.120 --> 00:04:17.600 And then the upper level had the kitchen, living room, and the master bedroom where Heidi and I could stay and hang out. 00:04:17.759 --> 00:04:22.959 And my boys who care about us so much, we're like, we get this whole second level to ourselves. 00:04:23.199 --> 00:04:24.480 Did they sleep in the same room? 00:04:24.639 --> 00:04:25.199 No way. 00:04:25.360 --> 00:04:27.040 They got their own rooms. 00:04:27.360 --> 00:04:29.519 And so you imagine this, you know, three-story house. 00:04:29.680 --> 00:04:32.399 Kids are on the middle level, dad and mom are upstairs. 00:04:32.560 --> 00:04:34.480 And we get home after all the soccer's done. 00:04:34.639 --> 00:04:40.319 We're staying the last night, and we went out for pizza, picked it up, took it to the house, ate it. 00:04:40.399 --> 00:04:42.480 Again, the kitchen's on the upper story. 00:04:42.720 --> 00:04:47.519 So we're eating pizza, and my 10-year-old says, May I be excused, like a good little son. 00:04:48.959 --> 00:04:49.920 And we go, sure. 00:04:50.000 --> 00:04:51.920 He goes, I want to go play pool by myself. 00:04:52.079 --> 00:04:52.560 Great. 00:04:52.800 --> 00:04:53.680 Heads downstairs. 00:04:53.839 --> 00:05:02.480 As we're joking around with our eight-year-old around the table, we hear a blood curdling, Dad, mom, a bear. 00:05:06.079 --> 00:05:08.160 I bolt downstairs, right? 00:05:08.240 --> 00:05:09.600 Because I got to see what's going on. 00:05:09.759 --> 00:05:19.360 I get down there and I see a white-faced nine-year-old at the time, just pale, and he's clutching a pool cue, and you can just see his muscles, you know, kind of flexing. 00:05:19.519 --> 00:05:21.360 And you're like, dude, what happened? 00:05:21.519 --> 00:05:22.639 What's going on? 00:05:22.879 --> 00:05:24.399 I think I saw a bear. 00:05:24.639 --> 00:05:25.600 You saw a bear? 00:05:25.839 --> 00:05:27.120 What are you talking about? 00:05:27.439 --> 00:05:29.279 So I say, okay, go upstairs, go upstairs. 00:05:29.439 --> 00:05:30.240 He runs upstairs, you know. 00:05:30.399 --> 00:05:32.319 So now dad's got the pool cue. 00:05:33.120 --> 00:05:33.759 Right? 00:05:34.240 --> 00:05:37.360 And and like Heidi's like, what's going on? 00:05:37.600 --> 00:05:38.879 Is there a bear? 00:05:39.360 --> 00:05:44.720 So I, you know, I'm in this pool room, and so you go around this cornerhouse hallway, and there's you know, the three bedrooms and a bathroom. 00:05:44.800 --> 00:05:48.959 So I go around the hallway and I I I kind of come around, I'm looking, there's no bear. 00:05:49.120 --> 00:05:54.800 I see that there's actually, no joke, a like a photo of a bear on the wall. 00:05:55.120 --> 00:05:59.199 And so, you know, I go, ah, he's he might be making stuff up. 00:05:59.439 --> 00:06:01.040 Like my kids like seeing stuff. 00:06:01.120 --> 00:06:02.000 What a weird deal. 00:06:02.160 --> 00:06:05.839 And so, you know, I check the first bedroom and no bear, nothing there. 00:06:06.399 --> 00:06:09.279 I check the bathroom in the hall, no bear. 00:06:09.439 --> 00:06:17.199 But another thing that was funny was on the bathroom wall, they have something, it was like a it was like a saying that said, like, have fun in Tahoe, but don't feed the bears because they'll kill you. 00:06:17.279 --> 00:06:18.879 And you're like, whoa, all right. 00:06:19.519 --> 00:06:21.040 So this is all going through my head. 00:06:21.120 --> 00:06:22.160 So then I got two more bedrooms. 00:06:22.240 --> 00:06:26.240 So I go in the one the eight-year-old had slept in, and I'm like, ah, and there's no bear there. 00:06:26.399 --> 00:06:30.000 And then I go in the fourth one, I go, ah, and there's no bear there. 00:06:30.160 --> 00:06:37.519 And as I walk into the fourth bedroom and walk around the bed, I see on the windowsill that there's black hair. 00:06:38.399 --> 00:06:45.279 And then if you zoom out, I noticed that the whole screen had been knocked out of the window. 00:06:48.639 --> 00:06:59.360 My nine-year-old had come face to face with a bear by himself and exercised his karate skills to just demolish the bear. 00:07:02.959 --> 00:07:04.879 Why do I tell this story? 00:07:05.199 --> 00:07:10.959 Because we're in a series called Narrow talking about belonging. 00:07:11.680 --> 00:07:17.199 For the next three hours, do you think my son felt like he belonged in that home? 00:07:18.160 --> 00:07:18.480 No. 00:07:18.959 --> 00:07:25.360 You could not find another nine-year-old in Lake Tahoe that wanted to be out of Lake Tahoe quicker at that moment. 00:07:25.920 --> 00:07:30.639 And do you think that they wanted to sleep in their own rooms on that story again? 00:07:31.279 --> 00:07:31.600 No. 00:07:32.480 --> 00:07:33.600 So, what did they get to do? 00:07:33.680 --> 00:07:37.040 They got to sleep with mom upstairs, and guess who got to sleep with the bears? 00:07:38.079 --> 00:07:39.680 Dad in a twin bed. 00:07:39.839 --> 00:07:40.639 It was wonderful. 00:07:40.720 --> 00:07:42.800 I'm kind of tall, it was kind of terrible. 00:07:43.040 --> 00:07:45.600 But me and the bear snuggled, so it was great. 00:07:46.240 --> 00:07:57.120 No, but I tell you this because it's like that I think of my son, and he's here, but you know, that is the essence of feeling like you don't belong, right? 00:07:57.199 --> 00:08:00.480 The immense amount of stress or unease you would have. 00:08:00.800 --> 00:08:04.720 And and what's interesting today is we're talking about this concept of belong. 00:08:04.959 --> 00:08:09.199 And in the context of this, we are talking about loving your enemies. 00:08:09.519 --> 00:08:20.000 And I just think of my son in that moment, it's not like he hated the bear because the bear did something to him, but it's like you couldn't pay my son to stay in that house at that point. 00:08:20.639 --> 00:08:34.480 And the reason is there's something else in the world, right, that my son has like distinction with or anger against or fear or stress related to that relationship. 00:08:34.720 --> 00:08:40.480 And I wanted to tell that story because it's sort of the essence as we enter in today of like the opposite of belonging. 00:08:40.639 --> 00:08:42.960 To not belong is incredibly stressful. 00:08:43.120 --> 00:08:48.639 It's very hard, it's very sad, depending on how that not belonging came about. 00:08:48.960 --> 00:08:57.120 And what's interesting is when we go into this text, Jesus is going to confront us with this idea that we are to love our enemies. 00:08:57.919 --> 00:09:04.559 And part of belonging is realizing that an enemy appears like a bear or my son. 00:09:04.720 --> 00:09:06.320 By the way, my son relived the experience. 00:09:06.399 --> 00:09:11.840 He said the bear come in, came in, looked at him, he looked at the bear, and then the bear took off. 00:09:12.399 --> 00:09:14.240 And isn't this some of us, right? 00:09:14.399 --> 00:09:16.000 We have these people in our lives. 00:09:16.240 --> 00:09:22.960 If we see them in public, if we see them in private, we can't wait to get away. 00:09:23.200 --> 00:09:28.559 We have these feelings towards them, these things that have happened. 00:09:29.279 --> 00:09:36.399 And in that, it's a deep sense of sort of not belonging, of hey, they're the other. 00:09:36.720 --> 00:09:39.919 We might call them an enemy, we might call them someone we don't like. 00:09:40.879 --> 00:09:45.120 We might say we have problems with this person, and yet that's how we feel. 00:09:45.200 --> 00:09:48.000 We literally don't want to be in the same room as them. 00:09:48.240 --> 00:09:51.919 And so as we get into this, I wanted to set the stage with two very different things, right? 00:09:52.000 --> 00:09:55.600 My wife feels immense amounts of belonging. 00:09:56.480 --> 00:10:00.000 And my son in that moment felt immense amounts of not belonging. 00:10:00.159 --> 00:10:03.120 Don't want to stay in the house, don't want to be around the bear. 00:10:03.440 --> 00:10:10.320 And so, as we go through this, I want you to keep those two in your head as far as like feelings and what we do with those. 00:10:10.480 --> 00:10:11.279 So here we go. 00:10:11.440 --> 00:10:16.000 We are jumping into Matthew 5 today, and I want to give you a little context in case you haven't been here. 00:10:16.240 --> 00:10:18.639 We are going through a series called Narrow. 00:10:19.360 --> 00:10:24.240 Within this series, Nate outlined this SBC framework, right? 00:10:24.320 --> 00:10:28.240 And it's stewardship, belonging, and cultivating, SBC. 00:10:28.399 --> 00:10:36.000 So he challenged me with teaching about belonging, specifically in the way of Jesus challenging us to love our enemies. 00:10:36.240 --> 00:10:50.240 Now, Matthew 5 is where we find this, but within Matthew 5, in this context, we are discussing various topics that have to do with this sort of countercultural idea. 00:10:50.399 --> 00:10:53.600 So Nate, when introducing this series, said this quote up here. 00:10:53.759 --> 00:11:03.200 He put actually a slide up here that said this, and it said that the narrow way is Jesus's call to a life of intentional countercultural discipleship. 00:11:03.440 --> 00:11:13.360 So that's the framework we're in, and you're attending like the third Sunday of this, but the narrow way is Jesus' call to a life of intentional counter-cultural discipleship. 00:11:13.519 --> 00:11:17.600 So as you sit here, I want you to know that that is what we're discussing. 00:11:17.840 --> 00:11:19.600 This is not an easy topic. 00:11:19.759 --> 00:11:21.200 It's hard for me to talk about it. 00:11:21.360 --> 00:11:23.440 You'll understand why a little later on. 00:11:24.240 --> 00:11:35.600 But we wrestle with it because Jesus wants us to get away from sort of conventional wisdom or what we think is right at any given moment of the day and really challenge the foundations of how we think. 00:11:35.759 --> 00:11:38.240 That's the intentional countercultural part. 00:11:38.480 --> 00:11:42.559 So as we jump into it, I just want to set that framework that we are in this series called Narrow. 00:11:42.639 --> 00:11:46.799 We're talking about belonging, but specifically we're talking about love of enemies. 00:11:48.799 --> 00:11:51.759 So we jump into Matthew 5. 00:11:51.840 --> 00:11:53.919 And in Matthew 5, we have a text. 00:11:54.080 --> 00:12:04.720 And in the text, Jesus is going or continuing in the Sermon on the Mount, and he is going through topics of which many of us have dealt with. 00:12:04.879 --> 00:12:17.279 And specifically in these topics, he keeps saying the sort of same thing that there's sort of the natural or conventional perspective, and then there's his proposal for this kingdom perspective. 00:12:17.519 --> 00:12:23.600 So if you set that up, it's like there's this way of thinking or this way of doing life or this conventional wisdom. 00:12:23.840 --> 00:12:31.759 And then there's this sort of kingdom way of thinking, kingdom way of doing things that you may not have thought of and is deeply countercultural. 00:12:31.919 --> 00:12:36.399 And so one of these is love your enemies, but really quick, the other ones are basically the same. 00:12:36.480 --> 00:12:43.679 And we don't have time to get into all of them, David, but I just wanted to give you sort of the warp and woof of this, which is Jesus is kind of doing the same thing with each of these topics. 00:12:43.840 --> 00:12:52.559 So the six topics he addresses are anger, lust, divorce, oaths, retaliation, and then love of enemies. 00:12:52.799 --> 00:13:02.799 And with each of these subjects, if you look at Matthew 5, what he does, if you're looking in your text, is he goes through them starting in verse 21, and he says, This, look at 21. 00:13:03.200 --> 00:13:07.600 You have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not murder. 00:13:07.919 --> 00:13:13.360 Verse 27, you have heard that it was said, you shall not commit adultery. 00:13:13.600 --> 00:13:18.240 Verse 31, it was also said about divorce. 00:13:18.559 --> 00:13:19.120 33. 00:13:19.440 --> 00:13:22.720 Again you have heard that it was said to those of old. 00:13:23.519 --> 00:13:26.720 38, you have heard that it was said. 00:13:27.360 --> 00:13:31.679 43, you have heard that it was right. 00:13:32.399 --> 00:13:36.639 It's this warp and woof of six topics that Jesus is going through, and he's going on each one. 00:13:36.799 --> 00:13:56.799 You have heard, or and it was said, or it's been said, but I say, and then he's gonna give this sort of kingdom perspective, this countercultural way of belonging, this countercultural way of being really in the world that is so radical and so different than what you may experience in everyday life. 00:13:57.039 --> 00:14:00.799 So, specifically today, we're talking about that love of enemies. 00:14:00.879 --> 00:14:01.840 So let's read that part. 00:14:01.919 --> 00:14:03.840 Uh, go to 543. 00:14:04.320 --> 00:14:09.519 You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. 00:14:09.759 --> 00:14:14.399 But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. 00:14:14.639 --> 00:14:21.759 So that you may be sons of your father who is in heaven, for he makes his son rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 00:14:22.000 --> 00:14:27.279 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? 00:14:28.080 --> 00:14:30.559 Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 00:14:30.799 --> 00:14:36.399 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? 00:14:36.639 --> 00:14:40.159 Do not even the Gentiles do the same. 00:14:40.399 --> 00:14:43.120 And so Jesus challenges us in this verse. 00:14:43.840 --> 00:14:45.519 You've heard that it was said. 00:14:47.600 --> 00:14:52.559 But I tell you, and then he says, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. 00:14:53.919 --> 00:14:58.639 And the way he finishes is asking sort of this question that kind of lingers out there. 00:14:58.720 --> 00:15:02.799 He says, And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? 00:15:02.879 --> 00:15:05.919 Do not even the Gentiles do the same. 00:15:06.559 --> 00:15:14.559 And so, as we discuss this, I want you to know that this is Jesus sort of trying to flip our primary nature or our human condition. 00:15:15.120 --> 00:15:17.360 And again, right, Jesus is gonna die on the cross. 00:15:17.519 --> 00:15:18.879 He's gonna send the Holy Spirit. 00:15:19.039 --> 00:15:20.000 We'll talk about that. 00:15:20.240 --> 00:15:23.600 But at face value, Jesus is proposing something that's very radical. 00:15:23.840 --> 00:15:29.039 And so, point number one today is that loving enemies is not normal. 00:15:30.000 --> 00:15:34.960 And I I want to say that because, like, as Christians, we just think, oh, yeah, love your enemies. 00:15:35.279 --> 00:15:36.799 Pray for those who persecute you. 00:15:37.039 --> 00:15:38.240 It's pretty simple, right? 00:15:38.559 --> 00:15:39.519 You do it, you do it. 00:15:39.679 --> 00:15:40.639 Yeah, no big deal. 00:15:40.879 --> 00:15:41.919 So easy. 00:15:42.480 --> 00:15:45.600 The problem is it's actually not normal. 00:15:45.840 --> 00:15:47.279 You know what else isn't normal? 00:15:48.320 --> 00:15:48.879 Kids. 00:15:50.240 --> 00:15:58.240 I have a kid, won't say which one, who uh used to walk around with a solitary chip in a Ziploc bag because that was his source of comfort. 00:15:58.480 --> 00:16:00.960 We joked around and called it chip in a bag. 00:16:02.240 --> 00:16:07.279 Um, another kid of mine, my two-year-old daughter last night, was coughing in bed for fun. 00:16:07.600 --> 00:16:10.480 And when I told her to stop, she laughed. 00:16:10.799 --> 00:16:12.000 I thought, that's not normal. 00:16:12.080 --> 00:16:14.720 I couldn't think of a worse experience than coughing for fun. 00:16:17.120 --> 00:16:23.679 My other kid last night uh decided to have mica's in his bed, which are candy. 00:16:24.080 --> 00:16:25.679 And I said, You shouldn't do that. 00:16:25.759 --> 00:16:27.360 And he said, Well, I really like the candy. 00:16:27.600 --> 00:16:28.159 I said, Okay. 00:16:28.320 --> 00:16:30.000 And then he goes, Dad, there's ants. 00:16:30.240 --> 00:16:31.039 I said, Okay. 00:16:31.519 --> 00:16:33.200 And then he goes, I'll just sleep with the ants. 00:16:33.279 --> 00:16:34.799 I'd rather have the candy. 00:16:36.399 --> 00:16:38.799 Again, that's not normal. 00:16:40.639 --> 00:16:43.759 And so you have to realize that loving enemies is like this, right? 00:16:43.840 --> 00:16:44.799 It's not normal. 00:16:45.039 --> 00:16:49.360 And and and and in fact, it's sort of deeply counter-cultural. 00:16:49.679 --> 00:16:52.720 Loving enemies is not normal, it's deeply countercultural. 00:16:52.879 --> 00:16:54.799 I have on my notes, it's counter-ego. 00:16:56.879 --> 00:17:04.079 You have an ego that goes out in the world, and it's counter to that because you want to be perceived as a certain way. 00:17:06.160 --> 00:17:08.240 If you start loving enemies, that's hard. 00:17:08.559 --> 00:17:09.599 It's counter-pride. 00:17:09.759 --> 00:17:12.240 A lot of you have a prideful disposition. 00:17:12.559 --> 00:17:15.440 Loving your enemies does not look prideful a lot of times. 00:17:16.799 --> 00:17:18.400 And last, it's counter-nature. 00:17:18.480 --> 00:17:25.200 And what I mean by that is, you know, from this sort of young age, right, it confronts the humanity we have. 00:17:25.519 --> 00:17:32.079 And and what's interesting is we all believe that we are born into a fallen world, I think, right? 00:17:32.160 --> 00:17:34.240 If you're a Christian sitting here, you believe that. 00:17:34.400 --> 00:17:37.519 But like, have you ever tried to like express that to people? 00:17:38.240 --> 00:17:45.279 Like, we don't express our brokenness or our um fallen nature very often. 00:17:45.440 --> 00:17:50.559 And when we do, people look at us like, dude, you gotta work on that, man. 00:17:51.440 --> 00:18:00.240 This was brought home to me um through uh sports, coaching kids teams, because I I was having this conversation with an assistant coach. 00:18:00.480 --> 00:18:03.359 I'll give you the I'll say the line and then I'll explain the context. 00:18:03.440 --> 00:18:09.359 But I said to him, I'm just really working on this season, like rooting for the kids. 00:18:10.160 --> 00:18:12.000 He's like, I think we're all rooting for the kids, dude. 00:18:12.079 --> 00:18:13.839 And I was like, let me explain. 00:18:14.079 --> 00:18:21.680 What I explained to him is this so this is this is me being vulnerable and expressing my sin nature. 00:18:21.920 --> 00:18:25.440 So just go be okay because you're gonna look at me like, dude, you you're not okay. 00:18:25.920 --> 00:18:30.799 So right, and I what I said to him is okay, so there's people out in the world. 00:18:30.880 --> 00:18:32.480 You you go out in the world and you deal with people, right? 00:18:32.559 --> 00:18:36.000 At the county, you may go to a board of supervisors meeting, you deal with people at work, Matt, right? 00:18:36.079 --> 00:18:36.559 All the time. 00:18:36.799 --> 00:18:40.319 You people deal with people at church, you you deal with people in classrooms. 00:18:40.480 --> 00:18:49.519 My my you know, uh mother-in-law came up to me after the first server, she said, Man, that was powerful because like I dealt with a ton of stuff with this teaching second grade for like 20-something years. 00:18:49.759 --> 00:19:00.160 And and we do this, and and what's so interesting is there's these people, and and you you find something out about them, or they they say something to you or about you in a public setting. 00:19:00.240 --> 00:19:02.799 Maybe it's at work, or maybe it's at the Board of Supervisors meeting. 00:19:02.880 --> 00:19:11.359 And you may not call them enemies, but there's this thing in your head that, like, that person needs to be watched, or I got a problem with that person. 00:19:12.160 --> 00:19:24.880 And what I noticed about myself, maybe you're not like me and you're like a good Christian, but was that sometimes like I would see their kids on like a soccer field or baseball field and be like, and I hope that kid strikes out. 00:19:27.680 --> 00:19:28.319 I know. 00:19:32.240 --> 00:19:34.319 This is me wearing my sin. 00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:41.680 And I and I had to tell myself, like, that this is like, why do you carry this to like their children? 00:19:42.400 --> 00:19:43.680 Like, think about that, right? 00:19:43.759 --> 00:19:45.200 Like, oh, that kid scored great. 00:19:45.279 --> 00:19:47.759 I gotta hear a parent of a, you know. 00:19:48.400 --> 00:19:51.119 And and we have these thoughts. 00:19:51.359 --> 00:19:57.119 And I and I realized this, I remember telling my wife this when we had this conversation, it was just about like, hey, how do we like start like kids on the other team, right? 00:19:57.200 --> 00:20:02.559 Their coach might be super competitive, he might be super mean to our kids and cheer when they get out on bass or whatever, right? 00:20:02.640 --> 00:20:08.880 But how do I like learn to like the kid hit a single, he's eight years old, he's running down to first, I'm the first base coach. 00:20:09.039 --> 00:20:13.119 Hey, nice hit, even though you're not on my team and I can't stand your dad. 00:20:15.519 --> 00:20:22.480 But right, so like you realize really quickly, like, this is one of the hardest things to do because in our heart, right? 00:20:22.640 --> 00:20:24.000 Now, see how you're all laughing? 00:20:24.160 --> 00:20:28.960 Like, when I explain this to this assistant coach, he's like, You think like I'm just and I'm thinking, well, I do. 00:20:29.119 --> 00:20:29.920 Like, don't you? 00:20:30.079 --> 00:20:35.839 Like, I and and the hardest part of it is you you don't even consider these people enemies. 00:20:36.160 --> 00:20:37.519 You just maybe don't like them. 00:20:37.599 --> 00:20:41.839 You might say it much more mildly, you know, they have arrogance, they whatever. 00:20:42.000 --> 00:21:06.559 And and what's interesting is like again, it's crazy the level of depravity as you think through this message and what we're talking about, that us as Christians, we say we're saved by grace, we say we have the Holy Spirit, and yet we carry into the world these things that then we extend to even like kin of these people or you know, kids or relatives, and and and it's just a fascinating thought in the human condition. 00:21:07.440 --> 00:21:14.960 And the God of the universe is sitting there saying, Hey, love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you. 00:21:15.759 --> 00:21:20.079 And you know, learn to be for the kids in a sense, right? 00:21:20.480 --> 00:21:26.400 You it's it's it's not hard to do that, yet we have a hard time doing that because of how we think of others. 00:21:26.640 --> 00:21:30.079 And so when Jesus says this, I want you to know it's not normal. 00:21:31.200 --> 00:21:37.279 What's truly ironic is that to the God of the universe, this sort of should be normal, right? 00:21:37.599 --> 00:21:46.240 He is saying it like the following You have heard that it was said, but I say to you, this is kingdom living. 00:21:46.480 --> 00:21:48.799 And so, even though it's not normal, we're called to do it. 00:21:48.960 --> 00:21:52.880 Again, this is hard, it's narrow discipleship, countercultural. 00:21:53.119 --> 00:21:56.880 It's hard to love your enemies, it's completely not normal. 00:21:58.079 --> 00:21:59.759 So, one of the reasons. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:08.240 Reasons I think Christ does this is because he realizes that from a very young age, we have a tendency in our fallen nature to continue the cycle of evil. 00:22:08.400 --> 00:22:09.440 What's the cycle of evil? 00:22:09.519 --> 00:22:16.319 Well, Romans 12 speaks about it, but number two in your outline is the wise thing to do is to subvert the cycle of evil. 00:22:16.559 --> 00:22:19.359 So we're going to turn over to Romans 12 really quick and read there. 00:22:19.519 --> 00:22:21.359 But what is this cycle of evil? 00:22:21.519 --> 00:22:23.440 How does this occur and what happens? 00:22:23.599 --> 00:22:27.279 Because I think we do it with our enemies all the time. 00:22:27.359 --> 00:22:32.559 And part of loving them has to be subverting this cycle that we get into. 00:22:32.960 --> 00:22:38.160 So in Romans 12, I love Romans 12. 00:22:38.240 --> 00:22:39.279 I should say that up front. 00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:42.640 I think my kids probably know this. 00:22:42.799 --> 00:22:44.960 My wife definitely does, I think. 00:22:46.880 --> 00:22:51.599 It's 9 through 21, 21, I say a lot, which is this culminating verse. 00:22:51.839 --> 00:22:56.160 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good, Paul says. 00:22:56.319 --> 00:23:11.920 But as you read the warp and woof of 9 through 21, if you haven't ever read it, maybe read it this week when you have a minute again, because it's a it's a it's a true gem of a passage as far as Paul breaking out these concepts of the Christian experience or the Christian life. 00:23:12.160 --> 00:23:16.240 I think the, you know, the subtitle in your book might say something like marks of a true Christian. 00:23:16.400 --> 00:23:19.839 And if we're talking about discipleship in the narrow way, we got to talk about this. 00:23:20.079 --> 00:23:27.759 But what I love about it is Paul in here, he each little point, he kind of says something that if you really think about why he's saying it like that, it's truly fascinating. 00:23:27.839 --> 00:23:28.640 I'm gonna read it down. 00:23:28.720 --> 00:23:31.920 I won't go into it, but maybe reread this if you have a minute this week. 00:23:32.079 --> 00:23:34.160 We're gonna focus more on the second half, but I'll start in verse nine. 00:23:34.240 --> 00:23:35.279 So Romans 12, 9. 00:23:35.359 --> 00:23:40.799 It says this let love be genuine, abhor what is evil, hold fast to what is good. 00:23:40.960 --> 00:23:43.279 By the way, like just take the first part nine. 00:23:43.359 --> 00:23:44.000 You think about that. 00:23:44.079 --> 00:23:45.440 Let love be genuine. 00:23:45.680 --> 00:23:47.359 Was Paul writing that? 00:23:48.720 --> 00:23:57.920 And he's in communion with God and he's thinking, these Christians down the road might try to like love people fakely in a fake way. 00:23:58.880 --> 00:24:00.960 And it's fascinating when you start thinking like that. 00:24:01.119 --> 00:24:03.920 Like these words he's using are like really convicting at some level. 00:24:04.160 --> 00:24:13.519 Anyways, let love be genuine, abhor what is evil, hold fast to what is good, love one another with brotherly affection, outdo one another in showing honor. 00:24:13.759 --> 00:24:18.720 I always think about like, I don't show honor to a ton of people, but that's a hard verse to unpack. 00:24:19.039 --> 00:24:29.680 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord, rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer, contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. 00:24:29.839 --> 00:24:33.759 Gail is showing hospitality all the time at the food pantry. 00:24:34.160 --> 00:24:36.960 Bless those who persecute you, bless them, do not curse them. 00:24:37.119 --> 00:24:37.680 Here we go. 00:24:37.920 --> 00:24:44.720 Rejoice with those who weep, weep with those who weep, live in harmony with one another, do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. 00:24:44.880 --> 00:24:46.000 Never be conceited. 00:24:46.160 --> 00:24:46.799 Here we go. 00:24:47.119 --> 00:24:52.640 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 00:24:52.880 --> 00:24:57.599 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 00:24:57.839 --> 00:25:01.440 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God. 00:25:01.680 --> 00:25:05.519 For it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. 00:25:05.759 --> 00:25:07.680 We're going to talk about that in a second. 00:25:08.079 --> 00:25:14.079 To the contrary, this is a quote from Proverbs If your enemy is hungry, feed him. 00:25:14.319 --> 00:25:16.559 If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. 00:25:16.799 --> 00:25:20.720 For by doing so you will be heap burning coals on his head. 00:25:20.960 --> 00:25:24.880 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. 00:25:25.359 --> 00:25:31.920 Paul paints this picture that we're going to have enemies in our life. 00:25:32.880 --> 00:25:35.599 And around that is this concept of evil, right? 00:25:35.759 --> 00:25:38.400 Do not repay evil with evil. 00:25:40.319 --> 00:25:42.559 Do not be overcome by evil. 00:25:42.960 --> 00:25:44.240 Overcome evil with good. 00:25:44.400 --> 00:25:46.000 If your enemy is hungry, feed him. 00:25:46.079 --> 00:25:48.559 If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. 00:25:48.799 --> 00:25:54.160 These are hard things to internalize, but the wise thing to do is to subvert this cycle of evil. 00:25:54.480 --> 00:25:57.119 What's interesting is I feel like Christians move out into the world. 00:25:57.200 --> 00:25:59.839 You'll go from this place, you'll go today or tomorrow. 00:26:00.079 --> 00:26:02.640 And I would ask you the following question. 00:26:03.519 --> 00:26:05.119 You're a Christian. 00:26:06.559 --> 00:26:07.680 Hey, you're a Christian. 00:26:08.160 --> 00:26:10.880 What do I, what do you expect to happen out there? 00:26:11.039 --> 00:26:12.480 Like, what do you expect? 00:26:15.680 --> 00:26:18.720 Like my wife and I joke about expectations all the time. 00:26:18.960 --> 00:26:22.000 And I told her I would not talk about expectations today. 00:26:22.720 --> 00:26:25.119 But you you think about the things we do in life, right? 00:26:25.279 --> 00:26:29.039 If you if you coach baseball and you put in a kid who's never pitched, what do you expect to happen? 00:26:29.359 --> 00:26:33.519 There's gonna be like four walks, a couple hit by pitches, and eventually the kids crying. 00:26:33.680 --> 00:26:34.799 That's what happens. 00:26:35.039 --> 00:26:36.400 What do you expect? 00:26:36.880 --> 00:26:45.039 If you drive a junky car like I do, and it breaks down, it's always out of windshield, washer, fluid, because I haven't changed my own like 10,000 miles. 00:26:45.119 --> 00:26:45.759 I don't know. 00:26:46.000 --> 00:26:47.200 Like, what do I expect to happen? 00:26:47.279 --> 00:26:49.839 Well, it's gonna end up stuck on the side of the road, something's not gonna work. 00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:52.720 The other day, my kids explained to my wife how like my car didn't start. 00:26:52.799 --> 00:26:53.839 It's great. 00:26:54.240 --> 00:26:56.880 But you think about this like, what do we expect is gonna happen out there? 00:26:57.039 --> 00:27:03.440 And what I want to say is that it's our job as Christians to subvert this cycle of evil. 00:27:03.759 --> 00:27:09.279 Because what we should expect out there is that people are gonna repay evil with evil. 00:27:10.400 --> 00:27:15.279 But it's funny because Christians, you know, the more you go through life, you like hope in other people, right? 00:27:15.359 --> 00:27:16.799 We're supposed to hope in God. 00:27:17.839 --> 00:27:21.519 And you go out and you and you think, okay, they're gonna solve this problem. 00:27:21.839 --> 00:27:22.640 You know what? 00:27:22.799 --> 00:27:28.640 They're gonna be the bigger man, they're gonna stop this tit for tat that we have going on. 00:27:29.200 --> 00:27:30.960 They surely can't ratchet it up from here. 00:27:31.039 --> 00:27:34.319 They can't be meaner to me or be more unkind. 00:27:34.799 --> 00:27:37.680 And and I'm here to tell you, yes, yes, they will. 00:27:38.480 --> 00:27:39.119 Yeah. 00:27:41.039 --> 00:27:46.960 The Christian, Paul is saying, is not to repay evil with evil. 00:27:49.279 --> 00:27:52.000 And the reason is he's built this case from chapter one. 00:27:52.240 --> 00:27:56.160 I'll give it to you in a few sentences, but it's because you've been saved by the grace of God. 00:27:56.400 --> 00:28:01.359 And grace is this thing that breaks that tit for tat humanity that we all experience. 00:28:01.680 --> 00:28:06.079 Grace is God dies on the cross, forgives your sins. 00:28:06.480 --> 00:28:15.200 Once that happens in your life, you don't need to get people back anymore. 00:28:16.079 --> 00:28:16.960 Think about it, right? 00:28:17.039 --> 00:28:22.000 The God of the universe has said, you are forgiven for every bad thing you could imagine or do. 00:28:22.720 --> 00:28:23.599 I forgive you. 00:28:23.680 --> 00:28:27.039 All you have to do is welcome me, accept it. 00:28:27.920 --> 00:28:37.440 And then we go out in the world and we expect other people to sort of put down the sword or stop ribbing us or stop rationing up this cycle. 00:28:37.759 --> 00:28:51.279 And I would submit to you that as a Christian, if you've experienced grace and you're doing life with the Holy Spirit, that it is our job to subvert or undercut this cycle of evil, to be the person who goes, you know what, I put it down. 00:28:51.359 --> 00:28:53.119 I don't need to get back at you. 00:28:53.440 --> 00:28:56.559 I don't need to get back at you. 00:28:56.799 --> 00:28:57.519 I'm okay. 00:28:57.680 --> 00:28:58.799 I'm saved by God. 00:28:58.960 --> 00:29:03.119