WEBVTT 00:00:44.240 --> 00:00:45.439 Happy Mother's Day. 00:00:45.600 --> 00:00:48.960 Thank you so much for joining us for our online service today. 00:00:49.119 --> 00:00:49.759 My name's Nathan. 00:00:49.920 --> 00:00:51.280 I'm one of the pastors here. 00:00:51.439 --> 00:00:56.399 And let me just say again: if you are a mom and you're watching with us this morning, man, happy Mother's Day. 00:00:56.479 --> 00:01:04.719 We hope that your husband, kids, whoever it might be, is making a big deal out of you today because, man, mothers are what makes this world go around. 00:01:04.879 --> 00:01:12.879 I heard a quote just recently that said, A mom is a woman who loves unconditionally, leads by example, and puts others before herself. 00:01:13.120 --> 00:01:16.239 And in the best form of a mom, that's so true, right? 00:01:16.319 --> 00:01:18.879 That's what moms do for their kids, for their families. 00:01:19.040 --> 00:01:20.560 They are self-sacrificial. 00:01:20.640 --> 00:01:22.319 They give of themselves fully. 00:01:22.480 --> 00:01:30.000 I mean, when you think about it, moms and just all that they do for just their children from the very beginning to the end is just incredible. 00:01:30.159 --> 00:01:33.040 They they give of their body for nine months for a little baby. 00:01:33.120 --> 00:01:34.640 They go through labor and delivery. 00:01:34.719 --> 00:01:43.439 They have to fight the hormones of pregnancy and then after they have to lose sleep to rock the babies and feed babies and bathe them. 00:01:43.599 --> 00:01:51.200 They have to spend hours cleaning up after their kids and they have to pray and worry about the future of their kids and what they're gonna encounter. 00:01:51.920 --> 00:01:58.400 They're moms that have to think about how they can encourage and give direction and correction to their children. 00:01:58.640 --> 00:02:01.920 Moms give of themselves on a regular basis. 00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:06.079 And without moms, we don't know what our world would truly look like. 00:02:06.400 --> 00:02:16.719 But we also know that moms aren't perfect, and for some of you, maybe as you're watching this and as you're celebrating Mother's Day, maybe Mother's Day is a difficult day for you because maybe your mom's no longer here with us. 00:02:16.879 --> 00:02:22.159 Maybe for others of you, Mother's Day is a difficult day because your mom wasn't that self-sacrificial person. 00:02:22.400 --> 00:02:28.400 In fact, if you were describing your mom, you wouldn't necessarily say sacrificial, but you would say maybe selfish. 00:02:28.560 --> 00:02:34.960 And anytime selfishness comes into the relationships that we have with one another, it always breeds dysfunction. 00:02:35.039 --> 00:02:40.159 It always breeds uh issues and breakdowns of our relationship. 00:02:40.319 --> 00:02:42.719 I mean, this is not what we were created for. 00:02:42.879 --> 00:02:54.080 We were created to have peaceful relationships with one another, but sin and shame and guilt and all of that stuff has broken down our relationships in such a way, and selfishness has come to the forefront. 00:02:54.319 --> 00:02:59.439 And this is true not just with moms and their relationships with their families, but this is true with everybody. 00:02:59.599 --> 00:03:06.800 Um, everybody struggles with selfishness to some degree, and we have this tendency to want what we want when we want it. 00:03:06.960 --> 00:03:08.879 We want our rights right now. 00:03:09.039 --> 00:03:10.879 Like this is our American culture. 00:03:11.120 --> 00:03:13.759 As a country, this is what America is founded upon. 00:03:13.840 --> 00:03:22.080 We've got documents that say the Bill of Rights that hold true to rights that we were supposedly given and should have in life. 00:03:22.240 --> 00:03:28.080 And if somebody takes away our rights, if somebody tries to infringe on our rights, we feel like we've got to fight for that. 00:03:28.159 --> 00:03:33.439 We've got to bring uh retaliation towards another person that tries to take away our rights. 00:03:33.680 --> 00:03:36.639 And this is not what God had created our relationships for. 00:03:36.800 --> 00:03:40.960 God's idea in our relationships is that we would we would love one another. 00:03:41.120 --> 00:03:48.159 I mean, in fact, you could sum up God's word really in one big statement of we're supposed to love God and love people. 00:03:48.319 --> 00:03:51.120 That's what our lives should ultimately be all about. 00:03:51.280 --> 00:03:54.000 And this morning, as we continue our series, say what? 00:03:54.080 --> 00:03:55.120 Jesus is gonna address that. 00:03:55.199 --> 00:04:06.000 He's gonna address some of our relationships and what we ultimately need to do to have healthy, godly relationships that reflect the Father's will in our daily inner encounters. 00:04:06.159 --> 00:04:11.840 And so this morning we're gonna see that followers of Jesus sacrifice their rights for the benefit of others. 00:04:12.319 --> 00:04:13.199 That's what we're called to do. 00:04:13.280 --> 00:04:19.759 We're called to sacrifice our rights willingly, and we're willing to do that for the benefit of others. 00:04:19.920 --> 00:04:28.800 Now, if you're just joining us, we're in the middle of this series called Say What, and we've been walking through the greatest sermon that has ever been preached by Jesus Himself. 00:04:29.120 --> 00:04:37.279 Jesus comes onto the scene, and at the beginning of his ministry here on earth, he begins to lay the foundation of what his kingdom is ultimately about. 00:04:37.439 --> 00:04:46.240 And in the Sermon on the Mount, he begins to break down like what his followers should look like, what character traits they should have, that they should be the salt and the light of the world. 00:04:46.319 --> 00:04:57.759 And in this series, we've been looking at about these statements that had been taken from the Old Testament that had become kind of tradition, and Jesus will say, You've heard it said, but I say unto you. 00:04:57.920 --> 00:05:04.399 And so Jesus is giving kind of a corrected version of really the heart of God and what God is ultimately all about. 00:05:04.720 --> 00:05:16.480 And back in this time, when Jesus comes onto the scene, the Pharisees, the religious leaders, they had interpreted the Old Testament law and their entire perspective was dedicated towards them loving God. 00:05:16.639 --> 00:05:22.720 They wanted to love God, they wanted to be faithful and obedient to Him, but at the expense of others. 00:05:22.879 --> 00:05:25.920 They weren't really loving to the people that they were encountering. 00:05:26.240 --> 00:05:30.879 They were loving in the vertical relationships, but not the horizontal relationships. 00:05:30.959 --> 00:05:38.480 And Jesus says, listen, people of my kingdom, it's not just about loving God, but it's also about loving others in a godlike way. 00:05:38.720 --> 00:05:44.800 And so this morning we're going to see that Jesus is telling us his followers to sacrifice their rights for the benefit of others. 00:05:44.959 --> 00:05:50.000 And he starts this passage out in Matthew chapter 5, verse 38, saying this. 00:05:57.920 --> 00:06:06.800 So Jesus is quoting verses from Exodus chapter 21 where God is giving the civil law for people to follow, to adhere to. 00:06:06.959 --> 00:06:09.839 And he's telling them, listen, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. 00:06:09.920 --> 00:06:19.519 It actually goes on to say, a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot, a burn for a burn, a wound for a wound, a bruise for a bruise. 00:06:19.839 --> 00:06:22.240 This command was to execute civil justice. 00:06:22.319 --> 00:06:24.319 It was to bring order into their society. 00:06:24.480 --> 00:06:36.399 But what had happened is that the religious leaders had taken that Old Testament law and what was encouraged to be kind of bringing order to the civil environment, it was instead put into their relationships. 00:06:36.560 --> 00:06:41.920 And so it was used to justify retaliating against people that had wronged them. 00:06:42.079 --> 00:06:47.680 So if someone wronged you, then you could fight back, you could do the same thing back to them. 00:06:47.920 --> 00:06:51.680 And so when Jesus comes on the scene, he's saying, Listen, this is what you've heard. 00:06:51.759 --> 00:06:58.079 This is what has been accepted in our world and our culture today, but my followers are going to live differently. 00:06:58.240 --> 00:07:05.920 And then Jesus gives these statements, and I'm telling you, these are some of the most radical words that you can possibly read in all of Jesus' sayings. 00:07:06.000 --> 00:07:07.680 He says this in verse 39. 00:07:07.920 --> 00:07:13.519 He says, You've heard it said, but I say unto you, do not resist an evil person. 00:07:13.759 --> 00:07:17.519 If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. 00:07:17.680 --> 00:07:22.800 If someone sues you in court for your shirt and it's taken from you, give your coat as well. 00:07:23.040 --> 00:07:27.920 If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. 00:07:28.079 --> 00:07:33.600 Give to those who ask, and don't turn away from those who want to borrow. 00:07:33.920 --> 00:07:37.199 Those are radical words from Jesus. 00:07:37.360 --> 00:07:48.800 And he's giving us this bigger perspective, but he's ultimately showing us that followers of Jesus are willing to give up their rights, to relinquish their rights for the benefit of others. 00:07:48.959 --> 00:07:55.839 Now let's break this down just so we can bring this into modern terms and we can understand really what Jesus is after here in this passage. 00:07:56.079 --> 00:08:02.399 The first thing we're seeing Jesus do is he's saying that followers of Jesus have to give up their right to be respected. 00:08:02.639 --> 00:08:07.199 He says again in verse 39, but I say, do not resist an evil person. 00:08:07.279 --> 00:08:11.360 If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek as well. 00:08:11.680 --> 00:08:19.360 Now he's saying we shouldn't resist the evil person, but instead we should love them as if they are our neighbor, that we should love them as we love ourselves. 00:08:19.439 --> 00:08:23.839 And so he says, if somebody slaps you on the right cheek, give the other cheek as well. 00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:28.240 Now, this reminds me of a story of a friend that I have who grew up in Florida. 00:08:28.560 --> 00:08:34.960 He's older than I am, so he grew up in the 60s and 70s, and he tells this story about him being in a pizza hut. 00:08:35.120 --> 00:08:47.120 Back when pizza huts had buffets, and he's sitting there with his wife at the time, his back is to the door, and all of a sudden, as he's taking a bite of pizza, some random guy walks up to him and punches him in the back of the head. 00:08:47.279 --> 00:08:54.399 And the force of the punch and just the shock of it makes him fall out of the booth he's sitting in and fall onto the ground. 00:08:54.639 --> 00:08:58.799 He grabs the back of his head and he kind of turns back to look at the person that just hit him. 00:08:58.879 --> 00:09:02.639 And when he turns around, the guy that hit him says, Oh man, I'm so sorry. 00:09:02.720 --> 00:09:04.159 I thought you were somebody else. 00:09:04.320 --> 00:09:18.240 Now, that seems bizarre and crazy, but my friend's response back to him was, Yeah, you might not know who I am, but you're gonna know who I am by the time we leave here, and then a brawl pretty much started, and my friend's no longer allowed to be at that pizza hut. 00:09:18.480 --> 00:09:21.279 But um, it shows kind of our tendency, right? 00:09:21.360 --> 00:09:22.240 This is what we do. 00:09:22.399 --> 00:09:25.600 Like when somebody fights against us, we want to fight against them. 00:09:25.679 --> 00:09:28.720 We want to protect ourselves, protect our family, protect our kids. 00:09:28.879 --> 00:09:31.679 We want to make sure that we're not being taken advantage of. 00:09:31.840 --> 00:09:36.720 Well, Jesus is saying, listen, if somebody slaps you on one cheek, turn the other cheek to them as well. 00:09:36.879 --> 00:09:40.159 Now it's interesting here, and this is what I think Jesus is really going after. 00:09:40.399 --> 00:09:51.919 He's not talking about not protecting ourselves or protecting our families or just being super passive in all of our encounters with people, but I think ultimately what he's getting after is this idea of slap. 00:09:52.240 --> 00:09:54.320 Like if somebody punches me, that's one thing. 00:09:54.399 --> 00:10:07.200 Like we can fight, we can we can roll around on the floor, but if somebody slaps another man on the face, like that's not just something that's given to physically hurt you, but that's also given to humiliate you, right? 00:10:07.279 --> 00:10:11.840 If somebody slaps you on the face like an open-handed slap, that's a no-go, right? 00:10:12.000 --> 00:10:13.840 Nobody wants to be a part of that. 00:10:14.080 --> 00:10:17.039 And so Jesus is saying, listen, if somebody slaps you, turn the other cheek as well. 00:10:17.120 --> 00:10:37.600 He's saying ultimately that you should be willing to lose the respect or the honor that you feel like you should deserve, that you should be willing and able to be able to be humiliated at the expense of others, that you should be willing to give of yourself and your reputation for the benefit of others. 00:10:37.759 --> 00:10:54.879 Now, I don't think Jesus is condoning abuse, and I don't think that he's saying that we should be doormats to be walked all over, but he is showing the heart of our of his kingdom that we should be willing to think of others better than ourselves, that we should live in humility and be willing to be disrespected by someone else. 00:10:55.120 --> 00:11:00.559 Now, again, this falls in the face of everything our culture and our world teach us, but Jesus' kingdom is different. 00:11:00.720 --> 00:11:02.720 And what gets in the way in this is pride. 00:11:02.879 --> 00:11:04.559 Pride ultimately comes into our lives. 00:11:04.639 --> 00:11:06.080 It's something that we all struggle with. 00:11:06.159 --> 00:11:09.679 It's probably at the heart of most, if not all, of our sins. 00:11:09.840 --> 00:11:13.440 And pride is this idea that thinks that, man, I gotta get my way. 00:11:13.600 --> 00:11:14.240 It's about me. 00:11:14.320 --> 00:11:21.279 It's about me being respected and honored and uh not being taken advantage of that life is ultimately all about me. 00:11:22.240 --> 00:11:29.679 It's like when I was in high school, I can remember uh being a senior in high school and having an English teacher, and English has never been my subject. 00:11:29.759 --> 00:11:32.480 Like I'm not one that's a great writer, a great speller. 00:11:32.799 --> 00:11:39.360 Grammar is not my forte, like I'm constantly having to get people to prove stuff, simple stuff, because I'm just not great at that. 00:11:39.440 --> 00:11:42.159 And so that was already a sore kind of subject for me in high school. 00:11:42.240 --> 00:11:49.120 And I can remember writing a paper and my teacher taking that paper and putting it on an overhead projector sheet. 00:11:49.279 --> 00:11:52.639 Like that was back when we had overhead projectors and not all the technology we have today. 00:11:52.799 --> 00:12:10.960 And so she puts my paper on an overhead sheet and then proceeds to put the overhead sheet on the overhead projector for the entire class to see, has my name on it, everything, and she begins to go line by line getting the class to critique my paper and edit all of the mistakes that were on there. 00:12:11.200 --> 00:12:13.200 Now, I was hurt by that. 00:12:13.360 --> 00:12:25.600 Like I I mean I still probably hold a little bit of a grudge and bitterness towards that teacher because I felt like I had been disrespected, that I felt like I deserved something and she had humiliated me in front of others. 00:12:25.759 --> 00:12:31.519 Now, we can question her teaching opportunities and we can question maybe her different teaching methods. 00:12:31.679 --> 00:12:38.080 Maybe they aren't the best, but ultimately it reveals something that's within our hearts that we don't want to be humiliated. 00:12:38.159 --> 00:12:41.679 We don't want to lose the respect and the honor that we feel like we deserve. 00:12:41.840 --> 00:12:49.679 But Jesus is coming and saying, hey, followers of Jesus should be willing to forsake, to give up their right to be respected. 00:12:49.840 --> 00:12:50.720 But he doesn't stop there. 00:12:50.799 --> 00:12:55.360 He also goes farther and he says, followers of Jesus give up their right to stuff. 00:12:55.679 --> 00:13:01.679 Verse 40, it says, if you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat to. 00:13:02.080 --> 00:13:07.679 See, Jewish law back in Exodus chapter 22, I believe, it talks about the law. 00:13:07.840 --> 00:13:11.279 If somebody is sued, that they could take pretty much anything. 00:13:11.360 --> 00:13:28.720 They could take your undergarments, they could take your shirt, they could take your shoes, they could take all of that stuff, but the one thing they were not allowed to take was your outer coat, your coat, the garment that protected you from the cold winter nights, because they've said that that was something that you needed for your well-being and your own personal survival. 00:13:28.879 --> 00:13:30.639 And so that was the law, that was the statement. 00:13:30.799 --> 00:13:36.559 People could sue you for a number of things, but they could never take your coat because you desperately needed that. 00:13:36.720 --> 00:13:43.759 And Jesus comes on the scene, he says, listen, if somebody takes you to court and they sue you for your shirt, don't just give them the shirt, but also give them the coat. 00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:49.120 Willingly sacrifice your stuff for the benefit of others. 00:13:49.360 --> 00:13:51.120 Like this is crazy, right? 00:13:51.279 --> 00:13:54.080 That Jesus is saying that we need to sacrifice our stuff. 00:13:54.240 --> 00:14:08.799 For us, that means that we sacrifice our property, that we sacrifice our homes, our automobile, clothing, food, whatever it might be, that we're willing to give willingly to other people that need it or want the things that we have. 00:14:08.960 --> 00:14:11.279 Now, jealousy and greed play into this. 00:14:11.440 --> 00:14:14.159 Um, this is something that we naturally have to fight. 00:14:14.320 --> 00:14:24.000 We we naturally just have this instinct within us that things are ours, that we want to hold tightly to them, and we don't want to ever kind of live with open hands to give to others. 00:14:24.240 --> 00:14:29.120 My kids who are six and three, they don't have to be taught how to be selfish, right? 00:14:29.200 --> 00:14:35.919 They they get a new toy and they begin to almost immediately fight over it's mine, it's mine, no, it's not mine, it's yours, that kind of thing. 00:14:36.000 --> 00:14:45.120 Like they fight over this nonstop because selfishness, jealousy, greed, that just is natural in our human, sinful souls. 00:14:45.279 --> 00:14:48.879 And Jesus is saying, people in my kingdom are willing to give of their stuff. 00:14:48.960 --> 00:15:03.360 They're willing to be generous to others, they're willing to not let jealousy and greed be the predominant feelings and emotions that they have, but they're willing to give and relinquish the right of stuff in order for the benefit of others. 00:15:03.600 --> 00:15:09.120 He continues and he says, if a soldier demands you to carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. 00:15:09.519 --> 00:15:17.120 He's now commanding his followers to give up their right to time in the ways that they want to spend their own time. 00:15:17.360 --> 00:15:23.360 Back in biblical times, remember at the time of Jesus, the Romans had occupied Jerusalem. 00:15:23.440 --> 00:15:30.799 They had occupied the Jewish people, and so, for lack of a better word, the Jewish people were enslaved to the Romans. 00:15:30.960 --> 00:15:37.759 And so the Romans could come up to any Jewish man and they could say, Hey, I'm tired of carrying my pack, my backpack. 00:15:37.840 --> 00:15:39.519 I want you to carry it for me. 00:15:39.679 --> 00:15:44.559 And the Jewish people were forced to carry that backpack at least a mile. 00:15:44.799 --> 00:15:57.759 We see a kind of a same semblance of this idea when Jesus is carrying the cross and Jesus falls to the ground, and one of the Roman officers commands Simon of Cyrene to pick up the cross and carry it on Jesus' behalf. 00:15:57.840 --> 00:16:07.840 It's that same idea that they didn't have their own right to time and schedules and whatever, the Roman officers could dictate how they were spending their time and energy. 00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:21.759 So imagine for a second that you're a Jewish individual, you are going about your day, you've got a busy schedule, you've got meetings, you've got different appointments that you've got to adhere to, and all of a sudden a Roman soldier comes up to you and says, Hey, carry my pack. 00:16:21.919 --> 00:16:24.639 Like you would think our natural tendency is to be like, who are you talking to? 00:16:24.960 --> 00:16:25.600 I'm not doing that. 00:16:25.679 --> 00:16:27.039 Like, I've got other things I've got to do. 00:16:27.120 --> 00:16:27.840 I'm too busy. 00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:33.440 I can't, I can't be spending time walking a mile carrying a pack that you are perfectly capable of doing. 00:16:33.600 --> 00:16:35.279 They would have hated the Romans. 00:16:35.440 --> 00:16:37.200 But Jesus says, that's not the response. 00:16:37.360 --> 00:16:38.799 We don't fight back. 00:16:39.120 --> 00:16:42.799 Instead, he says, don't just carry it one mile, but carry it two miles. 00:16:42.960 --> 00:16:49.600 It's this idea of second mile service that we go above and beyond to serve the people that are around us. 00:16:49.759 --> 00:16:53.440 And what oftentimes prevents us from living this out is busyness. 00:16:53.679 --> 00:17:02.799 We get so busy, we get so focused on our schedules and what we have to do that we miss out on some of the divine appointments that God has placed in our lives. 00:17:02.960 --> 00:17:08.240 We should be willing to go the second mile, the extra mile to serve and love those that are around us. 00:17:08.400 --> 00:17:15.440 That we would be willing to sacrifice our time, our schedules, our busyness for the benefit and the good of others. 00:17:15.680 --> 00:17:22.960 And then finally, Jesus kind of puts a bow on this and he says, give to those who ask and don't turn away from those that want to borrow. 00:17:23.200 --> 00:17:27.359 Followers of Jesus give up their right to money. 00:17:27.599 --> 00:17:34.319 I mean, I think that this is something that is such a uh a weighty subject, especially when you talk about it in the church. 00:17:34.400 --> 00:17:38.720 And when church and pastor start talking about money, it just has such this negative connotation. 00:17:38.880 --> 00:17:46.480 But but Jesus is saying, hey, listen, when when it comes to money, man, my followers should be the most generous individuals that there are. 00:17:46.880 --> 00:18:00.319 That we should be willing to give to anyone that is in need, that we should be willing to, if there's somebody that wants to borrow something that we have, that we just live in such a way that we have open hands willing to give and to serve whatever and whoever we can. 00:18:00.480 --> 00:18:09.759 Now, I don't think this is necessarily talking about the professional beggar that's staying on the side of the road and he's just unable or unwilling to get a job. 00:18:09.920 --> 00:18:13.599 I mean, in Thessalonians we read that if you don't work, you don't eat. 00:18:13.759 --> 00:18:17.119 I mean, I think that's a principle that God has laid out in Scripture. 00:18:17.279 --> 00:18:20.480 But I think that there are people that have legitimate needs. 00:18:20.720 --> 00:18:27.920 And some of them have maybe been brought on by their own decisions, and some of them have maybe been brought on by things that they had no control over. 00:18:28.480 --> 00:18:38.559 And Christians and followers of Jesus should be people that meet those needs, that relinquish our right for money and stuff and more, and be willing to be generous to others. 00:18:38.720 --> 00:18:49.119 First John chapter 3 says, But if anyone has the world's goods and sees the brother, a brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? 00:18:49.359 --> 00:18:54.720 Little children, let us not love in word or talk, but in deed and in truth. 00:18:54.960 --> 00:18:58.079 And that's ultimately what Jesus is getting after in this passage. 00:18:58.240 --> 00:19:16.160 He's saying that we should love one another, that we should love our enemies as we love ourselves, that we should be people that go the extra mile, that we are willing to give of our time, of our schedule, of our money, of our resources, that we should be people that serve others, even the people that are against us. 00:19:16.319 --> 00:19:23.519 That we should not seek out retaliation trying to get back at someone, but instead we should love them as a result. 00:19:23.759 --> 00:19:25.759 Now, this sounds well and good. 00:19:25.839 --> 00:19:27.599 It sounds like a utopian society. 00:19:27.759 --> 00:19:29.599 It sounds like this is too good to be true. 00:19:29.759 --> 00:19:31.839 Man, Nathan, I could never do that kind of thing. 00:19:32.000 --> 00:19:34.720 I could never be able to love people in such a way. 00:19:34.880 --> 00:19:38.319 I could never be able to interact with people in that kind of way. 00:19:38.400 --> 00:19:42.640 You don't know the coworkers I have, you don't know the family I have, you don't know the neighbors that I have. 00:19:42.799 --> 00:19:43.920 But listen to me. 00:19:44.240 --> 00:19:46.960 Jesus has called his followers to live this way. 00:19:47.119 --> 00:19:54.319 And I think one of the reasons that the church has failed in so many ways is because we haven't adopted this same mindset. 00:19:54.480 --> 00:20:02.160 We're still holding tightly onto our rights here on earth, and we're missing out on what God has ultimately called us to be about. 00:20:02.319 --> 00:20:07.359 So here's just three things, real quick, that I think that we've got to understand in our mind. 00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:17.599 Three practical implications that we've got to live out in our hearts and in our minds in order for us to be able to be the people that God is calling us to be in this passage. 00:20:17.839 --> 00:20:22.480 The first thing is this is that we've got to understand that God takes care of his children. 00:20:22.799 --> 00:20:26.640 God is a good father and he gives good gifts to his children. 00:20:27.039 --> 00:20:34.720 Later on in the Sermon on the Mount, we read that, man, a good father gives good gifts to his children, then how much more will our God give to us? 00:20:34.880 --> 00:20:37.920 Our God is a good, good gift-giving God. 00:20:38.079 --> 00:20:41.440 He gives good gifts to his children, he takes care of his children. 00:20:41.599 --> 00:20:46.079 He's going to make sure that his kids are provided for and taken care of. 00:20:46.240 --> 00:20:47.359 This is the God that we have. 00:20:47.519 --> 00:20:49.119 He is a good father. 00:20:49.359 --> 00:20:54.319 Romans chapter 12, verse 17 says, never pay back evil with more evil. 00:20:54.480 --> 00:20:59.039 Do things in such a way that everyone can see that you are honorable. 00:20:59.279 --> 00:21:02.559 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. 00:21:02.799 --> 00:21:05.440 Dear friends, never take revenge. 00:21:05.599 --> 00:21:14.000 Leave that to the righteous anger of God, for the scripture says, I will take revenge, I will repay, I will pay them back, says the Lord. 00:21:14.319 --> 00:21:17.759 See, our job is not to seek out retaliation. 00:21:18.079 --> 00:21:22.240 Our job is to be faithful to the Lord, to be faithful to Jesus. 00:21:22.480 --> 00:21:28.720 His job is to be faithful to himself, to be faithful and take care of his children. 00:21:28.880 --> 00:21:34.480 That we don't have to seek out revenge or retaliation because our Father is responsible for taking care of us. 00:21:34.720 --> 00:21:35.599 We trust in him. 00:21:35.759 --> 00:21:38.559 We trust that he is a good God that takes care of his children. 00:21:38.720 --> 00:21:41.759 We also see that we have to live with eternity in mind. 00:21:41.839 --> 00:21:43.359 Now, this is a major shift. 00:21:43.519 --> 00:21:51.519 We'll always be people that are wanting to hold on to the rights that we feel like we deserve and have if we are living in this world. 00:21:51.680 --> 00:21:59.599 If our minds are set on this world and in this moment and in this time period and not thinking about eternity, then we will always fight to hold. 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:01.119 Onto our rights. 00:22:01.279 --> 00:22:03.839 But Jesus is saying we should live with eternity in mind. 00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:13.599 Second Corinthians chapter 4, verse 16, it says, Therefore do not lose heart, though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 00:22:13.839 --> 00:22:21.599 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 00:22:21.920 --> 00:22:26.480 So we fix our eyes not on what we see, but on what is unseen. 00:22:26.960 --> 00:22:31.440 Since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 00:22:31.680 --> 00:22:50.640 When we have the mind of Christ, when we focus on not just what this world has to offer us, and instead we're thinking of what eternity is to bring, man, the momentary afflictions, the hardships, the humiliation, or maybe the sacrifice that we have to make, man, it's just, it's, it's nothing in light of eternity. 00:22:50.720 --> 00:22:51.680 It's small. 00:22:51.920 --> 00:22:57.839 It really has no great, huge impact on our lives if we are living in light of eternity. 00:22:58.079 --> 00:23:01.920 Man, at best we live 80, 90, 100 years here on earth. 00:23:02.079 --> 00:23:04.160 Man, the Bible says that that's just like a mist. 00:23:04.240 --> 00:23:04.960 It's a vapor. 00:23:05.039 --> 00:23:07.839 It's here one moment and it's gone the next. 00:23:08.079 --> 00:23:16.400 But when we live in light of eternity, man, all of the little small stuff or all the large stuff that we thought was big suddenly becomes small. 00:23:16.640 --> 00:23:21.440 When we live with eternity in mind, we're willing to relinquish our rights for the good of others. 00:23:21.680 --> 00:23:26.640 And then finally, we live in the grace that we have experienced. 00:23:27.279 --> 00:23:34.079 Man, the the greatest uh person that lived out the truths that we talk about this morning was Jesus himself. 00:23:34.559 --> 00:23:42.079 Man, he was persecuted, he was beat up, man, he was tortured, he was abused, I mean, he was constantly talked about behind his back. 00:23:42.160 --> 00:23:47.440 I mean, there were plots and ploys to try to, you know, make him look like he was a criminal when he really wasn't. 00:23:47.599 --> 00:23:50.960 I mean, there are all of these things and all of these people that were out to get Jesus. 00:23:51.119 --> 00:23:59.839 But his response is always a response, not of retaliation, but of love, uh, of seeking and willing to relinquish his rights for the good of others. 00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:06.880 And if we understand what Jesus has done for us, then man, we should live in the same way in our relationships with one another. 00:24:07.119 --> 00:24:09.200 I love what Ephesians chapter 2 says. 00:24:09.359 --> 00:24:35.279 It says, As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of the world, and the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient, all of us who lived among them at one time, glorifying the cravings of our flesh, and following its desires and thoughts, like the rest of mankind, by nature we were deserving of wrath. 00:24:35.519 --> 00:24:44.960 But because of the great love for us, God, who was rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our transgressions. 00:24:45.119 --> 00:24:47.359 It is by grace you have been saved. 00:24:47.519 --> 00:25:01.759 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages we might show the incomparable riches of his grace expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 00:25:02.000 --> 00:25:09.920 For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of yourself, it is a gift of God, not by work, so that no one can boast. 00:25:10.160 --> 00:25:19.039 For we are God's handiwork or masterpieces created in Christ Jesus to do good work which God prepared in advance for us to do. 00:25:19.359 --> 00:25:29.759 See, when we understand the beauty of the gospel, that we were enemies of God, but God, even though we were enemies, he loved us enough to send his son to die on a cross for your sins and for mine. 00:25:30.079 --> 00:25:40.799 Man, when we understand the amazing love God had for us and the amazing forgiveness and grace that we were shown, then man, the only response that we should have in our relationship to others is to do the same. 00:25:41.039 --> 00:25:49.359 To be God to others in our relationships, that we should show grace and love and forgiveness to the people that we are around. 00:25:49.519 --> 00:25:53.279 Not just the people that we like, but also the people that are against us. 00:25:53.519 --> 00:26:00.079 And so maybe this morning there's somebody in your life, even right now, that you need to show second mile service to. 00:26:00.240 --> 00:26:04.559 Maybe there's somebody that you need to be generous with your resources towards. 00:26:04.799 --> 00:26:10.880 Maybe there's a neighbor down the street that's been wanting to borrow something and you haven't been willing to let him borrow it. 00:26:11.039 --> 00:26:12.400 Maybe you need to let him borrow it. 00:26:12.559 --> 00:26:18.799 Maybe you need to be generous with your time this week and serve somebody and go out of your way and make a sacrifice. 00:26:18.960 --> 00:26:25.920 See, we are willing as followers of Jesus to sacrifice our rights for the benefit and the good of others. 00:26:26.079 --> 00:26:27.680 Are you willing to do that? 00:26:28.400 --> 00:26:31.599 This is not possible in our human flesh. 00:26:31.759 --> 00:26:37.839 It's only a supernatural work, and that can only happen when we have a relationship with Jesus Christ. 00:26:38.079 --> 00:26:42.079 And so this morning, if you don't have a relationship with Jesus, I would just invite you into that. 00:26:42.240 --> 00:26:45.680 Um, here at Church at the Grove, we say it's as simple as the ABCs. 00:26:45.920 --> 00:26:54.960 It's admitting that we're sinful, admitting that we've broken God's commands, that we believe that Jesus is who he says he is, that he died on a cross for our sins and rose again on the third day. 00:26:55.119 --> 00:27:00.559 And then we finally confess him as our Lord and our Savior, that he's now calling the shots for our lives. 00:27:00.720 --> 00:27:10.000 And if that's a step that you need to take, man, we would love to be able to have a conversation with you and help walk you through your journey and how to start your relationship with Jesus. 00:27:10.160 --> 00:27:23.680 And so you can do this simply by just texting the word, start to follow, all one word to 9700, and we'd love to follow up with you and give you resources on how you can take your next steps of faith. 00:27:23.920 --> 00:27:35.039 But for the rest of us that have maybe put our faith and trust in Jesus, let us this week be people that don't seek retaliation, but we seek to give up of our rights willingly for the good and the benefit of others. 00:27:35.279 --> 00:27:36.319 Let me pray for us. 00:27:36.480 --> 00:27:51.680 Lord Jesus, thank you so much for who you are and for you just displaying the perfect example of what it looks like to not seek out retaliation, but instead to love your neighbor as you love yourself, to love your enemies and to pray for those that persecute you. 00:27:51.839 --> 00:27:56.559 Lord, we thank you for being a God that has done that for us and for so many. 00:27:56.799 --> 00:28:05.119 Lord, help us to not follow after the patterns of this world and be selfish individuals that think that the world ultimately revolves around us. 00:28:05.279 --> 00:28:14.240 Let us not be people that hold on to our rights that we feel like we've earned or we somehow deserve tightly, but instead, Lord, let us live with open hands. 00:28:14.480 --> 00:28:21.119 Let us be willing to give of ourselves, to sacrifice of our rights for the benefits of others. 00:28:21.359 --> 00:28:29.359 Let us not be like the Pharisees who are focused on their love for God, but yet somehow miss the whole point of loving the people around them. 00:28:29.519 --> 00:28:31.440 Let that not be true for us. 00:28:31.599 --> 00:28:34.160 Let us be a people that truly love you. 00:28:34.240 --> 00:28:39.519 And as a result of our love for you, Lord, we love the others and the people that you put around us. 00:28:39.759 --> 00:28:50.480 Lord, I pray for big things in our future and in our midst, Lord, as we trust in you and in the way that you love the people that you've called us to love around us. 00:28:50.559 --> 00:28:54.079 And so, Lord, we thank you again for your morning, for this word, and for your truth. 00:28:54.160 --> 00:28:55.440 And it's in your name we pray. 00:28:55.599 --> 00:28:56.079 Amen.