WEBVTT 00:00:02.399 --> 00:00:04.480 Welcome to the MetaCurch podcast. 00:00:04.559 --> 00:00:05.440 My name is Clayton. 00:00:05.519 --> 00:00:14.240 I'm the pastor at MetaCurch, and I hope that today's message is inspiring and enlightening and really builds you up wherever you're at in life. 00:00:16.879 --> 00:00:18.719 Well, I want to welcome you guys in. 00:00:18.879 --> 00:00:23.039 I also want to welcome in on the other side of this camera, Holotus. 00:00:23.679 --> 00:00:32.320 Man, we are so thankful that to be a multi-site church, we're so privileged that we get to have a vision and that we actually get to start seeing steps of that play out. 00:00:32.399 --> 00:00:37.039 And uh, we're almost two years with two venues, and God is moving. 00:00:37.200 --> 00:00:38.560 God is doing great things. 00:00:38.719 --> 00:00:39.359 Yeah. 00:00:39.679 --> 00:00:41.280 It's an amazing thing. 00:00:41.600 --> 00:00:46.560 We have such great people that do whatever it takes in order to bring people to Jesus. 00:00:46.640 --> 00:00:53.359 And um, man, I've gotten to see firsthand of what it looks like for people to sacrifice, sacrifice early mornings. 00:00:53.520 --> 00:01:04.560 And um, you know, throughout all of it, it you don't miss it because it's people and uh people are messy and people have families and people have hurt, and uh we bring all of that here because we're not we're not fake here. 00:01:04.640 --> 00:01:14.000 We bring it here, and um here as well, you know, like we do a lot of pastoral care, and people are dealing with real things, have real hurt, real trauma. 00:01:14.159 --> 00:01:21.840 And the fact that we are a body, a unified body by Jesus, Ephesians tells us that we are unified by Christ. 00:01:22.079 --> 00:01:34.159 And the fact that we get to do that together and sort through some of this pain and trauma, allow God to be the reckoning force, the one who redeems all of it, and to be a community that goes out and really appreciates the lost. 00:01:34.319 --> 00:01:36.000 Like that was God's heart. 00:01:36.239 --> 00:01:38.560 Is the lost, is the outsider. 00:01:38.799 --> 00:01:50.799 Like, I think we should like really be proud of ourselves, the fact that like we have a big vision that is hard to pull off, and people don't maybe understand why we do what we do or how we do what we do, but the heart is the same. 00:01:50.959 --> 00:01:51.920 It's for people. 00:01:52.159 --> 00:01:58.400 And if you're like me, you've been really affected by just how slowly we've gone through the book of Luke. 00:01:59.519 --> 00:02:08.560 And you know, I've since I've been a follower of Jesus, I've been, oddly enough, I've been teaching and studying the word since I've been a follower, even when I didn't know what I was talking about. 00:02:08.719 --> 00:02:11.520 And the more you learn about something, the more you realize you don't know anything. 00:02:11.680 --> 00:02:29.599 And uh, what I if you're like me, you've slowed down enough and where you know you're reading the scriptures, you're reading the verses, we're sitting in it, and Pastor Clayton's been taking us through this for over a year now, and there comes a point where you stop being like the narrator of the story, and you just read the lines on the page and you start to see yourself in the story. 00:02:29.759 --> 00:02:36.240 You start to see the humane parts of Jesus and how urgent he was, how intentional he was. 00:02:36.479 --> 00:02:43.439 And I'll just give you three things that have really impacted me from like our study on the book of Luke, three things that have really stuck with me. 00:02:43.520 --> 00:02:46.719 And, you know, for all of us, it's probably a little bit different. 00:02:46.879 --> 00:03:00.000 Um, for me, one of the first things that stood out to me that really had an impact on me was just slowing down enough in the Christmas story, because in Christmas story, we all have the perspective and the narrative, and like everything's whitewashed, as Clayton says, and like we kind of just move past it. 00:03:00.080 --> 00:03:17.199 But when you slow down enough to wrestle with like Jesus' upbringing, the fact that Mary and Joseph raised a child, fully God, fully human, and Jesus is the one who created them, and he humbled himself under their authority here on earth. 00:03:17.360 --> 00:03:24.319 Like that just to me just says a lot about our God, the character of him, the nature of him, what he's willing to do. 00:03:25.840 --> 00:03:37.680 And one of the second things that really has impacted me is even from a young age, what you see when we were studying the scriptures, we saw that like Jesus understood the weight of his life very early on. 00:03:37.919 --> 00:03:45.039 And for a child to carry that weight, fully human, fully God, like we'll never really fully understand that. 00:03:45.199 --> 00:03:53.599 But the fact that he knew from the very beginning, and he carried that his whole entire life, I think that's huge. 00:03:55.280 --> 00:04:05.120 And then one of the last things that's really impacted me that was I got the opportunity to teach a couple months ago on this passage was when Jesus claimed that he didn't come for the healthy, he came for the sick. 00:04:05.280 --> 00:04:09.199 And I'll tell you, like, that actually speaks a lot in today's message. 00:04:09.439 --> 00:04:10.319 That's the same thing. 00:04:10.400 --> 00:04:12.240 And I don't think God does things by accident either. 00:04:12.319 --> 00:04:14.479 Like, you know, I'm preaching you today, but I'm preaching to myself. 00:04:14.560 --> 00:04:15.439 So don't get mad at me. 00:04:15.520 --> 00:04:18.240 I'm gonna say later, like, I'm not talking to you, I'm talking to me. 00:04:18.399 --> 00:04:21.120 I'm talking to you, but I'm talking to me. 00:04:22.879 --> 00:04:31.199 And when Jesus came and he sat with outsiders, what he was doing was putting a target on his back. 00:04:32.639 --> 00:04:35.680 In society, there was us and then there was them. 00:04:38.879 --> 00:04:40.879 And you and I are the outsider. 00:04:41.040 --> 00:04:56.000 When you slow down enough and you realize that I'm the sinner that put Jesus on the cross, every intentional stop along the way, every interaction with a leper, with whoever, with a sinner, with a prostitute, with someone who had multiple demons. 00:04:56.079 --> 00:05:03.519 Like as we get into these stories and we really realize that Jesus stops along the way, he's looking at you and I. 00:05:07.519 --> 00:05:09.519 And that does something to me. 00:05:09.759 --> 00:05:11.519 That does something to you. 00:05:11.920 --> 00:05:14.560 And today is no different. 00:05:15.680 --> 00:05:17.040 Thank you, Pastor. 00:05:17.600 --> 00:05:21.279 Gets to give me uh love your enemies. 00:05:21.839 --> 00:05:24.079 It's a hard passage to preach on. 00:05:24.240 --> 00:05:30.800 Um and my prayer has been that it will do to you what it's done to me. 00:05:33.839 --> 00:05:41.920 When Jesus said love your enemies, he's talking about how do you and I deal with some of the most difficult relationships in our life. 00:05:42.079 --> 00:05:48.319 How do we love the people that at times feel like unlovable, undeserving of our love? 00:05:51.279 --> 00:05:59.839 And Jesus, he um, we're in chapter six, it's been about five weeks in the Beatitudes, the start of Jesus' famous teaching. 00:06:00.079 --> 00:06:12.480 And um, what we see is that, like, right here, as Jesus is proclaiming this teaching specifically, love your enemies. 00:06:12.639 --> 00:06:22.879 We just got out of the Beatitudes and Claim did a great job now and later, and we're gonna see these patterns continue throughout Jesus and his ministry and his teaching on the Sermon on the Plain. 00:06:24.560 --> 00:06:27.120 But specifically here, love your enemies. 00:06:28.240 --> 00:06:30.160 Jesus knew what it was like. 00:06:30.399 --> 00:06:31.360 We know the context. 00:06:31.439 --> 00:06:34.639 You've been hanging out with us just in chapter 6 alone. 00:06:34.879 --> 00:06:38.879 Jesus was the one who healed someone on the Sabbath. 00:06:39.279 --> 00:06:42.079 And the Pharisees, they were upset about it. 00:06:43.680 --> 00:06:53.759 Jesus was the one healing people, dining with people, who the religious system of the day said, no, those are the outsiders, or this is the law, we don't do things like that. 00:06:53.839 --> 00:07:05.120 And what we see is that over time, a very short period of time, they've already decided in their heart, the Pharisees and Sadducees, that Jesus is a problem and we need to do something about him. 00:07:06.800 --> 00:07:14.319 And Matthew and Mark are more explicit in their gospel where they've already decided we need to kill Jesus. 00:07:15.439 --> 00:07:22.319 So when Jesus starts out with, love your enemies, Jesus has some real enemies. 00:07:23.120 --> 00:07:26.319 And maybe you think, like, hey, I don't got like real enemies. 00:07:27.600 --> 00:07:33.199 I hope today would show you the heart of what Jesus was really trying to get at. 00:07:34.560 --> 00:07:38.240 Loving the people that it's most difficult to love. 00:07:39.360 --> 00:07:43.120 For some of us it's obvious, and for some of us it's not, and I'll help you out a little bit. 00:07:43.279 --> 00:07:49.839 You know, just think about the last time you opened up your phone, maybe on the way here, maybe you know, two seconds ago during worship or whatever. 00:07:49.920 --> 00:07:58.000 Um, if you were to jump in the comment section, you'll clearly see that there are the righteous ones, and then there's the other guys. 00:08:01.279 --> 00:08:09.279 Our world is structured like this: chaos, division, negativity, enemies, this is what sells. 00:08:09.439 --> 00:08:17.920 There are billion-dollar enterprises that are literally manufactured to feed us this information, to give us this information. 00:08:18.160 --> 00:08:19.600 It's them against us. 00:08:19.759 --> 00:08:34.000 It's political division, ideology division, like it's all over the place, and at some point in your life, you have come into an interaction where you've built a circle and you put someone outside of the circle. 00:08:34.399 --> 00:08:36.240 All of us know what that's like. 00:08:37.440 --> 00:08:41.120 And it was no different in Jesus' day. 00:08:42.720 --> 00:08:50.639 And when Jesus talks about loving your enemies, it's actually a description of who you and I were made to be. 00:08:54.159 --> 00:08:58.000 In Jesus' time, like they would have heard, love your enemies. 00:08:58.080 --> 00:09:05.360 And maybe what we think, like we think reading into the story, um, if you know this, you know this because we've said this 10 billion times. 00:09:05.440 --> 00:09:10.879 Um, but I think it's good to say over and over again so we get right into the like actual context of what's happening. 00:09:11.039 --> 00:09:13.919 Like, the Jews were being oppressed by Rome. 00:09:14.159 --> 00:09:19.440 So when they hear love your enemies, it's easy to think like, oh, it's Caesar. 00:09:19.919 --> 00:09:23.519 It's the political authority, they're the problem. 00:09:24.240 --> 00:09:25.679 Why in the world we love them? 00:09:25.759 --> 00:09:30.399 And but what you what you actually get when you study the word is it's more personal. 00:09:32.480 --> 00:09:34.240 Like, sure, that's true. 00:09:34.399 --> 00:09:39.679 But what Jesus is getting at is that for all of us, there is a personal person he's talking about. 00:09:40.399 --> 00:09:47.759 Not an abstract leader, no, someone close to you in your life, maybe a neighbor. 00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:58.720 And maybe in 2026, how this looks is like maybe every single week or every other week, you gotta drive on by and drop your kids off. 00:10:01.679 --> 00:10:04.240 Maybe it's a wrestle every single week. 00:10:04.559 --> 00:10:22.639 You're losing position, influence, time with someone by either your choice or not by your choice that hurts you, that's difficult to love, and now that doesn't stop there when you remove the relationship, it's actually continued to escalate, it's continued to travel, it's continued to follow you. 00:10:24.399 --> 00:10:26.639 And you and I have a choice with that person. 00:10:27.200 --> 00:10:30.240 Maybe you were a product of that exact situation. 00:10:30.480 --> 00:10:31.919 That's how you were raised. 00:10:32.080 --> 00:10:33.840 You were the one being dropped off. 00:10:34.000 --> 00:10:36.399 You were the one who go away for the summer. 00:10:36.720 --> 00:10:42.879 And in that season, in your formative years, real trauma started. 00:10:43.840 --> 00:10:48.240 Resentment, maybe, to one parent, hatred maybe to another. 00:10:48.720 --> 00:10:53.279 Maybe it's been three years since you've talked to your parents. 00:10:56.320 --> 00:11:03.039 The enemies Jesus is talking about are real personal relationships that you and I may have. 00:11:04.399 --> 00:11:12.399 The person that slandered you, the person that makes your work like extremely difficult, the one who always gets the credit. 00:11:15.759 --> 00:11:26.399 My prayer has been that the Holy Spirit would reveal to you that name, that person, that people group, the people who are outside of the circle that we've established, that we've drawn. 00:11:30.879 --> 00:11:32.480 Maybe that person's in this room. 00:11:32.639 --> 00:11:34.399 Maybe they're in Helotus. 00:11:35.120 --> 00:11:40.480 Maybe you're here because of the result of someone who hurts you at another church. 00:11:43.840 --> 00:11:49.919 Maybe it's that neighbor who decides to park their car so close to your driveway every night. 00:11:50.000 --> 00:11:51.600 That's oddly specific. 00:11:54.320 --> 00:11:56.320 What do you do with that guy? 00:11:59.759 --> 00:12:02.799 How do you choose to interact with that person? 00:12:03.200 --> 00:12:06.399 We all have that person in our life. 00:12:09.440 --> 00:12:11.759 And maybe this is bad timing. 00:12:14.960 --> 00:12:16.720 But even Knicks fans. 00:12:20.399 --> 00:12:27.120 If you just go on the internet, like it's funny, but then it's also really sad and alarming of where we are as a people group. 00:12:27.440 --> 00:12:28.879 Go into the comments. 00:12:29.120 --> 00:12:39.919 Listen to some of what our people, our city, were saying in videos about those other people, about teammates, about their families, about people who identify in this group. 00:12:40.159 --> 00:12:40.960 Go watch the video. 00:12:41.600 --> 00:12:43.440 Don't watch the video, it's a terrible video. 00:12:43.519 --> 00:12:52.159 Uh, there's a video that circulated last week of a Spurs fan leaving the garden, and this dude gets jumped outside of the garden by Knicks fans. 00:12:52.399 --> 00:12:54.240 Like, dude, it's a game. 00:12:55.440 --> 00:12:58.240 But that's where we at we are as a society. 00:12:58.799 --> 00:13:00.080 We have enemies. 00:13:00.240 --> 00:13:03.360 We have people who are outside of our circle. 00:13:03.840 --> 00:13:09.679 And Jesus, we have to deal with right now what he means when he says, love your enemies. 00:13:10.960 --> 00:13:12.559 People are messy. 00:13:13.039 --> 00:13:14.159 We're messy. 00:13:14.320 --> 00:13:16.159 Our lives are messy. 00:13:17.360 --> 00:13:22.559 It's just remarkable, like growing up, how normal this has become. 00:13:22.799 --> 00:13:24.960 How quickly it's happened. 00:13:25.440 --> 00:13:27.279 It's everywhere. 00:13:28.159 --> 00:13:30.720 Our kids have it in their pockets, we have it. 00:13:30.799 --> 00:13:33.759 It's becoming their identity, it's becoming their ideology. 00:13:33.919 --> 00:13:41.759 We are like the world is forcing evil down us, and we are continuing to consume it, and it feels normal. 00:13:43.919 --> 00:13:46.639 We've mastered the art of making enemies. 00:13:47.279 --> 00:13:51.840 No one here, no one online can escape this passage. 00:13:56.480 --> 00:14:00.960 It's a description of who you and I were made to be. 00:14:01.360 --> 00:14:02.960 Loving our enemies. 00:14:03.519 --> 00:14:05.279 And Jesus had enemies. 00:14:05.519 --> 00:14:07.600 This was not any easier for him. 00:14:07.919 --> 00:14:13.600 Jesus had people who wanted already to take his life when he spoke these words. 00:14:15.840 --> 00:14:20.960 I have a one-year-old daughter, and um she's spicy. 00:14:21.120 --> 00:14:22.879 Um, son here, brother. 00:14:22.960 --> 00:14:35.360 Um, you know, if Sonny comes around and like grabs a toy or something like that, that girl is ready and she's hitting, backhanding, screaming, pushing, and like you might be like, Tony's a bad parent, dude. 00:14:35.440 --> 00:14:37.440 Like, I didn't I didn't coach her to do any of this. 00:14:37.600 --> 00:14:39.440 I didn't tell her to do any of this. 00:14:40.240 --> 00:14:41.759 I don't model that to her. 00:14:41.919 --> 00:14:43.200 It's ingrained in her. 00:14:43.440 --> 00:14:45.039 It's human nature. 00:14:45.440 --> 00:14:47.200 You hurt me, I hurt you. 00:14:47.440 --> 00:14:49.440 You're generous to me, I'll be generous to you. 00:14:49.600 --> 00:14:51.600 You're kind to me, I'll be kind to you. 00:14:51.840 --> 00:14:52.960 It's ingrained in us. 00:14:53.039 --> 00:14:54.399 That's how we're wired. 00:14:55.759 --> 00:15:05.200 We've already established that like our enemies are people who are all around us, people who are just difficult, people who believe things differently than we believe. 00:15:06.720 --> 00:15:11.279 And Jesus comes in and he talks about love your enemies. 00:15:12.159 --> 00:15:16.000 And what he's doing is, even in that day, like I said, the Jews they had their circle. 00:15:16.159 --> 00:15:21.039 It was like, hey, your community, the Jewish people, the Samaritans, forget those people. 00:15:21.279 --> 00:15:23.519 The Gentiles, forget those people. 00:15:23.679 --> 00:15:24.960 And Jesus says, love them. 00:15:25.120 --> 00:15:25.840 So what does he do? 00:15:25.919 --> 00:15:29.600 He didn't make the circle bigger, he abolished the circle completely. 00:15:29.759 --> 00:15:34.960 There's no boundary, there's no exception, there's no category. 00:15:36.559 --> 00:15:38.159 Thank you, Jesus. 00:15:42.960 --> 00:15:44.639 None of us can escape. 00:15:45.759 --> 00:15:56.159 And I'll tell you, when I was reading this passage, I had one person come up over and over and over and over again. 00:15:56.320 --> 00:16:01.600 And um, you know, like this is behind the scenes, but when you write a sermon, there's a story arc, all that. 00:16:01.679 --> 00:16:03.440 Like, I know where my story will be. 00:16:03.679 --> 00:16:08.480 And uh, my sermon, there was just wrestling. 00:16:08.960 --> 00:16:10.960 I knew where the story would be. 00:16:11.360 --> 00:16:12.559 Just wrestling with God. 00:16:12.639 --> 00:16:15.519 And I even asked Tori, I was like, Do I have any other enemies? 00:16:15.840 --> 00:16:16.960 Just someone else. 00:16:17.200 --> 00:16:19.279 And this person kept coming up over and over. 00:16:19.440 --> 00:16:27.919 And enemies seems harsh, but it's just someone that's difficult to love, and it usually is because of pain that they've caused you. 00:16:28.080 --> 00:16:29.840 And I love this person. 00:16:30.399 --> 00:16:31.279 I love them. 00:16:31.519 --> 00:16:34.399 They're not a stranger, they're very close to me. 00:16:34.559 --> 00:16:36.159 That person's my dad. 00:16:36.399 --> 00:16:40.559 And growing up, um, I grew up Catholic like a lot of us here. 00:16:40.799 --> 00:16:42.399 My dad taught religion. 00:16:42.480 --> 00:16:45.200 Um, I don't come from like a line of like pastors and all that. 00:16:45.279 --> 00:16:52.480 My dad was a volunteer, a lay pastor, a lay volunteer, and you know, in his time, he would teach first-year confirmation class. 00:16:52.720 --> 00:17:00.559 And um, my dad had convictions, my dad had beliefs, he said good things. 00:17:01.919 --> 00:17:07.200 And then my dad also had a shadow life running parallel to our life. 00:17:07.440 --> 00:17:15.200 And I can remember vividly like moments where I'd wake up and my dad's not the home. 00:17:15.440 --> 00:17:24.400 I can remember moments where my parents would fight and my dad would leave for a day, a weekend, a week, two weeks, and it got worse and worse and worse and worse, and things got revealed. 00:17:24.559 --> 00:17:28.160 And part of it was our mom letting us in as we were getting older and all that. 00:17:28.319 --> 00:17:34.319 But as a young child, not understanding what was happening in the world and trying to find comfort, trying to find safety. 00:17:34.480 --> 00:17:41.200 What I found myself was like, you know, not necessarily being nosy, but like going through his stuff, going through his work phone. 00:17:41.359 --> 00:17:42.880 He had two phones, he would take one. 00:17:42.960 --> 00:17:45.680 I'd go through his Blackberry and like read emails and all. 00:17:45.839 --> 00:17:49.279 And it's like, you know, I was trying to figure out what was going on. 00:17:49.359 --> 00:18:00.079 And I remember like me and my sisters, we and my brother, we had like um spy equipment, and when they'd come home, we would plant little things, and we'd be upstairs listening in, like trying to like understand what was going on. 00:18:02.160 --> 00:18:14.559 And at some point, I really recognized like the person who's trying to pass me along, their ideology of God is not living in a way that matches up with any of this, and I resented God and I hated God because of it. 00:18:14.799 --> 00:18:16.960 And maybe your story is similar. 00:18:18.400 --> 00:18:23.119 And I remember specific interactions, Christmas morning, he'd come home. 00:18:25.599 --> 00:18:30.880 Random weeks, he'd come home on a Sunday, and he'd drag us to church. 00:18:33.200 --> 00:18:36.160 You know, one of the things was like, what does the world see? 00:18:36.240 --> 00:18:38.400 It's like the world sees this picture perfect family. 00:18:38.559 --> 00:18:40.319 To this day, I don't really like taking pictures. 00:18:40.480 --> 00:18:44.240 My dad would take pictures and put it on Facebook, and we're this happy family, huh? 00:18:44.319 --> 00:18:45.440 And like I still wrestle with that. 00:18:45.680 --> 00:18:58.880 Like, there's all these little things in our stories that you and I have that if we're honest, it's like all these little pieces add up, and we have this pain, and when we look at this person, we identify this person and we identify with those pain markers in our life. 00:19:00.079 --> 00:19:09.839 And one of the craziest things when I think about my story, and I wrote it this way, and it it just sounds harsh. 00:19:13.359 --> 00:19:27.759 It's but it's so real, and it just shows me how personal God is, how intentional God is, how God redeems everything in our life. 00:19:28.400 --> 00:19:30.559 Like the and it's it sounds harsh. 00:19:30.640 --> 00:19:32.000 I love my dad. 00:19:32.559 --> 00:19:39.359 The man's who hook a procrecy, his hypocrisy, it almost cost me my faith. 00:19:40.880 --> 00:19:44.400 The God that he was trying to pass down to me, I wanted nothing to do with it. 00:19:44.640 --> 00:19:48.000 If that's what this looks like, I want absolutely nothing to do with this. 00:19:50.079 --> 00:19:57.839 But that same person put me in the room to meet the person who would finally lead me back to the Lord. 00:19:58.079 --> 00:20:04.319 And if you know my story, you know I met Tori at eighth grade confirmation class, and I was not looking for God. 00:20:08.640 --> 00:20:16.880 And fast forward a couple years later of dating, Tori was the one who invited me back to a Christian church. 00:20:17.039 --> 00:20:18.960 Um, I was in a rough season. 00:20:19.119 --> 00:20:20.799 It was also Valentine's Day. 00:20:20.880 --> 00:20:23.279 How do you say no to your girlfriend on Valentine's Day? 00:20:23.359 --> 00:20:24.160 A little hard. 00:20:24.400 --> 00:20:26.640 Um, God knows, God's sovereign. 00:20:26.880 --> 00:20:30.720 And um I don't know what to do with that. 00:20:31.200 --> 00:20:41.920 It's like the person who hurt me the most, the person who I thought took the most from me as a child, um, was part of the narrative in which God used to give me everything I'd ever need in my life. 00:20:42.559 --> 00:20:47.599 And I'll tell you what, I have not fully healed from our relationship. 00:20:47.759 --> 00:20:51.839 Our relationship's not perfect, um, but we're working at it. 00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:52.799 We definitely are. 00:20:52.960 --> 00:20:54.640 And um, is there a rage? 00:20:54.799 --> 00:20:55.839 Not anymore. 00:20:56.160 --> 00:20:56.880 Was there? 00:20:57.119 --> 00:20:58.079 Absolutely. 00:20:58.400 --> 00:21:04.720 Hard processing, hard times, just pushing each other's buttons. 00:21:04.960 --> 00:21:09.039 And the hard reality is we're quite alike in some ways. 00:21:09.839 --> 00:21:11.519 That's what we all wrestle with, right? 00:21:11.599 --> 00:21:17.039 Like, I don't want to be my mom, I don't want to be my dad, and then we start finding out that we were formed by them. 00:21:17.359 --> 00:21:20.000 We took on their likeness. 00:21:22.720 --> 00:21:24.400 I find it hard to do life with them. 00:21:24.480 --> 00:21:25.039 I really do. 00:21:25.200 --> 00:21:29.519 And God's been really pressing on me as I've been studying this scripture. 00:21:29.680 --> 00:21:33.039 And uh, you know, that's the fun part about being a pastor who teaches. 00:21:33.119 --> 00:21:34.559 It's like, go read first Titus. 00:21:34.720 --> 00:21:36.880 It's like sick. 00:21:38.960 --> 00:21:41.039 You're gonna practice what you preach? 00:21:41.839 --> 00:21:45.279 You're gonna stand up there and you know, be judged? 00:21:48.799 --> 00:21:51.200 You and I we can't escape this. 00:21:51.279 --> 00:21:53.440 We're all in this together, and I hope you feel the weight of that. 00:21:53.599 --> 00:21:56.640 There is someone in your life just like this. 00:21:58.079 --> 00:21:59.759 I'm still working through this relationship like. 00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:03.440 Like I said, and honestly, Jesus is impressing me the whole entire time in this. 00:22:03.519 --> 00:22:08.720 And what I want to do is show you what Jesus is actually asking of us. 00:22:09.359 --> 00:22:10.880 Look how Jesus builds this. 00:22:11.119 --> 00:22:13.440 Do what's good to those who hate you. 00:22:13.839 --> 00:22:15.680 Bless those who curse you. 00:22:15.920 --> 00:22:18.160 Pray for those who mistreat you. 00:22:18.559 --> 00:22:19.519 Thank God. 00:22:20.079 --> 00:22:23.359 If anyone hits you on the cheek, offer the other also. 00:22:23.519 --> 00:22:27.119 And if anyone takes away your coat, don't hold back your shirt either. 00:22:27.359 --> 00:22:33.599 Give to everyone who asks you, and from someone, and if for from someone who takes your things, don't ask for them back. 00:22:34.240 --> 00:22:35.759 What's Jesus doing here? 00:22:36.000 --> 00:22:36.799 Do what's good. 00:22:36.960 --> 00:22:38.160 Bless those who curse you. 00:22:38.319 --> 00:22:40.160 Pray for those who mistreat you. 00:22:41.759 --> 00:22:43.119 He's moving closer. 00:22:43.279 --> 00:22:45.039 It's becoming more intimate. 00:22:46.240 --> 00:22:48.000 Offer the other cheek. 00:22:48.400 --> 00:22:49.839 Give your shirt. 00:22:51.680 --> 00:22:54.240 These are very intimate things. 00:22:54.880 --> 00:22:57.200 Every step, it costs you more. 00:22:57.440 --> 00:22:58.880 It's more personal. 00:23:00.079 --> 00:23:03.680 And Jesus isn't just generally giving us, like, hey, this is how you tolerate it. 00:23:03.759 --> 00:23:08.880 No, this is how you actually deal with every area of conflict in your life. 00:23:09.200 --> 00:23:11.759 Love is a verb before it's a feeling. 00:23:12.720 --> 00:23:15.839 Psychology, if you study psychology, will prove that to you. 00:23:18.160 --> 00:23:21.200 And most of us, the hard thing is most of us hear that and go, that's impossible. 00:23:21.279 --> 00:23:23.039 Or why in the world would I even want to do that? 00:23:23.359 --> 00:23:24.720 They don't deserve that. 00:23:25.519 --> 00:23:27.920 Love them, pray for them, bless them. 00:23:28.079 --> 00:23:29.200 Do you know what they did to me? 00:23:29.359 --> 00:23:30.880 Do you know what I carry? 00:23:32.880 --> 00:23:35.039 Maybe you were abused growing up. 00:23:39.200 --> 00:23:40.960 How do you love that person? 00:23:43.200 --> 00:23:45.440 That took away your security. 00:23:51.039 --> 00:23:55.839 And right here in the scriptures, Jesus tells us what to do with our enemies. 00:23:57.200 --> 00:23:58.880 And we get the golden rule. 00:23:59.039 --> 00:24:01.920 Just as you want others to do to you, do the same for them. 00:24:02.160 --> 00:24:02.960 We all know this. 00:24:03.119 --> 00:24:04.160 Everyone in the room knows this. 00:24:04.319 --> 00:24:06.799 Everyone in Helotus online, we know this. 00:24:07.039 --> 00:24:07.839 We've heard this. 00:24:08.000 --> 00:24:10.799 When I was in kindergarten, I'm sure things have changed a little bit. 00:24:10.960 --> 00:24:14.240 It was like on the wall of the room, right by the bathroom. 00:24:14.720 --> 00:24:16.960 Everyone knows the golden rule. 00:24:17.440 --> 00:24:24.720 And the cool thing about slowing down that I've talked about, like the wrestle, it's like we all know this, but now we get to actually wrestle with what that actually means for us. 00:24:26.079 --> 00:24:32.480 And we get to sit in the tension of the Holy Spirit convicting and bringing up in us the person. 00:24:37.839 --> 00:24:40.079 We all have someone outside of the circle. 00:24:40.319 --> 00:24:46.240 And what Jesus is actually saying is like, think of the best thing that you could want someone to do for you. 00:24:48.240 --> 00:24:52.880 And do it for the very person that is last on that list. 00:24:56.160 --> 00:25:04.640 The person that's so easily or you mostly want to treat the ugliest in your life, think of the best thing that you could do for someone and do that for them. 00:25:07.039 --> 00:25:08.960 And it's a simple concept to understand. 00:25:09.039 --> 00:25:14.400 It's like, you know, if I hurt you, I want you to forgive me. 00:25:14.960 --> 00:25:17.279 If I've cheated you, I want you to forgive me. 00:25:17.519 --> 00:25:20.640 If I've overstepped a boundary, I want you to see why I did. 00:25:20.880 --> 00:25:22.319 I want you to understand me. 00:25:22.400 --> 00:25:26.240 But the moment it's someone did it to me, we don't see clearly like that. 00:25:26.480 --> 00:25:28.880 No, they need to get what they deserve. 00:25:29.119 --> 00:25:31.279 That's how the kingdom of the world works. 00:25:31.440 --> 00:25:33.599 That's not how God's kingdom works. 00:25:33.759 --> 00:25:41.200 It's almost like absurdly like reckless of how generous God is to you and I. 00:25:41.680 --> 00:25:44.160 But our skin wants to do the very opposite. 00:25:44.319 --> 00:25:46.960 When we read this, it goes, there's no way I can do that. 00:25:48.480 --> 00:25:50.559 But enemy love isn't a feeling you wait for. 00:25:50.640 --> 00:25:52.400 It's a practice that you and I choose. 00:25:53.279 --> 00:25:55.839 And it's a very hard practice to choose. 00:25:58.640 --> 00:26:00.960 But that's what the kingdom of God is. 00:26:01.359 --> 00:26:03.200 And there's an important distinguish here. 00:26:03.359 --> 00:26:04.960 Like, I want to make this clear. 00:26:05.119 --> 00:26:07.680 I'm not asking you to like be a doormat. 00:26:07.920 --> 00:26:11.119 People read this and it's like, yeah, turn the cheek, give them the shirt, do whatever. 00:26:11.200 --> 00:26:15.759 It's like, no, if people are harming you and abusing you, get out of that situation. 00:26:17.119 --> 00:26:28.319 What Jesus is more concerned about, what I'm more concerned about in myself, is like, what interaction that just took place or years of interactions took place, what is that doing in me? 00:26:28.720 --> 00:26:31.359 What is that festering inside my soul? 00:26:33.519 --> 00:26:36.799 What's the perception of the world that that's giving me? 00:26:38.000 --> 00:26:40.799 Am I letting that pain be my identity? 00:26:42.319 --> 00:26:45.680 I'm not telling you to stay in it and just to put up with crap. 00:26:45.839 --> 00:26:50.000 There is evil in this world, and you are not called to sit in that. 00:26:52.799 --> 00:26:57.680 But how we respond to that is actually what Jesus is concerned with. 00:26:58.240 --> 00:27:02.000 The goal is not to put yourself back in the path of someone who's going to hurt you. 00:27:02.079 --> 00:27:06.960 The goal is to refuse to let that person determine who the person that you are becoming. 00:27:08.720 --> 00:27:11.519 And that's where the root of all the evil that we see. 00:27:11.920 --> 00:27:21.279 All over social media, all over the pages, all over the news, all everywhere you can think of, all of the comment section, pain is the driver. 00:27:22.559 --> 00:27:24.000 We're all broken. 00:27:24.240 --> 00:27:25.599 We're all sick. 00:27:26.799 --> 00:27:38.400 And so many of us don't understand our story, don't understand our pain, don't understand the identity and labels that we've taken on and allowed the person who hurt us to allow us to become that. 00:27:39.200 --> 00:27:42.799 That's how you wake up one day and you're like, dude, I'm my dad. 00:27:43.039 --> 00:27:44.000 I'm my mom. 00:27:44.160 --> 00:27:45.599 I'm doing the same exact things. 00:27:45.680 --> 00:27:49.440 I'm my grandma, I'm my grandpa, I'm the person who did this, I'm that teacher. 00:27:49.599 --> 00:27:50.880 Like, that's how it happens. 00:27:51.039 --> 00:27:57.920 We take the pain that happened to us, we internalize it, we allow that to become our identity, and we start to live that out. 00:27:59.519 --> 00:28:04.960 And Jesus here says, Love your enemy, bless them, pray for them. 00:28:08.400 --> 00:28:09.680 And I understand. 00:28:10.880 --> 00:28:12.640 I've been hurt too. 00:28:16.000 --> 00:28:18.000 So what are we gonna do about it? 00:28:21.519 --> 00:28:26.480 Jesus doesn't stop there and kind of like, you know, this next part's gonna bother us? 00:28:26.720 --> 00:28:28.240 It should bother you. 00:28:30.400 --> 00:28:34.799 He describes right now exactly how the majority of us love, if we're honest. 00:28:35.119 --> 00:28:40.079 Verse 32, if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? 00:28:40.319 --> 00:28:42.799 Even sinners love those who love them. 00:28:43.519 --> 00:28:47.440 If you do what is good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? 00:28:47.680 --> 00:28:49.519 Even sinners do that. 00:28:49.759 --> 00:28:55.440 If you lend to someone and you expect to receive back, what credit is that to you? 00:28:56.240 --> 00:29:00.000 Even sinners lend to sinners to be paid in full. 00:29:00.480 --> 00:29:04.960 And when Jesus uses the word sinner, it's not like a slur. 00:29:05.920 --> 00:29:09.119 This is the natural way of the world. 00:29:10.960 --> 00:29:15.759 People who are operating out of ordinary human repressosity. 00:29:17.519 --> 00:29:23.920 In other words, you're living, I'm living, in the ways of the world. 00:29:25.839 --> 00:29:36.319 And all of that is doing is blinding us to the work of God, is blinding us to the nature, blinding us to the character of God. 00:29:37.119 --> 00:29:42.880 And so you have to ask yourself, I have to ask myself, am I indistinguishable from the world? 00:29:44.480 --> 00:29:46.319 That's a hard question. 00:29:46.640 --> 00:29:56.960 Maybe you're one of the first believers in your family and you're still wrestling, and don't worry, you're gonna be sanctified the rest of your life as you follow Jesus, and the goals become more and more and more and more and more like him. 00:29:58.960 --> 00:30:01.599 But right now you have to ask yourself how you're living? 00:30:02.240 --> 00:30:05.359 What are people receiving on the other side of you? 00:30:07.440 --> 00:30:10.880 The relationship with my dad, like I told you, it's not fully restored. 00:30:12.960 --> 00:30:17.359 And for some of us, it's like, man, I'm not angry, I'm not, you know, bulldozing people, I'm not doing that. 00:30:17.440 --> 00:30:18.799 You know what this looks like also? 00:30:19.839 --> 00:30:20.799 Passivity? 00:30:22.400 --> 00:30:24.240 You mean passive with other people? 00:30:24.640 --> 00:30:25.680 That's my tendency. 00:30:25.759 --> 00:30:29.279 It's like, yo, if you're gonna wrong me, if you're gonna do whatever, I'm just not gonna deal with you. 00:30:29.680 --> 00:30:39.599 And I found even while trying to rebuild the relationship with my father, and if he watches this one day online, like this is nothing I would never say to his face, like, I want to rebuild the relationship. 00:30:39.759 --> 00:30:44.079 I want my dad to own these things because I'm the one who carried them for such a long time. 00:30:44.400 --> 00:30:54.799 But what you find out, like as you're dealing with this stuff, he's carrying it also. 00:30:59.599 --> 00:31:05.680 And when I found being passive, it doesn't actually help move the relationship forward. 00:31:05.920 --> 00:31:08.079 It's like, you know, my dad asked me a thousand questions. 00:31:08.160 --> 00:31:11.440 Like whenever he sees me, whenever he talks to me, and it's like, you know, I'm short. 00:31:11.920 --> 00:31:18.480 I don't really want it's hard to let someone in and be genuine when you don't really ever feel like you receive that growing up. 00:31:18.640 --> 00:31:21.200 And it's just like I go back to my formation. 00:31:22.960 --> 00:31:24.000 And maybe that's you. 00:31:24.079 --> 00:31:26.160 Like maybe you just shut down around people. 00:31:27.759 --> 00:31:29.759 That's also a choice. 00:31:30.079 --> 00:31:35.920 And I'm I'm not saying it's not a hard decision to like overcome, like that's the way you're formed and wired, and you have to work at it. 00:31:36.000 --> 00:31:40.480 That's why it's a choice to love someone, it's a choice to let someone in. 00:31:45.599 --> 00:31:47.680 And we all know how uncomfortable that can be. 00:31:47.920 --> 00:31:52.880 Maybe you've taken a step or two and they didn't respond the way you thought they'd respond. 00:31:54.000 --> 00:31:56.400 But the thing is, we're not actually going for the response. 00:31:56.559 --> 00:32:03.839 Remember, what I'm trying to identify here, what I'm trying to show you, what Jesus is showing us here is this is more about your heart posture. 00:32:07.920 --> 00:32:15.680 And how Jesus pivots this, I believe this is like the pivotal point of like where we are in this passage. 00:32:16.319 --> 00:32:20.880 Verse 35, he doesn't just give us a command, he gives us a reason. 00:32:21.039 --> 00:32:23.119 And I think that reason is really important. 00:32:23.599 --> 00:32:27.759 Thinking about this person, thinking about the trauma, thinking about everything they've done to you. 00:32:27.920 --> 00:32:34.880 I think this is how we actually move forward and actually love our enemies. 00:32:37.200 --> 00:32:42.960 But love your enemies, do what is good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. 00:32:43.200 --> 00:32:51.119 Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, for he is gracious to the ungrateful and evil. 00:32:51.359 --> 00:32:55.680 Be merciful, just as your father also is merciful. 00:32:55.839 --> 00:32:57.440 And this is where we get tripped up. 00:32:57.519 --> 00:33:11.279 If you were to take an easy reading, just pass scripture there, what you would read and what you'd probably come away with is that it seems like what Jesus is saying is do this, and then you'll become a son, and then you'll become a daughter. 00:33:11.440 --> 00:33:14.400 If you act like this, you'll become a son, and then you'll become a daughter. 00:33:14.559 --> 00:33:16.720 But that is not what Jesus is saying. 00:33:17.599 --> 00:33:23.279 That is not what Jesus means when he says, You will be a son of the Most High. 00:33:23.680 --> 00:33:26.640 What Jesus is doing, he's making a simple point. 00:33:26.880 --> 00:33:30.000 Children resemble their father. 00:33:34.000 --> 00:33:38.480