Love Your Enemy

There was this man who saw a scorpion floundering around in the water.
He decided to save it by stretching out his finger, but the scorpion
stung him. The man still tried to get the scorpion out of the water,
but the scorpion stung him again.

A man nearby told him to stop saving the scorpion that kept stinging him.

But the man said: "It is the nature of the scorpion to sting. It is my
nature to love. Why should I give up my nature to love just because it
is the nature of the scorpion to sting?"

Don't give up loving.
Don't give up your goodness.
Even if people around you sting.

"LOVE YOUR ENEMIES"


INTRODUCTION

1. One of the more challenging commands given by Jesus is to love your enemies...
a. Given in His sermon on the mount - Mt 5:43-4443 “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. 44 But I say, love your enemies!Pray for those who persecute you!


2. Yet when taken to heart and applied properly, loving your enemies can..
a. Bless and transform your own life
b. Truly make this world a better place

[Let's examine Jesus' command to love your enemies more closely by first asking...]

I. WHO IS YOUR ENEMY?

A. ANYONE WHO CURSES YOU...
1. Who speaks ill about you or to you - Lk 6:28bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.


B. ANYONE WHO HATES YOU...
1. Who for some reason despises you -; Lk 6:2727 “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you.
2. For either racial, political, religious, or personal reasons
- e.g., Jn 15:18-1918 “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. 19 The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.

C. ANYONE WHO SPITEFULLY USES YOU...
1. Who abuses, treats despitefully, falsely accuses you

2. To mistreat you in any way, like they did Jesus - Mt 27:27-30
27 Some of the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into their headquarters[a] and called out the entire regiment. 28 They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him. 29 They wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head, and they placed a reed stick in his right hand as a scepter. Then they knelt before him in mockery and taunted, “Hail! King of the Jews!” 30 And they spit on him and grabbed the stick and struck him on the head with it.

D. ANYONE WHO PERSECUTES YOU...
1. Who prosecutes and pursues with repeated acts of enmity

2. Like Saul of Tarsus (Paul) did the Christians -


[Our enemy can be a family member, neighbor, co-worker, fellow-citizen,or government representative (local or foreign).

In other words, just about anyone who does not like us. Now let's ask...]

II. WHY LOVE YOUR ENEMY?

A. TO BE LIKE GOD...
1. To be sons of our Father in heaven - Mt 5:4545 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.

2. Who is kind to evil and unthankful men - Lk 6:35-3635 “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. 36 You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.;

B. TO BE UNLIKE SINNERS...
1. Who love those who love them -; Lk 6:32-3332 “If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! 33 And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much!

2. Which is human nature, but we are to be partakers of divine nature - cf. 2Pe 1:44 And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

C. TO OVERCOME EVIL...
1. Not letting evil overcome you - Ro 12:20-2120
Instead,
“If your enemies are hungry, feed them.
If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap
burning coals of shame on their heads.]
21 Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

a. "I will never let another man ruin my life by making me hate him." - George Washington Carver
b. "Those who hate you don't win unless you hate them - and then you destroy yourself." - Richard Nixon
2. Overcoming evil by doing good - Ro 12:20-21
a. "Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?" - Abraham Lincoln
b."Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemyinto friend." - Martin L. King, Jr.

[The ultimate goal should be to transform our enemies into brethren
Ro 10:1) 1 Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved..

Is that not what God did with us? So let us now ask...]

III. HOW TO LOVE YOUR ENEMY?

A. BY BLESSING THEM...
1. As commanded by Jesus, Paul, and Peter - Mt 5:44; 44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!
Ro 12:1414 Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them.; 1Pe 3:9Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will bless you for it.

2. The word "bless" here means to "speak well of" or "speak well to" -

B. BY DOING GOOD TO THEM...
1. As taught in both Covenants - Exo 23:4-54 “If you come upon your enemy’s ox or donkey that has strayed away, take it back to its owner. 5 If you see that the donkey of someone who hates you has collapsed under its load, do not walk by. Instead, stop and help.;;
Ga 6:1010 Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.

2. Which has the potential of transforming our enemies –

Pro 25:21-2221 If your enemies are hungry, give them food to eat.
If they are thirsty, give them water to drink.
22 You will heap burning coals of shame on their heads,
and the LORD will reward you.;

C. BY PRAYING FOR THEM...
1. As Jesus taught -; Lk 6:2828 Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.


D. WITH ACTIVE GOOD WILL...
1. Which is the meaning of the word "love" (Gr., agape)
2. Beautifully defined by Paul - 1Co 13:4-84 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
8 Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages[a] and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever!
(Imagine treating enemies like this!)

CONCLUSION

1. We are not commanded to love our enemies with affection in our hearts...
a. Experienced in families (Gr., storge)
b. Expressed among friends (Gr., phileo)
c. Especially with brethren (Gr., philadelphia)

2. We are commanded to love our enemies with an act of the will...
a. Displaying active good will toward them (Gr., agape)
b. Blessing them, doing to good them, praying for them

However, where agape love is consistently shown it is not unusual for phileo love to gradually develop. Even if not, we still have the duty and privilege to be "sons of the Most High"...

For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived,
serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy,
hateful and hating one another. But when the kindness and the
love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He
saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of
the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through
Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His
grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal
life. - Tit 3:3-7

I Believe

I Believe


I believe-
That we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change.

I believe-
That no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a
while and, you must forgive them for that.


I believe-
That true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance.
Same goes for true love.

I believe-
That you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.

I believe-
That it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.


I believe-
That you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them

I believe-
That you can keep going long after you can't.

I believe-
That we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.

I believe-
That either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I believe-
That regardless of how hot and steamy a relationship is at first, the passion fades and there
had better be something else to take its place.

I believe-
That heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done,
regardless of the consequences.

I believe-
That money is a lousy way of keeping score.

I believe-
That my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time!

I believe-
That sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down, will be the ones to help you get back up.




I believe-
That sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.

I believe-
That just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.

I believe-
That maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've
learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.

I believe-
That it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others.
Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I believe-
That no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn't stop for your grief.

I believe-
That our background and circumstances may have influenced
who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.

I believe-
That just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other, And just
because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do.

I believe-
That you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret. It could change your life forever.

I believe-
That two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.

I believe-
That your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don't even know you.

I believe-
That even when you think you have no more to give, when a
friend cries out to you - you will find the strength to help.

I believe-
That credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.

I believe-
That the people you care about most in life are the essence of life.
Tell them today how much you love them and what they mean to you.




I BELIEVE

Are you a skeptical person? When you hear something, you don’t believe it right away – you doubt it. You’re cautious. You’re careful. Skeptical. I’m skeptical about a lot of things. When I receive an email from someone – and they say that are in Nigeria and that they would like me to give me 2 million dollars – all I need to do is to give them my bank account information and my social security number – I’m not so sure about that. I’m skeptical. I don’t believe it. I think it’s a scam. When I receive a big postcard in the mail in the middle of winter that tells me that I have just received a free trip to the Bahamas – all expenses paid – all I need to do is a few things listed in the fine print at the bottom of the postcard – I’m skeptical. I don’t believe that it’s really true, and by the time I’m done reading the fine print, I know that it isn’t as great as it appears to be.

We live in a skeptical world, and with good reason. There are all kinds of people out there, making all kinds of extreme claims and extreme promises, and if you trust everyone, some will take advantage of you. You need to be careful. Cautious. In some cases, skeptical. You can’t believe everything.

Can you believe everything in the Bible? Do you actually believe that Jesus died on a cross and rose from the dead? Is that really true? Is Jesus really God and man at the same time? Am I really saved from going to a place called hell because of this Jesus? Is that really true? Is he the only way to heaven? Is there such a things as heaven?
Have you ever felt yourself doubt? Have you ever felt yourself wonder if all these things are true? Why are you a Christian anyway?
Do you doubt sometimes? Have you ever had a moment in your life when you wondered to yourself: “I don’t know if I really believe? Is all of this true? I don’t know!”

Today, we’re going to talk about doubt, as we look at that moment when Jesus appeared to his disciples after his resurrection. We’re also going to look at the cure for doubt


But that Easter night, he was skeptical. He had doubts. Can you see yourself as you think about Thomas? The other disciples told him that Jesus had appeared to them, but Thomas said – no. I won’t believe it. I need to see Jesus with my eyes. I need to touch Jesus’ wounds with my hands. I need physical proof.
John 20:19-31 (New International Version, ©2011)
Jesus Appears to His Disciples
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Why was Thomas so skeptical? You see, Thomas had trusted that Jesus was the Messiah. But then things happened that made him think that he had put all of his trust in the wrong place.
Jesus had been arrested, even though he was all-powerful. Jesus had been tortured, even though he was God. It didn’t make any sense to Thomas.
Jesus had been crucified, even though he could walk on water and heal people of their diseases. And then he died, even though he could raise people from the dead. None of this made any sense to Thomas.
He had trusted in Jesus, but then all of these things happened that made it look like he had put his trust in the wrong place. Now he was skeptical. Now he was doubting.

Would you have been any different? Can you see yourself in Thomas? Why do you and I sometimes have doubts? Isn’t it because there are things that happen in life that make us wonder if we are putting our trust in the wrong place?
I believe in Jesus. But then my child dies. My spouse dies. I believe in Jesus. But then I get sick, and I don’t get better. I believe in Jesus. But then I lose my job, and I can’t find a new one, and I’m falling behind. I believe in Jesus. But bad things happen in my life, and they make me wonder – is there really a God?
All these things I have learned from the Bible – are they really true? Have I put my trust in the wrong place? Why am I a Christian? Do I really believe?

Where can I go when I have doubts? What should I do?

Jesus is the only cure. Jesus cured Thomas of his doubts. A week after Thomas doubted, Jesus appeared to him and said. “Stop doubting and believe.” Jesus made Thomas’ doubts go away. “My Lord and my God!” Thomas said. And then Jesus talked about you and me when he said to Thomas, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Do you see the cure for doubt here? It’s Jesus. If I am skeptical about things in the Bible, it doesn’t help if I go for a walk in the woods and think about my doubts.
It doesn’t help if I find other people who are skeptical just like me, and we all share our doubts together. What helps? What is the cure? It’s spending time with Jesus Christ, just as Thomas did in John chapter 20.

But how? Today, Jesus isn’t going to appear to you like he appeared to Thomas. If you want to spend time with him, you can find him in your Bible. You can find him in the Lord’s Supper. That’s where he will cure you of your doubts.

If I’m having a day when I’m wondering if anything I have ever believed is true, I can go to my Bible. I can read my Bible with an open mind. And there I find Jesus, and he says to me, “Peace be with you.” My doubts fade.

Today Jesus is invisible. You can’t see him with your physical eyes. But he is just as real as the oxygen you breathe. Just as real as the cell phone signal you can’t see. I believe in those things.
But even more, I believe in Jesus. I’ve never seen him, but he is my Lord, and my God. I believe that he was dead, and that he came to life again, and that he lives forever and ever. I’ve never seen heaven, but I believe it’s there. I believe that there is a resurrection from the dead, even if it’s the most unscientific thing in the world.

Even if everything I experience in this world tells me not to believe, I will still have faith. I will go to the Word, again and again. I will go to the Sacrament, again and again. I will go there, and that’s where Jesus will give me faith I need to believe that the impossible is true. Dear Lord, help me to believe in you. Amen.