Sermon Central
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Loving Your Enemies Series
Contributed by Anthony Zibolski on Mar 3, 2009 (message contributor)
Summary: The Lord wanrts to show us that if we are going to love our enemies, it will not be by retalliation, but by showing them Jesus.
Loving your Enemies
Disclaimer:
Information was gathered from Sermon Central and personal devotion for this sermon.
Introduction-
This morning here’s what I want to see happen.
Here’s what needs to happen.. We need to learn how to love those that hurt us.
Webster’s definition of enemy- one seeking to injure, one antagonistic person, something harmful or deadly, a hostile force.
That sounds to me a person I need to love.
How are you doing with loving your enemies?
What does that mean to you? Does that mean that you let people walk all over you in the name of Jesus?
Everyone of us knows people that get under our skin. That we have a hard time communicating with.
Everyone of us knows a jerk We do not know another name that would fit them better.
It seems like God is constantly bringing that person or people like that in our path and we do not know how to deal with them.
What does God’s word say about that? When do we get a release from these people?
Matthew 5:43-48 Read
At first glance, we see that we should:
Love our enemies
Be praying for them
which is two hard things to do.
If we do what comes natural we only love those that love us.
We are no different than most of the world.
Luke seems to add that we should turn the other cheek when someone strikes you,
If someone takes something from you let them have it without a fight.
These verses are often taken out of context.
The un-Christian yells foul every time a Christian stands up for themselves.
The Christian feels like if he stands up for himself, that God is not pleased, so what is the correct answer?
How do we love our enemies
How do we react to people who have wronged us?
Truth be told:
I don’t want to hear what the guys from dumb and dumber have to say about the meaning of life or how they would react when people do them wrong. I want to hear what God says about it.
People’s philosophy is often on bumper stickers:
Do unto others before they can do it to you.
I don’t get mad, I get even.
Keep honking, I am reloading.
Please tailgate, I need the money.
To err is human, but to forgive is out of the question.
That is society today. No patience. No compassion. No time for others. No respect. No extra mile.
Truth be told:
I don’t have any problem loving my wife, my kids, my family, it is easier for me to forgive them than someone I do not know. I know everyone cannot say that. Maybe you are here this morning and it was someone from your family or close to you that has wronged you and you are having a hard time with that.
A new command I give you; love one another. As I have loved you, so must you love one another. John 13:34
Bless those that persecute you; bless and do not curse. Roman 12:14
do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 1 peter 3:9
The Scriptures go as far to say
“Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble 1 John 2:9-10
Illustration-
Late one summer in Broken Bow, Nebraska, a weary truck driver pulled his rig into a all night truck stop. The waitress had just served him when three tough looking leather jacketed motorcyclist- decided to give him a hard time. One grabbed his hamburger off his plate, another took a handful of french fries, and the third picked up his coffee and began to drink it. How would you respond? Well, this trucker did not respond as one might expect. Instead, he calmly rose, picked up his check, walked to the front door, put his money on the front register and walked out of the restaurant. The waitress watched him as he walked across the parking lot. When she returned, one of the bikers said to her, “Well, he’s not much of a man, is he? I don’t know about that, but I know he sure ain’t much of a truck driver. He just ran over three motorcycles on his way out of the parking lot.”
Truth be told:
we cannot do this on our own. We have limits. We have buttons that get pushed that takes us over the edge.
God gives us reasons to love those that wrong us.
1. He commands us to love.
