Matthew 5:38-48 | Love Wins | Matthew Dodd

let's head on back together you guys are doing a great job of greeting one another hey we're gonna be in Matthew chapter five this evening looking at verses 38 through 48 Matthew chapter 538 through 48 so if you have your Bible please turn with me there the title of my message which is so timely in light of all that we see going on in our world today is love wins love wins we please join me as I pray father I thank you so much for this time to be in your Holy Word Lord it's a road map for our lives it's a love letter to us which tells us you're a heart for us and I pray father God that you will use this time in your word to press into us your heart your character so that when we walk about in this fallen world we do not act like the world does we're able to rise above it Lord we want to see your victory we want to see you change lives and we want to be a part of what it is that you want to accomplish so we're praying right now Lord that you would anoint this time as we study your word that as we leave here tonight we would not be merely hearers of your word but doers of your word and it's in Jesus name we pray and all of God's people said amen and amen perhaps you're like me there's a side of me I'm gonna be really honest with you now that likes a good revenge story anyone else you know what I'm talking about where the guy the bad guy gets what he has comin to him right you know it's it's payback time it's it's revenge which reminds me of a funny story there was this guy he was checking in his bags at the airport and he became indignant with the employee who was handling his luggage and literally for several minutes he's just belittling the employee he's he's just nitpicking every little move that the guy would make and and surprisingly the curbside porter didn't seem troubled by all the verbal abuse well after the angry man entered the airport a woman approached the luggage porter and and asked how do you put up with such injustice the young man said it's easy that guy's going to New York his luggage is going to Brazil and we laugh why our justice meter right right there's that sense you know we all know the emotions that consume us the thoughts that race through our minds when we've been wronged when wronged what has filled your heart what is filled your mind what words have come out of your mouth what actions have you taken how do you respond to your enemies in Matthew chapter 538 through 48 Jesus explained what he expects from his disciples when they are wronged so that love wins let's begin in verse 33 of 38 you have heard that it was said an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth but I say to you do not resist an evil person but whoever slaps you on your right cheek turn the other to him also if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt let him have your coat also whoever forces you to go one mile go with him to give to him who asks of you and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you you've heard that it was said you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy but I say to you love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you so that you may be sons of your father who is in heaven for he causes his Sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous for if you love those who love you what reward do you have do not even the tax collectors do the same if you greet only your brothers what more are you doing than others do not the Gentiles do the same therefore you are to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect now in Matthew 5:20 we've been going through this chapter for several weeks now we have noted that Jesus declared that perfection is the standard for entrance into the kingdom of heaven for he said there in verse 20 I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven now in that day the scribes and Pharisees were considered the standard of righteousness but Jesus said their standard wasn't good enough because it only focused on what all men and women focus on we look at the outward appearance of things right and outward obedience to the law but God's standard examines the heart God desires true righteousness that flows from obedience on obedience from a heart that is filled with faith because it's been transformed by his love and His grace through Jesus Christ it's not based on some type of work that I do it's because of the work that God is doing in me out of the overflow of that I'm able to walk in his ways that's the idea now we come to what has been called the highest point of the Sermon on the Mount verses that are the most admired but also the most resented because they challenged us to love when wronged how do we love when wronged I want to capture it this way in verses 38 through 42 seek the highest good when wrong the flesh rises up and it brings us down to a very very low level it's at times like that that we need to rise up and not seek what the flesh desires but seek the highest good in verse 38 Jesus quoted from Leviticus 20 for regarding the legal recourse a victim had against someone who injured them versus 20 19 and 20 says this if a man injures his neighbor just as he has done so it shall be done to him fracture for fracture I for eye tooth for tooth just as he has injured a man so it shall be inflicted on him now this is called the law of retaliation or Lex talionis this and other Commandments found both in Deuteronomy and Exodus were basically given two judges in Israel so that they could give a just judgment in their court systems and the goal was to protect the innocent but also ensure the punishment fits the crime now here's where it comes into play for you and me the law of retaliation also prohibited taking the law into your own hands personal revenge and Jesus is confronting the scribes and Pharisees because they wrongly applied the law of retaliation to personal relationships to justify their personal revenge but as disciples of Jesus Christ we must remember to not seek our own revenge when we're wrong do not seek your own revenge now the scribes and the Pharisees they should have known that personal revenge was forbidden by their law a portion of Leviticus 19 verse 18 says this you shall not take revenge nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people why I am the Lord I'm the God who hears I'm the God who sees I'm the God who knows I am the Lord Jesus here in verse 39 he elevated the standard when he said do not resist him who is he now this word resist what does it mean it means oppose or to set oneself against someone or something there's an opposition here there's a resistance here and the word evil does not refer to Satan or some type of concept of evil rather it's a reference to an evil person an evil one so Jesus is calling it out here he's not trying to minimize or justify their actions he's saying what they're doing is evil what they're doing is wrong now I want to clarify something here because people will look at this and say well what was Jesus teaching Jesus was not commanding us to sit by while we or a loved one is threatened self-defence is permitted to subdue the one who seeks to harm us until the authorities have arrived okay I want to be really clear on this we're not talking about something that requires the intervention of legal authorities we're talking about personal matters here in verses 39 and 40 through 42 Jesus provides for real life scenarios to clarify his point for instance in verse 39 if an evil person slaps you on the right cheek turn the other cheek now culture helps us understand what he's saying here in that day getting slapped on the cheek with the back of the hand was the highest form of personal insult and was punishable by a very heavy fine now interestingly enough today in many Arab cultures the most extreme insult is having someone throw their shoe at you and maybe you remember what happened to President George W Bush it was on December 8th 2008 an Iraqi journalist threw both shoes at President Bush but missed because President Bush is rather agile deduct now President Bush he reflected on the incident afterwards and you know with some great grace and humor I love what he said he said that some Iraqi reporters apologized to him afterwards and he said thanks for apologizing on behalf of the Iraqi people it doesn't bother me he said if you want the facts it's a size 10 shoe that he threw I love that answer you know to turn the other cheek just to clarify does not mean that we forfeit the right to call out the injustice and also seek an apology because Jesus did so notice how he responded when he was struck by an officer of the high priest during his trial John 18 verse 23 jesus answered him if I have spoken wrongly testify of the wrong but if rightly why do you strike me so it's okay to say hey this is wrong call it out for what it is speak the truth in love what Jesus is talking about here is this we as God's people must not exchange insult for insult and when we are offended when we've been wronged it's easy to walk in the flesh it's easy to want revenge you insult me I'm gonna throw it right back at you right I'm gonna add fuel to the fire and what Jesus is talking about here is seek the highest good don't be brought down to their level rise up as a children of the Most High God and do what God would have you do because that's what he did for us through Jesus Christ 1st Peter 3:8 9 says this be humble in spirit not returning evil for evil or insult for insult but giving a blessing instead for you were called for the very purpose that you might in herre it a blessing so first scenario seek the highest good when insulted verse 40 if an evil person Sue's you for your t-shirt give him your jacket also now the shirt referenced here was an expensive undergarment the coat was the cloak which was more expensive it's an outer garment and oftentimes was used by an individual especially the poor to keep them warm at night like a blanket now here's what's so interesting about what Jesus is saying here the law actually prohibited keeping someone's cloak overnight if you lost your cloak you had the right to get it back again Exodus 22 verses 26 and 27 if you ever take your neighbor's cloak as a pledge you are we to return it to him before the Sun sets for that is his only covering it is his cloak for his body what else shall he sleep in and it shall come about that when he cries out to me I will hear him for I am gracious seek the highest good here Jesus declared for us that Christians should not imitate those who use the law or other means to take advantage of others instead of demanding your rights or fighting fire with fire settle the matter peacefully and graciously give more than is asked of you with the hope of winning over the person not the argument when the persons seek the highest good and you know oftentimes I'm brought into disputes not a lot but every once in a while maybe it's a couple or maybe it's two people within the church and oftentimes I will say right up in front I just want you to know I'm not here to take sides I just want God to win I want to seek the highest good here often when I hear people talk there's a little bit wrong on both sides let's be honest so I'm not taking sides I want Jesus Christ to win amen you see we need to seek the highest good then at verse 41 if you're asked to go one mile go to now in that day a Roman soldier compressed a person into service against their wishes for instance maybe a Roman soldier comes up to me and I have my animal with me and I've already been working in the field a long day I could be pressed into service to carry a load for him a Roman mile 1,000 paces against my will or imagine if I'm travelling okay and I come upon a military post and I passed another military post two hours earlier that military post official could say come stop right where you going right now I'm gonna give you this message you need to take it back to that other post two hours away and I would be required to take that message back even though it was an inconvenience to me now interestingly enough this is what happened to Simon of Cyrene we see this in Matthew chapter 27 verse 32 as they were coming out they found a man of Cyrene named Simon whom they pressed into service to bear his cross that's an example of it now how do we make this fit for us today I would put it this way don't resist requests for help go the extra mile guys I want to talk to you for a moment husbands if it's Saturday morning and your wife has a honey-do list go the extra mile women can I get an amen on that one right there you go that's right why guys because if mama ain't happy ain't nobody happy right seek the highest good and also your high as good okay that's the idea here we need to have servant hearts we need out of the heart of John the Baptist who says I am unworthy to untie the straps on the sandals of Christ's feet he must increase I decrease I want God to be glorified it's not about my rights I serve the kingdom of God I don't want to have the motto I don't do windows when it comes to the kingdom of God amen that's the idea here again a challenge it's an inconvenience I'm pressed against my will and Jesus is saying go with it but not just go with it do your best go the extra mile then in verse 42 the idea here is to give to those in need to be generous why first John 3:17 but whoever has the world's goods and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him how does the love of God abide in him be generous be generous but also know this this doesn't mean that you and I should enable laziness or sinful choices discern what is best to meet the need just because someone's asking for money it doesn't mean you should necessarily give them the money if they're gonna go and spend it on things that are gonna tear them down rather than build them up if it's an excuse for them to be lazy Paul talks about this the second Thessalonians 3:10 through 12 when he says this if anyone is not willing to work that he is not to eat either for we hear that some among you are leading undisciplined lives doing no work at all but acting like busy bodies now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion and eat your own rad so we have four scenarios here four scenarios where our justice meter can go off right and all of a sudden we want revenge because we're thinking that's the only way I'm gonna get justice but we must remember to seek the highest good because it's not for us to seek revenge because God will settle all accounts and I'll never forget the first time I heard that phrase I heard it before but it meant something different to me when I was meeting with pastor rich a few days after his daughter was murdered we're in his car he just wanted to talk with the Starbucks just up the street I'll never forget him saying I respect God and I trust that he will settle all accounts now he didn't say that in a vindictive way though at that point be hard not to say you have the right to feel that way I didn't sense that into him and maybe you've seen that too what have we seen from our pastor and his wife as they've gone through this terrible ordeal they trust that God is on the throne they trust that God will make it right if they can trust God was such a big thing such a terrible tragedy can't we trust God with personal offenses that's the idea here God will settle all accounts you see when wrong the flesh wants to return evil for evil we all know what it means to want our pound of flesh right which reminds me of a funny story recently I read a story about this woman who was bitten by a mad dog now that's not the funny part okay so it looked as if she was gonna die of rabies so her doctor told her that she needed to go to her house and get her house in order to make a we'll right there at the doctor's office she takes out a pen and paper and she starts writing and she keeps on writing and writing and writing so much so that the doctor says wait that's quite a long will that you got there she snorted and said forget the will I'm making a list of all the people I'm gonna bite we all want our pound of flesh this is a test of faith when wrong we must rely on the Holy Spirit and give room for God to move on our behalf so that we're not overcome by evil but overcome evil with good it's a choice the Apostle Paul's words echo Christ's command in Romans chapter 12 17 through 21 never pay back evil for evil to anyone respect what is right in the sight of all men if possible so far as it depends on you be at peace with all men never take your own revenge beloved but leave room for the wrath of God for it is written vengeance is mine I will repay says the Lord but if your enemy is hungry feed him and if he's thirsty give him a drink for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good and Jesus set the example for us didn't he he was falsely accused he was mocked beaten crucified if anyone could have retaliated Jesus could have but he didn't he overcame evil with love and so must we first Peter 2:20 through 23 says this but if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it this finds favor with God review you've been called for this purpose since Christ also suffered for you leaving you an example for you to follow in his steps who committed no sin nor was there any deceit found in his mouth and while being reviled he did not revile in return while suffering he uttered no threats look at this but keep't kept entrusting himself to him who judges righteously when you're going through it and the flesh wants to rise up seek the highest good and know that as a child of God God is concerned about what you're going through he sees he hears and knows and he is going to make it right don't make matters worse by taking revenge by taking matters in your own hands follow the Lord so to summarise Jesus here was declaring that even though we may have the right to exercise our rights as Christians we must seek the highest good you see when love wins God is glorified now in verses 43 through 48 Jesus sets the bar even higher when he commanded Christians to love your enemies love your enemies are you kidding me Lord love my enemy okay I'll turn the other cheek but love them yes the scribes and Pharisees taught Israel shall love those who were near and dear to them we mentioned this verse a moment ago but I want to share the full verse here Leviticus 19 verse 18 you shall not take revenge nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people but you shall love your neighbor as your self I am the Lord so they taught you're supposed to love your neighbor but guess what they added more to it no surprise there they also taught by hating their enemies God was using them to judge their enemies it was a justification the more I hate him the more God's going to judge him really Jesus comes on the scene he corrects their false teaching and taught that God's people must love their enemies and pray for their persecutors so they might be sons of their father in heaven verses 44 and 45 and you might be wondering why would we want to do such a thing until the Lord brings it right back on us and we realized that God loved us when we were his enemies and now we're humbled you see God causes in verse 45 the Sun to rise on the evil and the good he sends the rain on the righteous and the unrighteous Jesus was declaring that our Father is a God of grace and mercy he is kind to those who do not deserve his kindness and you and I are all recipients of that amen for while we were his enemies Christ died for us Romans 5 tells us now why does God show kindness towards his enemies because he loves them and he wants them to repent of their sin Romans 2:4 or do you think lightly of the riches of his kindness and tolerance and patience not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance God's kind and his whole goal in bringing out that kindness is to bring people back into relationship with him so if we're to follow God's example as God's children then we must be perfect as God is perfect and the moment we hear that we're going whoa whoa whoa what do you mean by being perfect what does that mean exactly when we come to verse 48 it's like the pinnacle of the Sermon on the Mount it's the pinnacle of chapter 5 it's an amazing crescendo to this chapter here Jesus declared that God is the standard not man if we are God's children that we must think we must speak and act as God would want us to think act and speak here the WordPerfect though does not mean sinless perfection and everyone goes poof big sigh relief there right because on this side of heaven none of us will be perfect but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try to live a holy life by faith what this communicates here is this that we should be growing in maturity or be complete in Christ always seeking the highest good always seeking to glorify our Heavenly Father you see Jesus is describing an authentic relationship to God through him so that a person's heart is changed instead of hating our enemies we can actually love them because God loved us when we were his enemies instead of praying about our enemies you know what that means right I'm gonna pray about you right know now we can pray for them and maybe you're like me you've discovered when you actually pray for someone and not about someone God does something in your own heart softens your heart and all of a sudden you get his heart for them instead of being like Jonah who wanted the Ninevites destroyed even though they didn't know their right hand from their left hand all of a sudden we can have compassion and like Jesus on the cross Father forgive them they do not know what they do he changes our hearts we can rise above the worldly standard which tells us to love only those who love us and to greet only those who are worthy of our greeting and if there ever was a time when this message needed to be embraced I believe it is now there is so much hatred so much violence so much division and I believe as Christians we are called to love so that love wins but this means our hearts also need to be healed from the hurts that we've suffered so that we stop hurting others brothers and sisters the chain must be broken and it must begin with us the body of Jesus Christ amen we should not be promoting the hatred we should not be promoting the division we should be promoting the highest good and pointing people to Jesus Christ because our world needs the Lord and I want to challenge every single one of us will you begin to pray for our country and pray for our world people need Jesus amen and I believe as a community of faith we need to rise up by getting on our knees and saying Lord please heal our land Lord please set captives free please open people's eyes that they can see that they're on a dead and path leading to destruction and they need you you are the one who brings life and life to the fall you know one of the biggest examples I see in the Bible one of my favorite characters is Joseph from the Old Testament you know he was Jacob's favorite son one of 12 given a coat of many colors and he was given two dreams and both of those dreams made it very very clear to everyone who heard the dreams he was gonna rise above his brothers they would actually bow down to him well they were jealous of him they wanted to put him to death but they actually sold him into slavery in Egypt at the age of 17 stripped away from his family the father he loves the mother he loves the family he knows sold as a slave into Egypt he was there 13 years but God was with them every moment of the way and you'd be thinking during those 13 years he's probably plotting if I ever see my brother's again if I ever get out of this prison I'm making a beeline north it's payback time right well he's made second-in-command over all of Egypt everything entrusted to his leadership during a period of oba abundance and also a period of famine now the famine the land was so great that eventually his brothers had to come down and at first they didn't recognize him and he put them through some tests to see if there was a change in his heart in their hearts but finally he revealed himself to them What did he say time for my pound of flesh it's payback time I'm alive and now I'm second-in-command and you are in big trouble no Genesis 45 19 through 20 he says do not be afraid for I am I in God's place as for you you meant evil against me but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result to preserve many people alive and I look at that how in the world is that possible sold into slavery thrown into prison how is that possible how could he comfort his brothers like that I believe it's because God healed his heart and we see truth of that healing found in what he what he named his sons Manasseh and Ephraim Genesis 41 51 and 52 Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh for he said God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's household he named the second Ephraim for he said God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction what's so important about these names Manasseh God has made me forget what did he make me forget all the pain in my father's household but wait a second if you want to forget the pain in your father's household why would you name your son made me to forget it makes me remember right nobody's saying is is God healed my heart so when I remember I have no bitterness in my heart that's the healing God wants to do in us tonight and once we have that healing he gives us an e for him which means fruitfulness we're in the land of my affliction he acknowledges I'm not where I want to be but even here because God healed my heart I can be fruitful brothers and sisters that's what it looks like when love wins and I believe God wants to transform hearts in our church so that we can have an impact on our community a ripple effect on our world so that Love Wins how many of us want love to win in our hearts so that love can win through us it begins with God giving you a Manasseh so that he could give you any for him kill my heart so even when I remember there's no bitterness make me fruitful even as I wait for your return let's pray father thank you so much for this time in your word Lord we want love to win your word tells us that we love because you first loved us when we were your enemies you loved us made us your very own and yet father I acknowledge that even right now there are those who are here who are hurting and because they're hurting they they hurt others they walk in the flesh they they seek revenge when hurt the Lord we want it to be a new day it's time for a change Lord we need you we need you to do that deep healing work in our hearts that only you can do give us a Manasseh Lord so that we may have a knee freedom and be fruitful Lord Church with eyes closed and heads bowed if you're here tonight you're saying Lord I want love to win in my heart I need a Manasseh I want an Ephraim would you just raise your hand and tell that to the Lord thank you father God Lord give us a Manasseh give us an ephraim we want love to win we ask in the name of Jesus that you will heal every broken heart you will minister to every hurting life and instead of seeing our enemies with hatred in our hearts we could actually love them this is you love us Oh father God we want love to win beginning to hear begin it now we pray in Jesus name and all of God's people said amen can we give thanks to our Lord

Channel: Calvary Chapel Worship Center - Hillsboro, Oregon

Views: 3,894

Rating: 4.4509802 out of 5

Keywords: The Bible, God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Holy, Pastor Rich Jones, Pastor Matthew Dodd, Calvary Chapel, Faith, Grace, Revival, Truth, Prayer, Salvation, Calvary Chapel Hillsboro, Genesis, Matthew, Love Wins

Id: BXRpAh3Z_NU

Length: 38min 51sec (2331 seconds)

Published: Sun Jul 01 2018