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Don’t Miss the Love Boat! (Luke 6:27-36)
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Sunday Message recorded 16 February 2025
by Senior Pastor Victor Morrison
First Baptist Church - Columbus, TX, USA
1700 Milam St.
Columbus, TX, USA 78934
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Transcript
Introduction to Luke's Gospel
00:00:06
Speaker
Good morning. Good to see this morning. Would you open God's Word to the Gospel of Luke? Luke chapter 6. Luke chapter 6.
The Sermon on the Plain vs. Sermon on the Mount
00:00:16
Speaker
I um think we're going to look again today at the greatest sermon of all time preached by the greatest preacher who will ever preach, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
00:00:30
Speaker
He's going to be giving the Sermon on the Plain, as it is called here in Luke 6, 20 through 49. But it's also very similar to his message that's called the Sermon on the Mount in Matthews 5, 6, and
Love in Luke 6: God's Attributes
00:00:45
Speaker
7. So you could look at that passage as well to sort of get it in surround sound.
00:00:50
Speaker
But part of his message includes a challenging section in Luke 6, 27 to 36 love. You know, it's a mentioned six times in this passage.
00:01:03
Speaker
And I just wanted to point out something that sometimes I think we forget. you know, this message is about love. But remember, God's attribute of holiness, God's attribute of righteousness.
00:01:17
Speaker
God's attribute of grace, mercy, like all of those things, they're always equal. Those things are so in balance more than we could ever imagine with God.
00:01:28
Speaker
And so today we're going to look at
'Don't Miss the Love Boat' Analogy
00:01:30
Speaker
love. And so i wanted to entitle the message. Don't miss the love boat. I don't know if you go back far enough to remember that old show. But anyway, Jesus is clearly urging us not to miss the voyage in life on what he would call maybe the love boat.
00:01:49
Speaker
You know, globally, 17.8 million people were booked on cruises way back in 2009. You won't believe how it has steadily increased across the years so that last year that number rose to 35.7 million people
Spiritual Destinations: Cruise Analogy
00:02:08
Speaker
globally. And I thought, where is everybody going?
00:02:11
Speaker
But the most popular destination is the Caribbean or Bahamas or Bermuda. Second most popular destination be central and western western Mediterranean. I don't know if you've been on a cruise. I've never been on a cruise, so I'm not really preaching today about that. So that's all I'm going to say about it. This section is about not a geographical destination, but a spiritual destination.
Exploring Spiritual Destinations in Luke 6
00:02:36
Speaker
If you were to read through this whole sermon on the plain...
00:02:41
Speaker
you would see that there are spiritual destinations that God wants every disciple moving toward. For example, we saw last time in Luke 6, 20 through 26, he wants us moving toward Christ-like character.
00:02:56
Speaker
But today we're gonna see how he wants us moving toward love for enemies. That's gonna be in verses 27 all the way down through verse 36. But from verse 37 to 42, he's gonna be talking about growing in Christ.
00:03:10
Speaker
From 43 to 45, connection between the heart and our words. Do you know that there's a connection there? And then 46 to 49 will be on obedience to the Lord.
00:03:22
Speaker
Are you growing this year in obedience to the Lord? All of those things are important. I thought it was significant that John MacArthur in his commentary on this section right here on love began by actually saying how the Lord wants us moving forward towards several things.
00:03:39
Speaker
For example, to move forward in repentance, in humility, living for God's glory and prayer, separation from worldliness, spiritual growth, bearing spiritual fruit.
Repentance and Love: John MacArthur's Insights
00:03:51
Speaker
obedience, hunger for the word, and a transformed life. There's so much.
00:03:56
Speaker
But when it comes to love, there's not just one angle that the Lord connects with us and challenges us on. There are several. For example, We're told in Luke 10, 27 and other verses that we should love the Lord with everything we have.
Types of Love in the Bible
00:04:12
Speaker
So that's one area of love. So don't forget, we're supposed to love the Lord, but also the word of God says, husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them. Titus 2, 4 says that the young women should be trained to love their husbands and their children. So definitely we should love our spouse.
00:04:32
Speaker
We should love our family. And probably most people in this room, you would say, man, I love riding on that love boat. You'd probably say you can book me on that one anytime.
00:04:43
Speaker
But you know, a disciple is also expected to love other believers. Here's what it says in 1 John 4, 11. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. So we're supposed to love each other. I feel like that we're doing that as a congregation, but also a disciple also is expected to love their neighbors.
00:05:05
Speaker
You know, he says that the second greatest commandment in Jesus eyes, Matthew 22, 39 is to, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. And so within God's kingdom fleet, let's say of ships, you have these four vessels. You have love for the Lord, love for your family, love for other believers and love for neighbors.
00:05:28
Speaker
All of those are really, if you, if you ever ride on those, it's a delight to sail on those boats. But of course, any of those four mighty ships can encounter sees seas, when storms at sea whenever you're out there sailing and you're thinking, where did this come from? There can always be rogue waves that are frightening.
00:05:50
Speaker
But for the most part, loving the Lord, caring for one's family, fellowship with other Christians, and helping a neighbor, that's like smooth sailing.
Loving Enemies: Jesus' Example
00:06:00
Speaker
But we're not done yet.
00:06:01
Speaker
We're not done yet because the Lord also says that we're supposed to love our enemies. So with all of that being said, here we are now looking at this passage in the Sermon on the Plain. It's mentioned in the Sermon on the Mount as well that Jesus is saying he's booked passage for us on this love boat that loves enemies.
00:06:23
Speaker
Do you love your enemies? You know, Luke was the only gospel writer that recorded something very unique that Jesus did when he was on the cross. remember what he did? There he was. He had been mistreated. He had been scourged. He had had nails driven through his wrists and through his feet.
00:06:41
Speaker
And he looks down there and he looks up and he says, Father. Forgive them. Forgive them, for they know not what they do. Luke 23, 34. But I want you to listen this morning as our captain tells us about a very unique voyage, but an important one.
00:06:58
Speaker
Would you stand in honor of God's word as I read through Luke 6? 27 through 36. If you don't have a copy of God's word, it'll be on the screen. That's the translation I'm reading from.
00:07:09
Speaker
Also in the pew, you may find one, but I hope you brought your own copy of God's word so that you can follow along. Here's what he says in Luke six, verse 27. But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you,
00:07:30
Speaker
To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also. And from one who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you and from one who takes away your goods,
00:07:46
Speaker
Do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you?
00:07:58
Speaker
For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.
00:08:09
Speaker
And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, What credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners to get back the same amount.
00:08:21
Speaker
But love your enemies and do good and lend, expecting nothing in return. And your reward will be great and you will be sons of the Most High. For he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.
00:08:38
Speaker
Be merciful even as your father is merciful. Amen. Let's ask the Lord to help us to understand this passage. Oh, Lord, help us understand what you're saying. These are challenging words. These words, Lord, are not natural.
00:08:52
Speaker
They seem unnatural to our ears. It doesn't come naturally to us in the flesh. So we would need your help to carry out these words. So speak to us today and help us understand you're the captain.
00:09:06
Speaker
And so help us to know what your orders are for us. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Thank you You may be seated.
00:09:15
Speaker
You know, like I said, I've never been on a cruise ship. Perhaps you have, and I'm not saying this is all of the parts of a ship, but if you think about it, a ship is made up of several different parts.
00:09:26
Speaker
For example, there's the bridge, there's the bow, there's the deck, there's the engine room, and there's the stern. There are other parts, but you know, each component of the structure is important and each component is there for a purpose.
00:09:41
Speaker
Well, similarly, this text is instructing us on loving our enemies, and it's composed of five significant parts that I want to introduce to you today.
00:09:54
Speaker
So let's examine these together. First, let's look at the bridge. The bridge, I think, could be compared to what Jesus does in 27 and 28. Do you know that these are actually commands? You see, a ship's bridge is the command center. It's where the communication comes from the captain. He's giving the navigation to the crew.
00:10:17
Speaker
So I believe that as you read verse 27 and 28 and you see, oh, wait a minute, the Lord has actually commanded me to do something. So these are requirements of Christian love.
00:10:28
Speaker
So let's look at them together. First, I don't want you to miss this part because it's very significant. and that is the communication is to the crew. He doesn't say this to the world. He says this to us.
00:10:40
Speaker
But I say to you who hear, but I say to you who hear. So he's speaking to disciples. You know, that word to begin there, that transitional word, but contrast who he had just been talking about. Who was he just talking about in the verses just previous?
00:10:58
Speaker
He had been talking to those who are not ready, those who are not in the kingdom. Those who are not born again. Those who do not know Christ personally. And he gave four woes to those people.
00:11:11
Speaker
But he says, I want to say this to all of you who are following me. And then he gives this command. The command from our captain is with this word, I say, I say.
00:11:24
Speaker
So this is not what the pastor says. This is not what Sunday school teacher says. This is not what your mom says, your dad says, your grandparents. this This is what Jesus says to all of us who follow him.
00:11:37
Speaker
And so he gives these four commands that are found in verses 27 and 28. Each of these verbs are are a command. So I underline them. Love. Do good.
00:11:48
Speaker
Bless, pray. Four commands. So you're thinking, okay, so those are the commands, but who are we supposed to love? Who are we supposed to do good to? Who are we supposed to bless and who are we supposed to pray for? Well, he says, love your enemies.
00:12:05
Speaker
So i'm thinking, wait a minute, i'm supposed to have compassion on those who are cruel? Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who abuse you. So just think about what he's saying here.
00:12:20
Speaker
One thing I wanted to clarify is that the word love is not about feelings. See, there were different Greek words that Jesus could have chosen to use. He was not talking about eros. You may have heard of the word erotic. It's not eros love.
00:12:35
Speaker
That's a romantic type of love, but it's also not philia. Philia is like what we get our cities named Philadelphia, city of brotherly love. Only I think they do some fighting in that city.
00:12:47
Speaker
It's always known for being kind of roughneck. But anyway, philia is friendship type love. So he's not talking about that. He could have done that, but he didn't. He chose the word agape. That's the word in the original language.
00:13:00
Speaker
When it says love right there, he's using agape love over and over again. And agape love is seeking the greatest good of another. Seeking the greatest good of another. Seeking the greatest good of another doesn't always mean you give them what they want, does it?
00:13:17
Speaker
When you're raising your kids and they want something, you're saying, that's not going to be good for you. Seeking the greatest good is what love is all about. It's not emotion driven. It's action driven. So it's not that you feel this way toward your enemy, toward those who are saying ugly things or whatever.
00:13:36
Speaker
what you say is, no, I'm going to do the right things in response to this person. So that's the bridge. Those are the requirements of Christian love. But now let's go to the bow of the ship.
00:13:48
Speaker
The bow of the ship, the bow of the ship cuts through the water. You know, the front part of a ship that's kind of separating the water as it just kind of plows through there. Well, that's the bow and it reduces resistance. It improves the ship's stability. It increases the ship's speed. It's very important, the bow.
00:14:09
Speaker
So to me, I thought, what is the bow? The bow is not our actions. The bow could be like our reactions. How do you react when someone says something ugly toward you? What's your reaction?
00:14:25
Speaker
You see, the kingdom is distinguished from the world, not just by how we act, those of us within the kingdom, but also by how we react to those who are outside the kingdom.
00:14:37
Speaker
You see, we have to respond properly. So when I was looking at these verses 29 and 30, I thought of two important reactions. One is, what is your reaction to aggression?
00:14:49
Speaker
If someone comes with aggression, is it gentleness? Whenever they insult you, like back then to slap would have been an insult. So if someone insults you, what's your response?
00:15:02
Speaker
Now, I don't want to be misunderstood, so I'm not saying there's no place for self-defense. Maybe you should read where Jesus said in Luke 22, 36, maybe you need to sell some things and get a sword because there is a place for self-defense.
00:15:20
Speaker
Romans 13, verses 3 and 4, it doesn't prohibit ah our law enforcement from protecting us. So we have to say, OK, what is he saying? And I think what he is saying is he's talking about insulting. Whenever someone is insulting us, whenever they're cutting us down or doing something less like that, are we going to cut them down as our response?
00:15:44
Speaker
He said to the one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also. If you were to read John 18, 22 and 23, when Jesus was going through his trials, he was slapped.
00:15:56
Speaker
So did he turn the other cheek like that? No, it's not literal. That's not what he's getting at. And that's why he didn't do it. What he did was he talked about the injustice of what just took place.
00:16:08
Speaker
You know, Chuck Swindoll says that he thinks it's figurative, a blow to one's ego, where one says, you know what? I could respond back, but I'm going to lay aside my pride in deference to non-life-threatening attacks from a non-believer. Once again, not talking about a life-threatening attack, but a non-life-threatening attack.
00:16:32
Speaker
So that's the reaction to aggression. He's going to respond with gentleness rather than letting him, you know, come unglued at the person who just did that. But then he goes on to talk about reaction to avarice.
00:16:44
Speaker
Reaction to avarice, to greed. What if someone takes something that belongs to you? What if it's something like that? Well, the point is not overlooking theft whenever he says...
00:16:56
Speaker
ah that from one who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you. And from one who takes away your goods, do not demand them back.
00:17:07
Speaker
I don't think he's talking about overlooking theft because there's a lot of verses that you could talk about what happens to those who steal and how they change once they enter the kingdom.
00:17:19
Speaker
But I think he's talking about valuing something above possessions. You know what that would be? People. people I think that in God's eyes, he wants us to value people more than possessions.
00:17:31
Speaker
I think one of the best ways you could see this is in Luke 19. In Luke 19 and verse 8, a man named Zacchaeus invited Jesus to come to his house. His life is totally changed. As a matter of fact, he was a tax collector. He was like a chief of the tax collectors.
00:17:48
Speaker
And so this guy had done a lot of people wrong through the years. And what he says to the Lord in Luke 19, 8 is significant. He says, behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor.
00:18:02
Speaker
And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold. You see what happened? He kind of came under conviction. For the way he had been living. He had only been living for possessions and more and more money. He didn't care who he, what families he made go broke because he wanted more and more taxes from them. Because back then they would, they would add to the taxes.
00:18:26
Speaker
But what I think is happening here is he's saying, you know what? I'm not going to allow the poison that is within another person to produce hatred within my heart.
00:18:37
Speaker
Are you allowing that to take place in your life? I think there's a higher plane. Or if we stay with the metaphor, there's a better boat that you can take. Don't miss the boat.
00:18:49
Speaker
that the Lord has already paid fair for you and for me to be on that boat to know how do we respond to those who are insulting, to those who take something from us.
00:19:00
Speaker
We refuse to allow the poison in our hearts. But then there's the engine room. Let's go to verse 31. You see the engine room of a ship is often referred to as the heart of the ship.
00:19:14
Speaker
The engine room is the heart of the ship because it's the power source. Have you ever considered how much power is in a cruise ship in that engine room?
00:19:25
Speaker
How many horsepower would it take for them to take off and to take all those passengers and all of their luggage across the seas? Do you have any idea how many horsepower that is?
00:19:37
Speaker
It's anywhere between 50,000 to the greatest ones have 101,000. Or there's even one one engine that they place into a cruise ship that ah actually has a horsepower of 113,000 horsepower. That's lot of power.
00:19:54
Speaker
it's a lot of power Well, I want to introduce you to something so powerful. If this happens in our community, if this happens in your family, if this happens in our church, if it happens in our world, in our country, amazing things could take place.
00:20:10
Speaker
He says in verse 31, and as you wish that others would do to you, Do so to them. Wow. So it's like you think, what would I wish that person would do to me? And that's what I'm going to do to them.
00:20:27
Speaker
You know, they call that the golden rule. And that's why I want to call this the rule of the Christian life. Because if this gets down deep within our hearts, it'll change our relationships.
00:20:39
Speaker
It'll change the way we treat other people, our attitudes, our words and our actions and so forth. But just know that whenever the original audience was standing there, sitting there listening to Jesus, do you know how shocking that would have been?
00:20:54
Speaker
I think it would have been shocking because even Rabbi Hillel, who was sort of one of the ones that would cut him a little more slack, said this. Whoever angers you when you suffer it at the hands of others, do not do it to others.
00:21:11
Speaker
This is the whole law. So what he's saying is whatever ugly thing they did to you, just don't do that ugly thing back and then you're good. It's no wonder in Exodus 21, 23 to 25, this is what it said.
00:21:25
Speaker
And there's nothing wrong with these things. It's just that Jesus is trying to take us to another level on another ship. But here's what Exodus 21, 23 to 25 says.
00:21:35
Speaker
But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life. eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
00:21:50
Speaker
That wasn't just mentioned only in Exodus 21, 23 to 25. That was mentioned in Leviticus through and deuteronomy nineteen eighteen through twenty one You see, that is what people call in the legal world tax talionis.
00:22:09
Speaker
It means the law of retaliation. so in in other words, you're going to give it back exactly what they did to you. That's exactly the way you give it back to them.
00:22:20
Speaker
So I'm trying to introduce you to a more powerful love than maybe you've ever known. Maybe you've never given that kind of love. Maybe you've never seen that kind of love modeled before you.
00:22:32
Speaker
But if you're going to go with that kind of love, you're going to need more than the introduction. You're going to have to take initiative. The initiative within this more powerful love is this.
00:22:45
Speaker
In other words, you're going to say, I'm going to initiate something. I'm not going to simply mirror and I'm not going to simply imitate what my enemy does to me.
00:22:56
Speaker
I'm going to do something different back to them. So what you do is you set into motion what you wish that they would do to you. And so that's what you're going to do toward them.
00:23:09
Speaker
So I thought about an incident where I learned the golden rule the hard way. And I don't know some of you kids, you know, i I understand like you're going to know that the pastor is a broken man when you hear this story. OK, but when I was a kid, i had my friend from across the highway named Doug over.
00:23:28
Speaker
And so when Doug came over to my house, he said, what you to do? And I said, I don't know what you want to do. And he said, I don't know. He said, what you got in your room? And I said, well, I've been playing with Hot Wheels.
00:23:39
Speaker
Hot Wheels is like a little bitty car. And back in the day, I don't know today, they probably have stuff that's motorized now. But back in the day, you had to get it up really high. And so it'd be like a great drop off. And then you would see, you would put two laps right there together, two tracks, and you would see whose car can go the the fastest.
00:24:00
Speaker
And so when my friend Doug came over to my house, naturally, I took all the best cars. I took all the best, the fastest cars. And I gave him all the cars with the bad wheels.
00:24:10
Speaker
I gave him the slow folks and so forth. Well, he had enough of it because I probably won 10 times. And I said, that's too bad, man. You got you really got to work harder on your cars over there. He said, these are your cars. They're not my cars. And so anyway, it was like so hard. My mom heard us in there arguing.
00:24:29
Speaker
She said, boys, I've never heard y'all arguing. What's it this all about? And said, it's nothing. Doug doesn't like to lose. and And then my mom said, Doug, what do you think the problem is? And he said, I'll tell you exactly, Ms. Morrison, what problem is.
00:24:42
Speaker
He gave me all the bum cars. And he said, he's watching me lose because he gave me all the slowest cars. And so my mom said, Victor, could you come in the room with me? So I thought, man, I'm to get spanking for this. you know So anyway, I go in the other room and she said, Victor, don't you remember at Sunday school, the golden rule?
00:25:00
Speaker
And said, I don't, I guess ah I'm blanking out i again. I don't, I'm 10 years old. I don't remember the golden rule. So anyway, she said, the golden rule is you do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
00:25:12
Speaker
I said, okay. I still didn't get was like, okay. You know, thank you for sharing that with me, you know. um And she said, in other words, you need to take some of those good cars and you need to take some of the bad cars and you need to split them between you and Doug. Give Doug some of the good cars. Take away from Doug some of the bad cars. And then you'll race and let's see who wins. And I said, that ain't fair. I don't like that one bit. And so anyway, she said, son, I'm trying to try to help you in your life. you know And I appreciate my mom. She said, that's the golden rule. That's what Jesus said.
00:25:48
Speaker
And I thought, okay. yeah I went away kind of mumbling, Jesus ain't ever done Hot Wheels. You know, but anyway. I was just thinking this is not going to work. But anyway, that was my first introduction to what it means to have the golden rule as the rule of your life.
00:26:05
Speaker
Is that the rule of your life? Are you saying, Lord, I really want to live this way. That's what I want down in the engine of my heart. I don't want to always give people the the bad deals and the the short straws of the deal.
00:26:21
Speaker
Well, I want to introduce you also to the deck, because when we're looking at this love boat, if you will, that's found here in Luke 6, verse 27, down through verse 36.
00:26:32
Speaker
I believe that there's something that could resemble the deck. If you've ever been on a cruise ship, then you know that they actually have multiple levels that they call decks.
00:26:42
Speaker
Some of them could have like five levels. 10, 12, some may even have as many as 20 different levels or decks. But here's the thing about it. Probably where you want to sleep is controlled by what you want the deck to have.
00:26:57
Speaker
And so I got to looking at it. thought, what's so significant about the deck? And it was like everything's significant about the deck because the deck is where you can enjoy the view. Some of those levels have a different view than others.
00:27:13
Speaker
Also, some of those decks, they have the pool on there. There's one cruise line that's got a zip line. I thought, okay, I would do the zip line because I like zip lines, but I don't want to do the zip line toward the water. i want to do the zip line back toward the boat like that. So I don't know how they got that set up, but I'd want to make sure where the stopping point is on that thing. But anyway, there's the zip line, there's restaurants.
00:27:36
Speaker
there's There's even this, if you ever go on one, is seasickness. I learned that some decks will kind of minimize the the possibility that you would get seasick as it rocks back and forth.
00:27:49
Speaker
Some are inexpensive. Others are more luxurious. But my point is, they're not all the same. And neither are the loves that you have seen in your life. All those loves, they're not the same.
00:28:01
Speaker
And so if you're going to follow Jesus, you've got to say, OK, I want to follow you and I want to implement your kind of love. And so what you see in verses 32 and 33 and 34, how to recognize kingdom love when you see it, how to recognize it.
00:28:18
Speaker
You see, because it contrasts kingdom love with the world's kind of love. You see, the world's idea of love could be compared to this Latin phrase you may have heard on the news, quid pro quo.
00:28:34
Speaker
Quid pro quo is basically something for something. I'll do something for you, but I'm expecting something back. You scratch my back, I scratch your back.
00:28:45
Speaker
It's the ethic of reciprocity where you're saying, I hope and I'm counting on that you're going to give me something back after I do this for you. If you read through these verses, you'll see that over and over again, Jesus keeps saying, wait a minute.
00:29:01
Speaker
If you do this, even the sin or sinners do this. Even the world does this. People who don't even know me, people who don't have the love of Christ in the engine room of their heart, they do this.
00:29:12
Speaker
And so I thought, what do they do? He said, well, loving those who love you. Oh, that's easy. He said, even sinners do that. They do good to those who do good to you. They lend expecting to get the exact amount that they lent. They expect to get it repaid.
00:29:29
Speaker
But he keeps on kind of contrasting it with you. Did you catch it where he says, verse 33, and if you do good to those who do good to you,
00:29:42
Speaker
What benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you?
00:29:53
Speaker
Even sinners lend to sinners to get back the same amount. Wow. But love your enemies and do good and lend expecting nothing in return. And so I'm thinking, wow, he's really contrasting us with them.
00:30:09
Speaker
And I got to thinking, what is it that he keeps on saying? i heard it three times. Did you hear it? What benefit? What benefit? It may be your translation of the Bible says what favor, but whether it's benefit, favor, or credit, what the Lord is basically saying is, get this, it's the word charis.
00:30:30
Speaker
It's the word cars. You know what it means? It means grace, grace. Three times he's saying, what grace does it take to live that way? People without grace can live that way.
00:30:43
Speaker
It takes grace to live this way. Wow. You know, that's what I think he's trying to say. Christlike love is not merely reciprocal.
00:30:54
Speaker
It's recognized by caring, doing good to, and expecting nothing beneficial back from an enemy. But let's go to the last one, the stern. See, the stern of a ship is like the last thing you see as it's driving, you know, floating away, you know, you're waving and saying goodbye to them and so forth. But the stern is that back part of the vessel.
00:31:17
Speaker
But what you might not realize is there's a lot happening in that back part because the back part is where the rudders are. The back part is where the propellers are. And so back there, it's crucial for steering.
00:31:31
Speaker
And so what could keep us on the best path in terms of loving other enemies and going through hard times and so forth? Well, to remember your reward.
00:31:43
Speaker
You remember that it's not all going to be finalized here right now. And so I got to looking and he says, basically in the first part of verse 35, but love your enemies. So he's talking about us, love your enemies, do good and lend expecting nothing in return.
00:32:01
Speaker
So in other words, here's what he's saying. No matter what the enemy does, you do the right thing. You do the right thing, no matter what the others do in terms of the wrong thing. So the right attitudes and the right actions are, get this, the basis for future reward.
00:32:17
Speaker
So then you look at the reward and the reward, it says in this verse, will be more than the present suffering. The reward will be more than the present suffering.
00:32:28
Speaker
How do I know that? Because he says this, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great Your reward will be great, he says.
00:32:42
Speaker
And so I looked that word great up thinking it was going to be megalos, which means loud. It means just big in size, but it doesn't. That's not the Greek word.
00:32:53
Speaker
It's polus. And it means much. It means many. It means lots in terms of quantity. And so the Lord says, I'll make it up. I'll make it up to you.
00:33:05
Speaker
So wait, like those songs about heaven are so important. Whenever there were harder times in this country, people used to sing more about heaven. I'm glad we sing some about heaven.
00:33:16
Speaker
We don't need to only sing about heaven, but we do need to sing about heaven because heaven reminds us it's not over yet. You know, the other thing I thought was sort of like a reward is the resemblance.
00:33:28
Speaker
The resemblance to the father is the best reward, isn't it? Whenever the way we react, the way we act, the actions we do, whenever we say, you know what?
00:33:40
Speaker
If you want to say something about me, then just say, you sure remind me of God. You sure remind me of the Father. When I was closing out this, I thought, well, I see at least three resemblances whenever we love enemies.
00:33:54
Speaker
Let me just point them out to you real briefly and then we'll close for this morning. But he says, you're a word be great and you will be. Sons of the most high, sons of the most high men.
00:34:09
Speaker
you know I've told you before, in my family, my brother, he got everything that's like my dad. I wanted to be like my dad all my life. And everywhere we'd go, they'd say, Keith, man, you got a receding hairline just like your daddy. They'd say, Keith, your're long your arms are so long, you're you're the missing link, yeah just like your daddy. you know, he used to walk like that. And then I kept thinking, what did I get? And then I learned it. I'd be in family service and say, Victor, you're just like your mama. You got a little bit of ears. And I'm thinking... That's all I get out of the deal. Like, man, I want to be strong like my dad, you know, whatever. But anyway, that's all I got.
00:34:44
Speaker
um but But we ought to say, how can I resemble my heavenly father? Well, I think you can resemble your heavenly father by restraint, right? Restraint.
00:34:55
Speaker
Because what does it say? It says, lend expecting nothing in return reward will be great and you will be sons of the most high. You know, at any moment, God could just take us out.
00:35:07
Speaker
He could just wipe us out any moment he wants. But you know what? He doesn't do that. He uses self-restraint, patience, and so forth. And I'm so glad that he does. But then he also says there's another possible place of resemblance. And that is, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.
00:35:29
Speaker
So another thing we could do is respond with kindness. And people would say, you know what? That's just like the father. Whenever I see that in your life. But then the other one would be mercy.
00:35:41
Speaker
Be merciful even as your father is merciful. And so I thought, well, there's another one. So does some of the rewards is saying your reward is you just like the Lord.
00:35:52
Speaker
You really resemble him. Your reward is someday in heaven. He's going make it up. And I don't know how he's going to make it up, but it'll be made up. And so what I have to do between now and then is I got to keep the right attitudes and the right actions and the right words in my life.
00:36:10
Speaker
So today we saw this this whole thing laid out before us. It's almost like he's saying this is what it's like to ride on the love boat. We saw the requirements of the Christian love.
00:36:21
Speaker
We saw the reactions of Christian love, the rule of Christian love, how to recognize Christian love. And then we saw the reward of Christian love. But the thing I find most significant in terms of our Savior is he lived it.
00:36:36
Speaker
He lived it, didn't he? So he's not asking us to do something that he didn't do, but he's also not asking us to do something that he can't empower us to do from within, the strength within.
00:36:50
Speaker
do you remember, if you were if you're here today and you don't know Christ, then let me just tell you what he did for you that did for us today. It says here in Romans 5, 8, but God demonstrates his own love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
00:37:08
Speaker
the Bible says that we're at enmity with God. We are against God. We want to control everything in our lives. And that's why we have to go through a lot of pain, unnecessary pain in our lives until finally we learn to say, you know what? He loves me better than anybody else.
00:37:24
Speaker
I'm going to surrender to him and let him be the captain of my life. But until then, we need to be reconciled to to the father through Jesus Christ. That's why he came.
00:37:35
Speaker
He laid down his life and you know what he did? He paid the price. Remember where it says that you you don't ask them back, that you lend and you don't ask them back?
00:37:46
Speaker
that's That's Jesus because he died on the cross. he He paid a debt he didn't owe. And then he doesn't say to us, now you got to pay me back. If you don't live every single day for me, man, you're off the list. You won't be getting into heaven.
00:38:02
Speaker
It's all grace. It's all grace. And so I thought, man, so I exhort you not to miss the love boat. Jesus already paid the fare and now he offers to you a free gift.
00:38:16
Speaker
Romans 6.23 says, for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. That's a great deal.
00:38:27
Speaker
I'm just going to stand down here and if you would like to be introduced to that great gift, I would love to tell you more about it. Let's all stand together. i want us to pray. And then we'll sing a song. And while we're singing this song, I'll be positioning myself right here in the middle of the of this aisle.
00:38:46
Speaker
And i'll I'll be glad to receive you if you'd like to receive Christ. And if you if there's more than what I can deal with, we'll start calling up others to come and lead you to Christ. But just know that God loves you so much.
00:39:00
Speaker
He wants you on the boat with him. Don't miss the boat of Jesus Christ is basically what I'm saying. So let's pray together. Lord, thank you so much for this passage of scripture. Maybe we never counted on having a fresh encounter with you today.
00:39:17
Speaker
But something in the word, somehow there's a tugging in our heart that we know to be the Holy Spirit. Maybe someone here doesn't even know what it is, but they just feel like you're pulling.
00:39:29
Speaker
They feel like there's like an undertow that's drawing them into the love of God. Oh, Lord, thank you for loving us that much. So bless us, oh Lord, as we put our eyes upon you for just a couple more minutes during this invitation so that everybody here can have an opportunity to be on the boat with Jesus.
00:39:50
Speaker
We love you so much, Lord. Thank you for laying down your life. Thank you that you rose again, you're coming again, and that you can change our lives so you speak to those who don't know you.
00:40:01
Speaker
In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Amen.
00:40:08
Speaker
This is a ministry of First Baptist Church located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas.