LESSON: Luke 6.27-36

SERMON TITLE: How?

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INTRODUCTION:

  1. A mother took her three-year-old daughter to church for the first time.
    1. The church lights were lowered, and then the choir came down the aisle, carrying lighted candles.
    2. All was quiet until the little one started to sing in a loud voice, Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you...
    3. Can you blame her.
      1. She had not been in church before.
      2. She did not know what was going on.
      3. All she could do was respond to what was familiar.
      4. She knew all about birthdays.
      5. That's when you carried candles and sang happy birthday.
    4. Here we are in church
      1. We have learned that there are times to sing Happy Birthday
      2. We have learned the fundamentals of Christianity.
  2. We are confronted with two questions:
    1. What do we know?
    2. How will what we know be acted out in our daily lives.

ILLUSTRATION

      1. I read it a long time ago in Guideposts Magazine.
      2. The story reminds me of the necessity of answering questions.
      3. It was an adult Sunday School class.
        1. They were discussing the parallel passage to the one we read, Matthew 5:43-48, (NRSV)

          43"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. 46For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
        2. A man in the class asked the teacher a question, :How do you do that, love your enemies?"
        3. The teacher became a little flustered and finally responded, "You just have to. that's it. You just have to."

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    1. We are commanded to love our enemies.
      1. To 44bpray for those who persecute you,
      2. To 27bdo good to those who hate you,
      3. To 28bless those who curse you,
      4. To pray for those who abuse you.
      5. To avoid retaliation 29 anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also;
      6. To be generous and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt.
      7. To be generous 30Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again.
      8. 31Do to others as you would have them do to you.
      9. To 35bdo good, and lend, expecting nothing in return.
      10. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
      11. 36Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
      12. 48Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
  1. The man's question still needs to be answered.

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MAIN BODY:

  1. Let us the following ILLUSTRATION to help us answer the "How" question.
    1. Story of the man and the newsman
      1. One morning a number of years ago, two men left the hotel lobby to walk to their place of business.
      2. One stopped on the street corner to buy the morning paper.
      3. Reaching into his pocket he discovered that he only had a five dollar bill.
      4. He picked up a paper and put the five on the counter.
      5. You do not know why the man behind the counter at the newsstand did what he did.
        1. He began to grumble and complain about the need to make change.
        2. He became short-tempered and down-right rude.
        3. He slammed the change on the counter.
        4. Some of the coins ran off onto the sidewalk and had to be chased down and picked up.
      6. Taking his paper and change, the man and his friend began to walk away.
        1. The friend. "Why if that were me, I would have given that newsman a good piece of my mind."
        2. In response the man who purchased the paper replied, "Why should I let him determine the kind of person I am going to be?"

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  2. One is angry.
    1. He wants to give the newsman a piece of his mind.
    2. Why shouldn't he.
    3. The newsman has been difficult and rude.
    4. If the man becomes angry and strikes back what has he done.
    5. Anger is an irrational response to an exterior stimuli (outside influence).
    6. Paul writes in Ephesians 4:26-27 "Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil."
    7. We need to be careful with our use of anger.
    8. There is some anger that is appropriate and some that is not.
    9. This is not one of them.
  3. The person who purchased the newspaper handles the situation differently.
    1. He acts rather than reacts.
    2. He is actually responding to the situation in a loving manner.
    3. The opposite of love is not hate.
    4. The opposite of biblical love is apathy.
      1. It is simply not caring or caring enough. I don't care!
      2. When Jesus commanded that we should love our neighbor as we love ourselves.

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ILLUSTRATION: ILLUSTRATION: To illustrate not only who is our neighbor, but how we should love the neighbor, Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan.

    1. In Luke 10:25-37, ...a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he said, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" He said to him, "What is written in the law? What do you read there?" He answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." And he said to him, "You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live."
      1. But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
      2. Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, 'Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.' Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?" He said, "The one who showed him mercy." Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."
      3. The priest and the Levite are demonstrating apathy.
      4. The Samaritan is demonstrating love.
  1. There is another distinction that we ought to make that helps us to love our enemy.
    1. We are commanded to love our enemies, but we are not commanded to like them
      1. That's a relief.
      2. There are a few people that I do not like.
      3. I do not have to intimately associate with them.
      4. I do have to treat them with love and respect.
      5. This is what I am commanded to do.

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ILLUSTRATION

    1. Story of angry salesman, a tire coupon and   "What have I done to deserve this?"

      I was pastoring a church in Southern Vermont and received a coupon for 25% off on a set of Goodyear tires.

      I took the coupon to the local Goodyear dealer, presented it, and told him what tires I would installed on my car.

      He had a fit. He was angry and extremely difficult.

      I did not  know quite what to do when I remembered an illustration that I had read in which the author had had a similar experience. He looked at the clerk and said, "What have I done to deserve this?"

      I used the same tactic and it worked like a charm. the rest of the transaction procee3ded without any problem.

      It seems to me that this is an excellent example of "heaping coals of fire on someone's head.

      1. (Romans 12:18-21, NRSV) If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." No, "if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
      2. To heap coals of fire on the heads of one's enemies (Proverbs 25:21-22 (1)) is to make them penitent and put them to shame by one's generosity, although the figure of speech may build on an Egyptian custom by which a penitent person literally put hot coals on his head as evidence of his contrition.

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  1. Is it possible at this stage to begin to put the pieces together in a workable way that allows us to learn to love our enemies?

CONCLUSION:

  1. ILLUSTRATION Rita Rudner (2) best known for her comedic performances once said,
    1. If you put flour and water together, you have glue.
    2. If you add butter and eggs, you have the makings of a cake.
    3. Where did the glue go?
  2. Let's put it this way:
    1. If you put faith and good works together, you get a self-righteous sticky mess.
    2. If you add love and forgiveness, you have the makings of a true Christian.
    3. Who wants the sticky mess (3)
    4. I don't, do you?

Let us pray!

1. Cambridge Annotated Study Bible NRSV with Apocrypha Copyright 1993 Cambridge University Press, Great Britain. All rights reserved. (Used with permission)

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid

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