There are rules everywhere we go. We have rules at home, rules at work, rules at school, rules at church, and rules concerning laws of the land. In fact I had to follow the rules of driving to get to the church safely and without getting a traffic violation.  Rules are important for our safety and well-being. I found a list of rules called "Golden Rules for Living." I don't know who wrote them, but they are true and helpful.

• If you open it -- close it
• If you turn it on -- turn it off.
• If you unlock it -- lock it.
• If you move it -- put it back.
• If it belongs to someone else -- get permission to use it
• If you borrow it -- return it.
• If you don't know how to operate it -- leave it alone.
• If you use it -- take care of it.
• If you mess it up -- clean it up.

These are good rules. They are standard rule and if we followed these rules, we will do well in life.
The Bible has many rules.  Sometimes we call them rules and other times we call them commandments or laws. Can you guess how many rules are in the Old Testament? There are 613 Rules, laws, or commandments in the O.T alone!  God gave and established rules to the Israelites a long time ago.  Many of these rules were simple and easy to abide by and some were not.  If you lived in ancient Israel, you would have to be careful to keep all the rules of God, because there were often consequences for disobedience.

Let’s put this into modern dialect…For me, ham, bacon, and shrimp are awesome! I could these every day of the week. But Old Testament forbade consumption of ham, bacon, or shrimp because they were considered unclean, and the laws stated that these foods should not be consumed.  That would be a hard rule for me to keep.  Maybe you don’t care pork and shrimp, but did you know the OT law prohibited people from eating a cheeseburger?  That would be even worse.  There is another rule that states if you do not listen to your parents, terrible things will happen to you.  Parents may respond with “Amen.”  But think about when you were a child.  How many of you were ALWAYS obedient?  There is another rule that says anyone working on a Sunday would be in BIG trouble… I would be in trouble because I am working right now.  So, these rules were established by God for the people of God, and it was believed by ancient Jews that if you kept these rules, then it would show everyone that you were obedient and loved God.

Now, before we get too far along about rules, I need to clarify that even though the Bible is full of rules, laws and commandments, it is not distinctly a rule book, a handbook for how to follow rules, or a list of rules to keep so you can go to heaven.  No, the Bible is more than that, it is the story of God, who he is, and his work among his people.  The rules he gave were for the benefit of his children and ultimately for his glory.

Let’s fast forward a couple thousand years to the time of Jesus.  He knew the importance of rules. He established and promoted rules. In fact, at one point, he was asked by religious leaders what is the greatest rule of all rules. To which he responded, “Love God with everything you have” and “Love others as yourself.”

Today, we are going to look briefly at one of the greatest rules of all rules in the Bible.  It is great because it is the essence and fulfillment are all rules put into one.

Matthew 7:12

Golden Rule
For the past few weeks we have touched on a few primary points of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount such as loving God and your enemies, prayer, and worry.  Matthew 7 is the concluding and pinnacle teaching of his sermon, and it is summed up in this one verse that is commonly called “The Golden Rule.” This is not the title Jesus gave this rule, it is simply called this because it is a simple and widely applicable idea.  The Golden Rule has a diverse history. It is so diverse that it is not exclusively a Christian rule.  There are versions of the rule in Zoroastrianism, Confucianism, Buddhism, ancient Indian literature, Greek literature from the time of Herodotus, and Jewish sources. It is also believed that second century Roman Emperor Alexander Severus had a gold placard with What you do not wish to be done to yourself, do not do to others written on it.

The Golden Rule summarizes what God desires for His people.  Following the Golden Rule Jesus will challenge those listening to him to decide for either following him and his ways or following the ways of those who are against him. Now, this rule is often misquoted as “Do unto others as they do unto you.”  This is not what Jesus teaches. “The Golden Rule” writes Anglican Priest and Biblical scholar John Nolland, “brings something of its own into the moral realm through its assertion of the significance of each other person in his or her own right and of the need to engage by sympathetic imagination with the reality of the other person’s experience.”[1] In the Golden Rule we find a basis or baseline for personal and community life. It essentially asks, how would I want to be treated in a situation and use that as the guideline for how I treat others, friend, or foe.
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Jesus says the essence of all the laws and the prophets is summed up in this practice. In a simple response, it is the heart and the motivation behind discipleship. When we read the Golden Rule with this truth in mind this does not become an external performance to gain the approval of God and others. Instead, it becomes a matter of the motivation of the heart.  If one lives out the Golden rule as an ethical external rule or ideal, it will become a useless effort and can even become self-serving. To put another way, the Golden Rule must be lived in combination with the Great Commandment found in Matthew 22:37 – 40. “Jesus replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” One who loves God with all he/she has will find it easier to love and treat others with kindness and dignity. Loving God enables us to love our neighbor. It becomes a matter of experience. When one experiences the Father’s love, mercy, and forgiveness one can extend love, mercy and forgiveness to their neighbor and enemy.

Matthew 7:15- 20

False teachers
In the conclusion of this passage Jesus gives a warning about false prophets and teachers. There were prophets and teachers who were leading people astray with their false teachings and prophecy and their practices eventually crept into the early church.  We are told about this in the Epistle to Jude verses 3 – 4. “Dear friends, I had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we all share. But now I find that I must write about something else, urging you to defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to his holy people. I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches, saying that God’s marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives. The condemnation of such people was recorded long ago, for they have denied our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”

  Certain people had crept in and infiltrated the fellowship with false teaching and heresy.  They had “Crept in unnoticed” or entered in secretly or stealthily like parasites.  These people have secretly crept into this body, and they were designated ahead of time for condemnation.  This expression teaches that the condemnation of apostates has been determined long beforehand.  They may have crept in and taken the church by surprise but God in his sovereignty was not.  They were designated beforehand to be false teachers and God had taken measures to make sure these people were exposed.

Characteristics of Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing or False Teachers

1. Ungodly- Destitute of reverence to God.  Condemning God. 
2. Pervert the grace to sensuality – To change or add to the gospel message of grace, to fall away, or put something else in its place (idolatry).  
   1. Sensuality - unbridled lust, excessiveness, shamelessness, and insolence.  
   2. They were changing God’s grace of kindness and forgiveness to a license to sin.
3. Deny that Jesus is Lord – Disregard for Jesus or try to prove false the supremacy and Christology of Jesus.  People who say or believe, “Jesus wasn’t really God and He never claimed to be God.”  “He was a good man but not God.”

These wolves seem genuine at first, by their talk and association with a certain group, but a wolf in sheep’s clothing is called this because they seem harmless at first glance but are ferocious and harmful at the core. Knowing this, Jesus tells his disciples to have wisdom in their discernment. He gives a litmus test, if you will, in how to spot a wolf in sheep’s clothing.  He says, “You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?” It’s a rather simple and easy process.  Can something claiming to be one thing, produce something completely opposite?
 
Galatians 5:19 – 26
 
Jesus tells his disciples to carefully evaluate and test those who proclaim to be prophets and desiring to come into the community. Is their message consistent with their actions? The fruit one bears should match the tree or vine it comes from.  Thus, the actions of a teacher or prophet must be consistent with the name they proclaim. 
 
Conclusion
Due to time restrictions, we were not able to look as closely to the Sermon on the Mount as I would like to, but I would like to give a general summary of what Jesus was preaching to his people and to us today.  He challenges the crowds to accept his invitation to the Kingdom of Heaven, because their choice has eternal consequences. He gives us practical information such as the model prayer, our witness as Christians, our attitude as followers of Jesus, the root of sin, the joy of giving, and how-to live-in community as disciples of Christ.
 
We read at the conclusion of Matthew 7 that the crowds were amazed at Jesus’ teaching.  My hope and prayer for us today is that we are more than amazed by his teaching. My hope and prayer is that we are transformed by his teaching. In response to his sermon, as with any sermon, we don’t walk away from it simply giving it an emotional response, critique, or compliment.  We need to be changed and this sermon will truly cause us to exalt Jesus as the one who teaching has authority and is the true foundation of what life in Christ can and should look like.
 
 


[1] John Nolland, The Gospel of Matthew: A Commentary on the Greek Text, New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Carlisle: W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press, 2005), 330.

 
INTRODUCTION
We worship a big God!  He is all powerful, all knowing, eternal, fair, just, and ever present.  The God we serve has created everything.  He has intricately designed this world and everything in it; He has uniquely created you and me and somehow makes sure everything is works properly for all creation to exist and survive.  He is not a God of the concerned only with the “big” details, He is also the God of “little” details. 
Francis Chan writes in his book entitled, CRAZY LOVE, 
“Have you ever thought about how diverse and creative God is?  He didn’t have to make hundreds of kinds of bananas but he did.  He didn’t have to put 3,000 species of trees within a square mile of the Amazon jungle, but He did.  God didn’t have to create so many kinds of laughter.  Think about the different sounds of your friends’ laughs – wheezes, snorts, silent, loud, obnoxious.
How about how plants defy gravity by drawing water upward from the ground into the stems and veins?  Or did you know that spiders produce three kinds of silk?  When they build their webs they use, they create sixty feet of silk in one hour, simultaneously producing oil on their feet that prevents them from sticking to their own web!  Coral plants are so sensitive that they can die if the water varies by even one or two degrees.
Did you know that when you get goose bumps, the hair follicle is actually helping you stay warmer by trapping body heat?  OR what about the simple fact that plants take in carbon dioxide (which is harmful to us) and produce oxygen (which we need to survive)?  I’m sure you knew that, but have you ever marveled at that?  And these tiny poison swallowing, life giving plants came from tiny seeds that were placed in the dirt.  Some were watered, some weren’t; but after a few days they poked through the soil and into the sunlight.”
           
Have you ever sat and thought about the excellence of God?  Have you ever thought about his intricacies, his creation, his unfailing love, his sacrifice, his care, his mercy, and his concern with the small details of life?  Have you thought about his promises; His promise to never leave or forsake you;  his promise of eternal life to those who believe in Jesus Christ;  his promise to be near to you if you draw near to him; his promises of justice; and his promise to take care of you and me?  
           
I have thought about these things over and over and when I think about how great our God is and the specific, wonderful care and kindness He shows, I am encouraged beyond all things.  But then, when difficulties arise or the future becomes uncertain, I start to wonder, do I really believe all of this about God?  I begin to question; do I believe God is capable of marvelous accomplishments?  Do I really believe “God is good all the time and all the time God is good”?  Or is this a response I have been programmed to repeat whenever prompted?  Ultimately, I ask myself; do I really believe what I believe?  Maybe you have asked yourself this same question?  
           
There have been times in my life where my thoughts and beliefs about God do not always reflect what I preach when it comes to worry and trusting God.  Intellectually I know God is perfect in all ways, I know He will never leave nor forsake me, and I fully believe He will provide for all of my basic needs in life; so, why do I continue to worry?  
    
Worry, what is it Good For?
Today we are going to look at some Bible passages that I hope will be an encouragement as we seek to live worry-free lives.  As believers we are always called to trust God and yet we worry that maybe today is the first day in all of eternity He is not going to pull through.  Worry and trust are negating in all ways.  The two cannot co-exist.  Francis Chan writes again, “Worry implies that we don’t quite trust God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what is happening in our lives.”  Does that quote sting a little?  It should.  My first response is to reply, “How dare someone say that me worrying implies that I don’t trust God?”  The Old Testament patriarchs worried.  The disciples worried.  So, isn’t worry a natural response that all humans experience?  Sure, it is, but what is worry good for?  
 
Matthew 6:25 – 34
 
Vs 25 – Jesus says don’t worry about trivial things like what you will eat or wear because life is more than that.
 
Verse 26 – Do I have trouble believing God is going to take care of my needs?  Well look outside see those cute birds flying around outside.  They don’t plant or harvest their food, yet they seem to always have something to eat.  Hmmm… God provides for those birds.  Do I believe that I am more valuable than a bird in God’s eyes?  If so, do I believe maybe, just maybe God will provide for me?  He cares enough about those winged creatures to provide; then shouldn’t you and I trust and believe that God cares enough about you and me?  
 
Verse 27 – Can you tell me; how much do we accomplish by worrying?  Let’s think about this.  I spend hours worrying about something and during those hours what am I accomplishing?  What purpose has my worry filled?  Nothing whatsoever!  Was anything accomplished by my worrying?  Not a single thing.
 
Verse 28 – If worry is useless then why bother living your life in bondage to it?  
 
Verses 29 – 32:  God takes care of His creation with or without our help, He provides everything that is needed for the plants, the birds, the grass, etc.  God knows our needs and He will give us WHATEVER we NEED.  
 
Verse 33 – So, if we don’t spend our time worrying then what are we supposed to do?  Jesus tells us to SEEK first Kingdom of God and all the trivial things in life will be taken care of.  Jesus tells us that we need to make seeking God and his kingdom our top priority.  We are to let him have complete rule and reign over our lives.  But when we worry, we do not believe God is going to pull through for us.  
 
Verse 34 – Jesus tells us that since God is going to take care of us let’s stop wasting our time worrying about anything because God has it all under control.  Since He has it all under control then we need to live in the here and now because God has provided all we need for today.
 
So, what is Jesus telling us in this passage?  He is simply saying, do not worry because God has taken care of ALL our needs.  Now this does not mean that we should neglect personal preparation and planning for the future.  No, that is not what Jesus us saying, He is telling us to not spend all of our time planning for the future and what we want to accomplish because God’s plans may (and probably will) be different from the ones you and I make.  I mean isn’t this when we worry most?  It seems to me that when things don’t go the way I planned them is the time when I start freaking out and worrying about things? 
 
How Can We Live “Worry Free” Lives?
I wish there was a pill or a formula I could give you that would eliminate worry from our lives forever.  Unfortunately, there is no such thing available.  However, we can turn to the Word of God and let it speak to us today as a daily reminder that God is in control of all things, and I am not.
Proverbs 3:5-6
This passage has encouraged me time and again in my life.  In it I find three steps to help us live worry-free lives.

1. Trust in the Lord with all your heart…  Easy enough, right?  This may be difficult for some to do.  How do we practically do this?  We can fully rely on God when we put aside ourselves, look to God’s Word and know that we are not in control.  Trusting God requires faith and faith is difficult for some because they have zero control in attaining it.  You see faith doesn’t mean that you can muster up enough positive energy and vibes so that we can come to a point of believing.  No, in fact faith has nothing to do with our efforts, Romans 10:17 says, “So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ.”  When we read the Word of God and believe the Gospel message, we can receive the faith we need to trust our God.  The Word of God gives us the faith we need to trust Him and His promises.  
   
2. Lean not on your own understanding… We are not as smart as we think we are.  Everything in our society tells us that in order for us to be ok we need to trust in human wisdom, intellect, and abilities.  But God’s word tells us that we need to not lean on our wisdom, intellect and abilities.  God does not work in the ways we think He should.  Many of us begin to worry when things don’t go as planned or in a way that doesn’t make sense or seems illogical. But Isaiah 55:8 – 9 says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”  
   
3. In all your ways acknowledge Him… We always need to trust God, not just when we need him.  So many of us like to exhaust all our resources and when they have not proven true, we finally say, “Ok God, I need you to help me.”  I have heard people say, “We’ve done everything in our own power and all we have left to do if pray.”  Prayer should always be our first response in all things. 1 Thessalonians 5:16 – 18 says, “Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”   In the good times and the bad times, we need to trust in and pray to God.  This is the practical expression of the mind and will submitting to God and fully acknowledging him in all things, good and bad.  When we do this the Lord will guide us to our goal in life.  He will give you the wisdom you need to make wise decisions and ultimately get you to a point where worry will not rule your life.

 
To paraphrase Proverbs 3:5 – 6 and help us live worry-free lives we need to “Trust in God and not your intellect or your crafty plans.  Dedicate your life to Him and give Him complete control over your life in all areas and when you do this God will eliminate the power of worry in your life.”
 
CONCLUSION
For many worrying is a nasty habit to kick, and it can paralyze you, if you let it.  This message today is just as much for me as it is for many of you.  We are living in a time where it is easy to give in to our worries, fears and anxieties, but I want to encourage you (and me) to take keep the words of Proverbs 3:5 – 6 close to your heart.  I have purposed in my heart for God to have complete dominion in my life so I may live a stress- and worry-free life.  I am determined to come to terms with the fact that worrying is useless and a complete waste of time.  Time is precious and God does not want me to waste it worrying about things that I have no control over.

​​Recent polls have shown that most Americans say that they pray regularly (about 61%) and most of us in this room would probably admit to being a people of prayer at times.  I am sure we all pray before meals, maybe before we go to bed, and at church.  But when I look at this statistic, I can’t help but wonder, how people are praying, and do they really understand the practice of prayer?  Does prayer entail more than asking for things?  Does it mean more than just thinking about someone who is having a hard time.  We hear on this said all the time “They are in our thoughts and prayers.”  Now, I admit there are times in my life when my prayer life is shallow.  There are days when I get up and say a quick prayer to help me get through the day or when I am in a bad situation, I pray that God would help me, but is that the essence of my prayer time with God?  No, it is not, and I believe God wants so much more from us in our quiet times with Him.

What is prayer?  Prayer is the primary means for people to communicate with God and Him with us.  Some people are confused about prayer.  What is it?  What does it mean?  What does it accomplish?  At the core, prayer is simply talking with God.  It involves speaking to God from your heart and actively listening to Him.
Prayer isn’t a method for approaching God as a genie or divine vending machine.  Prayer isn’t a way to get God to do what we want.  Instead, prayer is the way we come close to Him so we can glorify him and also to find out what He wants from us.
 
Matthew 6:1 - 8
Today we will be spending our time looking specifically at the Lord’s Prayer.  Before we do, let’s first look at what Jesus talks about first.  He warns his listeners about making a spectacle of themselves when they did good deeds. He warns about having bad motives for giving and helping people just so they would look good, more holy, and righteous, when in fact they were being self-serving.  Jesus says that when we give or serve, we are to do it in humility, and in ways that will bring glory to God rather than self. 
 
Theologian R.C. Sproul writes, “Prayer, like everything else in the Christian life, is for God’s glory and for our benefit, in that order. Everything that God does, everything that God allows and ordains, is in the supreme sense for His glory. It is also true that while God seeks His own glory supremely, man benefits when God is glorified. We pray to glorify God, but we also pray in order to receive the benefits of prayer from His hand. Prayer is for our benefit, even in light of the fact that God knows the end from the beginning. It is our privilege to bring the whole of our finite existence into the glory of His infinite presence.”[1] 
 
Jesus uses this same warning with prayer.  He begins in verse 5 by saying, “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get.”   There are a few points to observe in this statement and we will look at them together.
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1. When you pray – Notice Jesus does not say, “If you pray”.  No, he says “When you pray”.  Prayer is communication with God.  It’s two-way communication, we are to talk to him, and he speaks to us in our quiet time. He delights in communicating with his children.  Prayer is a discipline that should be a priority in life, because communicating with God is important and God has established it for His glory and our benefit.
   
   
2. Don’t be like the hypocrites – In prayer you must be genuine and authentic and not just a vain ritual or to seem pious.  The religious people whom Jesus was speaking about would pray in public only to be seen and heard by the people.  In Jesus’ time men would pray in the synagogues so that people would see them and think highly of them.  Jesus calls these individuals, hypocrites. I don’t think Jesus is condemning public prayer per se, He is merely condemning self-serving motivation in prayers for the purpose of impressing those around them.  Their prayers would wordy and lengthy but with little substance. Often, they were empty phrases and mindless chatter and Jesus warns against this their prayers that are mindless and mechanical repetition. 
   
   

So, Jesus tells us WHEN we do pray, we are to go to our closets and pray in secret.  Does he mean this literally or figuratively?  Yes.  I believe Jesus points to the state of our hearts in prayer.  When we go to God in prayer, we are to open our hearts, pour out our emotions and genuinely spend time in fellowship with Him.  We talk to him through intercession, supplication, and worship and in turn we need to allow time for Him to speak to us by listening and meditating – either on his word or in silence.
 
Matthew 6:9 – 13
 Jesus introduces us to what we call, “The Lord’s Prayer” and in this he gives us a model for prayer.  Notice He says, “Pray like this…”  He does not say, “Pray this prayer”.  He shows that this prayer is an example, a model or a “template” on how one should pray.  His prayer contains six components.  The components are as follows.

1. Our Father in Heaven – Invocation: this is the call for or the summoning.
2. Hallowed be Your name – May God’s name be sanctified.  You are Holy.
3. Your Kingdom come soon and your will be done – You are Lord of Heaven and earth and you have dominion over all so you do what you have to do according to your will.
4. Give us our daily bread – You are the God of all provisions and I trust that you will meet my needs.
5. Forgive our debts – Forgiveness sought and given.
6. Deliver us from evil – Protect us from the evil of this world and make us pure and holy.

 
“Our Father in Heaven.”  When we pray, we are praying to THE FATHER who is in HEAVEN.  Who are we addressing?  When we approach God as a Father, we are not approaching any ole Father, we are praying to The Father in Heaven.  Some people have difficulty with addressing God as Father and they have various reasons.  Some may not like the fact that they had an earthly father, and he brings nothing but painful thoughts, memories, and anxieties to mind.  Their memory of their father brings such pain and anguish that they refuse to believe that God as a Father could imply something good.  Others don’t like the fact that Father implies that God is a male, and this can open a whole can of worms, some denominations have gone so far as to refer to God as the Father/Mother.  Some even go so far as to not even liking the idea of referring to God in human terms.  However, the original Greek word for Father in this passage is translated as Pater (Pay – Ayr) which means the originator and transmitter of anything. The authors of a family or society of persons animated by the same spirit as himself. One who has infused his own spirit into others, who actuates and governs their minds. One who stands in a father’s place and looks after another in a paternal way.  No matter how we view our earthly father’s it is good for us to know that we have a God in heaven who stands in the place of our earthly fathers and looks after us as a true father should look after his own children.  What does this mean to the believer?  As Christians we have been exalted to an especially close and intimate relationship with God, and we no longer dread him as a stern judge of sinners, but we revere him as (our) reconciled and loving Father.  
 
God is our Father, but He is unique in the sense that his abode is not primarily here on earth. We cannot and must not forget the fact that God is always present here on earth (Omnipresent) this world is not his home.  His place is in heaven.  The word translated Heaven in this verse is ouranas (oo-ran-os) which means the region above the far-out heavens or the constellations. It is the seat of order of things eternal and consummately perfect where God dwells with other heavenly beings.  Heaven, this is a subject all its own.  I will not be spending time today trying to answer the questions of what, where and why’s of heaven.  This is another topic for another time.
 
So, in conclusion to today’s message and as we look at God the Father, I want to stress the importance of knowing and understanding that we have a God in Heaven who loves us with a pure, holy, and fatherly love.  He will watch over, protect, and love us in a way that only a parent could love their child.  I personally experienced this kind of love and connection with the birth of all four of my children.  When my first child was born the emotion and connection, I felt with my daughter was/is unspeakable.  I cannot explain the type of love that I experienced as a new father.  I experienced a love that I didn’t know I could possess, and it was a pure love, a protective love and a determining love.  Imagine this is the kind of love our God has for us.  That’s the best way to describe God’s love for us as a Father.  However, we cannot completely fathom or define this love because we love with a human love, and He loves with a perfect, pure, and holy love that we cannot understand or comprehend.  But I also need to say that as a Father, he not only loves us, but also has the heart to discipline us, protect us, and to guide us as His children.  Because this is what we are… His children.  John 1:12 - 13 says what I am saying best, “But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.” Since we have a God in Heaven who loves us and gave his son Jesus Christ and have believed in Him, we now have the right to be called His children and we have the right to also call Him our Father who is a holy, loving, merciful and all-encompassing God.
 

[1] R. C. Sproul, Does Prayer Change Things?, vol. 3, The Crucial Questions Series (Lake Mary, FL: Reformation Trust Publishing, 2009), 10.

Introduction
In 1958, Christian missionary Elisabeth Elliot returned to the Ecuadorian rainforest to live with the Waodäni, the tribe who had killed her husband only two years earlier. Her choice to forgive, rather than retaliate, sparked a change in the Waodäni, who left behind a cycle of violence to embrace a life of love. This remarkable story rippled across the globe, inspiring millions to serve God through missions.
 
Love, God, Love Others AND Love Your Enemies!
In the Gospel of Matthew 25 Jesus is asked by an expert in religious law, “What is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”  Jesus responds with two commandments.

1. “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment.
2. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

 
His response can be simplified into a five-word phrase, “Love God and love others.”  This is the central messages of Jesus Christ.  Love God and love people.  This should be easy, shouldn’t it?  Technically, yes. Loving God is the easy part. Loving others… well, this can be challenging at times, but doable”  Earlier in the Gospel of Matthew 5:44, Jesus really complicates the command of love when he instructs his disciples and listeners to not only love, God, and love people, but to also love our enemies.  This my friends is where the water gets murky. 
 
There are some things I wish Jesus would have never had said and this is one because it is far easier to not love someone who has done us wrong, harmed us, or betrayed us in ways that sometimes feels unforgiveable, and it can be very challenging to realistically embrace this commandment from Jesus. It is easier to love those who love us and treat us with respect and dignity.  Jesus affirms this in Matthew 5:46 – 47, “If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that.”
 
Loving others is easy when others love you.  Even people who do not follow Christ can do this.  But it is verse 44 that can make some of us cringe, “But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!”
 
Romans 12: 1
In Romans 12 the Apostle Paul expands on the idea and command of loving one another and loving our enemies.  In verse 1 the Apostle Paul makes an appeal to his readers (those who profess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior) to present themselves as living sacrifices to God.  This means is that they are declaring themselves not their own (denying self) and belonging to God.  Denying of self-desires sets the stage for loving others and showing forgiveness because natural desire or flesh wants to hate our enemies but living according to the flesh does not entail living for God and He commands that I love those whom I deem unlovable. 
 
Romans 12: 9 - 10
Paul says, “Don’t pretend to love others.”  This means our love must be genuine, sincere, undisguised, without hypocrisy.  We are told to love one another sincerely, not so we get something but to love one another with “brotherly affection.”  This means that we have a love that has a strong bond that connects us and causes us to stand with and by one another no matter the circumstances.  It is the true “friend until the end” mindset.  Serve and love one another in ways where you can outdo one another, not for the sake of winning, but for the sake of showing genuine love, honor, and respect.  This is an amazing love, and it is the kind of love we are commanded to have for one another.  As believers we are bound together by the cross of Christ and our love and care for one another should put to shame the kind of love the world shows or defines.  My desire should be to love, honor, and respect you in such a way that will lift you up and edify this body of Christ. 
 
So far, so good…Right? Now comes the part Jesus talks about in Matthew 5 that some of us could do without.  “But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! 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. You mean I must do what Jesus said, “love my enemies and pray for those who persecute me?” How in the world do I do that?  Not in your own power my friend.  Our first response when anyone hurts us may be one of two reactions retaliate or retreat or more commonly known as fight or flight.  Usually my knee jerk reaction to someone hurting me is retaliation… I say, “They can’t get away with that, I’ll show them!”  But I am reminded of the words of Paul in Romans 12:19, “Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord.”  Retaliation is not my job, my job is to bless, love, and pray for that individual.  But not only am I to do that I am also called to serve or minister to my enemy in return.  WHAT!?  It’s enough I can’t retaliate now I have to minister to them.  Paul says, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink;” How do I do that?  Not in your own power my friend.  When we respond the way Paul commands the result will be like “heap(ing) burning coals on his head.”  I’ve often wondered what this “heaping coals” meant.  I always thought it was an “I’ll show them” type of attitude.  However, according to John Walvoord, “The coals on the head may refer to a ritual in Egypt in which a person showed his repentance by carrying a pan of burning charcoal on his head. Helping rather than cursing an enemy may cause him to be ashamed and penitent.”  Your kindness may cause your enemy to see what he/she has done and bring him/her to repentance for his/her wrongdoing.  It is not a guarantee that this will be the end result, but this is what we are commanded to do.  
 
Does this seem hard?  Well, it should because it is.  Loving enemies, forgiving those who hurt us, and praying for those who abuse us goes against every fiber of our nature.  We cannot do this in our own strength, we need the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives to enable us respond accordingly.  Some here may have experiences where someone did unspeakably horrible things to you that were devastating and life changing and only the Holy Spirit was able to enable you to show love and extend forgiveness.  There are some who have sought the power of the Holy Spirit and He is working in you now to show you how to love, bless and pray for those who have hurt you.  There are some who cannot even begin to entertain the idea of forgiveness, blessing, and loving their enemy. 
 
I want to encourage you and me today in allowing the Holy Spirit to work in your life right now. The first step for all of us is to realize and accept that we cannot do this in our power we need the Holy Spirit.  When we come to this realization and start down the path of forgiveness and healing then we can truly experience the life, forgiveness, and love that Christ calls us to have.
 
 
Hope Initiative for February
Before we close out the morning, I want to take a few minutes and talk about something that I would love for everyone in this room to consider and it’s called The Hope Initiative.
According to research, 91% of church leaders have said their church needs revitalization. It was found that most churches do not actively engage in intentional opportunities to share the gospel.  The Hope Initiative is one way that we, as a congregation, can get on board with what God is doing in the church.  In the American Church we are facing declining attendance.  The median church size in America is 45 and this has left churches and pastors discouraged.  Both pastor’s and members are looking for hope and this hope is only found in Jesus.  Jesus says in Matthew 9:37, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.”  This neighborhood, city, and your neighborhoods are filled with people who do not know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  I imagine every person in this room has a relationship, at the very minimum, of one individual who is not a follower of Christ. And I understand that sharing the Gospel with unbelievers can be intimidating, but we can do it with the power of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus says in Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  This is great news for us.  We can share Jesus with our unbelieving friends because God has given us the Holy Spirit to enable us to do so.
 
So, I want to issue a challenge for us all that in the next four weeks of February that we be intentional in prayer.  That we would daily or weekly walk our neighborhoods and pray for our neighbors and neighborhoods. If a someone moves into your neighborhood, then we have gift bags for you to give and invite them to Southside.  And starting in the month of March, every person starts praying for one person who is not a believer and asking God that in the remaining nine months of the year that God give you the opportunity to share the gospel with the person you are praying for.