Bunbury
Wed pm
3/08/2011
“What to do w/ a knife in the heart”
Intro: *** In the movie the Cross & the Switchblade David Wilkerson manages to get the Mau Mau’s & the Bishops together at a large theatre complex w/ the intention of preaching to them & seeing them converted. Everything is going badly until on the last night when there are no police present the two gangs decide that it would be the perfect venue to have a rumble.
David Wilkerson begins preaching to the gangs after some raucous behaviour & finally gets their attention. In his sermon he begins telling the Mau Mau’s & the Bishops that they need to forgive each other & begin loving each other. That is the key for the future he tries to tell them.
But in the midst of his sermon one gang member stands up & says “My brother was killed by a Bishop!” Another one jumps to his feet & after lifting his shirt & exposing a knife wound says “This is what one of those guys did to me, I want to love them all right, I want to love them w/ a sharp blade!”
I must admit …… I’ve always been able to identify w/ that guy!
He appeals to the lower side of man that we all have & that we’ve all got to fight against.
*** It is Nicky Cruz who, just as the auditorium is about to erupt into gang warfare, in the middle of the sermon jumps up onto the stage alongside of David Wilkerson & quells the violence w/ his protests that there’s been enough killing!
Sad to say that the revelation that Nicky Cruz had that night is a revelation that we sometimes still don’t get in the church.
His u/s is sounded out clearly by Jesus in our text tonight ….. here tonight Jesus is asking us to do the unthinkable!
That is to love our enemies!
Last week I preached a message from the same text called ‘What to do w/ a slap in the face’.
T/n I want to preach a message called ‘What to do w/ a knife in the heart’.
Text: Luke 6:27-31 ( NKJV ) 27“But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. 29To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. 30Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. 31And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.
# 1. The combat zone.
A. Enemies are one thing we all feel as though we could do w/o.
*** I was talking to a friend of mine who was a Vietnam veteran one day & he was telling me about an ambush he was involved in. On this occasion his unit had received word that the Viet Cong were bringing weapons & ammunition to the Cong down a river under the cover of darkness. They were in position b/4 night fall & sure enough that night a raft came floating down the river manned by a number of men, possibly a raiding party but definitely bringing in supplies at least! As the vessel came into the killing zone they opened up on them w/ heavy machine gun fire & w/I about 1½ everything was quiet & a number of bodies were floating down the river.
I asked him how he felt about killing all those men & w/ a dead pan face he looked at me & said – pretty good!
a. Among the things that fill our thought life & trouble us are the concerns of enemies.
i. If we didn’t have to deal w/ them ever again ….. we could all feel pretty good about that!
ii. In the more civilised world we live in we’re not talking about those who shoot arrows / throw spears / hold a knife to our throat.
iii. Enemies these days are generally those who do their worst / most hurtful / painful damage on the inside, not the outside.
iv. Think about the weapons Jesus identifies that an enemy uses against you …..
Vs 27. ….. do good to those who hate you,
Vs 28. 28bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.
Vs 28. ( GWT ) 28Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who insult you.
Vs 28. (AMP) 27…….Those Who detest you & pursue you with hatred.
v. Ever had to deal w/ people like that who for some reason seem determined to hate you?
Vs 28. (AMP) 28 ….. Those who abuse you [who revile, reproach, disparage, and high handedly misuse you].
vi. So here are the weapons that an enemy uses as Jesus lays it out – hatred / cursing / insults / spitefulness / detesting / pursuing w/ hatred / abuse / reviling / reproach / disparagement.
b. The problem w/ an enemy is that the pain they cause is deliberate!
i. At least there’s one thing about your enemies – they leave you w/ no doubt about the fact that they hate you!
ii. Their attacks are meant to bring about the maximum pain / hurt & quite often they hit the ‘bullseye’ of the target.
iii. Can you imagine the pain that Jesus must have suffered that night in Gethsemane as Judas approached Him?
Luke 22:47-48 ( NKJV ) 47And while He was still speaking, behold, a multitude; and he who was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them and drew near to Jesus to kiss Him.
48But Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”
iv. Can you imagine the gut wrenching feeling that Jesus must have felt as Judas approached him to kiss Him?
B. As a Christian you are going to have to learn to live in the combat zone.
a. You never find out what a soldier is really like until he enters a combat zone.
i. And the reality is that you never find out what kind of a Christian you are until you have to begin dealing w/ enemies!
ii. A combat zone is the time / place when an armed force is no longer training but now they are fighting a real enemy who has the power to kill.
iii. It’s at this time that we all have to face the truth about our/s …….
*** My little boy Michael was always interested in the rifles that he knew that I had. He wanted to see them / touch them ….. he was a typical boy! When he was still quite small he came out w/ me & another bro one night after work to do some target practice. We set up the targets, loaded up the ammunition, took aim & fired the first shot. It was at this point as he faced the reality of the first shot being fired that all of his interest evaporated! He was stunned by the noise & said to me …. Dad I want to get into the car. For the rest of our target practice time he sat in the car too afraid to get back out.
The reality of noise / impact / recoil of a firearm going off was totally different to what he expected!
iv. What I’m saying to you is that anyone of us can have a theoretical love b/4 we’re attacked / assaulted / abused / mistreated.
v. But what are you like in the combat zone? What are you like when someone does attack you, when someone makes it plain that the main aim of what they are doing is to hurt you?
vi. This is what Jesus is talking about when he says ……
Vs 27-28. Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.
# 2. What are you going to do w/ the blade?
*** The response of the gang member in Cross & the Switchblade is so typical of human nature. He says it all when he says “Yeh, I want to love ‘em all right, I want to love ‘em w/ a sharp blade!”
A. Here’s the question we all have to face when it comes to enemies – what are you going to do w/ the blade?
a. B/c when you are confronted by your enemies there will always be an opportunity to shaft them in one form or another.
i. I doubt that Jesus would ever have faced a more painful attack from his enemies than the attack He suffered from Judas.
ii. Think about this ….. the first decision that Jesus had to make was the decision about what He was going to do w/ the blade.
Matthew 26:51-52 ( NKJV ) 51And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.
52But Jesus said to him, “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. …….
iii. Here is the mob that came w/ Judas to arrest Jesus & not only is He not going to use the blade on Judas, He’s not even going to allow it to be used on the mob!
b. You see the blade / sword is the response of the natural man!
i. But we are no longer natural men ….. not if we’re saved anyway!
ii. The greatest issue of concern in the combat zone of life is not what you’re doing w/ your hands but what you’re doing w/ your heart!
iii. Every challenge we face in life is dealt w/ in the heart b/4 we deal w/ it in any other way….. therefore what is happening in your heart is critically impt!
*** Two brothers went to their rabbi to settle a longstanding feud. The rabbi got the two to reconcile their differences and shake hands. As they were about to leave, he asked each one to make a wish for the other in honour of the Jewish New Year.
The first brother turned to the other and said, “I wish you what you wish me.”
At that, the second brother threw up his hands and said, “See, Rabbi, he’s starting up again!”
iv. In our text Jesus is saying …… in the combat zone its what’s happening in your heart that really matters more than anything else.
v. Jesus decided to put the blade away & that’s what He calls us to do too.
B. The danger of the combat zone is responding to enemies the same way they treat you.
a. The warning that Jesus is sounding out in our text is the danger of our response to enemies.
i. We find David in the O/T, his enemy has offended him / ripped him off & sunk the blade in under the fifth rib.
ii. There’s no doubt about the fact that David is a great man of God but listen to how he responds to this situation ……
1 Samuel 25:13 ( NKJV ) 13Then David said to his men, “Every man gird on his sword.” So every man girded on his sword, and David also girded on his sword.
iii. Again …. Here is the natural heart taking control of a spiritual man – David was about to use the blade & if he had done so it would have changed his life!
b. By using the blade nobody wins!
i. We have a peculiar story in the O/T ….. Joab is facing his enemies, it’s a strange situation b/c they are sitting down & the two commanders order 12 young men to arise & compete.
ii. Each man has a sword & the idea is that every man thrusts his sword in the side of the other young man.
2 Samuel 2:16 ( NKJV ) 16And each one grasped his opponent by the head and thrust his sword in his opponent’s side; so they fell down together. Therefore that place was called the Field of Sharp Swords, which is in Gibeon.
iii. By using the blade nobody wins, everybody loses & God is dishonoured.
# 3. The weapons of righteousness.
A. Jesus calls us to meet our enemies w/ the weapons of righteousness!
a. Think about this – God’s righteousness is the weapon given to us to meet our enemies.
i. God doesn’t expect us to go into the battle unarmed …… God is not suggesting we don’t fight – He just calls us to fight differently!
ii. Listen to the arsenal he has provided for our battles ……
Ephesians 6:14-17 ( NKJV ) 14Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
iii. Peter sends out a much more generalised call to arms when facing our enemies when he says ...
1 Peter 4:1 ( NKJV ) 1Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,
iv. Paul goes on & speaks about the weapons we’ve been called to fight w/ when he says …
2 Corinthians 10:4 ( NKJV ) 4For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
2 Corinthians 10:4 ( GWT ) 4The weapons we use in our fight are not made by humans. Rather, they are powerful weapons from God. With them we destroy people’s defenses, that is, their arguments
v. We have to remember that when we’re dealing w/ our enemies what we are dealing w/ is another man’s heart.
vi. And only God knows how to battle against a man’s heart!
B. Jesus tells us how to wield the weapons of righteousness.
a. The greatest challenge to overcome is challenge to meet our enemies w/ the same treatment.
*** I saw a very interesting interview a number of years ago when I was in the U.S. The man who was being interviewed was the victim of a sharp blade. There had been a knock at his front door, he went to answer the door & as he opened it b/4 he knew what was happening a man at his door drove a hunting knife into the top of his skull. The blade went right into the man’s head missing the vital sections of the brain that would have killed him. When he arrived at the hospital emergency room he was still conscious & he went immediately after X-RAYS into surgery. The knife was removed & the man, w/ some minor side effects was able to live a relatively normal life afterwards.
In the interview the thing that struck me about him more than anything else was the absence of any bitterness against the assailant. He in fact referred to the culprit who stabbed him as “….the gentleman who placed the knife in my head.”
I can’t help thinking that one of the reasons why he was able to recover so well is that he hadn’t been overcome w/ revenge.
i. Jesus in our text tells us not only how to deal w/ our enemies but he tells us how to win!
ii. All the responses to an enemy that Jesus outlines for us are actions ….
Vs 27. …..Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
Vs 28. 28bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.
iii. Think about that ….. all the responses that Jesus tells us we need to exercise towards an enemy are all actions – loving / doing good / blessing / praying for.
b. Here’s the final key in winning against your enemies – don’t treat them as they deserve – treat them the way you want to be treated.
i. One thing you need to remember in life & that is that – you never stop sowing!
Galatians 6:7 ( NKJV ) 7Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
Galatians 6:7 ( GWT ) 7Make no mistake about this: You can never make a fool out of God. Whatever you plant is what you’ll harvest.
ii. Think about this in whatever way you decide to meet your enemies is the measure of what will be done to you!
Luke 6:31 ( TMNT ) 31“Here is a simple rule of thumb for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initiative and do it for them!
