Bunbury
Wed pm
10/08/2011
“What to do w/ spit in your face”
Intro: We have been focusing for the past two Wednesday nights on this text & so far we have looked at offences & the enemy that delivers the offence to our lives.
T/n we want to focus on something that Jesus singles out as being an offence that is not only directed at our physical / emotional well being but our spiritual wellbeing.
Jesus is dealing here w/ the power of a curse!
I can’t think of anything more demeaning than to spit in someone’s face…… more particularly to spit in their eye.
*** I remember a woman I knew years ago being involved in a conflict w/ another woman. She was hard core, tough & not very easily put off. What she said the other woman she was arguing w/ was what caught my attention – she said “You could spit in both my eyes & I’d still come out laughing!”
Well maybe she could but personally I couldn’t really imagine too many things that would be more demeaning than to have someone spit in my eye!
But in reality that is the approach that Jesus is telling us we need to be able to have if we claim to be His people.
So I want to preach a sermon tonight called “What to do w/ spit in your face”.
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 curse.
A. Few people realise the power behind a curse but the Bible tells us that the power of a curse is real & very devastating.
a. We find the idea of a curse coming into the picture very early in Biblical history.
i. As a matter of fact as soon as sin appears on the pages of Scripture so does the curse, let’s think about that.
Genesis 3:14 ( NKJV ) 14So the Lord God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, ……
ii. Here is the serpent h/s being cursed but we also see man who gave in to sin being cursed.
Genesis 3:17 ( NKJV ) 17Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life.
iii. Think about that … in response to ruining the entire human race by plunging it into sin a curse was released!
iv. So it means that we are not only under the power of sin but – but under the power of the curse!
b. So what is a curse?
i. The Gr Word lit = to execrate – which is to detest utterly / abhor / abominate / imprecate evil upon / damn / denounce / doom.
ii. So when we think about the whole idea of a curse we are talking about something w/ incredibly evil force / sentiment behind it.
iii. In other words to curse someone is no light thing …… you were basically condemning / removing all hope of restoration from that person.
Matthew 25:41 ( NKJV ) 41“Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:
iv. Think about this parable where were ‘cursed ones’ relegated to? They were sent off into everlasting fire!!!
c. Let’s take this whole thought a little further – Jesus b/ca a curse for you & I.
Galatians 3:13 ( NKJV ) 13Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”),
i. So what did that mean …… Jesus b/co cursed for us? Of course we know that ultimately they hung him on a tree & in being crucified He was cursed.
Deuteronomy 21:23 ( NKJV ) 23his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day, so that you do not defile the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance; for he who is hanged is accursed of God.
ii. Let’s think about the way they treated Jesus leading up to the cursing of crucifixion ….. we know that He was abused in numerous ways by both the temple guards & Roman soldiers.
Matthew 26:67 ( NKJV ) 67Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands,
Matthew 27:30 ( NKJV ) 30Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head.
iii. Here is the treatment a man who is cursed receives ……. Spit in his face & struck w/ their hands!
iv. The only other man we read about in the Scriptures who had someone spit in his face was Job & we can see him under the power of the curse too!
Job 30:10 ( NKJV ) 10 They abhor me, they keep far from me; They do not hesitate to spit in my face.
v. I can’t think of anything more humiliating than to have someone spit in your face – you know when that happens that this person has no concern for you at all.
Vs 28. 28bless those who curse you, …….
vi. In a very real sense when Jesus speaks about those who curse you ….. He’s speaking about the one who spits in your eye – the one who has placed your value at nothing!
B. But we need to u/s that the power of a curse is not just an emotional blow but a real & devastating power.
a. Curses do far more than just make people feel bad – they destroy lives.
i. Think about one of the most outstanding examples of this in the Bible – Joshua pronouncing a curse upon whoever rebuilds Jericho.
Joshua 6:26 ( NKJV ) 26Then Joshua charged them at that time, saying, “Cursed be the man before the Lord who rises up and builds this city Jericho; he shall lay its foundation with his firstborn, and with his youngest he shall set up its gates.”
ii. Joshua spoke these words in approx 1450 – 1400 B.C. – 500 years later 931 – 873 B.C. Hiel of Bethel rebuilt it either not knowing / believing the curse & here was the outcome ….
1 Kings 16:34 ( GWT ) 34In Ahab’s time Hiel from Bethel rebuilt Jericho. Laying the foundation cost him his firstborn son, Abiram. Setting up the city doors cost him his youngest son, Segub. The LORD had spoken this through Joshua, son of Nun.
iii. So what this tells us is that the power of a curse extends far beyond mere words!
b. Think about how dramatic the power of a curse really is –
i. Jesus coming to a fig tree looking for some fruit on it pronounces a curse on the tree saying ….
Matthew 21:19 ( NKJV ) 19And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away.
ii. Here is the power of a curse ….. it not only affects emotionally & verbally but has a real & insidious power behind it.
iii. This is what Jesus is speaking about when he says …..
Vs 28. 28bless those who curse you, …….
# 2. The blessing.
A. How does Jesus expect us to respond to this?
a. Now let’s not lose sight of what we’re dealing w/ when we speak about the one who curses you.
i. There’s no doubt about the fact that when someone curses you they mean to do you harm!
ii. What we are talking about is the person who wants to do you / wishes upon you the worst possible harm.
iii. This is the person who overflows w/ venom & vitriol for you …… their greatest challenge is to find words that adequately describe the hatred they have for you.
iv. The writer of proverbs describes this power & says ….
Proverbs 12:18 ( NKJV ) 18 There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword, …….
( TMSG ) 18Rash language cuts and maims,…..
*** Shortly after I got married we lived on my in-laws farm at Yellingup. For some time we had chickens & one thing I realised was that foxes are always a problem.
It was not unusual to come to a chicken coup in the morning & find that a fox had dug his way under the wire & killed every chicken in the coup. A bunch of dead chickens w/ no heads b/c the fox had just been doing what foxes like to do – leave a trail of destruction.
Sometimes our words leave behind a similar scene!
v. Of course we know that well worn verse in proverbs that says ……
Proverbs 18:21 ( NKJV ) 21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue,…..
James 3:6 ( NKJV ) 6And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity…and it is set on fire by hell.
James 3:6 ( TMNT ) 6A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.
vi. The motive behind a curse is to do damage / cause pain / leave destruction in its wake, deliver a curse.
b. Words are powerful ….. & every one of us are born w/ an inbuilt word processor to receive & send out words!
** Derek Prince in his book ‘Blessing or curse’ says …..
“Both blessings & curses belong to the invisible, spiritual realm. They are vehicles for supernatural, spiritual power. Blessings produce good & beneficial results ; curses produce bad & harmful results.”
i. Words are vehicles for supernatural power – both bad & good! ….. As Prince says words are the main vehicle for curses!
ii. Think about that ….. Our words contain something …. They are vehicles that carry human sentiment / intent / feeling / emotions / desires.
iii. We see this is true in the intentions of Isaac to bless Esau instead of Jacob ….
Genesis 27:33 ( NKJV ) 33Then Isaac trembled exceedingly, and said, ……. I have blessed him—and indeed he shall be blessed.”
iv. His words even though not intended for Jacob were vehicles for blessings to flow into the life of Jacob & we know that’s what happened!
B. So how does Jesus expect us to respond to the power of a curse?
a. He calls us to be people of a completely different spirit!
i. Now we can easily make the mistake here of thinking that we should merely not react in kind – that’s retaliation – not reacting in the same manner.
ii. The idea here is ….. don’t do to them as they’ve done to you!
iii. But if that’s what we do –we’ve failed! b/c Jesus doesn’t just tell us to not repay evil for evil …… He tells us to repay evil w/ good / cursing w/ blessing!
Vs 28. 28bless those who curse you, …….
Vs 31. 31And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.
iv. As sons of our Heavenly Father He wants us to turn the curse into a blessing!
Deuteronomy 23:5 ( NKJV ) 5Nevertheless the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam, but the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing …….
Vs 28. Luke 6:28 ( Weust ) 28be invoking blessings upon those who are calling curses down upon you, ……
b. Here’s what Jesus is essentially saying in our text – take the venom of a curse, take the poison out of it & use it for an occasion to minister the antidote of blessing.
i. When you’re cursed use that occasion as an opportunity to call down the blessing / favour / invoke the bestowal of divine power on the perpetrator.
Romans 12:14 ( NKJV ) 14Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
ii. We have no right nor business cursing anyone for any reason.
# 3. What to do w/ spit in your face.
A. Finally we need to recognise one thing – God takes a curse seriously!
a. When someone curses one of His children it’s no light thing – He hears & takes it seriously.
i. God tells us we are not to take revenge / not to curse / retaliate but …….
ii. It doesn’t mean that God won’t – listen to what He says here in His Word …..
Romans 12:19 ( NKJV ) 19Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
iii. God will settle accounts w/ those who treat us wrongly / abuse / curse / despitefully treat us.
b. Jesus tells us how we need to respond to those that spit in our face saying …
Vs 28. 28bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.
i. Pray for those who despitefully treat ……. Why? B/c sometimes the only thing standing between God’s judgment & the offender is your prayers.
*** I was evangelising w/ some of the saints on our impact team to Nadi last year when I came across a man who I invited out to the revival meetings on the streets of Nadi. The man listened politely & as we talked he discovered who I was. He made the connection that I was the former pastor of the Suva church. It was then that he shared w/ me the story of the Suva church & his sister in-law.
M**e R**ai. She had been the secretary of a powerful union in Suva who also owned the building we rented for our church near the down town city area. This woman ordered a work crew to break into our church building during a series of revival meetings b/c I refused to allow them to begin working on our building during the meetings. There was a disagreement & when the men broke into the building I called the police. The secretary of the union arrived at the scene & cursed me for calling the police. She made some amazing threats against me that night!
To shorten an already long story … at the end of my tenure in Fiji I returned home to Australia & never thought any more about the incident. It wasn’t until I met this man on the streets of Nadi that he told me his sister in-law had been diagnosed w/ terminal cancer some time shortly after me leaving Fiji. In an effort to put things right the woman came to our new church building looking for me, wanting to ask me for forgiveness but I was already gone. Believing that the only way to find forgiveness was to find me the woman went insane & died in a mental institution in Suva.
ii. We might be inclined to say ….. It’s just a coincidence! And maybe it is! But then again it’s a living example of the truth we see reflected throughout God’s Word.
iii. Listen to what it says here ……
Zechariah 2:8 ( NKJV ) 8…… for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye.
c. When someone spits in your face you may be greatly humiliated but you’ll probably survive it.
i. But remember this one thing they may not! That’s why Jesus says …….
Vs 28. 28bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.
