GIVING ON THE EDGE—Luke 6:27-38
OR
God’s Plan for Our Enemies
Billy Bob goes to a diner for breakfast, buys a coffee a sits down to drink it. He looks on the side of his cup & finds a peel off prize. He pulls off the tab & yells, "I WON! I WON! I WON a motor home, I WON a motor home!"
The waitress looks to the owner-manager wide-eyed, knowing thatt he biggest prize given away is a bicycle. they both approach Billy Bob with the problem. saying, "You couldn’t possibly have won a motor home because we don’t offer that as a prize!"
Billy Bob replies, "Nope, no mistake, I WON a motor home, I WON a motor home!" Looky here...& hands the prize ticket to the manager which reads, "WIN A BAGEL."
The owner-manager was faced with the decision of Giving on the Edge of his ability.
True Disciples of Jesus will Give on the Edge of their ability.
Jesus showed His disciples the standard for the treatment of one’s enemies thru their giving.
A disciple’s love for God is found in how/what one gives on the edge
OR
Christian integrity is reflected in the way we give.
How is Christ reflected in our giving?
4 areas of giving that reflect God’s work in us.
If we behave lovingly/godly at the extreme then we will definitely behave lovingly elsewhere.
If we behave unlovingly/ungodly at the extreme then our relationship to God thru Christ is in question.
Please Lord, help us to live as You live.
1—Christ is reflected/tried on the edge of
OUR LOVE(:27a, 32)
—Explanation:(:27a, 32)
“But I say to you who hear, love your enemies,...”
“To you who hear”—Directed toward those who “hear”.
Rev. 2:11, 17, 29, 3:6, 13, 22—“’He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”
Jer. 35:15—“...I have sent to you all My servants the prophets, sending them again & again, saying: ‘Turn now every man from his evil way, & amend your deeds, & do not go after other gods to worship them, then you shall dwell in the land which I have given to you & to your forefathers; but you have not inclined your ear or listened to Me.”
2Tim. 4:1-4—“I solemnly charge you in the presence of God & of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living & the dead, & by His appearing & His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season & out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience & instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; & will turn away their ears from the truth, & will turn aside to myths.”
“Love your enemies”—Internal
“Love”—agapaw—Used cheifly of God’s love toward man. ‘To welcome, to entertain, to be fond of, to love dearly, to be well pleased, to be contented at or with a thing.
“Enemies”—Resentment—Ill Will
:32—“And if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.”
—Argumentation:
1Jn. 2:15—“Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
1Jn. 4:9—“By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.”
1Jn. 4:16-17—“And we have come to know & have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, & the one who abides in love abides in God, & God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world.”
Jn. 3:16—“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him.”
—Illustration:
Child/Does some unloving things/Loved by parents Regardless of behavior/Recognize potential
Wayne Sauder/My childhood mortal enemy/Couldn’t love Wayne until my love was changed by Jesus.
—Application:
?Is your LOVE God’s love?
?Is your limit God’s limit?
2—Christ is reflected/tried on the edge of
OUR DEEDS(:27b, 29-31, 33)
—Explanation:(:27b, 29-31, 33)
“...Do good to those who hate you,...”
“Do Good”—External
“Good”—kalwV— ‘Beautifully, finely, excellently, well, nobly, commendably, honorably, in honor.’
“Hate”—misew—Pursue with hatred, Detest.
:29—“Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; & whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.”
Not defending rights=Risk & Vulnerability
Accepting hatred in context of Ministry/Help
:30—“Give to everyone who asks of you, & whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.”
:31—“And just as you want people to treat you, treat them in the same way.”
Treatment—Mk. 12:31—‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
:33—“And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.”
—Argumentation:
Rom. 12:21—“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
Rom. 12:20—“BUT IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM, AND IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK; FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP BURNING COALS UPON HIS HEAD.”—Prov. 25:21-22
Jas. 2:14-17, 22, 26—“What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing & in need of daily food, & one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed & be filled,” & yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself....“You see that faith was working with his works, & as a result of the works, faith was perfected;....“For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”
—Illustration:
My neighbor’s pool/What if they tapped into my water line/What if they wouldn’t back down?/Should I get my own well & pump? or go to court?
Application:
?Are your DEEDS God’s deeds?
?Is your limit God’s limit?
3—Christ is reflected/tried on the edge of
OUR BLESSING(:28a, 34, 35)
—Explanation:(:28a, 34, 35)
“...Bless those who curse you,...”
“Bless”—eulogew—‘To consecrate a thing with solemn prayers; To ask God’s blessing on a thing; To pray God to bless it to one’s use; To praise, Celebrate with praises; to cause To prosper, To make happy, To bestow blessings on; Favored of God.’
How do we “bless” an enemy?—Go from beyond a deed to allowing Love to control our deeds—To seek our enemy’s best interest.
“Curse”—Call evil upon—No ‘curse’ can stop us!
Rom. 8:31-39—READ—“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?.... But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
:34—“And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, in order to receive back the same amount.”
:35—“But love your enemies, & do good, & lend, expecting nothing in return; & your reward will be great, & you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful & evil men.”
“Lend expecting nothing”—supplying a personal need
“Reward”—Awaits us at the edge.
“You will be sons of the Most High”—Impossible to maintain this blessing apart from a nurturing relationship with Christ because its humanly impossible!
“He Himself is kind to ungrateful & evil men”—
?How is God “Kind to ungrateful/evil men”?...
.....Life, Sun, Seasons, Family, Love, Beauty, Comfort, etc...& offers eternal life in Christ.
—Argumentation:
Rom. 12:14—“Bless those who persecute you; bless & curse not.”
1Pet. 3:8-9—“To sum up, let all be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, & humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil, or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.”
1Thess. 5:15—“See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another & for all men.”
1Cor. 4:11-13—“To this present hour we are both hungry & thirsty, & are poorly clothed, & are roughly treated, & are homeless; & we toil, working with our own hands; when we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure; when we are slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now.”
—Illustration:
Boss intentionally loads me down with difficult work/because I’m a Christian/I do my best for him in Christ + take them to supper-give a pie-wash his car, etc.—Something extra/Our BLESSING
—Application:
?Is your BLESSING God’s blessing?
?Is your limit God’s limit?
4—Christ is reflected/tried on the edge of
OUR PRAYER(:28b)
—Explanation:(:28b)
“...Pray for those who mistreat you.”
“Mistreat/Dispitefully use/Ill-treat”—
“Pray for”—Not against them but against their sin. Therefore when against their sin we pray for the person.
—Argumentation:
Heb. 6:11—“And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end,”
Isa. 32:17—“And the work of righteousness will be peace, And the service of righteousness, quietness & confidence forever.”
1Tim. 4:1-4—“First of all, then, I urge that entreaties & prayers, petitions & thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings & all who are in authority, in order that we may lead a tranquil & quiet life in all godliness & dignity. This is good & acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved & to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
Titus 3:1-2—“Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, to malign no one, to be uncontentious, gentle, showing every consideration for all men.”
—Illustration:
Little Johnny goes to Daddy/ ‘Dad, Make sure that Hunter is blessed.’/Dad can supply greater blessings/Our PRAYER invokes the greater blessings of God into another’s life.
—Application:
?Is your PRAYER God’s prayer?
?Is your limit God’s limit?
Conclusion
Action:
Christ is reflected/tried on the edge of/by Our...
LOVE
DEEDS
BLESSING
PRAYER
CHILDREN’S— ‘No Way!’
Presented 11/11/01am to
Providence Baptist Church
975 Providence Road
Whigham, Ga 31797
