Matthew 10:34-42
You may be seated in the presence of the Lord. I dealt with this particular text on last week, and you all got all excited and I got caught up in the anointing, and many of us got delivered and had a high time in the Lord, and because of that I was unable to finish the text, and so once again I want to try to chip away at it some more and hopefully encourage you the people of God and so for just a little bit of time as the Holy Ghost shall lead & guide I want to talk from the theme of, "Unlikely Enemies: Part 2" "Unlikely Enemies: Part 2" Turn to your nieghbor & say "Nieghbor, get ready, for part 2" Come on and go with me for just a minute...
My Brothers and my Sisters, if I can keep it real with you for just a few minutes on today, you will recall on last week as we began dealing with this text we discovered that family is one of if not the hardest kinds of people to deal with at times. mmm, hmmm. We said that there were three kinds of internal relationships in family that were hard to deal with, that of saved & unsaved family members, two saved family members, one being backslidden, and 2 saved family members on 2 very different levels spiritually. Yeah, we talked about that, but not only that we also talked about three things that Jesus says in the text that he came to bring to the world and i’m going to review them quickly for the sake of time so if you missed it on last week you’ll have to get the tape. Somebody oughta say, "Get the tape." But we talked about God bringing division, yes, and we defined what division was & we said that the reason God brings division is because he also wants us to make a decision, somebody oughta say "decision". And we defined decision and we said that God wants us to begin to make some decisions and some choices as to what is really most important to us in our lives. But not only that, we also began to discuss how decision then brings determination, determination to follow what ever it is that you have decided to follow, which will then result in total commitment.
Then we began to get into our text at hand and dissect it to glean whatever nuggets from it that we could, and we discovered that there are really two kinds of peace, world peace & inner peace, & that God came to bring inner peace. But then we also discussed division and how division causes dysfunction in famalies, and then we began to talk about how famalies really are unfortunately often our greatest enemies, and then we ultimately got caught up in the freedom of forgiveness peice, that God says that no matter what your family has done to you you still MUST forgive, and then we all went crazy on the promise of God for peace, and that all ultimately brings me to where I want to land at today. I need to lay you out for awhile & dispell some misunderstandings and misinterpretations that may occur by reading this text. This is one of those commonly misinterpreted texts, and so I need to help you the people of God before you end up going out there and doing some things that God didn’t say to do and then putting God’s name on it. Can I go ahead and teach you all for awhile? The first misinterpretation that may come from this text occurs in verse 34, where Jesus says, "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to this world, I have not come to bring peace but a sword!" Many of you may be thinking, "Well, Jesus came to start war & fights & arguments, dessension, strife, pain, heartache, suffering, on and on and on... That’s NOT what the text is saying!!! As I stated on last week Jesus is talking about no outward peace and he is also not talking about a physical sword like we would use in combat but he is reffering to the word of God!! The Bible says that "The word of God can be likened unto a two edged sword that cuts to and fro’." And God knew that the word would become contraversial, so he knew that it would disturb worldly, but not inner peace, and so that’s why he said what he said in the text!!!!!!! OHHH I wish I had somebody to help me up in here!!!!!!! Turn to your nieghbor & say "Nieghbor, the Lord is talking about the word, he’s talking about the word, he’s talking about the word!!!!!!!
But not only that, not only that, another misinterpretation of the text occurs in verse number 35, where Jesus claims that, "I have come to turn a father against his son, a mother against her daughter, a son-in-law against a father-in-law, and a daughter-in-law against a mother-in-law, a man’s enemies will be those of his very own household." Many would interperet this to mean that Jesus has come to turn family members against one another and to cause division and strife in one’s household, and that it is okay to just, "Be at odds" with your family, or to argue or to "beef" all the time. This too is not the case at all. All Jesus was saying was that the sword of the word is so strong that it can cause even the closest and tightest of family members to turn against one another and to be at odds because one chose Christ and the other didn’t. Jesus also I believe wanted to show and illustrate that even when you feel like your family is the closest thing to you, even they can change up and turn thier backs on you and stab you in the back & become your worst enemies, halellujiah!!! And so I believe he wanted to use this illustration to ultimately illustrate that when it gets down to the get down, all you’ve really got is him!!!!!!!!! Can I get a witness up in here!!!? And so God is not just giving you a "lisense to be at odds with eachother here, but is trying to give some powerful illustrations!!!!!!! You can’t just be at odds with people and cut them off just because you want to!!!!!!!!!! As a matter of fact HOW CAN YOU DESTROY SOMEBODY ELSE OR CUT THEM OFF WHEN YOU ARE DEALING WITH YOUR OWN ISSUES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! COME ON BABY, ALL OF US AIN’T PERFECT BY A LONG SHOT SO HOW IN THE WORLD CAN YOU JUDGE SOMEBODY ELSE BASED ON THIER ISSUES WHEN IN FACT YOU DO SOME RAUNCHY, DIRTY, CANNIVING, MANIPULATING, AND UNDERHANDED THINGS YOURSELF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHH Y’ALL AIN’T LIKING ME BUT THAT’S OKAY..... IT’S TIGHT BUT IT’S RIGHT UP IN HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT ALL GOES BACK TO WHAT I SAID LAST SUNDAY IN THAT YOU’VE GOT TO FORGIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ohhhhhhh, I better get outta here, I said I wasn’t working this hard today & y’all about to make me a liar!!! But not only can you not say because of this text that God is not a God of peace, and that God has given you a permit to just aimlessly cut people off "just because", but the final misinterpereted part of this text can be found in verse number 37, "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, nor is anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me..." Many people might say that Jesus is saying that you shouldn’t love your mother or your father, or your son or your daughter!!! This is not the case though!!!!!!!! Jesus is simply saying here that once again, HE MUST COME FIRST!!!!!!!!!! We serve a jealous God, amen!!! And the word says that he will have NO OTHER God’s before him!!!!!!!! Not even a man’s mother or father, son, or daughter!!!!!!!!!! But GOD still EXPECTS YOU TO HONOR YOUR FATHER & YOUR MOTHER NO MATTER WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know it’s hard but it’s the truth, so just lay on out, say "ouch", and take your medicine until you feel better!!!!!!!!!! I’ve gotta keep it real for a minute... I don’t care if your mother was a crackhead, a drunkard, a prostitute, a whoremonger, and a thief, I don’t care if she abandoned you at the hospital, disclaimed you, or cast you away to adoption, YOU’VE STILL GOT TO LOVE, HONOR, & RESPECT HER!!!!!!!!!! I don’t care if your Daddy was a drunkard, a womanizer, an obsessive gambler, a molestor, an abuser, a wife beater, a work a holic who was never there, THAT DOESN’T CHANGE THE FACT THAT HE IS YOUR DADDY & YOU"VE STILL GOT TO RRRRRRRRRRREEEEESSSSSSSSSPPPPPPPEEEEEEEECCCCCCCCCTT HIM!!!!!!! AND IF THEY REALLY WERE ALL THOSE GOD AWFUL THINGS TO YOU THAN GOD WILL DEAL WITH THEM IN HIS OWN WAY & TIME FOR THAT!!!!!!!! CAN I GET A WITNESS UP IN HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!????? Do you not know that the Bible says, "You reap what you sow", and so by disrespecting them you get disrespect back, respect them & you’ll get respect back!!!!!!!! OHHHHHHHHH, I FEEL LIKE PREACHING NOW, can I go ahead and keep it real for a few more minutes?? Jesus is sending out the twelve and he gets to this particular portion where he says "Do not think that I have come to bring peace but a sword, for I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter in-law against her mother in-law, ohhhhh, a man’s enemies will be those of his own household." Can I park right there for a minute? I need you to understand, that family doesn’t just have to be blodd line family, but as Jesus shows here it can, it can even be your in laws, or members of another family that you marry into!!! This thing is deep I told you, and so Jesus goes on to say in verse 37, "Any man who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, any man who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me!" God wants to be first in your life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No matter how much you may love your mamma & daddy or your children, be careful not to put them above God!!!!!!!!! And I don’t care how much good they may do you, the fact of the matter is, can’t nobody do me like Jesus, can’t nobody do me like the Lord!!! I’ve got to keep it real, look at verse 38, "And anyone who does not take up his cross & follow me is not worthy of me!!! God wants us to BE FULLY COMMITTED TO HIM TO THE POINT OF WHERE WE DIE DAILY, AND GOD DESPISES UNCOMMITMENT!!!!!!!!!! GOD is TIRED OF A BUNCH OF LAZY, UNCOMMITED, COMFORTABLE PEOPLE WHO DON’T WANT TO STRUGGLE FOR NOTHING!!!!!!!!!! I wish I had about 25, naw 50, naw 100, naw maybe 200, naw maybe a whole building full of people that would make up in thier minds, to take up thier crosses daily & to be DETERMINED to follow Jesus, no matter what!!!!!!!!!! Look at your nieghbor & give them a high five and say "Nieghbor, ohhhh nieghbor, I am DETERMINED, I said determined, to follow Jesus!!!!!!!! oooohhhhhhh I got to keep it real, i’m going back to my seat, but look at the text, Jesus says, in verse 39, and this is what I’ve really been working to get to, Jesus says, "Whoever finds hs life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it," I’ve gotta get outta here, But I just want to encourage somebody on today, you’ve been looking for love, in all the wrong places, you’ve tried to find it, in a bottle, in a pill, in a smoke, in a man, in a woman, in some ding-a-ling, in some coochie, in the world, in your momma, in your daddy, in your sister, in your brother, but couldn’t none of them, give you real life satisfaction, and so you’ve found a illusion of life, and you’re living in pain, bitterness, and despair now, because something or somebody, failed your very own expectations, that very thing that you thought would love you, now, always, and forever, has become, your greatest enemy, the thing or person you never thought would turn thier back on you, has turned thier back on you, well, I dare you, lose your old life on today, for the sake of God!!!!!!!!! Give up your will, stop living in the past, surrender yourself to the Lord, stop living for the things of this world, stop living a life controlled by past hurts & pains, rage, hurt, biterness, resentment, failed expectations, and despair, and fall in love with Jesus!!!!!!!!!! I know you’ve been hurt, I know you’ve been backstabbed, I know you feel betrayed, bitter, rageful, and resentful, along with a whole lotta other stuff, but I dare you on today, take it to the Lord, and say "God, i’m laying it all out for you, i’ve cried too long, i’ve hurt too long, i’ve suffered too long, and I need a healing touch!!!!!!!! And so God, i’m laid out on the couch for you, give me my therapy & my medicine, so I can get better, I dare somebody shout "Better!!!" Ohhhhhhhhhh, I’ve gotta get outta here, y’all gonna make me hurt myself, I feel the Holy Ghost, about to overtake me, shout keep it real!!!!!!!! Keep it real!!!!!!!! Keep it real!!!!!!!! Well now, i’m going back to my seat, but I dare you, fall in love with Jesus, fall in love with Jesus, he’s my mother when i’m motherless, a father, to the fatherless, love to the unloved, peace in the time of storm, Loose your life to him today, and he’ll give you life, and life more abundantly!" I dare somebody, if you thank God, for being your all in all, and your everything, give God praise, up in this house!!!!!!!! SHOUT HALLELUJIAH!!!!!!! SHOUT HALELLUJIAH!!!!!!!! SHOUT HALLELUJIAH!!!!!!!! SSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUTTTTTTTTT GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!
I’ve gotta keep it real, I know y’all ain’t liking this, i’m closing the book, I’ve preached too hard... Well, what does God want you to walk away with here? There’s a few things.. One, God wants you to keep him first. Two, he wants you to be determined to follow him. Three, that you have to forgive in spite of and that you can’t judge. But lastly, and most importantly, that those who are supposed to be the ones who love you the most are often the ones that betray you & become your greatest enemies, but, take heart, because God is always there for you, no matter what. And he’ll never leave you, or forsake you. Amen? Amen. There may be someone here...
