What To Do With A Knife In The Heart

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?