Sermon Nuggets Mon May 23 Good for Evil
Verses: Matt 5:38-42
38 "You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.'
39 But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.
40 And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.
41 If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.
42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
Good for Evil
There was an Irish Prize fighter that became a preacher. As he would go from town to town telling the gospel story, he would often be ridiculed and shouted down by ruffians. In one particular town he as preaching in the open air, some men came form the pub, and began to make fun of him and push him around. Finally one man said he didn't want to hear anymore preaching and the preacher better be on his way.
The Irishman continued and the drunk turned and socked him one. Some in the crowd knew he was a former fighter. They watched with wonder and anticipation. He dusted himself off and said, "The Bible says we should turn the other check. Here lad, try this side." He offered him his other cheek. The Intoxicated fellow did just what came naturally and plunked the preacher down on the ground again. The minister got up dusted off his pants, and took off his coat and rolled up his sleeves, then making fights he said, "The Bible said if one strikes you on the right cheek turn unto him the other also, after that the Lord gave me no further instructions."
If someone smites you on the right cheek turn unto him also the other. Sometimes you wonder where in the world Jesus came up with such unrealistic principles, don't you.
I read the Sunday paper a few years ago and somebody asked Ann Landers to repeat a column she wrote earlier on maturity. "Maturity is the ability to do a job without supervision, finish a job once it is started, carry money without spending it, and the ability to bear injustice without wanting to get even." Don't return evil for evil. If that latter comment relates to maturity, then Jesus said it many years earlier. He went one step further, not only do not return evil for evil, but return good for evil.
Let’s look more closely at this statement this week and see if we can't make some sense of it in our day and age.
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Tues May 24 Revenge
Verse Matt 5: 38 "You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.'
Revenge
It was the law of the Barbarians that taught ‘If someone gouges out your eye, you can in return gouge out both of his. If someone knocked out your tooth, then you can knock out a number of his. If someone bodily harmed you, you can go ahead and kill the other guy.’ Revenge is something that doesn't have to be taught.
Check out elementary playgrounds. Find out what happens after awhile when kids are playing with one another. Soon you have words exchanged, then fights. It is the philosophy of someone's T shirt that I read "I don't get mad, I get even".
Many tribes in New Zealand and certain parts of Africa, as well in the early days of the Ozark mountain people would have blood feuds. One tribal feuded against another. The legendary feud of the Hatfields and McCoys was something like that. If you offended someone from my clan then I have the right and obligation of getting back at someone from your family. If you do it to one, you do it to all, and all for one and one for all. There was a great emphasis on getting revenge on anyone who did you wrong. This would carry a perpetual battle that caused more people to get involved and hurt in the process.
Moses law was supposed to bring about some sanity in revengeful people. The law tried to limit the retaliation only to the guilty party and only to the degree that you were harmed. Hence we read an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. If he knocked out one of your eyes you could only avenge one eye, not both and so forth. If according to Exodus 21:23-25 we read that this was instruction only for the judge of disputes. In other words, such justice was given to society not to the individual. Many of these guidelines are the guidelines of Islamic countries. They need to be tried and found guilty in order for proper revenge for provision is applied. In our country it is financial compensation for injury or compensation for some action that is against us.
Now Jesus is speaking to the individuals saying, "Don't get even, don't seek revenge at all. Instead the one who has a new heart from God must show love and forgiveness.
As Christians we are member of the Kingdom of God. Yet, as humans we still belong to a sinful and deprived world that is under Satan's domain. The Scriptures call him the prince of this world. So we are conflicted. If you were to take Jesus instruction to its natural conclusion without qualification, “do not resist an evil person”, then we should eliminate all the police force, and armed forces and court system. If facing a robber is Jesus saying don't resist him? If so, we should open all jails. But in fact you would have complete chaos for man's heart is sinful. God has given civil authority to government for the expressed purpose of keeping law.
Jesus isn't talking about the need for social protection, but the spirit of personal revenge to get back at the other person, to drag him down and annihilate him. How can we love the sinner and hate the sin? How can we realize that sin needs to be paid for, but also realize that in many cases God calls us to go beyond our emotions and seek forgiveness? For the concept of revenge is there whether or not the law is kept or broken. We want the evil person punished. We want to get back at someone who has crossed the line of our personal appropriateness. If someone takes away our customer, we want to steal one of theirs, if another church gains one of our members we want to start stealing one of their members, if someone starts dating our boyfriend we want to get at that girl with vengeance. If neighbor wakes me up early in the morning, then by golly, I've have a right to make some noise late at night. The concept of revenge is part of each one.
But it personal revenge does not lead to real peace.
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Weds May 25 Rights
Verses Matt 5: 39 But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Rights.
The question of rights is really the question that Jesus addresses. We belong to Jesus Christ. We no longer belong to the world. Now lets think about this a minute. What type of rights do we turn over to God? I think there are three rights illustrated by the examples Jesus gives.
The first is the Right of Pride. We want to be respected, we want to be well thought of, we do not want to be laughed at or taken advantaged of. We lose self esteem if we are bullied or made to look like fools. We don't' want anyone walking all over us.
Jesus implies the strong man is one who can control himself in the face of ridicule and not give in to the emotion and evil desire to harm the others. The ultimate action is for the good of the other, not to destroy him even if he deserves it. Can we give our Right of Personal pride over to Jesus?
Within the Asian culture to be struck on the right cheek often meant to be hit with the back of one's hand. That is a double insult upon insult.
Within the Kingdom we will suffer insult. But if it is for Christ's sake then God desires to take matters into his own hands. Romans 12:19 says, "Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: It is mine to avenge: I will repay,: says the Lord." In fact by taking matters into our hand instead of leaving it up to God, we are not allowing that person to come under conviction of the Spirit. Now he has just cause to feel animosity toward us, instead we must realize that it is toward God.
Wilberforce, the Christian political leader that sought to stop slave trading in Britain was slandered, insulted and the object of all kinds of evil and false rumors. Yet he continued doing what God told him to do. He would not give up. He was willing to give up his reputation and friendships, his dignity and his political office for something God placed on his heart to fight for. Humility in Christ is realizing we do not care what people think of us only what God thinks. Be willing to suffer indignity if it is for Christ's sake. At God's timing He will lift us up. Let us first find our pride in Gods thoughts of us not other people.
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Thurs May 26 Rights to possessions
Verses:
40 And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.
41 If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.
42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
Rights to Possessions
When we looked at the rights of an individual Jesus gives the example of being struck on the cheek and allowing the enemy to do it again. It not only seems extreme but unrealistic to our right for personal safety. Believe it or not, some will justify spousal abuse with this verse. A manipulative and abusive husband or boyfriend will justify his ongoing criminal behavior misquoting and misunderstanding what Jesus is saying. It would be better to be judged by our own courts than by God who sees the lies of the heart and the abuses of sin which will not go unpunished.
Another right is the right to our personal possessions? The coat and cloak refers to possession required in a court of law. The tunic is that inward covering that many Jews had two or more of, but the coat served as the outward covering during the day and a blanket at night. It is very important if someone loaned his coat as security, he could walk around all day without it, but the lender must return it every evening as a protection against the cold.
Jesus allowed this security to be given over to him as well, and if someone seeks to sue you your attitude is that all you have belongs to God, and here take this right too.
Even in lending we should not deny those needs, but be generous with that which Christ has been generous toward us. It is even better to help a score of fraudulent beggars than risk turning away the one man in real need.
Our possessions are the Lords, if someone takes something of ours, and if what we have is really God's isn't he actually stealing from God? If God desires to help others one of the ways he does so is through the resources that he allows us to manage. Part of having peace about possession is giving that right to God.
But time is another thing we think we possess and have a right to use as we will. If I see my time as my time then I get frustrated. If however, I commit my time unto the Lord then I can easily make allowances saying the Lord has other things in his mind that are more important at this time. Now that is not to say we ought not to plan, or to make too use of our plans and time but it does say that my plans are offered to God.
The illustration of walking 2 miles comes from the military understanding of that time. A Roman soldier could come up to any citizen and demand of him his service to carry the soldier’s goods, or transfer baggage for up to a mile. They were completed by law So at anytime a soldier could demand someone to do that, regardless of inconvenience. Joseph of Arimathea was in such a category. Jesus is saying we should go what is compulsory and even more to show that we are Kingdom people and not just citizens of that earthly government. Give our plan to the Lord and our attitudes of interruptions will be different too.
In a biography about DL Moody written by his son-in-law, A.P. Fitt discussed three supreme testings awaiting strong men in this life; the testing of poverty and obscurity, the testing of prosperity and applause; and the testing of suffering. He wrote that many men turn sour and bitter under neglect and not feeling like they are appropriately being acknowledged for their efforts and accomplishments. Yet some will fail with too much limelight and prosperity corrupted in their character.
The testing of suffering cause many to fall in the faith. He was writing to show how the evangelist experienced all three tests and kept his eyes on Christ.
Part of what Jesus is calling his disciples to do is not to think about who we have been wronged, or even what our personal rights are, but rather can we keep our eyes on Jesus and let our self-esteem, our strength, and even our vengeance be given to him with faith that really does believe he will take care of it?
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Fri. May 27 Referral
Verse Matt 5:38-42
Referral
As we have been looking at personal offenses it seems this passage is pointing not to our rights, but referring the wrongdoers to God. Jesus is asking for our rights that we think are so important for our protection of pride, plans, and property, but they aren't really ours to begin with. When we yield our rights to God we can expect that He will allow situations to develop in which these rights will be withheld from us. If we find ourselves becoming angry when this happens, we can be sure that our yielding of these rights was not complete in our own hearts.
The actions so described are actions of witness first, love toward the others secondly, and thirdly putting the individual who has wronged you in the hands of God for ultimate renewal. It those who wronged you do not repent they will experience the vengeance of God, which is far worse than anything we could think of doing anyway.
Both in Isaiah and 1 Peter there is a prophecy and explanation of Jesus suffering wrongly. He could have called 10,000 angels to take him from the cross to annihilate the entire human race. But through love and patience he goes beyond my understanding. We know through his suffering of the cross it was for your sin and mine. Who of us can at that moment of our suffering unjustly, and slanderous lies, can ask for the forgiveness of the very ones who were persecuting the Son of God? When there are times that we undergo unjust treatment, how do we feel? What is the response?
What advice can we give to those believers mistreated? Christ is our example. He prayed, “Lord not my will but Thine be done." He prayed, “Father forgive them they know not what they do."
He understood there was a larger issue at stake than the human one. It was the task of salvation and calling a people to eternal life by faith in trusting Jesus. Most of the prophets were persecuted for the sake of righteousness. They proclaimed God's message and in so doing were rejected. In that situation we should rejoice and be exceeding glad for great is our reward in heaven.
An oyster gets a piece of sand, or dirt in the shell and develops a secretion that surrounds it and produces a pearl. They can take that which hurts into something of value. What do we do with our irritations? Many aggravating people need the love of Christ more than what we might realize And maybe you are the only one who can give it to them. Will you Let God's love flow through you?
After one harsh and hardened soldier commanded yet another crucifixion he watched one who was struck and turned the other cheek. When his prisoner was slandered, he kept silent, when abused and beaten he blessed and loved in return. And after this treatment the prisoner cried for their forgiveness. This soldier, a centurion, looked upon the lifeless body of the Christ and exclaimed, "Truly this was the Son of God."
Pastor Dale
