Teaching About Enemies
Sarah Street · Tidal Church Moncton · August 11, 2024 · Kingdom Citizens series
Sarah Street teaches from Matthew 5:38-48 on how Jesus calls us to respond to those who work against us: with creative, self-sacrificing love and prayer, trusting that God shapes our hearts and our conflicts when He comes first.
More from Sarah Street · The Kingdom Citizens series
Topics: Prayer, Relationships, Discipleship
Transcript
[0:01] I am the oldest of three girls, and coming from a family of all girls, I had a lot to learn and still have a lot to learn about the mysterious world of boys. My husband and I have a daughter followed by two sons, seven and nine. And one thing that continues to fascinate me about my boys is, for them, they love to battle. Like, everything all the time turns into a battle. All their toys, the video games they like, their Lego is carefully constructed. Battle scenes, there are pillow fights and Nerf gun fights and water gun fights, and everything's at risk of being a weapon.
[0:46] Sticks are an obvious one, and unfortunately they're everywhere and they turn into weapons at the most inopportune times. Some other unusual weapons have included, you know those long baguettes in the grocery store? Yeah, I've turned my head for two seconds and I turn back and my boys are like in an all out baguette war. Unfortunately they know us at Riverview Superstore. But anyways, beyond that, I don't know if you've seen one of my sons, he's been in a wheelchair, crutches this summer. And I will tell you those crutches can turn from necessary assisted devices to high-powered super weapons, like that. And that's just my boys. They're just, if you see them, they're constantly like in a ball. We call them like our baby foxes or little puppies and it's mostly all in good fun.
[1:33] Like they honestly love just to battle and defeat the enemy. And this morning we're gonna be talking about enemies. When I say the word enemy, who do you think of? Don't look at your spouse, right? That's the obvious or worst. Your in-laws. But right now I want you to, that card that you were given when you came in, I want you over the next 30 minutes or so to really be praying and asking God to reveal to you who is that person. Or maybe persons, you're like, "Girl, I'm making a list of enemies right now." This is not a problem. That person or persons that feels against you, maybe enemy seems like too strong of a word, but maybe it doesn't. But that person that when you think of them, it stirs up feelings of like frustration or just like irritation, hurt, anger, hate.
[2:31] Who is that person God is showing you? And what I'd ask is that as we're going along that you would write maybe not their name but their initial or an indicator word on your card. And we're gonna talk about enemies. And my question this morning is, how should we navigate conflict? Jesus actually has a lot to say about the best way for us to navigate conflict with those people who feel against us. We've been working through the Sermon on the Mount this summer, and this morning we're in Matthew chapter 5. If you have your Bibles, open them up, or if you have a Bible app, you can open to Matthew chapter 5. If you don't, it'll be on the screen. That's no worries, but it will be helpful. I'm gonna be jumping around, so it'll be helpful to have it. Matthew chapter 5, verses 38 to 48.
[3:17] We're gonna read the first passage right off the bat. "You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth.' But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you." So during this time, Jesus is teaching His followers, and during this time they're mostly Jewish common people, and it's a time of Roman occupation. The Romans ruled with a heavy military force to ensure that the Jewish people were gonna obey their law, and the common person barely had enough money to pay for their food, clothing, and shelter.
[4:13] And on top of that, they're being heavily taxed by the Romans. So you can imagine, like, how they're feeling at this time and what kind of oppression they're going through when Jesus is talking about enemies. And Jesus says, "When you have heard it said, eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth." We've been learning throughout the summer that anytime He says "you have heard it said," He's referring to an Old Testament law. And in this case it's called the law of retaliation. And it was basically the justice system that God set up in the Old Testament where the punishment matched the crime. So Jesus is saying, you know about this law, and now we're gonna move into something even deeper behind the law. And He goes through three examples: turn the other cheek, hand over your coat as well, and walk an extra mile.
[5:03] And on first glance and on face value, this teaching really does seem to be encouraging some sort of like passive type of Christianity. Like, whatever happens, just take the abuse, just be loving doormats to whatever abuse is coming. But actually when we dig in, you're gonna see there it is so much more rich than what it seems on first glance. Let's start with the first, turn the other cheek. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek. Also, the key word here is "right," okay? So if we can assume, which I think it's a safe assumption, that most people are right-handed. If you were gonna open-handed slap someone, if you can picture with me, it would typically be, oops, sorry, sound team.
[5:49] It would typically be the left cheek, right? But Jesus specifically uses the words, if somebody slaps you on the right cheek. And most Bible scholars believe that what Jesus is talking to is a backhanded slap. And a backhanded slap is something that you didn't do to enact violence, you did to exert your authority. It was someone that you did to someone of lower class than you, like a slave or a servant, or something that maybe the Roman soldiers likely did to the common people to kind of like exert your force, to exert your domination, to humiliate them, to kind of put them in their place. A backhanded slap, and Jesus' response to this is to offer the other cheek.
[6:39] And by offering the other cheek, the other person is then forced to either slap you with an open-handed slap, which is something that you would do to someone of equal class than you, or walk away from violence. Either way, you're clearly demonstrating your worth and your value as you're essentially giving that person the opportunity to treat you as an equal or walk away. Secondly, we're gonna call this "hand over your coat as well." Standard dress in Jesus' day, for the common person, consisted of two garments. Your shirt, they called it a tunic. It was typically softer. And then you had your outer coat, and your outer coat was made out of wool. It was warm, it was also really itchy, and most people only had one of each.
[7:30] And the important thing to note is this is a legal case, okay? Someone's suing you. And the key word in this illustration is "shirt." You see, it was common back in Bible times to sue somebody for their coat. They did this. In fact, in Exodus 22, back in the Old Testament, there's a law for this. If you take your neighbor's cloak as a pledge, return it by sunset, because that cloak is the only covering your neighbor has. What else can they sleep in? When they cry out to Me, I will hear them. For I am compassionate. You see, suing for a coat was common, but if you did that, you actually had to return it at night because it was cold in Galilee and you needed that outer coat. What wasn't common was suing for a shirt.
[8:18] And in this example, the other person is actually being quite cruel because although you have to return the coat, you don't have to return the shirt. And so this is another example of sort of humiliation and the person's being sneaky and trying to skirt around the law. And Jesus' response to this humiliation is give over your coat as well. Now you have to remember, this isn't like shoes. I'm not really a shoe person, but if God told me to hand over a pair of shoes, I'd probably be okay. He's telling you to hand over your clothes. And in doing so, this is such a bold statement. You're really highlighting the injustice that's happening to you in such a loving and self-sacrificial and giving way. It's incredibly creative. And the third example is a real personal example, isn't it?
[9:06] Anybody forces you to go one mile, go with them two. And that term "force to go" was a common term that Jesus' followers would've been aware of. And it was how the Roman soldiers had this heavy, heavy gear and there was a rule that they could at any point take anybody anywhere and force them to go one mile and carry their gear. So they would've known this was actually the term that they used to tell Simon in the crowd. They pulled him out and told him to carry Jesus' cross 'cause He couldn't carry it anymore physically, that term, "forced to go." So here's a Roman soldier, the symbol of oppression and domination and really like evil in their eyes. And Jesus is telling them, once they forced you like an animal or a slave to do their work, Jesus' response is to look at them as now a human being with rights and out of compassion, go that extra mile out of love.
[10:08] There're at least four commonalities in these examples right off the bat. These are incredibly creative responses. Like, these are interesting situations and Jesus is giving these creative responses, turning the other cheek. What a great idea to, like, encourage that person to do better, handing over your clothing. Like, what a way to respond. And walking that extra mile, they're also active responses. In each example there's this unique response that is still highlighting the injustice that's happening to you, but in such an active way. Do you see that? Eye for an eye, for a tooth. But I tell you, do not resist the evil person.
[10:54] You are actively exposing injustice without resisting the person. Do you see the difference? And finally, this leads us to, these are self-sacrificial examples and loving. Getting slapped, handing over your clothes and carrying a soldier's gear are not easy tasks. They involve self-sacrifice, but yet they are so loving to that other person. In all of these examples Jesus gives, the main motivation isn't how can I come out on top? How can I convince that person that I'm right or better yet they're wrong? How can I feel better? The main motivation is actually responding in a manner of self-sacrificial love and offering a chance at a restorative relationship if we keep reading.
[11:41] In fact, in verse 43, "You have heard that it was said, love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect therefore as your heavenly Father is perfect." So how do we do this practically? Like, how do we practically respond to those people that feel against us, that have wronged us? Those people you're thinking of right now, how do we actively and creatively respond in a manner of self-sacrificial love, ultimately offering a restorative relationship?
[12:37] That's a loaded question. And the answer is really simply here in verse 44, "But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those that persecute you." Jesus walks us through these three scenarios and then He gives us the practical advice to carry out our own scenarios. Love your enemy and pray for those that persecute you. It almost seems too simple, but yet, do we actively live this out? And we're actually gonna take a few moments right now to dig into the power of prayer because prayer is actually this incredibly revolutionary and dynamic process when it comes to conflict and I'm excited to dig into this.
[13:28] Are you still with me? We're here. We're good. We're excited. Alright. Good, good, good. Awesome. First of all, prayer positions God first in our life. Look at that very last verse, 48, "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." The original Greek word for perfect in that verse is teleios. And it means to be like whole or complete, lacking nothing. If you are honest with yourself right now, do you feel whole and complete, lacking nothing this morning? 'Cause I will tell you, we can never be whole and complete, lacking nothing, or teleios, in our own strength.
[14:19] We are broken and we're sinful and we mess up and we hurt each other. And this is the whole reason that Jesus came down to this earth. This is the good news. Jesus came to live a sinless life. He died on the cross for our sins so that we could be made whole and blameless and complete before God and He could give us eternal life. That is good news and that comes from the blood of Jesus. And that teleios begins with a simple prayer. And then as you continue to live a life surrendered to Jesus, seeing Tori getting baptized is so exciting. And as you live, "Jesus, be my all, be my everything," the Holy Spirit comes into your life and you start that journey towards wholeness and completeness and teleios on this earth.
[15:14] And then in Galatians 5:22, the fruit of that is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against all things there is no law. And when Jesus Christ is Lord of your life, you don't need anything from nobody. Even if that person you're thinking of doesn't change or that situation doesn't change, you're okay because you have everything you need in Jesus. And then my main motivation isn't, how can I feel better? How can I change that situation to make me feel better? My main motivation out of that wholeness and that teleios is to share out of the abundance of what God has given me.
[16:06] And suddenly conflict, instead of being something that is difficult, something that is made out of lack. When you do conflict out of lack, out of anger, frustration, hurt, unhealed traumas or pain, when that is coming out, everything gets messed up. But when you do conflict, when God is positioned first in your life, what spills out as you are conflicting with people in this world, what comes out is love. When you are dealing with difficult people, it's joy, it's peace, it's patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control.
[17:03] That is the difference of when we do conflict with God being first. Secondly, prayer is how we practice personal relationship. Pastor Jordan said a ski story last week and I'm gonna do one this week. So we're going on a ski trip this past winter. A bunch of adults, highly anticipated. My uncle has a place in Vail, Colorado. Two things you need to know right off the bat. First of all, I've only been skiing five, maybe six times in my whole life on Poley Mountain, which is much different than Vail, Colorado. And secondly, I have a deathly fear of heights, like severe. Like, honestly, walking up these stairs and sitting in the balcony makes my heart race. It is a severe fear, heights, but greater than that, I cannot miss out on fun. So I'm like, what could go wrong? Let's do this.
[17:50] So I barely survive the gondola ride up this monstrosity of a mountain and I get to the top and I'm looking around and like, this is the most magnificent view, like it's breathtaking, it's God's handiwork on display, it's like undescribable and I can't see any of it because everything looks white in my crippling fear. And I'm just like self-talking, like, what have I done and how am I gonna get down to this mountain? And suddenly my dad just like skis over and he is like, Hey kid, you got this. Listen, I'll ski with you. I won't leave you. We'll just take it one slope at a time. We'll do easy trails, you can do this. Suddenly his words, his voice, like, helped me calm down.
[18:36] I was like, it gave me the courage to just try. So we start down the mountain and my dad was right behind me the whole way and he just starts coaching me like, Hey Sarah, just bend your knees a little, relax, you're doing great. You know, try to not go so wide. Like, he starts giving me tips and I start listening and starts to get a little better. Did I fall? I absolutely wiped out. But dad picked me up, he dusted me off, he encouraged me to try again. And I even started to have a little bit of fun. I was like looking around, taking in the view like, Oh my gosh, this isn't so bad. And then, I think there's a picture, we made it actually from the top to the bottom. I couldn't believe it. You could see like my total adrenaline and relief on my face with my dad. Like, I can't believe I just did that. So we're at the bottom and we're feeling pretty good. Like, okay, I got this.
[19:21] And the boys wanna go off to hard trails. So me and my aunt were like, well, we can do those easy green trails again. Like, that was no problem. So we head up together and we start down these trails and I had to stop, I'm pretty sure, several times and say, are these the same trails we just did? Because the second time they felt like black diamonds and like, I could feel the fear and insecurity like coming in and I started panicking and again everything turns white and I'm just self-talk. And then all of a sudden, I like my skis crossed each other and I jutted to the side and narrowly missed somebody and I'm full on like fight or flight. And I had to do that. Humility. I don't know if you've seen the walk of shame with a skier, but it's like you have to go down 'cause your skis can't cross and you're going down the mountain like this.
[20:09] Yeah, I did that for like a long time until I felt like I could try again. But it was terrible. I didn't like it. It wasn't fun. And this is a picture of what navigating life and in this case conflict can be like. Skiing down the mountain on my own was incredibly different than skiing down the mountain with my dad. When I did it on my own, the journey was filled with fear and mistakes, humiliation and shame, physical pain. I almost hurt somebody. It was terrible. But when I skied with my dad, my father, I had the confidence in knowing that he was consistently with me wherever I went. He wasn't gonna leave me.
[20:57] He guided and he corrected me. Did I fall? Absolutely. But my dad was the one to pick me up and dust me off. And I even had a little fun going down the mountain with my dad. Look at verse 44. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. We are God's children. We have to go down these mountains in life one way or another. Challenges are coming our way, conflicts are coming our way and it's our choice whether we wanna do that on our own or whether we want to go through those with a loving heavenly Father.
[21:44] And I believe that's what God is desiring for you this morning. He wants to never leave your side. He wants to be that calming voice always in the back of your mind. He wants to be the person that when you fall comforts you, dust you off and encourages you to try again. God wants to correct you but not have a sense of condemnation or shame. He's a loving heavenly Father that wants to point out the things that are hurting us or hurting others because He loves you. And even awful conflicts, you can experience a little joy when you're going through it with a heavenly Father.
[22:31] Thirdly, prayer places people. Second, I think of that famous scripture in Matthew 22, hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together and one of them, an expert in the law, like all this Old Testament law we've been talking about, tested Him with a question, Teacher, what is the greatest commitment in all the law? And Jesus replied, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. We talked about this, right, positioning God first, and the second is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself. All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments. See, Jesus taught us to love God and love others. You see, God loves every single person, even the person you're thinking of right now.
[23:26] Look at verse here in 45, He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good and He sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. God loves everyone no matter what they've done. He brings sunshine and rain on all of us alike. And when I spent time praying for my enemies, this incredible thing happens where I start to like consider their upbringing and their current challenges and I start to have empathy for that person or persons. And also this really cool thing can happen where I not only see how much God loves that person, I also see how God sees where they could be in His goodness.
[24:14] And I start praying in faith that that person will know God and all His goodness and He will make them into who He's created them to be. And I start to see them that way. God can change that heart and heart today, but even if He doesn't, even if your feelings are not there yet, even if your heart feels hard this morning, I challenge you to pray and keep on praying, 'cause even that act of obedience is moving your heart closer towards the heart of God. Fourth, we're gonna call this plank in your own eye.
[24:59] Pastor Marc did an awesome job two weeks ago talking about this scripture. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? And he walked around the congregation with this big piece of lumber. You can check it out online. But this really cool thing happens when we pray, God, you know, we're praying for that person and suddenly God and His Holy Spirit will start to show us the things in our life that are hurting us or hurting others. Again, not out of condemnation, not out of shame, but as that loving heavenly Father. And there is no greater freedom than pulling that plank out of your eye and being able to see again. And that happens in prayer. Fifthly. Prayer is how we access God's power.
[25:48] I mentioned my boys like to battle and we've been working through the Star Wars movies. I've never seen them before. It's been really fun to watch them with my boys and our family. And there's a scene in Episode 6, The Return of the Jedi, when Luke Skywalker finally has to face Darth Vader to complete his training and become a full Jedi. And there's a part in the scene where Luke's trying not to give into the dark side, but he's watching his friends get trapped outside the window and the emperor is there in the corner and he's saying, "Good." This is my emperor voice. "Good, I can feel your hate swelling. Give into your anger, pick up your weapon and fight." And at one point Luke Skywalker does give into his anger becomes too much and he grabs his lightsaber and there's this epic battle scene that my boys just love and I kind of do too.
[26:38] And the emperor is so pleased as they're battling, he's so happy to see Luke Skywalker coming towards the dark side until Luke suddenly realizes what's happening and that the only way to defeat evil is to stop fighting. In fact, he starts to see Darth Vader not as his enemy, but as someone he wants to save. And it's only in being willing to lay down his life that the true enemy, the emperor, is defeated and his perceived enemy, Darth Vader, is saved. We are living in such a time of division. I don't think I need to get into it, but let me tell you, that person that you're fighting with is not your enemy.
[27:38] Verse 39. "But I tell you, do not resist an evil person." I think of Ephesians 6 where Paul is talking about spiritual warfare. He says, "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the devil's schemes." See, church, we're not supposed to resist the evil person, but we are absolutely supposed to resist evil itself. But we cannot mix those two up. We cannot mix those two up. "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers and authorities and powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."
[28:29] We have an enemy and he is at work, but he is not a person. It is the devil and it's the demonic forces. And like Star Wars, our true enemy loves nothing more than when we start fighting with ourselves. Give into the dark side, pick up your weapon and fight. But just like Luke Skywalker dropped his weapon and was willing to sacrifice his life in order to conquer the true enemy and saved our father, we too need to drop our weapons and stop fighting that person that you're thinking of and be willing to sacrifice of yourself, of your time and your energy to save the person you're thinking of.
[29:16] So how do we take a stand there? This is all really awesome and theoretical. How do we take a stand against the evil at work in our situations without resisting the person? How do we do that? I'm glad you asked. We're gonna keep going through Ephesians 6 and Paul talks about the armor of God. If you don't know it, I would encourage you to study it. And once you've put on the whole armor of God, the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of faith, peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit, what does he tell us to do after we have it all on? In verse 18, "And pray. Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayer and request." See, prayer is how we fight demonic forces of evil.
[30:04] We are living in dark times. Church, and prayer makes an incredible difference in the spiritual battles going on around us. Prayer is how we access God's power to defeat our true enemy. Jesus isn't calling us to be loving doormats to abuse. Just do it again. Oh, sorry. Again. He's calling us to fight back actively and creatively, self sacrificially and out of love. And He does this through prayer. God is calling us and He may be calling you right now to level up spiritually, so to speak, and be willing to sacrifice your time and your energy and prayer in order to defeat the true enemy and save the person you're thinking of right now.
[31:04] Finally, when we pray for our enemies, the Holy Spirit will reveal to us our own practical responses. Sometimes when I pray the Lord has directed me that prayer is my practical response. Like I'm not directed to actually physically respond to the person just yet. Maybe I've got some heart work to do first, but sometimes the Holy Spirit does direct us. Maybe for you, you have unhealed trauma like the person you're thinking of. There's a lot to unpack in that situation. And your response may be counseling, it might be a ministry here at the church like Celebrate Recovery that meets once a week to talk about hurts and hangups and there's a deep healing that happens. But sometimes the Holy Spirit does reveal to you a practical response like buying coffee for your coworker, mowing your neighbor's lawn.
[31:55] The Holy Spirit will show you the things that you are to do To actively love your neighbor. And as the music plays, we're gonna have a time of prayer right now. Just a few moments, a time to put this teaching of praying for your enemies into practice. And there's a couple things I want you to do. First of all, if you haven't written down the initials of the person or persons that is laid on your heart, I want you, as we pray, ask the Lord to reveal to you who is that person He's calling you to battle for and write that down as a commitment. These can go in your wallet and the reminder to pray and keep on praying.
[32:40] Secondly, the six points are all on the screen and I want you to really pray and ask God, which area is He drawing you into? Closer. Maybe you've got a position, God first for the first time, and you can do that this morning. Maybe it's redating your life. Maybe you have, it's been a while since you've talked to God as your Father. You've come to Him that just told Him your feelings and spent time with Him and looked for His advice in the Word and allowed Him to speak into your life. Maybe God's calling you as His child today. Maybe God is showing you that your heart is hard and He wants to come and soften that heart. Maybe the Lord wants to reveal to you that plank, that thing that's hurting you because He wants to see you have freedom.
[33:28] Maybe this morning you feel that tug to start participating in spiritual warfare, to give of yourself. You're ready to follow Christ, you're all in and it's time to fight back. And the Holy Spirit may be giving you a practical response. If He is, there's a part on the back. What does turning the other cheek look like for you? I want you to write it down as a reminder and a commitment this morning. I wanna leave you with this as we close. What if conflict, instead of something to be avoided, right? Or something to jump in excitedly. What if conflict was a call to pray?
[34:15] What if any time in your life you feel irritated or annoyed or angry or hurt, that was an indicator in your heart? I gotta get on my knees. Someone cuts you off in traffic. Pray. A family member says something that really hurts you. Pray. You're struggling in your marriage. Pray. Church. If we become a church that prays, imagine what God can do with that. Imagine the healing and the hope and the unity that He has for everyone here. God, that comes through prayer. Jesus demonstrated this teaching Himself in the moments after being brutally nailed to a cross in the height of His agony, an innocent, sinless man who is there choosing to die for you and me.
[35:23] And there's an angry crowd and they're mocking Him. And He says these words, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they're doing." He prayed for His enemies and we're gonna pray now. Oh God. Lord, we ask in this next few moments as this music plays, Lord, as there's no speaking or singing, it's just this quiet moment we're about to experience, just a few short moments with You. God, I ask that Your Holy Spirit will flood this place. God, I pray that You'll invade every heart that is here.
[36:12] God, that they will sense Your presence reaching out in love to them right now. God, may You work in the way that only You can. God, we ask this in Your name, Lord God, I will pray that You'll speak to each one of us and call us into deeper relationship with You, into deeper freedom, that we may experience the power, Your power in us through prayer. God, Amen.