Bless Those Who Curse You [Part 1]

Pastor author and Bible teacher Alan writing the same redemptive grace that has saved you can flow through you in your relationships with others and make a lasting difference that's Pastor Alan Wright welcome to another message of good news that will help you see your life for a whole new light.

I'm being a Brit excited for you to hear today's message in a series titled the power of blessing is presented with an older church in North Carolina. If you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire program I want to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now. It can be yours for your donation this month to Alan Wright ministry as you listen to today's message go deeper as we send you today special offer. Contact us at pastoralan.org that's Pastor Alan.org or call 877-544-4860 that's 877-544-4860. More on that later in the program right now. Let's get started with today's teaching here is Alan Wright God saved you and me through a redemptive grace that is characterized by this simple fact he loved us when we did love him and he blessed us when we did bless him and that same redemptive grace that has saved you can flow through you in your relationships with others and make a lasting difference.

Luke chapter 6 verse 27 Jesus said what I say to you who hear little of that phrase out.

Some of you here to whoever has ears, let them hear if you can hear this when he saying is generator reveal huge heavenly secret. Not that many people see it, not me. People have ears to hear it, but to you who do here. Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. This is a text that is really important and prevalent in the New Testament.

A couple other instances, because Paul says similar thing in Romans 12. Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse them. And Peter says the same thing in first Peter three do not repay evil for evil, or reviling for reviling but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called that you may obtain a blessing stumbled upon this week video. This one is viral. Right now, YouTube and somebody caught on film.

The slippery scores I think they must be three years old and two little girls talking to little boy just cute as could be. And there was a dispute that arose in their very young sounding English is almost hard to understand what they were saying, but they are little girl was clearly saying it's raining outside and the little boy said my mommy said it's wrinkling and kinda struggled with that word sprinkling and no gross at my mommy says raining is my mommy so sprinkling. She said, as it is raining said no it is sprinkling in their having this three-year-old debate over whether it's raining or sprinkling and the several times you could see each of the children there wanting to maybe get their hands on the other one, but they are just with all their three-year-old willpower restraining from touching one time little boy just starts to reach towards her face and brings his hand back one time she brings her finger up towards his face and brings it back, but it kept going is raining north sprinkling is raining is sprinkling. Finally, the little girl took her finger and just poke the boy right in the chest just like that and said it's raining and he's suddenly just crumbled and he said you poked my heart turn away from you, poke my heart is what the cutest thing today I want to talk to you about what do you do when somebody spoke your heart and they will do it will thing to talk today about one of the most difficult things imaginable is one thing to learn. As we have been over the last number of weeks about the power blessing anything about blessing your children are on your your spouse or family members and people around you that you so wanted to go well for them that you could begin to incorporate into your life. The power blessing, which is to will the good of another and want what is good for them and to want it in such a way that you have faith and you invoke the grace of Christ himself and speak it over them.

It's a positive vision for another's well-being as a positive future that you envision. You speak it out and what we've been learning is that we are empowered by that blessing, that there is something is not magic, but it is a spiritual principle, and it is spiritually powerful but it is quite another thing to begin to think about blessing. Those that curse you, and yet is really important. It appears not only the lips of Jesus here in Luke, but also in Matthew and peers� Of Paul and of Peter. It is something that is absolutely powerful in the Christian's life and it is a huge secret that many most people never really understand or grasp someone talking about today owner talk pretty plainly about this and basically want talk about how difficult it is.

The problem of trying to bless those that persecute you on talk about why it's so problematic and I'll try to stop myself and not use the whole sermon on the problem because we can easily verify how difficult it is on time at the power of blessing. Those that curse you just how powerful it really is and do some testimonies of that and then I want to talk about what makes it possible. How could you possibly ever do this and develop a lifestyle of blessing. Those that curse you, so list versus talk about the problem and the Lord was kind enough to let me have an object lesson this morning because I've been in the ministry about 30 years and this is the first morning that I had a hard time turning into my own church so that a recreational event could be happening on the street in front and I say let you all in a low think I'm not really doing well with the secularization of our culture. Maybe you're doing better than I am. I'm just be honest with you I'm not. I might look like I'm doing well with it but I feel like write a letter to the editor every day I feel like standing up and ranting and raving every day and part of this is a function that I have to admit to myself, as most of us do.

We are so privileged to live in a country that values the freedom of expression of the church is and has for most of our history value church and and I'm used to that. And I'm also I'm just not used to being a minority, either right. I don't really know what that feels like don't know. It feels like to be in the powerless position and so I'm just be honest I'm not doing that well I'm struggling with it and somehow it just hit me this morning that I was pulling in and I was have a hard time and people we were talking on the phone.

Other people have a hard time getting the church this morning.

Our attendance is lighter this morning.

I'm sure that we had people that have not made it to church this morning and so I've been kind of fun hit in the face this morning with how hard this is because here was my reaction when I pulled down to the light this morning. The police officer said are you going to church.

I said yeah on the pastor of the church and it would've been nice if somebody had told me about this when this is in. He said around 1030 and I said okay. Can I please turn now into my own church and and that was probably not a model of what I want to preach today. Was it the Lord is to show me right off the bat to give me a little opportunity to fail at my own sermon before I even get started. And then I came back in one of our members said they wouldn't even let me turn down there.

It is all blocked off of S. Creek Rd. turn right on through an older and I turned around and said I'm going back out there to talk to him again lately. I took took a kind and gentle fellow with me who this time we went back and spoke to the police officer different one in the said Shirley said there a lot of people want to come to church today and said they don't think they can turn from down at that intersection and it will be so appreciative if you would help them with that and spoke a little more kindly and it went much better and they said I'll do all that I can but still my blood is still boiling just a little bit now I just I'm good. I'm grieving the whole deal where it's like one person said they were turning in a set.

They said I cannot turn in there and they said yeah where you going to that big white church that is sitting right there that's where I'm going. So if this new for us right to have a culture that become so increasingly secular that is all a little bit of an afterthought, about whether people could get to church when I just want to talk to about for a moment, is just how difficult a proposition. It is to bless those that curse you in for a variety of reasons. In Matthew chapter 5 Jesus says you have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. That's Matthew 543. In a parallel passage to our text today we set but I said you love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so you may be sons of your father who is in heaven talent right will have more teaching moment. Today's important series blessing instead of the curses of the world. This special offer from Alan my ministries will help you with the release of Pastor Alan's new book having a blast.

We created a flip style devotional for your gastric kitchen counter beautiful spiral-bound devotional offers 28 days of inspiration. Utilizing some of the most moving excerpts from the new but easy day for four weeks. Keep the premises and assurance of God's blessing right in front of you, to Philippians whatever is true, noble, in particular, think on these things make a gift to Alan my ministries today and will send you the inspirational flip style devotional as I thank you for your partnership.

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Our.work.

Today's teaching now continues here once again is Alan writing when he says you have heard that it was said what's interesting is Jesus is not quoting an Old Testament passage in fact of the matter. There is nowhere in the Old Testament that says you should hate your enemy. There are lots of places that you should love everyone, but never says you should hate your enemy.

So is not quoting the Scripture here. What is he quoting he is quoting either a traditional miss reading of the Scripture that people tended to circulate, or more likely he is just quoting this is the general prevailing ideology that you hear now to suggest that the first problem for us and this is it everything that you hear you can eat you here and everything that goes into us says just the opposite of pray for your enemies and it says essentially love those who do good to you and hate those that don't mean everything in our home media like a good action flick is much as the next guy and I was thinking about some of the zero hero movies are the what what kingdom I was like some note Stephen Stegall movie where what they do in these movies is they work you up into a frenzy by having somebody in the hero's family get murdered. Early on, you know, by some brutal wicked person and I and then the rest of you gotta seek them out and you imagine getting to the climactic scene and their Stephen Stegall.

You know he's got all those moves and everything he comes in there and The person cornered and you know what will happen then is where you come up there and he's gonna put his right foot up on that person's left cheek and knock them down and then just got beat them to a pulp. You dislike okay this got to imagine that scene to detect any funny is it good.

I finally got you cornered. I just want to bless you and pray for you.

I want to know I forgiven you for killing my daughter is like what we be throwing stuff at the screen like blue now because you were all wrapped up in it. This whole idea just doesn't even make sense to us. It in fact it it it's something that almost seems like it couldn't be true. And also it maybe it shouldn't be true. That's how deep it is, without everything you've heard you have heard it said everything you've been taught goes like this is just the way the way of the of the world. I told you a few weeks ago, our son Bennett was help out vacation Bible school.

He had had been his old boys and two of got into a scuffle won't be coming to other so been a public the kid aside, who'd been kind of victimized a said no you know what the Bible says when when people what we do when people are mean to us and boards of what Bennett said we we're nice to them in and instead of you mean back in the boy just called from her said, less stupid, and I think is the problem in the first place because of the part of it is says that stupid only to a deeper part of the problem is what I experienced this morning okay and that is the flesh when the Bible talks about the flesh is really talking as it is not about your actual physical skin and bone is talking about the sinful appetite that the appetite of our� Just our bodies but also of our thoughts. The sinful appetite and what many many people don't realize it. Are Christians as we realize when a battle against the devil and the some extent a battle against the ways the world but you also to realize the Bible teaches it were in a battle against the flesh unit battle against your own sinful appetite and those who sinful appetite. Just because you become a Christian.

They don't they don't go away and what happens is that the flesh it just it gets gratified by sinful responses, supplement, draw the analogy for the other night I was watching TV show and we had some leftover ice cream cake from Abigail's birthday.

This particular ice cream cake shall I describe to.

It had crumbled Oreo crossed waves of chocolate and vanilla high premium ice cream with a kind of whip cream and and real sugary icing cover field water going down in my mouth right now. I've said it and I was just watching the show and I do suggest I'm I'm go to splurge on that I have me a piece that Abby would have it, because I'm have a piece that and it was so good we would put some extra whip cream on it and it was just Matt was so good I got done actually literally my outlook on life looked better. At that point, I'm afraid that you known it was just like man I just feel okay. I feel really good now, and I thought the statement I would eat two more pieces of that.

I want to eat two more pieces of that ice cream pie and a and yet another process took over and out of my mind kicked in, and I've learned now that one piece of ice cream pie is roughly equivalent to one count around the waist and so I just thought okay that will be two more pounds and I really don't. I don't have room in my pants for that right now and so I just decided to limit it to the one. And even though I had to grieve that a little bit so I wanted I wanted more.

What was going on there was that the the flash had an appetite. But there was a bigger truth that played out right was talking years ago to a guy who was breaking free from a severe cocaine addiction and he is been sober for quite some time.

The Lord was intervened in his life.

Things were going well and I just asked him I said how are you doing tell me some of things I like to help other people as well is one of the things that change for me is that he said I used to have like small little tape that would play in my mind, but would only play one piece of the picture. The one piece of this story that was the high that I would get from the drug it wouldn't play out any of the other part of it. In other words only saw it only about my appetite for this one thing, and all I would think about was the hi all, I would think about is the momentary relief of anxiety go. I would think about is the cut exhilaration moment and I wouldn't allow myself I will think about the rest of the story. I wouldn't think about how I've lost my wife wouldn't think about how lost my career would think about all the things on the lose wouldn't think about all the dangers and all of the health problems and all the issues I wouldn't think about that exhibit now I'm training my mind that when the appetite emerges that I let that that tape-recording my mind go ahead and play the whole scene.

You know what you saying there is that I am learning to see the truth. In other words, there is an appetite and then appetite is placing its demand, but there is a truth in that truth trumps the appetite. I think this is what happens in the battle against the flesh, the flesh has an appetite. My flesh is appetite this morning, I'm just being honest with you I'm just a human being like you are and I mean big. It's kinda like a motorcyclist and I don't ask that much of the city, but please don't block our church.

On the one morning that we need to be become my flesh is going like this. I'm little. I turned around to freezing him to go back out there. Talk to appetite of my flesh wants to do is not to go out there and blessed God less you for being out here this morning and directing traffic in and keeping people scared from come to church because I think they get a ticket but but God. But that's not my appetite. The flesh is so the flesh is trying to tell you this is the way you should do it right. It is really no different. This I got eat three or four more pieces of ice cream pie is just an appetite but the appetite is not seeing the whole picture. The fact of the matter is there's a higher truth and a higher truth must trump the appetite, so it is difficult for us because when you're in the moment everything especially if you're angry everything within you wants to curse Tony Campolo tells a story about teaching sociology class one time about discipline in the in the household and he was talking about the importance of parents only disciplining out of love and not out of anger and frustration you do so for the well-being of the child and and so you have to be cool about this and and learn to discipline and love and offer instruction rather than just you know, the last Jan anger well this is such obviously a difficult thing to think of is for any parent that one of the students I went home at night and composed a little poem is a satire of how difficult this whole concept was and came back and gave it to Campolo the next day and it read never discipline your child in anger never spanked him when I rate. Instead, wait until some happy time when both are feeling great just got a rate of the whole port of the difficulty of this right. By the time that I feel calm, cool and collected healthy like spiking anymore. You say, but this is what God is saying you want to train us up something that is altogether higher and better to see the thing in a whole new way. And that is what I think the Lord must offer many of us this morning is basically a paradigm shift in your thinking a watershed moment you begin to look on this completely differently than you ever have before. But that's what that's what the words the weight of Jesus words are the reason this is such a problem is that you know maybe more so with guys and then ladies. I don't know, but you generally I feel competitive was been raised up that way and most of us are competitive. It's kind of a competitive society is hard to put these words of bless those who curse you and pray for your opponents is hard to put that into the context of also being in a competitive environment right I can agree that's a tough one to process.

Bless those who curse you is today's teaching in the power of blessing series stick with this Allen's back here in a moment with additional insight on this for your life, and a final word. Set your mind on God's blessing instead of the curses of the world. This special offer from Alan Wright Ministries will help coincide with the release of Pastor Alan's new book having a blast. We created a flip style devotional for your desk. The kitchen counter beautiful spiral-bound devotional offers 28 days of inspiration. Utilizing some of the most moving excerpts from the nubuck using day by day for four weeks.

Keep the premises and assurance of God's blessing right in front of you, to Philippians whatever is true, noble, I'm sure, think on these things make a gift to Alan Wright Ministries today and will send you the inspirational flip style devotional as I thank you for your partnership. Each spiral-bound devotional come to the convening style stand seeking keep his inspiration in front of you and fill your heart with God's blessing. Now these are the final days. This offer is being made available to you this month.

We are happy to send this to you as I thanks from Alan Wright Ministries, seven 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website. Pastor Aron.work back now sitting with Pascarella and are reporting good news thought for the day. Bless those who curse you, by the way, the teaching series, the power of blessing and Pastor Alan's latest book is the power to bless how to speak life and empower the people you love.

It's available wherever good books are sold. Right now you can get it through Amazon and Barnes & Noble online the past row and.or there also some other formats of the book available if you prefer an audiobook.

For instance, and it's available and we encourage you to get your hands on it.

So Pascarella was reporting good news thought on today's teaching is replace the bookmark your bless those who curse you is astounding that Jesus doesn't just say tolerate your enemies.

He says love them. He doesn't just say do your best to get away from those who persecute you and forget about them.

He says pray for them, so you may be sons. Your father who is in heaven. No, just say to bless your enemies is so countercultural and so unrivaled in any other type of ideology that you just know it from the heart of God, and they naturally leave our listeners with this. This is what God did. We were friends with the world and therefore enemies to God and he came to us in the person of Jesus Christ, to bless us the unspeakable gift of Jesus Christ, to bless you and me got me to excuse their sin.

It is aiming to endorse it, but it does mean that you instead of cursing them are going to find the grace in Christ to actually speak a positive vision over that person's life.

I would save our listeners. Give it a try.

You might be amazed at what today's good news message is a listener supported production Alan Wright Ministries