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March 12, 2021 7:05 am
What does Jesus expect from his followers go beyond what is expected or demanded is all part of being salt and light is something you do that you will stand out like nobodies business when you were this, so that kind of light difference you make in the world and selfish when Jesus delivered the sermon on the Mount listeners were surprised by his shocking counterintuitive teachings.
For instance, Jesus told victims of insulting behavior to quote turn the other cheek and he advised those were violated by their enemies to love them rather than retaliating today on Insight for living. Chuck Swindoll helps us understand the implications. Jesus commands. This is especially relevant in a culture where meekness is seen as weakness. Our text is Matthew five, beginning at verse 38 jet titled today's message shocking advice to the selfish and strong will let me use the children today as an object lesson.
This is our one opportunity to do it right and I know you realize and want that spray that will do well that our influence will be marked by balance truthfulness, encouragement, affirmation, father, we often ask you to give us men for this country. Give us women who will stand tall and strong, but you don't give us men and women you give us children little boys and little girls who grow up to be the men and women we need remind each one of us, even those today without children remind each one of us of the value of the adult role in the life of children.
We resend the message that's honest that's worth following. Hello Lord, we are struggling with our old nature and all the things that flare up within us when we get irritated short, we pray you give the children the ability to forgive us and bring us to the place where we can model for them and authentic life, they may never forget and then we release them to you as they are released from our home to go into the world that you've designed for them years and further schooling. Perhaps in a business, perhaps in the military, perhaps even to live abroad away from our touch in our shadow be reduced. Such a job that that it is impacted them for life.
May they be better men and women. As a result of our being better guides guardians parents, grandparents, we give our money today. Our father because we trust you to use these funds through our releasing them with integrity, carefully scrutinizing all expenditures give us a trustworthiness behind the scenes when no one is watching and how we handle the funds that are entrusted to this church. We even that be marked by unquestioned integrity. We ask these things and we give these gifts in the name of the Lord Jesus, who is given us these children to rear to guide to love even Jesus himself in his name we pray.
Everyone set a man you're listening to Insight for living to study the book of Matthew Chuck Swindoll. Be sure to download his searching the Scriptures study by going to Insight world.org/studies and now Chuck's message titled, shocking advice to the selfish and strong-willed. These words in Matthew 538 to 48. In my opinion are the most challenging words that appear in all the sermon. This is tough information to hear and to heed this other person listening to me right now who if your heart is really open to the truth does not feel conviction when you read of what Jesus says and how false, how we have fallen short of this again and again this is not advice to help us become a nation of pacifists is not telling us what to do when were attacked by those who would take our freedom from us.
Remember that or you will misapply as many had the teachings of Jesus. Please remember the disclaimer see if I can bring it all into balance. As we deal with two different groups you see them both named in these verses. Your Bible is open to Matthew five verse 39 I say do you do not resist an evil person. I've underlined that in red verses 38 to 42 or dealing with an evil individual. The disclaimer notwithstanding we are dealing often with people who have evil motives who would hurt us.
Who would do us wrong.
That's verses 38 to 42 when you get to 43 down through 47. Notice the last word in verse 43. Your enemy I've marked that in red again in verse 44, pray for those he says I say do you love your enemies and pray for those who persecute the enemy so we have enemies vegan and 43 to 47. We have evil person mentioned in 40 and 38 to 42. So with evil people in the context let's see what Jesus teaches and I suggest there are four segments in these verses 38 through 42.
First he's telling believers who wish to operate under the power of Christ in a lost world.
Release your right to personal dignity and respect. Release your right to personal dignity and respect given up. Look at verse 38 with verse 39 you have heard it was said, and I live for and I and truth for two now, Jesus describes the spirit of the law but I say do you do not resist an evil person, whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also the old expression turn the other cheek comes from that 39 verse what is it mean in the days of Jesus being slapped on the cheek was an insult later in days that the past. Sometime a person would put a glove off and with with the glove slap you across the face that would come on into our own time. It's the whole idea of being insulted were ugly things are said to you, often to your face what you do you retaliate either operating under the power of the spirit.
No, you don't answer back. Charles Spurgeon taught we are to be the Abbeville when bad men are the hammers we take a step further were to take the insult letter glance off of us overlook it, ignore it.
Look past it, you turn the other cheek when you refused to take it personally when you refused to retaliate remember my disclaimer were not referring to national defense were not referring to criminal acts done against us or attempted against this were dealing with individuals who insult us in response to Spurgeon's example being the amble that's one thing. Being a person's doormat is another. Be assured and hear me well in this know where an older New Testament is anyone instructed to be submissive to a right. Nowhere in the Scriptures are we to be silent victims of sexual or physical abuse. We are not to be helpless pawns in the hands of brutal terrorists or murderers or psychopaths you could take us to such an extreme that you can make evil out of anything.
Martin Luther described a pacifist in his day as quote the crazy St. let Lise nibble at his scalp and refused to kill any of them on account of this text saying he should not resist evil pleadings.
If you have Lise find a way to resist and don't sit next to me if you have roaches and spiders attacked him hire a company that does that, you have rights poison those suckers get rid of. Don't think of Matthew five is teaching that all the rats run free heard about a guy that bought an island wouldn't even kill the mosquitoes because you don't want to cause anyone anything harm really somebody breaking into your home. Don't sit back and think that Matthew five applies to the sometime ago, our family was being threatened and that we felt the need to get advice from the police force of our city and we made a call into very fine a plainclothes gentleman arrived in showed us the bad to make a man and we told them what was happening told them the things we notice that were making us uneasy previous experience where I received some pretty frightening mail anonymously sent. Anyway, we describe this end, they were very careful.
Do you have an alarm yes we do. Do you set it.
Yes we do.
Do you set it every time you're gone. Yes, we do. Do you set it every night. Yes we do good you have a gun. I guess I do.
Do you have a nearby well I have it on the top shelf in the closet in the holdup package zipped up really you don't have it by your bed. No, you'll be put around in the chamber.
He said let me put it this way if someone breaks in alarm at all, and they're going to hurt your wife or your children or your grandchildren. You're not going to want to get out of bed and go to the closet opened the door, reach up, unzip the package findable its put in the chamber and then go by then they'd kill someone. I've never heard this congregation so quiet that's good because you seldom hear sermons like this because you will often hear a twisting of Jesus teaching were all to be pacifists and no matter what the Lord will take care of us all really does the Lord put gas in your car door dress you this morning as Lord fill out your income tax is absolutely not he is not the doing that is the Lord. Discipline your children well in some ways, but as a parent does he do your job. You can't let your job or he'll do it later. It will hurt a lot more and that'll be tragic because then they will not know what being disciplined was about to see every great text of Scripture can be twisted. Think, think, put your thinking cap on. When you read the Bible don't toss out common sense. Jesus is the greatest teacher common sense. What else is wisdom. He says if you needed ask of me and I'll give it to you but let's face it, I've experienced it and you've experienced it. We been insulted. We had the ugliest thing said to us often to our face the best way I've learned from Jesus and handling of this display quiet and I'll tell you that's not easy to do live a very creative old nature and and I can come up with some real insults to get back. Churchill was the best he didn't have much love loss for Lady Astor. She got an elevator one evening and she looked at him that both been the same balding, she said to him, Sir Winston, you were drunk and he said milady you are ugly.
Tomorrow I'll be sober. That's an insult. Following an insult that doesn't help heal the relationship was better to say you're right I'm drunk and ought initially to myself, you're right. I'm not.
By the way, when you ignore insults you often miss the truth that's hidden within it are so busy defending yourself. You won't learn from those who even have evil motives when they talk to Jesus is so wise.
Don't insult back release your right to be respected.
You're not going to be restricted to be respected by the majority of them care what your work is or how pure your motive may be, some will find fault. So Jesus helps us know how to deal with those kind of people. There's a second release your right to cling to personal comforts.
That's in verse 40 anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt let him have your coat also stop. This is not courtroom counsel. This is not a single people who are lawyers get out of that profession is not saying all lawsuits are wrong person within six addresses lawsuit. You can read that for another context, and you should these are instructions to individual followers of Jesus regarding releasing our individual rights. Here's a guy was fairly well off is not only got another tunic. He has a coat he's around someone who really could use more.
Don't cling to everything you have be willing to release it miss what he has in mind, here's 1/3 verse 41 release your right to your own private schedule and lifestyle. What is 41.
Say whoever forces you to go 1 mile, go with him to force you to go a mile in the first century there were Roman soldiers. They were in authority over all the Jews because they ruled over what they call Palestine we know it is Israel, and they would say, often to a citizen carry that load carry my pack citizen couldn't answer back in an ugly way and pay a price for that. Jesus said no. He says go on my own go 2 miles. This is where we get the idea of an extra mile, go the extra mile demonstrated attitude of willingness don't be so tight with your own plans and schedule and I applied a little broader, stopping a clock watcher at work. You have to leave just because it's quitting time, they may need you there a little longer be willing to do that go the extra mile or you maybe should get back from lunch a little earlier because there's a stack of work needs to be taken care of.
Come back earlier to be there the full hour give up that right. Don't worry about draining every second of your time because it's your lunch break go beyond what is expected or demanded is all part of being salt and light. Let me tell you something when you do that you will stand out like nobody's business. You have very little problem with being promoted a boss maybe maybe top but is not blind.
He sees diligence. Many of our professions in mind is one we don't put your clock which is expected to do our work. When nobody is around most of my work is when no one is present. I'm responsible to do it. To the maximum. I'm to be diligent and it passionate about it. I'm not to remind someone who calls me at 1230 or 1 o'clock in the morning that you know I was in bed, my time is not my own Shepherd isn't about me it's about you as well.
It's all part of being salt and light. When you are this kind of salt and that kind of light. What difference you make in the world that selfish world of clock watchers world of people who care about their schedule.
Their rights be different says Jesus I give you the power to be different. There's 1/4 look closely. Verse 42 give to him who asks of you and don't turn away from him who wants to borrow from you. You have something someone else could use and needs. Do you really needed that badly, guarding every position I read about a family who at rear their children in their backyard really great swingset and they realize one day the neighbor never swingset and they said of the neighbor would like for you to have our swingset we we used it for a few years, but we don't need it now. And even if we did, you needed more. You have even more children. We read in the neighbor could hardly believe it. Want to know more about a family that would do that kind Shelley. Now I can just hear some of you cynics thinking they'll take advantage of you. You know the answer you're right, there are a number of books with my name in it on somebody else's show right now you now deliver that other people's books with their names and it are on my shell that I forgot to get back we borrow and we forget to get back.
Don't let that deter you from loaning from releasing. Don't let that make you bitter because you been ripped off a few times since it tells a wonderful story might embarrass her to have me tell you this but her mother made earrings beautiful sets of earrings from little shelves and other things that can horse set supplement since he had a lady at work, where she was working that needed a place to stay and she asked if she'd like to come home with with Herman as I was away in the military and she was staying with her folks and so this lady said sure glad to and they woke up the next morning the lady was gone. So were most of the earring with the wonderful thing about it is a thing of ever known anyone more generous than my wife didn't make her bitter think she learned a lesson about bringing people home and let him stay there, but at the same time we that unwed mothers live in our home. Some of the best things we ever did for unwed helpful to share family and our children were little grew up with just part of being salt and light is much more from this illustration next window wants to tell you. Please keep listening. He titled today's message shocking advice to the selfish and strong-willed your listening to Insight for living and if you'd like to learn more about this ministry or these messages, please visit us online head insight world.org well as Chuck included today's message with a personal illustration about Cynthia is fitting to call your attention to a wonderful message presented by Chuck and his wife on a similar theme is contained on a CD or it's available as an MP3 called finding healing through forgiveness in this message Chuck exposes the barriers that often get in our way.
Keep us from giving and receiving forgiveness is messages followed by an emotion filled testimony from Cynthia in which he openly describes her pursuit of a broken relationship in this rare moment of public speaking. Cynthia explains how forgiving according to God's plan ultimately restored her extended family to purchase a copy of the CD or MP3 titled finding healing through forgiveness.
Thomas if you're listening in the US dial 1-800-772-8888 or it might be quicker if you go directly to Insight.org/store and then as God leads you. Please remember the influence of your donation to Insight for living our website and our email inbox are filled with affirming notes from grateful listeners. They often describe God's faithfulness as they learn to activate the power of God's word. People from all walks of life are benefiting from the gifts you sent. We hear from schoolteachers and church leaders even incarcerated. Folks who find solace in this program as part of the recovery. So thank you for your donation Chuck delivers the sermons are staffed with together. This program, but is people like you. Your flight site for living to give a donation right now because your listening in the US dial 1-800-772-8888 also get online head insight.or join us again Monday. Chuck Swindoll continues. Shocking advice to the selfish, strong-willed tune in for Insight for living.
The preceding message shocking advice to the selfish and strong-willed was copyrighted in 2015 and 2021 and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2021 by Charles R.
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