"The Golden Rule"

This is on Solomon and I like to welcome you to our program today. You know it's a tremendous honor that God is given us to be on stations all around the nation bringing the truth of God's word as it is uncompromising and straightforward and I'm so glad you tuned in to listen and be part of that. Thanks again for your support and your generosity that keeps us on the radio and now let's get to the word of God, not a little you both get Excedrin headache number 24 in case. Having thought and I was in the article, therefore, that I read in the paper this fast.

We don't have any of you saw it about what happened out of this little league game in California need you guys see this was in Castro Valley, California in Castro Valley, California diverts on it will tell Miller one Little League team so they bring in Little League teams from other little towns all around the play and another team to come in from Ashland California is the game began some of the fans began hurling racial slurs and talk at the visiting team because there were some black players on the team well after the fans meaning. The parents began doing it before long. The kids got involved in the game really got nasty when the game was over. Everybody thought the things to cool down and you know the teams lined up in typical Little League fashion and walked down the line. Given high-fived each other and everybody thought the game was over, one of the players from the visiting team went and got a bat and went after one of the kids on the home team that had been arrived in the whole game and one at this kid with the back and the kids.but there was a 17-year-old spectator whose back was turned and never saw the bat coming.

They did not dock in the bat hitting right across the back of the head and completely knocked him out when the attacker realized what he had done.

He flew back down and began running, and three of the players from the home team Little League team now chasing one of them picked up a rock and threw it and hit him in the back of the head, knocked him out unconscious and then the stands emptied at a general brawl Little League was similar to things candidates will the 17-year-old fan. The one looking the got hit with the bat is dead for massive head injuries. The kid that hitting the still in the hospital from the rock that he took to the head but when he gets out of the hospital.

The police plan to charge him with murder and the umpire had a brick thrown through his window with a note attached that read testify, and you're dead and then the next night somebody tried to set fire to his house. What we see this Little League game is the true human spirit is he the world is graded all of its plastic rhetoric all the rhetoric it says let's all get along, let's all love each other. There is a new world order. But you know, folks. You just cross somebody and you will find out what the real color of the human spirit is the real color of the human spirit is retaliation.

Revenge payback. That's what it's all about knowing direct contrast to that Jesus says what he says to us here in Luke chapter 6 this morning it says do unto others as you know the rest. Don't you as you would have them do unto you what we call that the Golden rule right, everybody knows that they talk to that elementary school but I want to say that this is more than just a nice platitude.

I believe contained in this verse and the teaching that surrounded here in Luke chapter 6 we find one of the most powerful instruments of human living anywhere in the world.

Powerful for what it can do for your life and powerful for what it can do as Christians in terms of our affecting other people's lives and seeing them come to know Christ in a real and personal way, so I'm not going to approach this is a platitude this morning. I'm going to approach it as a piece of life changing teaching that Jesus Christ has given us that he expects us to take serious let's look here in verse 27 but I tell you, Jesus said, I tell you, listen to me, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

If someone strikes you on one cheek turned to him the other cheek if someone takes your cloak don't stop him from taking your tunic gift to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you. Do not demand it back. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you before we decide what this passage does mean it's very important that we understand what this passage does not mean because there are many people who have taken Jesus's statements here and have turned them around and twisted them into meaning something that Jesus never intended them to me. People are taken. These verses and have come up with teaching when it comes to punishing criminals based on these verses that follow Jesus talking about some people have gone so far as to say that they think these verses apply to us exercising our legal rights as Christians and stayed in a society like America.

We should never exercise our legal rights because Jesus is turn the other cheek doesn't really what he say when I first came to the Washington area. I fell in with a fellow down in Alexandria named Bob Porter, Bob Porter was a man who owned a street front little store down on King St. in Alexandria, and from this little storefront. He did street witnessing street evangelism every day and I got involved with him in every day we went out there on King Street and we did the King streets, a pretty rough place. The Bob Porter was pretty well-equipped to handle it.

He was a former athlete, a former professional athlete play baseball. He was a southern boy, a big strong southern boy that it is unsaved. Daisy had a mean streak that ran through him, like the Beltway to wash and yet he was a Christian now. I'll never forget one day he was sitting in the office and Estella came walking in with his big knife in his hand and he said preacher says. It says in the Bible that somebody hit you on one cheek you're supposed to turn the other cheek, to find out what Connor Christian, you really are. I want you to get a blot out on the floor and I will cut you up. Bob Porter stood up and he pointed his finger to Stalinist what he said to. He said if you take one more step towards me with that knife I'm going to break you in half and show that knife right down your throat.

We all doing then business in a guy walk right back out store salon in light of what Jesus says here is that right yes sir absolutely right. Jesus is not saying here that we should lie down. The people caught us up with not Jesus is not saying that it's wrong to punish criminals for criminal activity. Jesus is talking about one issue and one issue only. He is talking about the issue of our personal response to abuse. He's talking about the issues of personal revenge and that better attitude. It says I'm going to get feedback. If it's on last thing I ever do for what you did to me. That's what Jesus is talking about. Let's make sure we know what really dealing with before we deal with it okay so we don't misunderstand this passage and come up with all kinds of screwy interpretations of Jesus never had in mind. Okay, let's look at it but I tell you, Jesus said love your enemies of the people that Jesus is talking about here, to us he tells us in verse 27 who they are. He says there your enemies there people who hate you. Verse 28 and there people who mistreat you. Isn't it amazing how often in life we run into these kind of people seems like life is full of people who treat us this way time to time, in light of that, what is Jesus tell us to do the people whose performance towards us is rotten and to people who are natural response is to strike them back and hurt them worse than they heard Jesus it but I tell you love your enemies and everything else that Jesus says close out of this one command. Everything else is just a fleshing out of this one command.

Love your enemies, in Greek, there are three words that are commonly translated love in English.

The first is the Greek word eros we get our English word.

Erotic from this word. This is not the word Jesus uses here is a second word in Greek is translated love. It's the word for loss.

We find it in our English word, the name of the city. You know the city of Philadelphia, meaning the city of brotherly love. This too is not the word Jesus uses here for loss is a word that applies to the kind of love we have for people who we have a very strong emotional feeling for you know, we feel warm about them. This is the kind of love that we might have four), but this is not the word Jesus uses here Jesus uses 1/3 word and the word he uses is the word agape and the word agape in the New Testament means God's love. It's a word that's reserved in the New Testament to describe the kind of love that God has for us as human beings and that we as people should copy now if were going to understand this passage and were going to understand what Jesus is asking us to do. It's important that we understand agape love because this is what Jesus is asking us to show to other people's limousine. I can help us understand what this love is all about. So what is it, what are three words I'd like to give you the describe agape and here they are unemotional, unconditional and unnatural. Let me explain those words.

First of all, agape is unemotional, meaning that agape love is not based on our emotion. Agape love is a love that is based on a commitment of our will. A commitment to act in the best interest of another person, regardless of how we feel about them and friends in God asking us to show agape love to other people, we have to understand God is not asking us to DO anything about them. What God is asking us for is to make a decision of our will and we will pursue and to what is in their best interest.

The matter how we feel this is an unemotional love. This has nothing to do with how you feel people don't fall into agape love. This is something that you make as a commitment of your will you decide to have agape love. And you know what we can agape people we don't even like to not can't love anybody on alike. Yes, you can issue candidates is, love, you may not like a coworker who stabbed you in the back which you can show agape to them. You can still seek what's best for them and do what's best for them. You may not like a boss who lies and manipulates for their own advantage, but you can still show agape to them. You may not like a neighbor who does mean things to your children or relative who plays cheap family politics but you can still show agape to them because agape does not depend on how you feel. It's a decision you made to do something.

Second of all, agape is unconditional.

Agape love is not based upon performance.

When we agreed to agape somebody we agree, we commit ourselves to seek what is best for them regardless of their performance. If you ever raise a child. You understand how agape love has to work because you as a parent are committing yourself to care for them even though they don't perform correctly all the time. This is the kind of love God asking us to show for the people. And third, it's not only unemotional and unconditional, but it's unnatural to love somebody like this.

You want to know what natural law is looking a little. He gave you'll see natural human love in action, but this is unnatural love and calling us to show this kind of love for people. Jesus understands he's asking us to do something unnatural. That's why he gave us the spirit of God living inside of us as Christians to give us the power to do so.

We can't naturally do to love in a way, we can't naturally love and down in verse 31 due to others as you would have them do unto you, turns out to be in one sentence. Can you see a summary of what agape love is all about. If you had to summarize agape love in one sentence. This is it, do onto others. It doesn't matter how you feel is not asking you to feel he's asking you to do and it doesn't say do onto others the way they did on the you it says do onto others the way you wish they would've done on do you regardless of your emotional feelings towards them do unto them as you wish they had done unto you. This is what Jesus is asking from each of us to agape. Of course, as I mentioned to you. This is really what God showed to us. This is the love of God in asking us to do this, God is asking us to copy him because this is the way he loves. The Bible says God so loved agape the world that he sent his only son, that whoever would believe in his son might not die but have eternal life. In Romans chapter 5 the Bible says that even while we were God's enemies even while we were sinners.

Even while we didn't want anything to do with God. Even while our performance was stinky and horrible in God's sight. God demonstrated his agape towards us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ went to the cross and he died for us to Jesus did for us what we needed to be done and he didn't have anything to do with emotion and didn't have anything to do with our performance it have anything to do with the way his human side felt about the abuse we gave he didn't because he agape to us. If you're here this morning. You've never trusted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, may I say to you that the big issue between you and God. This morning is not the golden rule you can keep the golden rule anyway. And even if you could. You can't work your way into heaven by doing it.

The big issue between you and God is the love of God, the agape of God, the God offers you three Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay for your sins free just because he loves you unconditionally and the big issue is are you prepared to throw away everything else you've ever tried to use to earn your way into God's love and just simply accept God because he loves unconditionally.

I hope you think about that if you hear in your Christian God asking us is to take the same, love that he's loved us with and got there and try short of people is a lot I appreciate that.

Understand what you're saying but still leaves me with the big question that is so, what understand what I'm supposed to do long but this is all I need. This is stressful. This is demanding.

This is intensive.

Why should I do this myself to all the stress I few reasons to give you cycles number one because it's best for you.

Peter once I met a fellow named Simon he was a sorcerer and Peter said to him you know simony said, I perceive that you are in the all of bitterness and in slavery to sin. Noncall is bitter stuff.

It's horrible stuff like vinegar. It's terrible stuff and Peter says this is what your life like Simon because of the bitterness that you have inside of you. And folks, the Bible says and psychologist confirm that bitterness and revenge is like a strep infection for the soul. How do you get over bitterness say logical see a therapist role therapist may help you identify bitterness, but a therapist will never heal you know how you get over bitterness. You know how you have healing in your life.

Love is what heals bitterness when we commit ourselves to love that of the person to do what Jesus said to do good to them to bless them to pray for them to actively commit ourselves to living the golden rule towards them. God brings healing for the bitterness of dorsal when God asks us to live this way.

The golden rule in our relationships with people he's doing it because he knows it's best for you.

And as for me, but the second reason and that is that if we want to make an impact on people outside in our community and our world for Jesus Christ. This is the way to do it.

Folks were to make an impact on people out there were to have to live an unnatural lifestyle would have to live a supernatural lifestyle. Look at verse 32.

If you love those who love you, what credit is it to you. Even people they don't know Christ do that and if you do good to those who do good to you. Well than what credit is that to you.

Even people know Christ do good to people who do good to them and if you lend to those from whom you expect to get it back with interest, what credit is that to you. Even people don't know Christ lender people expecting to get money back, but Jesus said love your enemies, do good to them lend to them expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the most high, because he is kind to the on time.

The ungrateful and the wicked. You know what Jesus is saying, Jesus is saying is, folks. If we want to make an impact on the world where going to have to treat people differently than the world. The world is nice to the people are nice to them but the world is mean the people are mean to them and if we go out there were nice to the people are nice to us and mean it will be more mean to us what kind of impression we made were no different than the rest of the world Jean is that you want to make an impression on the world you have to live differently when it comes to the people who treat you wrong.

That's how you approve that what you been telling them about Jesus Christ is really true and that's how you'll prove to them is a different way of living in the way the world tells them to live by the way you respond to people who treat you bad and I believe that living the golden rule in our interactions with people out there in the world can change the way that even our most hardened critics feel about us and the way they feel about our faith. If were willing to do it for my favorite people in all of history as Abraham Lincoln. I think what made Abraham Lincoln such a great president and such a great leader is that Abraham Lincoln was a great many. She was great many. I don't know why many of you ever heard of Salmon P Tracy ever heard him while Salmon P. Chase was the governor of Ohio. He was a US senator. He was also appointed by Pres. Lincoln when he was first elected to be secretary of the treasury in 1864 when Lincoln was up for renomination by the Republican Party. Salmon Chase decided he wanted to be president instead a link so he began to go after it. He organize his own election committee.

He went out and found every enemy that Lincoln ever made as president and he wrote letters, many of which we still have today saying if I were the president I was picture situation. I do the right thing by you I wouldn't do with that dirty guy. Lincoln did you need to support me and not only that, but he spoke in the newspapers and told her what a poor president Lincoln was that he criticized the man up and down and you know what he did all that without ever resigning from the cabinet. Well, as we all know Lincoln one what you do when Absalom and the gates like this. Listen to what Lincoln said, I quote as to Mr. Chase's talk about me. I don't mind that people say to me this is the time to crush them out. Lincoln well Lincoln said, I'm not in favor of crushing anybody else Mr. Chase's said some hard things about me I am turned and said some hard things about him, which I guess squares the account. He is a very able man and if there's anything that a man can do and do it well in the