No Quid Pro Quo

Well good morning sun.

It is great to be with you all to have your Bibles please meet me in Matthew chapter 5, beginning in verse 38 that is where we are going to be hanging out today. Let me just once again make an affirmation and that really celebrate for all of you who have served or are serving in our United States Armed Forces greatly value and appreciate you at all times, but especially on weekends like this set apart in our calendar to specifically and intentionally so don't do it clap around here for stuff like that. But once again on that same note of just acknowledging people step in the comp exam engage enemies to try to bring about peace. I figured I would continue that medically and with what were going to be diving into from teaching perspective pick me up again. Matthew chapter 5 verse 38 this is Jesus talking and Jesus says these words you have heard that it was said, and I for an eye and a tooth for two but I say to you, do not resist the one who is evil.

But if anyone slaps you on the right.

She turned to him the other also if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If anyone forces you to go 1 mile, go with him 2 miles give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. You've heard that it was said in verse 43 you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.

But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your father was in heaven for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good sends rain on the just and on them just for you. Love those who love you, what reward do you have do not even the tax collectors do the same if you greet only your brothers more you doing than others do not even the Gentiles do the same will and by unpacking this you therefore Jesus concludes, must be perfect, as your heavenly father is perfect. Let's pray but I do pray that receipt of your word falls on good ground that it takes roots that bears much fruit.

I pray for clarity of mind, concision of thought and speech.

I pray Lord God that that what was said of Jesus would be said of me at this moment while laboring over your word to these your people that I am full of grace and truth. Pray that you would make this word portable.

My grandma used to say that you would put shoe leather on this word you would show us how to walk in it that your spirit would be bringing faces to my as we hear this truth, but above all that Jesus you be the hero you be lifted up, Jesus, you said that if you be lifted up you would draw all people to yourself do that. We pray in Jesus name, amen. Several years ago there was a phrase that was in the news cycle that was was a bit kind of overuse that this phrase was in the news cycle more than a Kardashian it's the phrase no quid pro quo. Specifically, that phrase was used by some to accuse our then-President of certain behavior, essentially, and it's an oversimplification quid pro quo fundamentally means that I do something nice for you, you do something nice for me and for sure I'm not trying to get on who was right and who was wrong no matter where you may fall out on that issue as relates to ardent president. I think we can all admit we were sick of that phrase.

No quid pro quo wanted just labor before you in the opening moments of our time together around that word that that quid pro quo ethic is endemic in all of our hearts. It was CS Lewis, the great 20th century philosopher and writer who said that all friendships begin on a note of that friendship is birthed out of this.

The sense of affinity and commonality before we know it has this relationship begins to form, we find ourselves going down the quid pro quo. Oh, ethic I did I do something nice for you, you do something nice for me.

I call you you call me back. I pursue you. You pursue me back, I keep your confidences you keep mine when you're grieving you're experiencing some tragedy, maybe a loved one has died and you're really hurting. I'm there for you at your house and I'm bringing a meal and watching the kids and when it happens to me when tragedy knocks on my door.

Your you're there for me. This is kind of up quid pro quo. What I do something nice for you, you do something nice for it and it sounds wonderful and it sounds nice. The reality is that all human relationships is a joint venture in walking the road of life with the singer deeply flawed person you married 1/4 member of the Trinity.

Your roommate isn't some saint that friend that business partner has a sin nature and so inevitably what happens is that friendships relationships will disappoint us, because they all break down and fail the quid pro quo ethic will be times when I keep your confidences and in your betray mine.

There will be times when you gossip about me. There will be times in which you know I honored our word that handshake agreement. As we entered into that business deal in you and honor your suite into a marriage in which you capture valves and he did not then what are we to do when know the perfect person, but what we've acted as a friend while you acted as an enemy in Jesus Christ is going to tell us that one of the biggest stages.

You and I have two aluminum. The brilliance and radiance of his glory and kingdom is what we do when we're betray you really want to make him known and famous you take being stabbed in the back and turn it into a microphone for his glory, to be sure, I just wanted cannot just say this on the outset context is it's not about Jesus giving tweedle advise on how to manage enemies you know we we have to see this within a broader context and we zoom out and just take a 35,000 foot perspective of of of our teaching in its broader context. When we see it as part of this thing known as the gospel. Fundamentally, the gospel is about God engaging we enemies, you and I have negotiated and navigated life on our own instead of running the him. We've turned away from him. We've we've worshiped idols. Every day we disappoint him and God could've just you know hung onto his right got rid of us kind of vanished us to help quit.does the unthinkable.

We were acting as his enemies. In Ephesians 2 Paul says, and we were by nature children of wrath. If I was preaching the different contacts in different time.

I would say we were naughty by nature.

Something about that. Okay we we we were the ones acting is what is God saying he seems his only son, Jesus Christ, who gives his only life we would be transformed from enemies to friends, son and daughter that we would be reckoned this past it's more than just sage advice on how to handle those who hurt you as an opportunity for us to mimic what God through Christ has done for an opportunity without the gospel.

It's about reconciliation. I recently read John Meacham's profound book on John Lewis in the netbook. John Lewis, in my estimation the most courageous person in the civil rights movement, John Lewis says listen, we were just out sitting in the works in Greensboro and doing the citizens and marching in the street.

We were just doing that to change laws John Lewis visit. We wanted to redeem the soul of America about a year ago I was preaching for my church in Portland and I was doing a symposium on race and I'm sitting there on this panel nervous elderly African-American men in his 80s had marched through the civil rights movement with Dr. King and he said what people don't understand… He wasn't just interested in changing laws that was necessary to put tool over visit. He wanted relationship with even the ones who had mistreated them. In fact, he would point to these words of Dr. King would you hear them with me.

Words have to be anchored in our tax. Dr. King says we will wear you down by our capacity to suffer due to us what you will, and we will still love you. We will meet your physical force with soul force. You made our home things on our children and we will still love you to see the moral underpinnings of the movement was anchored in the words of Jesus's reconciliation. It's it's turning enemies into friends on your heart right now. Images are popping up that annoying roommate who drinks all the stuff that you bought that spouse just cheated on you that business partner who just betrayed their word that person who stole from you that kid who curses at you in this honors you. What faces are you saying all you may not have someone betray you yet, but I got good news for you as my grandma used to say keep on living and betrayal will come knocking. What what then what then if you're new to the Scriptures of your new Christian, I would highly recommend starting out in your Bible just by reading Matthew chapters 5, six and seven. It's the bleakest version of the Christian life. Jesus is labeled the sermon on the Mount just just laying out before us. Here's what life in the kingdom looks like.

Here is Jesus just kind of walking us through and he said some very shocking thing. Now he says probably some of the most shocking things in our text. For example, back again in verse 30, not what I said you didn't resist the one who is evil. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek.

This is interesting Jesus detail is telling. Just like today. Back then, most people are right-handed so for right handed person to slap you on the right cheek means that they're giving you a backhanded slap. It's one thing to slap me but Lord have mercy, don't backslapping Jesus is turn the other cheek as if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. Back then the average person had multiple tunics but only one cloak. In fact the clock was seen as being so essential that in courts of law.

It was illegal to sue someone for their call.

Jesus says if they take your tunic, even though you got some of the don't don't stop there and give them your cloak as well lay down your rights mesas of anyone would force you 1 mile below than 2 miles. Here's Jesus talking region of Palestine and Palestine is TV with Roman soldiers.

You can walk a block without seeing Roman soldiers in Oakland Roman law at any given moment, they could take the tip of the spirit tap you on your shoulder, you are obligated under law to carry their pregnant.

I just got a stop right here and say this, that there's no such thing as any individual coming to the Scriptures completely objective we all bring our biases to the text. I see this text I see this line as a black man and to me it's the most offensive so far. Here's why Jesus comes to earth as an incarnated minority, a Jew. He's now talking to a primarily minority audience who is under Roman tyranny and Roman authority and what is he saying that these minorities under Roman rule. Roman soldier forces you to go with 1 mile don't rage against the machine go with them to Jesus were black man talking to black people like that we would think uncle Tom. Jesus says lay down your rights as a dip to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who borrowed from you. I know it's your money that I know you work hard for it. Lay down your rights, DA Carson, in my estimation, the world's foremost New Testament scholar and theologian. He says these words when you look at it with me. What Jesus is saying in these verses, more than anything else, is that his followers have no rights. They do not have a right to retaliated their vision, their binges, they do not have the right to their possessions nor their time and money.

Even their legal rights may sometimes be abandoned. Personal self-sacrifice displaces personal retaliation for this is the way the Savior himself with the way of the cross. The cross, not notions of right and wrong, Carson concludes, is that Christians principle of conduct.

Carson is pointing to what Jesus is laying down what I am trying to expert explicate is this principle we win our enemies by losing our rights now are one. Amen when predominantly very much the majority feeling on this feeling on this is because the bulk of us in this room are Americans. We are in the land of individual rights. It is woven into the very fabric of our Constitution information. We have certain inalienable rights, the American Revolution was fought over our right for freedom the Civil War. Some historians would say was all about. States rights. There's African-American rights 13th amendment there's a woman's right to vote. The 19th amendment, the LGBT Q plus rights are not moralizing any of these rights. What everywhere you turn right right right right right right right in the middle of all that is a little island called the kingdom of heaven which is a loser rights countercultural. That's why we bristle at this we don't like kids, we bring this thing the charts I got preferences and got rights listed. If your company charge and you got all your preferences and rights be fulfilled doing worshiping God to worship himself. You have a questions please email me at Pastor JD of Sen.'s room and unpack this for you.

Let me give you two analogies I wanted to get this into you and and one much-needed disclaimer sockets from 12 and three boys 2018 and 16 Melton 12 I made them read the autobiography of Malcolm X and then they had to write me a five page paper contrasting his ideology with the gospel. They love that son did not want to drop them off at University and for them to be hit with this stuff part of their spiritual formation, I needed to introduce them and supplement the history they want, getting in school but I needed to do it in such a way that did honor to Jesus and made them think Christian so they went Malcolm X and we would talk and inevitably we would talk about Malcolm X being the poster child for holding onto rights as the iconic image of imposters bombed in Queens with the AK-47 assault rifle in the area saying by any means necessary which we would talk about how Malcolm would would staff at Martin Luther King Jr. and the leaders of the civil rights movement may sell out and solve for being willing to lay down their rights. Malcolm was all about holding onto rights in contradistinction to him was King and Lewis and the leaders of the civil rights movement in the city and then had coffee and coffee poured on them and they were beaten. German shepherds unleashed on them and thunderous streams of water from fire hydrant turned on their kids and telling him in the spring of 1960. But not once did they seek to retaliate and then I would ask my kids who's way through most redemptive wholly-owned rights or losing become your house, but my feet up on your coffee table. She cheated on. Now you have the right to divorce this earlier. Matthew five you've heard it was said to those of old, Jesus says, whoever divorces his wife must first give her a certificate of divorce but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife except for the grounds of sexual immorality commits adultery, gives little you have a loophole you have the right if their sexual morality to divorce your wife to divorce her husband to write Matthew 19 he reiterates this profound witness that you cheated on me about or they may have I been reading that Ephesians 5 I'm leaning into my small group and I'm starting to learn that Ephesians 5 verse 22 and Paul says husbands love your wives as Christ loves the church the tethers marriage to the gospel so that marriage is an illustration of the gospel. I understand the gospel is not a contract. It's a covenant in daily I cheat on God in my own kind of spiritually adulterous ways, worshiping my own idols, and not once does God's kind of hold onto his rights and let's go make so I'm going to try something because I can't do my own strength. I'm going to try something leading to the gospel in the power of the spirit and do something counterintuitive. I'm going to lay down my right which one is the more sound witness difficult and I know this is offensive.

Why we can't do it, but I know a risen Savior lives in the world today is given us his Spirit losing a white rights is the way of Jesus. Disclaimer. Don't you dare use this text to rubberstamp abuse. Please notice in each analogy. Jesus gives theirs, limits newly at her cheeks newly got one cloak here only told to go one extra mile and you don't have infinite amount of money to give to the those who beg from your sick to borrow from you.

In other words, Jesus is analogies leave no room for unrepentant behavior that I need to get that some of you are in abusive relationships and I would say you need at the very least, get out of there if you need to get help winning a lot of other characters systems in place to give you help we want to help Romans 1218. I love it as best as you can be at peace with all people there.

Sometimes you do your best and it just doesn't work out, but what Jesus is saying is even try. You need to turn the other cheek with who you know what peers my tunic is my cloak. I will go the extra mile could the gospel is about turning enemies into friends, enemies into sons and daughters. We do that horizontally when we lose our rights. But secondly we we do that horizontally when we love our enemy look again with reverse 43 Jesus says you have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies, love your enemies and pray for the family will persecute you, so if I ended the message of the first point, I can give you the impression that this thing is very passive.

Just lose is laid down just lose it.

All you have to do but now Jesus turns a corner and says, engaging our enemies isn't just passively laying down our rights. It is also actively engaging them in going after them little one scholar says one seller says of the word love means unconquerable benevolence and invincible goodwill. Love is the supreme Christian New Testament ethics what Paul in describing life in the spirit. The EEs is not not not not know the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patient kindness, goodness, faith with gentleness, self-control.

The leadoff batter to the list for 2013 held by the faith, hope and love these.

But the greatest of these is love. John 13 sequestered there in a little up borrow pieces by this will know that you are my disciples, not by the arguments you have on Facebook, but by the love that you have for one another love and loving Christian is an oxymoron. In love is most profoundly seeing what is displayed in a quid pro quo way. But when it's given to people who have wronged you that so you know how you and Jesus are doing so I just remember some years ago I had a how to manage his knife just knife in my back, chest, just wrong. The time we're staying with me an apartment on the upper West side of Manhattan 78 in Amsterdam. I'm going to prayer walks and I cut across 78 Street and make the wedding 79th St. actually would that in June, Central Park, and I believe prayer walks from upper West side through Central Park to the upper East side and back again and think about our so only spur watchmen undiscounted stewing on in my feelings as the young folks and I'm in my feelings. I don't know who this is for.

By the way, so servicer said this to get counseling get therapy yes yes yes yes and amen.

Be very careful that you don't use therapy is a coping mechanism not to love your enemy is remorse for deciding I want you to pray prayers of blessing over this person is wrong, not that any that in Jesus that in Jesus and I just remember starting to pray number 624 to 26.

Over this individual drunk. The Lord bless you and keep you Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. I just I just remember praying and I just pray that the court bless his business. Lord, bless his finances. Lord blesses them laying this thing and at first it's it just feels weird. It feels inauthentic.

It feels like I'm being the biggest faith in the world but you start doing that enough and I woke up on days like months later I'm genuinely in my soul rooting for this person and what had opened up the levees of bitterness was me just praying blessings over my I'm telling you you cannot compartmentalize bitterness and bitterness seep into your mental health is going to seep into your physical health is going to seep into your marriage is offensive in every area of your life.

Why, because of a decision right you may not pray blessings over this person because he what happens to us as you wronged me, and some of us will you get me on getting you back in its active wife and I refrained some coverages on the story she's trying to merge onto a boom as the 405 and the person next to her wouldn't let her over almost ran her off the road suffering to stick to let the thing go. She gets on the 405. She speeds up next to this person and she tells us person you know motions regarding why that still the signed roll down your window. Why is it that the frame this this this person rolls the window down and offering takes a huge chunk of course, the freeway just checks it out. Most of us which were too cool for right wing under that, but what will be more passive neuron may praise God for caller ID start emotionally moonwalk from you. I get busy all of a sudden I put up a wall. In both instances, we have dehumanized a person made in the image of God. We don't get to ignore God's kids. That's what I've always been intrigued with Bishop Desmond Tutu says the aftermath of apartheid. He says same thing that the king said we want a relationship.

After decades of change laws and no different powers we want brotherhood.

We quickly want this mutuality. We want reconciliation and so it is what no future without forgiveness is what drove us towards that is a South African concept of Ubuntu to simply means that my humanity is inextricably tied with yours. I need you you need me that the one who violated me needed needs to violate the one who cheated needs one. We need each other. We do that for the forgiveness eyebrows go home on this wisest what went where we talk about this Jesus tells us middle verse 45 says for he makes his son rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. You don't recall this common grace. Here's what happens.

I don't know if this is the case with you, but what with me when you wronged me something in me goes up good guy that got something in me goes on the varsity side of the kingdom.

And if you really clean up there on the JV side and here's what you there's no good guy bad guy you all common grace because of you are deserving self-righteousness Brian to look down your nose at someone around you as if you better keep score. We keep score is arrogance and this is my issue with James Cohen, James Cohen, Pioneer black liberation theology late 60s early 70s. Start writing these books and as a black man partly goes I did it so he starts arguing… God is only the God of the brunt of the oppressed.

But then I take those words and put it under the lens of the gospel and here is an unsettling truth, Cohen neuron because the Bible says that God so love not just the oppressed people of the world which is my really understand the gospel. Jesus died for the lives in the lynch mob.

He died for black lives matter and proud voice he died for the cheated on and the cheater.

That's the gospel. Notice hellions.

He begins by saying they I need you to be perfect, as your heavenly father.

What does this mean the Greek word for perfect does not mean moral purity. It means in the result purpose design in context. Here's what he saying Brian when you lean into the gospel when wronged by your enemy and show common grace to everyone and look like your father and lay down right and love your enemies by praying for them. It is as if God tears over the bow the knee of heaven and slap sci-fi with the Holy Spirit. That's exactly why I created you living into your purpose your living into your tele-is 19 $61.21 years of age, gets off the bus I was in this place for real South Carolina rock Hill South Carolina. You have to be right on these things because the age of the Internet and smart phones revenging the right right now where was 96 $1.21 years of age is freedom. Writer trying to write bus terminals from Lewis right. I step off the bus and immediately I met with this one of the individuals hitting him demanding L1 Wilson.

Wilson is nonstop on John Lewis and John Lewis as I remember before blacking out thinking it's not good enough not to fight back. It's not good enough not to hate what's required of me now is what he's thinking as he is getting what's required of me is I need to actively love him in the middle of his does next. We here's L1 Wilson cannot get this image out of his mind wrong.

This person this person having one put quid pro quo going to protect these let him stone embrace and no one Wilson is a become a follower of Jesus Christ morning eight years later, 2009. No one Wilson still want to buy that image reaches out to John Lewis, is this man you may not remember me 1961, is what I did to you, follower of Jesus. Now, will you forgive me John Lewis is absolutely put the image on the screen. Here's what they start for the next several years. They start going on. Speaking towards together talking about the power of the gospel for reconciliation. This is what Jesus does all friends millennia before. Then there was a greater John Lewis his name is Jesus took on flesh and dwelt among us live the life we could never have lived, died the death and we died along the way they deal with the cat of nine tails on him like his beard and how they rest on his crown of thorns in his legion of angels, what exercise is right you are is because Christ laid down his writings, follower of Jesus means that we live in how the spirit of God. We mimic the father source shows what this looks like shows what that looks like an relating friendship shows what looks like a person's gossip and slander that looks like loss is missionary individuals within looks like with next employee is going about how just being vicious and cruel is