Love Your Enemies - 4/8/26 - Meadows Baptist Church - Pastor Charlie Branch

Welcome to the podcast of Meadows

Baptist Church of Walnut Cove, North

Carolina. We're so glad you joined us

today. If you enjoy today's message, be

sure to subscribe, follow, and share

with your friends. Now, let's join

Pastor Charlie Branch with a word from

God.

Matthew's Gospel chapter 5. Matthew's

Gospel chapter 5.

Lord willing and praise be to his name.

We'll be out of chapter 5 tonight. And

uh that may change. I doubt it. But but

uh I appreciate the encouragement and

help that I've got from these verses.

And uh I'll tell you this, the word of

God, you know, I've heard people say,

"Well, it's for all the human race." And

I guess to an extent that is true, but

I'll say this, it's for save people. You

say, "What do you mean by that?" Well, I

mean, a carnal man, Bible says itself

that a carnal man receiveth not the

things of God. And uh it'll get it'll

shed light in his heart for salvation.

But until he gets saved, this books

doesn't mean anything to him. And uh

man, I'm telling you, aren't you

thankful we have a Bible tonight? and

have a place to come and read it. And uh

man, I'm thankful. I was just thinking

about this just the other day, man,

thankful to have a Bible and a place

where people want to come hear it read

and preached and a pull pit of wood to

stand behind and people that love God,

want to be in fellowship with each other

and with the Holy Ghost, God. I don't

know of anything better than that. Amen.

And I do appreciate it this evening.

Matthew chapter 5 and we'll read the

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

last portion of this text in our

preserving series and we'll close this

up tonight. And indeed a lot more

preaching could be done out of these

verses. Um but I just tried to skim the

surface of this best I could. I want to

look tonight verse number verse number

43.

And uh brother Josh is wearing off on

me. I've been listening. He he has a

podcast and I'm going to plug him right

here while I got the got the time this

evening. Um he has a podcast called the

Expositors Exchange and uh it's what it

is. It's you know it's u him and another

preacher brother Reese Key get on there

and they talk about preaching talk about

the ministry and if you like podcast

it's a great one to listen to and I you

know it's it is for preachers but it's a

great help um to anybody. I encourage

you to go by and listen to that. But

it's this time limit thing is really

starting to get under my skin. And so

I'm going to put myself on a timer

tonight and uh try to get done here um

pretty quickly. Maybe I can give you

something in that period. So let's look

tonight Matthew 5 verse number 43. The

Bible says, "Ye have heard that it hath

been said, thou shalt love thy neighbor

and hate thine enemy. But I say unto

you, love your enemies, bless them that

curse you, do good to them that hate

you, and pray for them which

despitefully use you and persecute you,

that you may be the children of your

father which is in heaven. For he maketh

his son to rise on the evil and on the

good, and sendeth rain on the just and

on the unjust. For if you love them

which love you, what reward have ye? Do

not even the publicans the same? And if

you salute your brethren only, what do

ye more than others? Do not even the

publicans als do not even the publicans

so be therefore perfect, even as your

father which is in heaven is perfect.

Now Father, I ask humbly tonight for

your help. I pray God that you would

give us wisdom and discernment as we

deal with these verses tonight. Help us

to say nothing, God, that ought not be

said and everything that should be said

in this service. to get glory and honor

unto yourself. And Lord, we'll thank you

for what you do because we ask it in

Jesus' name. Amen. This text tonight, of

course, closing out the portion, this

portion of Matthew chapter 5, um here,

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

five verses, um that I want to share

with you this evening of the Lord

helping us concerning the last message

in our preserving series. Now, I'm going

to use a P word tonight um to keep keep

with the sake of alliteration. But when

I use this word, I don't want you to

mark me off what I'm going to say. All

right? And the reason I say that is

because the definition of this word in

modern day is not what it was when um

your Bible was translated. So, tonight I

want to talk about u we've considered

last week there preserving patience.

Tonight, I want to talk about preserving

philanthropy. All right? Philanthropy.

Now, I said that in a church about I

guess probably three and a half years

ago. I I used it as a point in one of my

messages, and I'll never forget it.

There was a woman back that was sitting

about three or four rows back in the

church, and she looked at me like I was

the craziest man that she'd ever seen

her life because I used that word in a

sermon setting. Now, often times when we

think about that word, we think about

humanitarian aid. Is that not what we

think about? we think about somebody

that's taking their money, donating it

to a cause of whatever sort it is. But

but I want to say that's just a that's a

that is not the root, but that is a

fruit of what philanthropy really is.

And I I read the definition this

afternoon and I think when I preached

this or preached the message using that

term I I used the definition from

Webster and this is what Webster's 1828

dictionary says philanthropy

philanthropy means. It means the love of

mankind benevolence for the whole human

family or universal goodwill. Now I

think we could all agree tonight that

God loves everybody. Amen. He loves all

people. red, yellow, black, or white,

what's the song say? They're all

precious in his sight. Amen. And so, we

would agree tonight that God loves all

people. And Jesus here is dealing with

this thought in the text. Now,

considering where we're at here, of

course, remembering that the days of the

law are coming to a close in this

chapter. Jesus is giving them kingdom

principles applicable to the church age

in which we live. These principles are.

And so I notice in the text here, the

Bible mentions in verse 43, as Jesus has

said several other times in this

chapter. He says, "Ye have heard that it

hath been said, thou shalt love thy

neighbor and hate thine enemy." So he

begins with this command that is given.

When you consider this command, it is a

quotation of the book of Leviticus

Leviticus 19 · chapter mention

chapter 19 and verse number eight where

the Bible says, "Thou shalt love thy

neighbor." and and it is a quotation of

that Christ also declares this as the

second greatest commandment according to

Matthew chap 22

37-4 there the Pharisees ask him they

say good master what is the greatest

commandment and you remember what he

tells them he said you shall love the

lord thy god with all thy heart soul and

strength and then he tells them the

second's like unto it that you love your

neighbor as yourself and that is the

second greatest commandment that we are

to love our neighbor. And so you notice

in this command number one, there is

affection towards a friend. And he says,

"You shall love your neighbor." We ought

to love one another tonight. Amen. The

Bible says, "He that loveth not knoweth

not God, for God is love." And so we're

very well aware of the fact tonight that

it is a command for us to love each

other. But furthermore, you notice what

the verse says. Not only sharing

affection towards a friend, but it also

points out an attitude towards a foe in

our life. Listen to what he says. Thou

shalt love thy neighbor. Notice this.

And hate thine enemy. Now, I want to lay

this out to you tonight. The Bible has

never All right, listen to me for just a

minute. All right. The Bible has never

given grounds for somebody to hate

somebody else. And you say, "Well, the

Bible says, you know, David talked about

the enemies of God. He said, 'I hate

them with a perfect hatred." Well, you

got to understand something about all

that. Okay, David was speaking there

against those who are walking against

God employed by the devil himself. All

right? And what he is saying when he was

saying that is is he hates the power

that's behind those people. Amen. What

does the Bible teach us? We wrestle not

against what? Flesh and blood. Our

battle is not with humankind. And so

this command here has been misconstrued

just like every other command. Jesus

says, "Ye have heard." And he's telling

them, "You know what? You've been told

just because you've been told isn't

necessarily right." And so he says,

"You've heard that you shall love your

neighbor." And that's true. We know

that's a Bible command. But he says that

you've also been told to hate your

enemy. Now, they use a text in the book

of Deuteronomy to point this out where

Moses there is speaking about the

children of Ammon and Moab. How that

God, he says in the text that you're not

to seek blessing or peace for those

children. And what he was talking about

is that they had stood against the

children of Israel. They did not allow

them to come into their land when they

exited Egypt. They did not give them

water. They did not take care of their

needs. And God said, "Because of that,

you're not to seek blessing for them."

And people use that to say that God

commanded Israel to hate those people.

That's not true. Let me ask you this

tonight. Did Jesus when he come to this

earth, did he hate anybody? We know that

tonight. Okay? And so when we consider

this fact tonight, we must understand

the whole context. Now, I'm going to

give you some verses verses here to back

me up on this. Loving all people is a

scriptural thing. Okay? It's all

throughout the Bible. It's not just a

New Testament thing. You see, the

Pharisees, they had deduced from

cherrypicked verses and self-aclaimed

authority that it was right and even

righteous to hate those whomever they

would deem their enemy. Basically,

whoever they would decide was against

them, they were justified by the law,

saying that they could hate that person

because they had deemed them their

enemy. But we know that's not true

tonight. And so it's most clearly seen

when you think about it on the pages of

scripture and in the New Testament who's

who represents that uh really to a tea

is their hatred of the Samaritans. You

think about what Jesus said when he met

that woman at the well in John chapter

John 4 · chapter mention

4. He says he comes to the woman he

asked her to draw water. And you

remember what she says to him. John 4

verse number N. She says what what is it

that thou being a Jew ask drink of a

woman which is of Samaria. What does she

say? She says, "For the Jews have no

what? Dealings with the Samaritans."

What is that? The Jews had decided that

they hated those people. They decided

that they were their enemies. And so

they hated him. Hated them because of

that. And so the Jews have isolated

themselves in this society. We know the

purpose of Israel and the Old Testament

was to evangelize the heathen nations,

but Israel failed at that. And so God

had to turn away from them. But let me

say this tonight. The truth about this

text reveals to us that even in the Old

Testament, it was not true that men were

to hate people. It was not true that

they could not love all people. And let

me not give you a verse here that points

this out very clearly. Listen to what

Exodus 23. I encourage you to put this

in your margin if you're writing in

there. Exodus 23. Listen to what Moses

says here in the text. Exodus 23:es 4

and 5. Just a simple illustration of

this fact. Look what the Bible says.

Verse number four. If thou meet thine

enemies, all right? So he's pointed out

here that he said you if you meet an

enemy, somebody that's against you, look

what he says. If thou meet thine enemy's

ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt

surely bring it back to him again.

Notice verse five. If thou see the ass

of him that hateth thee lying under his

burden, and wouldest forbear to help

him, thou shalt surely help with him.

You say, "What is that illustrating?"

Well, it's illustrating that just

because somebody's our enemy, just

because somebody hates us, that even in

the Old Testament, it was still right to

do right regardless of how somebody

feels about you. And so Jesus is telling

them just as he told them before in this

text, he he says you he says, "Thou

shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine

enemy." You've heard that said. But

verse 44, he says, "But I say unto you,"

he's got something he wants to remind

them of. And let me remind you, just

like I have on all of these messages, it

is not that Christ was changing the law,

but he was just simply bringing back

parts of it to light. You see, it

matters tonight how we interpret truth.

Interpretation matters. Can I get an

amen tonight? It matters how you

interpret truth. I seen a thing today,

and I, like I said, I don't try to stay

off the internet. I'm on it too much,

but I I seen a thing today, a man that

was scripturally approving polygamy.

You say, "What do you mean by that?" He

was misinterpreting scripture. Amen. And

to a carnal mind, to a fleshly minded

individual, he could have seen the

verses that that man had put out there

and said, "Yeah, that looks right." Let

me say this, it matters how you

interpret scripture.

>> Hey, the devil told Jesus said, "If

you're the son of God, you cast yourself

down." He said, "It's written, he shall

give his angels charge over thee, lest

any time thou dash thy foot against a

stone." What did Jesus do? He said,

"Look, you not you not to tempt the Lord

thy God." He took the verse out of

context. Jesus took him back to a verse

that was in context and said, "You don't

tempt God." Amen. It doesn't matter how

many verses you misinterpret to approve

your sin. It matters when it's

interpreted right that approves your

function in the Christian life. So Jesus

is going to give them a proper

interpretation. Three things tonight and

I'll be done and we'll get out of the

way and go home tonight. I notice first

of all in this text not only uh we've

considered here how the Pharisees have

uh they've deduced this law from their

own uh self-aclaimed authority. Let me

say this tonight. We have no authority.

>> Amen. I have no authority to decide what

this Bible means of myself. I have to

read it like it says, preach it like it

says, and how the Holy Ghost tells me.

Amen. And when the Bibles make when the

plain sense of scripture makes sense,

seek no other sense. Somebody say amen

right there. So I notice first of all

tonight the father's love. Look what the

Bible say in verse 44. But I say unto

you, listen to what he says. Love your

enemies. Now when we read that tonight,

our flesh automatically cringes. Okay?

But the truth is tonight, I don't

believe that there's a better example of

that than the man who is preaching this

sermon in this text. You understand when

he says love your enemies, there's no

person that's ever exemplified that fact

more than Jesus Christ, more than God

the Father, more than the Trinity. You

say, "What? What do you mean, preacher?

I'm saying when we think about this

love, the fact of loving your enemies,

we got to think about the Father's love

tonight because he is love and he is

where love originate." Amen. And so I

think about that truth that his love

tonight was the first love. Romans 5'8

says, "But God commendeth his love

toward us in that while we were yet

sinners, Christ died for us, so before

we ever loved him," John said it this

way in 1 John 4 and verse number 19, "We

love him because why? He first loved

us." Amen. And it is his love that was

the first love. You see, before he ever

stepped out on nothing and hung

everything out there in the expanse of

space, you realize that Jesus, that God

the Father loved you and I long before

we were ever created or the mud seals of

the earth was ever laid. His love was

the first love. And I think not only his

love is the first love, but his love is

a faithful love. Amen. His love is

faithful. You say, "What do you mean?"

Well, his love endures forever. Amen.

You say, "What do you mean by that?"

Well, listen to what Paul said. In

Romans chapter number eight, he talked

about the love of God. And Jesus here

expresses to us the love of God. You

remember what he said? He said, "Greater

love hath no man than this, that a man

laid down his life for his friends. And

in the mind of God eternally, Christ was

crucified in eternity past and for

eternity future. His love is expressed

to you and I." Listen to what Paul says

about the love of God in verse 38 of

Romans 8. For I am persuaded that

neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor

principalities, nor powers, nor things

present, nor things to come, nor height,

nor death, nor any other creatures shall

be able to separate us from the love of

God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

You know what that tells me? That

there's not a time that we can be in.

There's not a place we can go. There's

nothing that can separate us from the

love of God. You know what that tells

me? that his love will last as long as

we do.

>> Amen.

>> And if his love was an eternity past,

his love will be an eternity future. And

so his love is a faithful love. And I'm

thankful tonight that in spite of

everything else that falls and fails and

fumbles in our life. We can trust and

bank upon the love of God. His love is

not only a faithful love, but his love

is a fruitful love. I think about what

this text says literally in verse number

45 of Matthew 5. Listen to what he says.

that you may be the children of your

father which is in heaven. Listen what

your Bible says. For he maketh his son

to rise on the evil and on the good and

sendeth rain on the just and the unjust.

You understand every growth that takes

place in this physical world comes by

the love of God.

>> The heavens declare the glory of God and

the firmament showeth his handiwork. Day

unto day utterth knowledge. Night under

night showeth speech. Amen. It is his

world and his world the growth and

sustaining of it is the fruitfulness of

this world and in the spiritual sense

tonight we think about that fruitful

love you understand the strength of the

sun and the saturation of the rain is

controlled by him but the growth in your

life and mine comes by the love of God

you say how is that well you remember

what Paul said in the book of Romans

chapter number five he said and hope

maketh not ashamed because the love of

God is shed abroad in in our hearts by

the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

You see, his love is fathomless.

We can't measure it. Amen. The Bible

says in Ephesians chapter 3 and verse

Ephesians 3 · chapter mention

number 19, "And to know the love of

Christ that passes knowledge and to be

filled with all the fullness of him. His

love's without fathom." You say, "Well,

what is that?" Well, remember, he's

commanding you here to love your

enemies. Let me say this. You're not

going to love your enemies without him

loving through you.

>> You can't love your enemies. Amen.

You'll never love your enemies until he

loves them through you. Now, with that,

I want to get to the next point in this

thought here considering the father's

love. If we're going to love our

enemies, it must be his love. But I want

to point out that word enemies there.

Okay? There's a reason why he uses this

term. Not only the father's love

tonight, but I want you to notice the

fleshly label that's mentioned here in

the verse. Look what the Bible says.

Verse 44. But I say unto you, love your

enemies. Now I thought about this when I

read that word enemies. What a mat what

automatically comes to your mind when

you think enemy. Well f my my first

instinct is the devil. Amen. First Peter

1 Peter 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5 and verse number eight says

that we he said be sober be vigilant

because your adversary is a roar lion

walketh about. Seek him whom he may

devour. That's the devil. Amen. He is

the immortal enemy. He is the one that's

the enemy of God. He's the enemy of you

and I. But when I think about this

verse, I'm reminded that an enemy, when

we think about it in a fleshly sense,

you realize when we think about an

enemy, it causes us to rear up inside,

doesn't it? When you think about an

enemy, it it it you you your mind goes

to a fight, goes to a war, it goes to a

conflict. And I thought about this. This

terminology is used to appeal to our

carnal nature. And the truth is, the

Christian only has one enemy, and that's

the devil. Tonight, let me say this.

According to the verse, look what the

Bible says. Jesus says, "Love your

enemies."

You see that? It's plural, is it? You

say, "Why does he use that terminology?"

Well, I want to say this to you. You

only have one enemy tonight.

You have one. You say, "What do you

mean?" Well, we do not have enemies. And

I go back to that verse, Ephesians 6,

verse number 12. For we wrestle not

against flesh and blood, but against

principalities, powers, spiritual

wickedness, rulers of darkness, all

those things that Paul list to the

Ephesian church. And you say, "What do

you mean by enemies?" Well, let me give

you this. Okay,

the thought is here in the text, Jesus

says, "Love your enemies." Okay, we

personally, I want you to get what I'm

saying. All right, we personally should

not have an enemy. If you have an enemy,

you're not right with God. Hang on.

Don't don't choke on that, okay? I want

to make my point. Someone may by their

own choice and actions be my enemy, but

I have no enemy but the devil.

You say, "What do you mean by that?"

Well, someone may be your enemy, but you

do not make them your enemy. They may

make themselves your enemy, but you

don't embrace and allow them to be. Is

anybody hearing the preacher tonight?

What do I mean by that? I'm saying

there's people that's against us.

Wouldn't we agree with that tonight?

There's people that are against what

we're doing. There's people that are

against who we are and what we believe

and how we carry ourselves. But you know

what? Those people are not my enemy.

>> Amen. The people who if you have an

enemy tonight, it's because you have

allowed them to become an enemy

>> in your life. People may have a problem

with you, but that doesn't make them

your enemy.

>> They might be an enemy to you, but they

don't have to be your enemy. I hope that

makes sense.

Y'all get that tonight? That makes

sense.

I I thought about this. All right. You

say, "Well, well, preacher, there's

there's a lot of people don't like me

and they're they're enemies against me."

Well, you don't have to reciprocate

the same pressure that they're putting

on you. If they are trying to be your

enemy, you shouldn't allow them to go

any further than what they can do in

their own power. You know what? We give

the devil a lot of natural resources to

work with.

>> Amen. People will get against us. You

know what we do? Instead of being

silent, sitting down and backing up,

amen, and being and and being like we

should be, like this text teaches, amen,

we get loud, what do we do? We make

ourselves an enemy.

>> Amen.

>> And I guess this is the way I should put

it. You can have an enemy against you,

but you should never be an enemy against

somebody.

>> Amen. So I noticed this. I think about

this. Christ being the greatest example.

Isaiah 53 verse number seven, the middle

part of the verse says, "As Christ was

led like a lamb to the slaughter and a

sheep before she is done, what does the

Bible say?" So he openeth not his mouth.

He was silent. Why is that? Because he

went to the cross having no enemies.

>> You think about that. Jesus went to the

cross. And you say, "Preacher, you can't

illustrate that. Those men Pilate that

that crucified Pilate that that judged

him, condemned him, you know, he said,

"I find nothing guilty in this man, but

you go and crucify him." He didn't

condemn me. He said, but you he turned

him over to the priest. Those, you know,

Pilate was his enemy. Those Pharisees

were his enemy. uh those Roman soldiers

were his enemy and yeah on their side

yeah they were against Christ but you

know what Christ didn't look at any of

them that way did he you say you can't

illustrate that I can very well who was

the greatest enemy Christ had on this

earth

Judas

think about this all right the Bible

says in Matthew 26 and verse number 50

when Christ was approached by Judas what

did he say friend

wherefore art thou

He looked at the one who turned him

over. He looked at the one who gave him

up. He looked at the one who stole his

money. And he didn't even see him as an

enemy.

Perspective is everything.

>> As long as you view, listen to what I'm

saying right now. As long as you view

somebody as an enemy to you, you will

never be able to overcome the flesh in

your life. People who are right with

God, save people who are right with God

cannot have an enemy.

>> You have one enemy tonight and that is

the devil. And when the devil takes

control of your flesh, that is what he

allows uses to crucify your life. And so

we think about Christ is the the the the

label that's used here. He says, "Love

your enemies." He's saying those people

around you, people that are against you,

you love them.

you love them. You are to be good to

them. Now, he gives this illustration

here. I'll give you these points and

we'll be done tonight. Moving quickly

here this evening. I consider not only

the father's love and the fleshly label,

these enemies and that does it. It

resonates with the flesh. We think

enemy, we think war, we think battle, we

think somebody and if you're like me,

you think about somebody who makes you

mad in your flesh. Amen. You think

that's an enemy. Amen. But if they if

they make me mad, you know what? But I'm

not crucified.

A dead man can't get upset. Somebody say

amen right there. If I'm dead with

Christ the way I'm supposed to be, I'm

not going to have an enemy that I'm

against. All right.

Notice this. We see lastly tonight, not

only we've considered here uh the

father's love and the fleshly label. But

let's consider thirdly here the fa

faith's leading in our life. Now I want

to remind you this is not possible

without the spirit of God. Okay? Notice

what the Bible says here in the text.

Jesus says verse 44, he said, "But I say

to you, love your enemies, bless them

that curse you, do good to them that

hate you, pray for them which

despitefully use you and persecute you."

Jesus gives four things

in this verse quickly. Notice them here

in the text. Number one, if we are to

love our enemy, the first place we are

going to love them is in our will. Look

what the Bible says again, verse 44. But

I send to you, what's that phrase again?

Love your enemies. Now, what do we

always say about love?

What do we know as the church of God?

The world says it's a feeling. The world

says it's an emotion. What do we know?

The Bible teaches it as it's a choice,

isn't it? So, if you're going to love

somebody, the first place you're going

to love them is in your will.

>> You're going to decide to love them. You

say, "How can you illustrate that?" that

well the Bible says in the book of James

talking to the church he said of his own

will that's God the father of his own

will be but yet he us with a word of

truth that we should be a kind of first

fruits of his creatures God's will was

to love us for God so loved the world

that he gave his only begotten son his

His love was in his heart it was his

it's his will it's his driving force and

you say how can I love my enemy well

you're going to have to stop seeing him

as your enemy number one but I'm

reminded of what Paul said in 2

Corinthians 5 and verse number 14. This

is what he said. He said that for the

love of Christ constrainth us. What was

he talking about? He was talking about

the love of God that was in his heart.

You remember Paul said I believe it's to

the Roman church when he was recording

that letter to Romans. He said he said I

wish could wish myself for a curse from

Christ for my brethren. You know he's

talking about the Jews. I love them so

much. I want them to be saved so bad

that I would be willing to lose or die

and go to hell if they would be saved.

He loved them that much. It was his

will. It was in his heart. And when he

says in in there in chapter 5 of second

Corinthians, for the love of Christ

constrainth us, you notice later in that

verse, he says, "Cause we thus judge

that if one died for all, then we're all

dead." What's he saying? That every

person that's on the face of this

planet's lost. And he said, "The love of

Christ constrainth us to witness to the

world." IF YOU'RE GOING TO GIVE A

message to the if there's ever going to

be a burden in your heart for lost

people, it's going to come from the love

of God. If you've never desired to see

somebody get saved, it's because the

love of God has never revealed itself in

your heart.

>> That will on the inside. There's a

desire. It's like and and the

illustration I give most times like

preaching. Jeremiah said it's like a

fire SHUT UP IN MY BONES. THERE'S A

DESIRE THERE. THERE'S A WILL TO GIVE THE

GOSPEL. IF YOU'RE GOING TO LOVE PEOPLE,

GOD IS GOING TO HAVE TO MANIFEST HIS

love through you. It's going to have to

be on the inside. This is done through

the power of the spirit. Remind you

again that Romans 5 verse number five,

the love of God is shed abroad in our

hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given

unto us. IT IS EXPRESSED BY THE POWER of

the spirit. So faith's leading number

one deals with the will. And we always

say this tonight. Salvation is an inside

work that leads to an outside work.

Amen. Don't don't we don't we believe

that tonight? You don't you don't get

saved on the outside first. Amen. You

get saved on the inside and then God

begins to work out in your life. So

there's not only the will that's

involved, but notice the words that are

involved in verse number 44. But I say

unto you, love your enemies. What's the

next phrase, church? Bless them that

curse you. bless them that curse you.

Now, that doesn't mean that you go to

them and hand them a gift or hand them a

w of money. I mean, God tells you to do

that, you go, "Hey, amen." But that's

not what he's talking about. That word

bless is talking about your language.

It's talking about speaking a word. It

literally when you look at that term

bless, it means almost it it it almost

translate to a benediction, of worship,

of praise. And when God says you're to

bless them, it means that word bless

means to speak well of. It means to

admonish. And you say, "Preacher, well,

I don't have nothing good to say about

that person." Well, you know what I got

to say about that. Amen. I'm a mama's

boy. You know what she said? If you

ain't got nothing to say good to say,

you don't say nothing at all. Ain't that

right? Amen. You ought to find something

good. If you ain't got nothing good to

say, don't say anything. You say,

"PREACHER, WELL, THEY curse me." Well,

let me say this. They could have said a

lot worse. You know what? A lot worse

would have been the truth.

Somebody say amen right there. If they

were to spell out all the wrong things

that were done in our life, hey, cursing

us would have sounded real easy. Amen.

And compared to that, Amen. And when I

think about this fact, Jesus says,

you're to bless them. You're to speak

kindly toward them.

Listen to what Peter says.

First Peter chapter 3 and verse number

1 Peter 3 · chapter mention

nine or verse 8. Finally, be ye all of

one mind, having compassion, one of

another, love as brethren. Be pitiful,

be courteous, not rendering evil for

evil, nor or railing for railing. Listen

to what he says. But contrary wise,

blessing, knowing that you are there

into called that ye should inherit a

blessing. You know what? Your nice words

to somebody might be the only thing kind

that they hear in this life.

>> I was thinking about this the other day.

We went on visitation. Me and brother

Andrew come up here. He went on

visitation with me. The man drove four

and a half hours come up here to see us.

And he went on visitation with me. Amen.

And we went the last door we went to,

the man that was not nice to us at all.

Told us, "You need to get off our get

off. Get I don't want you here. I don't

want nothing you got. You need to get

off my property." And slammed the door

in our face. You know what I thought

about as I was leaving that man's door?

I said, "I hope that the next place I

see him is not hell."

>> Amen. You say, "Preacher, how you going

to see him?" Well, in heaven, we'll

know. Amen. You realize that? But it's

what I was thinking about when I left

here. You know what? He'll remember

that.

>> Amen.

>> And you know what? He'll know more about

it than he did when we was there. He

didn't know what we was there for.

>> But you know what? When he wakes up,

wherever he wakes up one of these days,

he'll know why we was there.

>> You see, you might be the only blessing

some person ever receives.

>> Peter said this. He said, "You're to

bless because you know that you're to

inherit a blessing." Yeah,

>> our blessing is not promised in this

life. Peter said in his epistle, he

said, "We've got an inheritance that's

incorruptible, undefiled. It's reserved

in heaven for you.

>> Belongs to us." And so, you know what?

We might be the only nice thing that

some people ever approach in this life.

It doesn't matter if they curse you. You

have a responsibility to him. Amen.

First and foremost, not only we consider

the will and faith's leading, but the

words that we are to speak, we're to

speak well of to bless them that curse

you. Let me say this. Your first

reaction when somebody curses you is

always going to be to reject that. And

I'm already at 30 minutes, but I'm going

to finish this. Okay?

Your first reaction is to speak out

against that. But you need to make sure

that you stay right with God in that

thing because if you mess it up, you may

miss your opportunity to witness to that

person. Notice this. Not only the words,

but notice the works in the text. Verse

44, bless them that curse you, do good

to them that hate you. We don't like

that, do we? The words, do good to them

that hate you. Romans 12:20, Paul said,

Romans 12:20

if thine enemy hunger, feed him. If he

thirsts, give him to drink. What he

saved, and by doing so, you'll heat

coals of fire over his head. And you and

and let me say this. If you feed him and

and you give him drink and he's thirsty

and he's hungry and you do it the right

way, you're not going to be thinking

about heaping coals of fire over his

head.

>> You're not going to be thinking, "Well,

I'm just going to do this to spite him."

>> That's not way going to think when you

do that, right? Amen. You might be

heaping coals of fire over your head.

Amen. But if you do it willingly,

knowing that God's going to bless you

for that thing, regardless of what that

other person does, you understand that

work is done unto God. Amen. Galatians 6

verse number 10 says, "As we have

opportunity, we are to do good to all

men, especially those of the household

of faith." Notice not only the works,

but the witness in the text. Verse 44,

"Do good to them that hate you, and pray

for them which despitefully use you and

persecute you." You see, the throne room

should be approached on the behalf of

those that do us wrong. You ought to be

willing to go to God in prayer. And let

me say this, this is the litmus test of

whether whether or not you really do

love your enemy.

>> People who make themselves your enemy,

IF YOU REALLY LOVE THEM, YOU'LL BE ABLE

TO GO AND PRAY TO GOD ON THEIR BEHALF.

AND LET ME SAY THIS, IT MAY NOT be so

MUCH THAT GOD WOULD HAVE MERCY ON THEM,

but maybe God will have to SHOW YOU

SOMETHING IN THAT THING. LET ME REMIND

YOU, GOD DEALS PERSONALLY.

>> And you may and you may be the problem.

Amen. I I I've thought about this a lot,

man. There's people I I felt like have

done me wrong. But you know what? My

first approach to that in prayer always

is, Lord, if this is my Lord, if I I

feel like, Lord, I don't I know I wasn't

perfect handling that situation. Lord,

if it was something I said or something

I did, show me where I messed up.

>> I know that I'm a problem.

>> Amen. I know I'm not perfect, LORD. I

KNOW I DON'T HANDLE EVERYTHING EXACTLY

RIGHT, BUT LORD, I WANT YOU TO BLESS

THEM if you can. Lord, IF THEY NEED

MERCY, GIVE THEM MERCY. LORD, IF I NEED

MERCY, GIVE ME MERCY. HELP ME GET

THROUGH THIS THING. YOU'LL PRAY FOR THAT

PERSON that's your enemy. Amen.

And you'll realize that just because you

feel like you were done wrong, that does

not mean that they're against you.

>> But let me say this, there are people

who are against you, and you should pray

for them. Amen. You should pray for

them. Notice this. The throne room, it

should be approached on their behalf.

You need to pray for their salvation. If

they're not saved, if they are saved,

you need to pray for their

sanctification. And if they're losing

out because they left you, you should

pray for their supply.

If they leave you and they're going to

be thirsting to death spiritually,

that's that's my prayer. People leave

this church. And I and I have prayed

this. All right? I'm not just blowing

smoke when I say this. There's people

that have left this church and this has

been my prayer for them. Lord, I don't

want them to leave this place and starve

to death spiritually.

>> If there's some way, somehow if they're

saved, whatever it is, whatever the need

is, Lord, I want you to bless them, but

Lord, don't let them starve spiritually.

>> Don't let them miss out on what God's

doing just because they made a wrong

wrong choice. And I want to say this,

like I said, I've said it before, not

everybody that leaves is out of the will

of God. I understand that. But the truth

is tonight when we consider this

thought, you got to understand

something, you need to pray. It's

appropriate for a child of God to pray

for those that are against them. I

notice not only this these truths, but

let me give you this. I'm done tonight.

I promise. Verse 46, he says, "For if

you love them which love you, what

reward have ye?" You see, he talks about

reciprocal love. If we only love those

who can love us in return, what who what

are we really doing?

>> That's right.

>> Because you know what love is? Love

expects nothing in return. Love's not

asking for a handout. Love's not asking

for it to be reciprocated. I love my

wife because I love my wife. And and if

all the things that she does for us she

wasn't able to do, I'd still love her

because it's not it's not to be

reciprocated.

I love her because I love her. And that

ought to be your desire. You ought to

love sinners that way.

>> We ought to love God that way. Amen. Let

me say this. If you can't love God that

way in spite of what you feel like he

does to you or for you in this life or

if he never does another thing for you.

If you can't say, "Lord, I love you

regardless."

>> That's not real love.

>> Amen.

>> Look what he says. For if you love them

which love you, what reward have you? Do

not even the publicans the same. He said

the tax collectors, they love each

other. Amen.

Oh, there's a lot of preaching that, but

I'm going to leave that alone. Amen. He

not not only mentions a reciprocal love,

but he mentions a relational greeting in

verse 47. And if you salute your

brethren only, what do you more than

others? Do not even the publicans so if

you only speak kindly or welcome those

who you know who are your friends or who

your family, are you really being a

Christian?

We're called to welcome all people.

>> Amen.

>> Every person's welcome in the house of

God. Can I get a witness?

>> They're all welcome. Amen. Jesus will

save them all and I want them all to

come. Amen. They're welcome. He says,

"If you only love those who are your

brethren, what what do you more than

others?" The world does that. They love

their friends. They love their family.

>> We got to reach those that nobody loves.

>> Amen.

>> Not only reciprocal love or relatable

greeting, but notice the righteous

standard in verse 48. Be therefore

perfect, even as your father which is in

heaven is perfect. Now people say this

means God you know in his you know

judicial holiness and per perfection

that he's telling them you need to live

up to all these things. That's not what

this verse means. This verse is talking

about the kindness of God. And what it

means is that God is impartial in his

kindness.

>> What did we just read? For he maketh his

son to rise on the evil and on the good

and sendeth rain on the just and on the

unjust. You know what that is? That's

blessing. The son is the blessing of

growth. Rain is the blessing of supply.

He sendeth it on the just and the

unjust.

>> He's impartial in his judgments.

>> We ought to be impartial in our

judgments. We ought to be impartial in

our love. We ought to be impartial in

our prayers and our faith. Amen. We

ought to operate. He says, "Be therefore

perfect even as your father which is in

heaven. It is perfect." And again, it's

not perfection morally that's spoken of

here, but the unbiased, unrestrained

love of God. And Paul said this in 1

1 Timothy 2:4

Timothy 2:4, who will have all men to be

saved and to come unto the knowledge of

the truth. Hey, there's no person that

God doesn't love. Amen.

>> Not a person. Father, thank you for this

time. Thank you for this truth tonight.

May we embrace it. May we take it to our

hearts and apply it in our lives, God,

that you do love all. And Lord, I pray

that you would help us to employ this

each and every day, Lord, to make sure

that we love those, God, who have made

themsel our enemy. Lord, I realize, God,

and I I pray, Lord, in my heart, Lord, I

can't think of anybody right now that

I'm upset. Well, Lord, if there's

something, deal with my heart about it.

I want it to be right. But God, I pray

for those, Lord, that for whatever

reason they might be against me. God, I

pray that you would give them grace

tonight. And may every Christian pray

this way. Lord, that we would all desire

unbroken and unhindered fellowship.

Lord, I know, Father, that the flesh, it

gender strife, Lord, and there's going

to be problems and there's going to be

issues and pain and all of that. But

God, I pray that you would help us not

to have an enemy, Lord, not to be

against anybody, Lord. I pray you'd take

this and apply, help us apply it to our

hearts. So, we love you in Jesus name.

Amen. Well, I appreciate you. I gave it

a valiant effort. I made it 36 minutes.

Amen.

>> Thank you for joining our service today.

We'd love it if you'd join us in person

the next time you are able at Meadows

Baptist Church. Our physical address is

2988 Stewart Road in Walnut Cove, North

Carolina. Our service times are Sunday

school at 10:00 a.m., Sunday morning

worship at 11:00 a.m., Sunday evening

worship at 6:00 p.m., and Wednesday

evening Bible study at 700 p.m. For more

information, visit us at

meadowsbaptisturch.com.

Thanks again for tuning in.