Embodying Christ's Love: The Power of the Golden Rule
Devotional
Sermon Summary
Bible Study Guide
Sermon Clips
### Quotes for Outreach
1. "Do to others as you would have them do to you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? What credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful just as your Father is merciful." [51:03]
2. "Treat evil with kindness and it could bring peace. Now, in 2 Kings, we're going to go back and we're going to read a story, okay, about Elisha in 2 Kings 6, beginning in the 18th verse. It says, As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, Strike this army with blindness. So he struck them with blindness as Elisha had asked. Oh, it looks to me like Elisha's got them, doesn't he? Elisha told them, This is not the road and this is not the city. Follow me and I will lead you to the man you're looking for. And he led them to Samaria. And after they entered the city, Elisha said, Lord, open the eyes of these men so they can see. And then the Lord opened their eyes and they looked and there they were inside Samaria." [55:59]
3. "Even sinners have the capability to love. The worst people in the world can actually love. God's created them that way. They long to be loved. They want to be accepted. They might not have a clue what it means and how to get there, but that's what they long to be. Because he says, even sinners love each other. Even sinners lend to each other, you know, and get back. And he says, now you treat evil with kindness. Love those who bless you, or, you know, who curse you. Love them. Bless them. They have a capability to love. Maybe that's where, you know, honor among thieves came from." [58:04]
4. "God will deal with those that fail to respond to kindness. Because some people just won't respond. They're the people that, you know, when they slap you on the cheek and you turn and they slap you again and then you turn back and they keep slapping. They're the people that, you know, they slap you for your coat and you give them your shirt and before long you don't have a shirt left in the dresser drawer. What do you do? How do you deal with that? And the point is this, God is the one that will deal with them. Because he says, hey, vengeance is mine. I'll take care of this. But can we keep loving? Can we have the heart of Christ who said, Father, forgive them. They don't know what they're doing on the cross." [01:01:33]
5. "Having a kind heart toward wicked, ungrateful people is a sign that you are becoming like God, our Father. Let's go to Ezekiel chapter 33. This is not only in Ezekiel, but I love the way it is stated in this text. Ezekiel chapter 33. And he says, Say to them, As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn. Turn from your evil ways. Why will you die, people of Israel?" [01:09:18]
### Quotes for Members
1. "Listen to the heart of God. How is your heart this morning, church? It's so easy to get a hard heart today. I remember a time in my pastor's office when I first came here. It's the office that's mine now. I know you'll find this hard to believe, but there were some guys just coming to church for the pretty girls. I don't know if you ever realized that could actually happen. And he said, Dave, what are we going to do about this? And I said, well, I have a great idea. I said, next time there's any trace of immorality, I'll bring my shotgun in here and we'll introduce a shotgun wedding. We'll march them up to the altar. We'll marry them. And the problem will cease in this congregation. Boy, I had it figured out back then, didn't I? And I still can see his face. He sat there. If you could hear his thoughts. He said, what am I doing with this guy? head down. He said, Dave, we're supposed to love people into the kingdom. And I went, my future here may be limited. That's what I was thinking. But it changed me from the inside out. I said, Dave, we've got to love people into the kingdom." [01:10:50]
2. "And in my, you know, journey, I've met some of the most awesome men in Christianity. I've met Dr. Gordon Fee. You know, he had such a gracious heart when I talked with him. I remember the heart that is in Henry Blackaby when I met Henry Blackaby. He had just such a kind heart to love people. church, we have to get that heart. That's the heart of Christ. And we have to be willing to lay down our life and to lay down our rights lots of times. We can't give up sound doctrine. We can't give up the Gospel. We hold fast to it. But we have to do that in love. And we have to be like Moses. And I have to know the fate. He knew the fate of those men that came against him. And he fell on his face. And he begged. begged God please God and then he said you guys fill your sensors and you come tomorrow and God's gonna choose between us he didn't take it upon himself he said God will choose." [01:12:29]
3. "So at the Last Supper, Jesus said, This bread is my body, which is broken for You. said, Whenever you do this, remember me. Remember what I did. I am your bread. I am the bread of life I am your bread of life Who came down from heaven. I'm here to nourish you spiritually. I love the story on the road to Emmaus when the two men are walking with Jesus and they didn't recognize Him. Jesus acted like He was going to go walking on and they said, wait a minute, stay, stay. It's getting late. Stay and break bread with us. And it says in there, I just love this part. It says, they broke the bread and recognized Jesus. Lord Jesus, we recognize you today. You are the bread of life who came from heaven. And you said you have to eat this bread if you want any part of me. Isn't it awesome? Jesus doesn't want to be on the outside. He wants to be inside of us. So Lord, as we take this bread today, we recognize you. What you did for us on the cross, that you're the bread of life who came down here. And Lord, we partake of you completely. Let's eat." [42:44]
4. "And after they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away and they returned to their master. So the bands from Aram stopped raiding Israel's territory. He treated evil with kindness and there was peace. Now, where's our heart, church? See, as Christians, we're supposed to be different. We're supposed to have a heart like Christ. And so God says, treat evil with kindness. And as I was reading the text in Luke 6, you know, and it says, even sinners. I love it when it says, even sinners. And I don't know about you, but when I read that, I go, oh, that's those guys out there. And God says, no, look in the mirror. That's you right there. We're all sinners. But he says, even sinners love other sinners." [57:19]
5. "And Jesus says, here's the way you have to be. You've got to love those who curse you. You've got to bless them. You've got to love them. You've got to speak love back to them. Today, I'm asking you, where's your heart, you see? Now, there are times, and this is something we need to be praying for the church all over the world because there's a devil that wants, he wants to lead us astray. He wants to introduce false doctrine. You know, the Apostle Paul dealt with it. He would go into a community and he would talk about salvation through the blood of Jesus and the Judaizers would come back behind him and say, yeah, you might be saved this way, but you're going to have to get circumcised. And Paul was upset with that. But he still loved those people in love. He knew, like Moses knew, the outcome of that false belief. And so, church, even when we have to correct or rebuke, we have to do it in love because Jesus said, you've got to love them. And we still have to stand for what's true and we can't back up." [01:08:02]
Ask a question about this sermon
1. "Do to others as you would have them do to you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? What credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful just as your Father is merciful." [51:03]
2. "Treat evil with kindness and it could bring peace. Now, in 2 Kings, we're going to go back and we're going to read a story, okay, about Elisha in 2 Kings 6, beginning in the 18th verse. It says, As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, Strike this army with blindness. So he struck them with blindness as Elisha had asked. Oh, it looks to me like Elisha's got them, doesn't he? Elisha told them, This is not the road and this is not the city. Follow me and I will lead you to the man you're looking for. And he led them to Samaria. And after they entered the city, Elisha said, Lord, open the eyes of these men so they can see. And then the Lord opened their eyes and they looked and there they were inside Samaria." [55:59]
3. "Even sinners have the capability to love. The worst people in the world can actually love. God's created them that way. They long to be loved. They want to be accepted. They might not have a clue what it means and how to get there, but that's what they long to be. Because he says, even sinners love each other. Even sinners lend to each other, you know, and get back. And he says, now you treat evil with kindness. Love those who bless you, or, you know, who curse you. Love them. Bless them. They have a capability to love. Maybe that's where, you know, honor among thieves came from." [58:04]
4. "God will deal with those that fail to respond to kindness. Because some people just won't respond. They're the people that, you know, when they slap you on the cheek and you turn and they slap you again and then you turn back and they keep slapping. They're the people that, you know, they slap you for your coat and you give them your shirt and before long you don't have a shirt left in the dresser drawer. What do you do? How do you deal with that? And the point is this, God is the one that will deal with them. Because he says, hey, vengeance is mine. I'll take care of this. But can we keep loving? Can we have the heart of Christ who said, Father, forgive them. They don't know what they're doing on the cross." [01:01:33]
5. "Having a kind heart toward wicked, ungrateful people is a sign that you are becoming like God, our Father. Let's go to Ezekiel chapter 33. This is not only in Ezekiel, but I love the way it is stated in this text. Ezekiel chapter 33. And he says, Say to them, As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn. Turn from your evil ways. Why will you die, people of Israel?" [01:09:18]
### Quotes for Members
1. "Listen to the heart of God. How is your heart this morning, church? It's so easy to get a hard heart today. I remember a time in my pastor's office when I first came here. It's the office that's mine now. I know you'll find this hard to believe, but there were some guys just coming to church for the pretty girls. I don't know if you ever realized that could actually happen. And he said, Dave, what are we going to do about this? And I said, well, I have a great idea. I said, next time there's any trace of immorality, I'll bring my shotgun in here and we'll introduce a shotgun wedding. We'll march them up to the altar. We'll marry them. And the problem will cease in this congregation. Boy, I had it figured out back then, didn't I? And I still can see his face. He sat there. If you could hear his thoughts. He said, what am I doing with this guy? head down. He said, Dave, we're supposed to love people into the kingdom. And I went, my future here may be limited. That's what I was thinking. But it changed me from the inside out. I said, Dave, we've got to love people into the kingdom." [01:10:50]
2. "And in my, you know, journey, I've met some of the most awesome men in Christianity. I've met Dr. Gordon Fee. You know, he had such a gracious heart when I talked with him. I remember the heart that is in Henry Blackaby when I met Henry Blackaby. He had just such a kind heart to love people. church, we have to get that heart. That's the heart of Christ. And we have to be willing to lay down our life and to lay down our rights lots of times. We can't give up sound doctrine. We can't give up the Gospel. We hold fast to it. But we have to do that in love. And we have to be like Moses. And I have to know the fate. He knew the fate of those men that came against him. And he fell on his face. And he begged. begged God please God and then he said you guys fill your sensors and you come tomorrow and God's gonna choose between us he didn't take it upon himself he said God will choose." [01:12:29]
3. "So at the Last Supper, Jesus said, This bread is my body, which is broken for You. said, Whenever you do this, remember me. Remember what I did. I am your bread. I am the bread of life I am your bread of life Who came down from heaven. I'm here to nourish you spiritually. I love the story on the road to Emmaus when the two men are walking with Jesus and they didn't recognize Him. Jesus acted like He was going to go walking on and they said, wait a minute, stay, stay. It's getting late. Stay and break bread with us. And it says in there, I just love this part. It says, they broke the bread and recognized Jesus. Lord Jesus, we recognize you today. You are the bread of life who came from heaven. And you said you have to eat this bread if you want any part of me. Isn't it awesome? Jesus doesn't want to be on the outside. He wants to be inside of us. So Lord, as we take this bread today, we recognize you. What you did for us on the cross, that you're the bread of life who came down here. And Lord, we partake of you completely. Let's eat." [42:44]
4. "And after they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away and they returned to their master. So the bands from Aram stopped raiding Israel's territory. He treated evil with kindness and there was peace. Now, where's our heart, church? See, as Christians, we're supposed to be different. We're supposed to have a heart like Christ. And so God says, treat evil with kindness. And as I was reading the text in Luke 6, you know, and it says, even sinners. I love it when it says, even sinners. And I don't know about you, but when I read that, I go, oh, that's those guys out there. And God says, no, look in the mirror. That's you right there. We're all sinners. But he says, even sinners love other sinners." [57:19]
5. "And Jesus says, here's the way you have to be. You've got to love those who curse you. You've got to bless them. You've got to love them. You've got to speak love back to them. Today, I'm asking you, where's your heart, you see? Now, there are times, and this is something we need to be praying for the church all over the world because there's a devil that wants, he wants to lead us astray. He wants to introduce false doctrine. You know, the Apostle Paul dealt with it. He would go into a community and he would talk about salvation through the blood of Jesus and the Judaizers would come back behind him and say, yeah, you might be saved this way, but you're going to have to get circumcised. And Paul was upset with that. But he still loved those people in love. He knew, like Moses knew, the outcome of that false belief. And so, church, even when we have to correct or rebuke, we have to do it in love because Jesus said, you've got to love them. And we still have to stand for what's true and we can't back up." [01:08:02]
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