Everybody Loves Everybody!? • 10.29.23
Jack Flaherty   -   October 29, 2023

Everybody Love Everybody!?
Matthew 5:43-48

Thinking Biblically about making peace with those around us

  1. Peacemakers love their neighbors and their enemies
  2. Peacemakers love as sons of their Faither in heaven
  3. Peacemakers look to the Prince of Peace for perfection

Good morning everyone! My name is Jack Flaherty and I serve as one of the pastors here at Harvest and I am excited to open up God’s Word with you all this morning as we wrap up our Blessed are the Peacemakers series. It has been a sweet time of learning over this past month and I am excited for what we will be learning in our next series Stewardship of the Gospel! November is affectionately known as Stewardship month here at Harvest. We talk about how to live well as wisely as those who have been entrusted with much from the Lord. This year were talking about Stewardship of the Gospel itself. What is the gospel, who needs the gospel, how do we spread the goal, and ultimately what is the goal of the gospel. I want to encourage you invite someone to join us. Pastor Nick said way back in January that one of our goals this year as a church was to invite a new person or family to join us each quarter. That’s you inviting four persons/families in total for the year. Very small investment but who knows what kind of return. Even one brought to saving relationship with Jesus brings the angles to partying in heaven! How cool if we had each person invite someone and a few actually come and even get saved. In fact, we just prayed but let me pray for that now. Pray

 

So that’s next week, but as I said today we will wrap up our Peacemakers series. Go ahead and open your Bibles to Matthew 5:43-48. If you need a Bible the ushers will get you one. While you’re finding it 4th-5th graders you can head out to class. Praying for a sweet time for you this morning. We’ve had a sweet time in this series, haven’t we? So much the Bible says on this subject and so much we have studied on this. Even beyond Sunday some incredible conversations and questions and interactions. So where does today fit in this series? Here is how I thought about it: like an hour glass. Starting out here and zooming into the heart and now zooming back out to a wide lens.

 

You ever heard the phrase “Everybody Love Everybody”? I first came across it with my college roommate and we would affectionately speak this to other buddies across campus. Was made famous as a line in a comedy movie about a semi-pro basketball team where that was the one rule. Funny, but is it helpful? Back in 2016 there was an incredible amount of gun violence and after one shooting a man was wrecked with what to do and spent $4 to grab a white board and white “Everybody love everybody” in the area of the crime. He got some great responses. Unity and desire to live this out. Seems like and I would say is a good thing! Helpful thing. But is that true? Is EVERYONE actually to love EVERYONE? And further is everyone to LOVE everyone? If so what does that LOVE look like? Is that love the same from everyone and to everyone? So a good phrase and uniting phrase also might be a confusing phrase without some biblical clarity.

 

As we wrap up this series and are zoomed back out a bit, lets thinking biblically about what it means to be peacemakers with those around us. Even as we stare down another mass shooting this week in Maine, wars around the world, a political election in 2024, what can we do to be better peacemakers in this world. Matthew 5:43-48 speaks to this so lets read it.

 

Already alluded to some question, but today we don’t want to throw out cultural cliches or even churchy that sound goo but mean nothing. Today we will look at three truths from this text to help our thinking. If you wanted to, we can look at them as questions: do we really love everybody? What does this love look like? Where does this love come from? We want to Thinking Biblically about making peace with those around us. First thing to remember is…

 

  1. Peacemakers love their neighbors and their enemies

In short, the answer to the question do we really love everyone is YES! In v43-44 Jesus is confronting false beliefs of the day. The you have heard it say vs I say comment shows Jesus challenging the authority of Jewish religious and replacing it with his own! Not only that, but he is taking their human codes and placing himself above that.

 

The first part of v43 is Biblical. Comes right out of Leviticus 19:18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord. Jesus affirms this truth. He does so in a couple places like in Matthew 7:12  the golden rule. OR Matthew 22:37-40 the Great Commandment. Further we see Jesus disciples like Paul in Galatians 5:14 and Romans 13:9-10 Paul says whole law fulfilled in single decree. OR even his own brother James 2:8 saying if you really love one another your fulfilling the law and doing well. So nothing wrong here and Jesus is affirming it!

 

The problem is the second part. Jesus makes sure we know isn’t in the Bible. We don’t just love neighbors. We love everybody! This second phrase was written or an expectation of Jewish law but it was a wrong deduction from texts on God’s judgement or calling on God for justice. Reading Augustine’s Commentary on the Lord’s Sermon on the Mount was helpful for me. Many of those passages are either predications rather than wishes OR calls for justice BUT not from a hateful heart. The Bible never condones taking matters into you own hands AND it never condones a hateful heart. Consider even some of the clear OT passages that would have been ignored.

 

Exodus 23:4-5 “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. 5 If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him.

 

Proverbs 24:17 do not rejoice when your enemy falls and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles

 

Proverbs 25:21 If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink

 

The OT and the NT affirm we are to have a disposition of love towards other image bearers of God. I think we can spells this out by Biblically defining who is our neighbor and who is our enemy. Going to two specific passages. First our neighbor.? Luke 10:29-37. Not only is the Samaritan a neighbor but he shows you how to be a better one! Jesus says its less about technicality of who your neighbor is but rather how you love.

 

Next Biblically defining who is your enemy? Ephesians 6:12 “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” This doesn’t mean that we don’t have real opposition. We do! But two things it does mean. First, there is no such thing as a merely human adversary. Humans “enemies” always influenced by and in step with the devil. We don’t wrestle against mere human forces because there aren’t any. Second, “we don’t wrestle against blood and flesh” because this warfare is not like the ordinary battlefield marked by blood and gore. It’s not a matter of chopping off arms or heads and blood and flesh. Our warfare is always fought at a level that includes the supernatural. And we instead are called to stand in truth and speak the truth to those against us! Not to see them as the enemy BUT as those under the influenced of the true enemy who need saved!

 

Is that your attitude? If so what would that change? I would it would change our hate for others. You might object, “Jack, I don’t hate anyone.” Really? What are those thoughts in your heart about those who vote differently than you? Those who live next to you an annoy you? Those who are literally seeking to kill and hurt and destroy? Do you love those people? How about the next time you are arguing with your spouse? Your kids? Your family as you prepare to figure out Thanksgiving and Christmas plans? Your scrolling social media? Don’t buy into the lie that we only have to be willing to seek peace with some people. Also don’t buy into the lie that just because you aren’t a superhero you don’t come up with “enemies” to defeat from time to time. We all struggle with seeing people near and far as opposition to us. BUT we who are truly at peace with God are called to be peacemakers by loving neighbors AND enemies!

 

Peacemakers have a heart of love towards everyone!. We are all image bearers of our Creator. Man was meant to rule and reign on the earth as the visible representatives of the invisible God. We were meant dwell in peace together under the righteous loving hand of God. Sin ruined that. Sin corrupts not only relationships with God but with man. We lack love because of sin. We lack peace because of sin. However, there is a day of peace coming for all who are in Christ! Until that day the church is mean to be an outpost of peace now. That taste, although imperfectly, of the kingdom where God rules and reigns. That’s why peace matters in the church with conflict, and speech, and hearts being rightly ruled. BUT the church is also given the ministry of reconciliation to those outside. We are called GO to world and invite them in! Not where everything and everyone is perfect BUT where the peace of God rules in our hearts and where the gospel peace promises eternal peace to those who would repent and believe in Jesus!

 

Let’s just remember here straight from the mouth of the Messiah, “I say to you love you enemies and pray for those who persecute you so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.” That’s the call. Speaking of sons of the father in heaven, as we continue thinking biblically about loving those around us remember…

 

  1. Peacemakers love as sons of their Father in heaven

This point proceeds straight out of v45 and goes back to our theme verse for this series which is Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” There is a connection to peacemaking and truly being a part of God’s family. If you are a son or daughter of God you ought to bear the family resemblance. This is more than just child of God, meaning a part of the family. Sons (which means daughters too) also look like and reflect God. What does this love look like? In short peacemakers live out a love looks different from the world! In fact, a love that is out of this world! Love that reflects the love of the Father in heaven.

 

Love has been corrupted by our world. We don’t affirm all the things, let feelings rule, or leave alone. “Love is love” is a bologna statement. God is love! And we need to define love in the terms God gave us. According to God’s definition of love, how he loved and how he tells us as his sons and daughters to love, what does the Bible say about loving as a peacemaker? First…

 

  1. Pray

There is a right attitude of love but that attitude leads to action. And prayer is the first thing mentioned which goes hand in hand with love. Actually, both love and prayer in v44 have the sense of being ongoing. “Keep on loving” and “keep on praying.” We underestimate this way too much and I’ve personally been convicted of that. How you doing spending time praying? And praying for repentance and belief? For God to do good? The text is literally on their behalf not that God would smite them. Consider a couple of passages. Jesus prayed for us in John 17 as our Great High Priest even before we had repented and believed. Luke 23:34 Jesus prayed “Father forgiven them” on the cross as nails literally were being driven into his hands. Similarly Paul prayed that those who betrayed him would not have it counted against them in 2 Tim 4:16. Peacemakers pray for neighbors and enemies. We pray for peace and for the wisdom and courage necessary to help bring it about. Second loving as a peacemaker means…

 

  1. Cross Boundries

Jesus makes the point in v46-47 that sons of the Father love in an otherworldly way. Specifically, we don’t just love those who love us back! Even the world does that! In fact, the world is sort of built on that. Patronizing and back patting and people pleasing. I personally wrestle with that fear/approval of man often. Not bad to love our people BUT to love those who aren’t our people! That’s evidence of the gospel in our loves. That’s extraordinary. In fact the word used in the question in 47 is not just “what more are you doing” but like “what’s so special about that” or “what’s so remarkable about that.” Christian love crosses boundaries and does so in a way that looks different than lover of this world!

 

Think about where that started. John 1:14. Jesus was fully man and fully God! Jesus entered time and space for us. He took on flesh for us. He took on sin and then punishment for us. Talk about boundaries crossed! Or in Acts 11 the name Christian was given to Jesus followers from outsiders because Christians loved so differently! They loved so different they had be something beyond just Jew and Greek! Acts 11 mentions in Antioch that there were people from all sorts of nations worshipping together as a unified people. A new race of people. A new humanity like Ephesians 2-3 talks about. God shows reconciliation to his people in the first part of Ephesians 2 and then their reconciliation to one another in the second part. Paul says in Ephesians 3:8-10 “To me…grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.” The mystery of the gospel is taking people who were not God’s people and making them his people PLUS bringing together those many peoples (plural) into one people (singular) to the shock of the world and even spiritual forces!

 

But the message has to cross worldly barriers to bring this message of peace. Age, gender, SES, ethnicity, political party, geographical location, favorite football team, type of car you drive, what schooling choice you make, etc. Think about those you come into contact with. What opportunities for holy boundary crossing has God given you? When is the last time you talked to someone different? Ate with someone different? Shared your testimony or the gospel with humility and care? This crossing isn’t to self-righteously flex but to selflessly go to them in the name of love as a son or daughter representing your Father in heaven. Third loving as a peacemaker seeks to…

 

  1. Serve in word and deed to meet all kinds of needs

This is maybe more subtle and maybe more derived from my meditating on the text. We see in v44-45 that we love and pray so that we may be sons of the Father in heaven. This result is a changed nature. Not that doing earns salvation but God that God changes us. And we reflect him by living out love as he does. How does he love? We see Jesus argues in v45 the father makes sun rise on evil and good and sends ran on just and unjust. God does discriminate AND he meets actual needs! A bit later in the in Matthew 6 he says the father clothes the flowers and feeds the birds so of course he will meet our needs. So we to are to meet actual needs. So many kinds of needs. First think about what this is not! It’s not just actions without gospel truth.

 

1 Corinthians 13:6 “it does not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.”

 

We serve others by sharing words! We we speak truth in love. This is also wise counsel. Even Leviticus 19:17-18 is in the context of conversation. We talk!. We minister the gospel message to those who need it. We absolutely help others but it’s supposed to come with the WHY. This might mean words for the strong and the weak. To humble those who are proud and to lift up those who are downtrodden. At the same time, we call sin and righteousness out accurately.

 

1 Thessalonians 2:8 “Being affectionally desirous of you we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.”

 

While we aim to share the gospel and we also shareour whole lives! We don’t just speak truth to people we get in there and get messy! We are a friends to those who needs are emotional. We give counsel to those who are hurting or stuck. We rebuke those who are proud. We regularly showing up to those he need a constant presence. We need to call out sinners and lift up sufferers. We need to encourage saints and strengthen families These could be word or deed. But let’s think physical deeds for a second. It’s usually where we go first, I went there last, but doesn’t mean they are unimportant. Consider Jesus own words.

 

Luke 6:35 “But love your enemies and do good and lend expecting nothing in return, and your rewards will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High for he is kid to the grateful and the evil. Be merciful even as your Father is merciful.”

 

We can’t meet every need but we can meet some. Sounds a bit like what we get to do today. We are going to do that with Backpack Buddies and with 5th Sunday, and with most of our SGs, and many or our individuals in the neighborhood, workplace, or family. Meeting physical needs is part or representing our Father in heaven.

 

James 2:16-17 “and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

 

If we really have peace with God we do more than talk the talk. We walk the walk. We serve all kinds of needs in word and deed. Love actually serves! Jesus came not to be served but to serve! Ultimately to the glory of the Father! And he did that as the rest of Mark 10:45 says by laying down his life for the ransom of many which segues into final subpoint.

 

  1. Suffer for peace’s sake

We know that is what Christ did for us for in Mark 10:45 that he came to serve and give his life as a ransom. And like 2 Cor 5:11-21 says we’ve been reconciled to God and been given the ministry of sharing the message of reconciliation with others! But does this require suffering? We just studied 1 Peter which emphasizes endurance in trials and suffering which is part of being elect exiles this side of eternity for the glory of God. But suffering is just the result right? It can’t be the actual strategy God wants to use to reach the lost with the gospel of peace?

 

Recently I’ve been reading Servants of Sovereign Joy by John Piper and was really challenged on this. Just finishes section on William Tynalde, John G Paton, and Adoniram Judson. These are three guys who suffered for gospel or suffered to make peace. Piper intros them by saying that in some cases (possibly many cases) suffering isn’t just result but means for reaching the lost. Two passages worth highlighting. Matthew 10:17-18 “you will be dragged before governors and kings for my say to bear witness before them and the Gentiles.” That seems there is a purpose. Also Colossians 1:24 “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and Iin my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflicaitons for the sake of his body, that is, the church.” This isn’t to say sacrifice was lacking. Once for all Jesus paid for sin. Its not that our suffering saves people. BUT our suffering shows people the infinite value of Christs afflictions. Gods intention is that, at least for Paul, people would come to see and know and love Christ’s sacrifice that was once hidden from them by his willing suffering for them. From John’s gospel Jesus says greatest love is to lay down ones life for a friends. Jesus did that for us. But are we willing to follow for our neighbors and our enemies?

 

At least suffering was a means God used in the lives of the Apostles for the sake of spreading peace. But I think it’s helpful for us to consider suffering might not JUST be the result of following Jesus, our suffering might be the means of sharing the ultimate Afflicted One who paid for us all! Not that we seek suffering out. re ias times to run and to stand ala Moses, David, Jesus, Paul. But we ought to be willing. When is the last time you loved till it hurt? What are you willing to endure to love your neighbor? How about your enemy? Will you invested emotionally knowing you might get burned? Will you gave of time or talent or comfort when you don’t want to? Will you give your treasure of $$$ or stuff or hospitality and to the point of having to depend on God? peace sake and for the sake of Jesus Christ will you suffer?! It’s worth suffering for. I would contest without suffering it this final standard ain’t possible. Where does this love come from? It comes from one who is perfect. Our final thought about loving those around us is that…

 

  1. Peacemakers look to the Prince of Peace for perfection

Finally we zoom in on v48 of this text. We are called to a high standard of righteousness! A high stand of love! A high standard of seeking peace with our neighbors and our enemies. Perfection! Not just love everybody generally but love them perfectly all the time! Can we be perfect? NO way! That’s a big problem! In fact impossible.

 

Do we get the lack of peace there is without God? If we say we have no sin we are lying to ourselves! 1 John 1:8. We’ve all sinned and fallen short and nothing we do can please God Isaiah 64:6. We’ve earned death Romans 6:23! Isaiah 53:6 says all we like sheep have gone astray to turn to our own ways BUT the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all. Perfeciton is impossible for us BUT while it is impossible for man Jesus reminds us in Matthew 19:26 that God all things are possible Matthew 19:26. Jesus suffered for us. Romans 5:8 & 10 “While we were still sinners Christ died for us…while were enemies we were reconciled by the death of his son.”  2 Corinthians 5:21 God made him who knew no sin so that in him we might be the righteousness of God!”

 

Praise God! SO what does that mean about perfection? It means we must look to Jesus. WE LOOK to Jesus so that you can be counted perfect by your Father in heaven. AND we LOOK so that we know what perfection looks like as an example to follow! There is an already not yet as this sermon on the Mount says throughout. Jesus says the kingdom is here but also pray for it to come. We are counted righteous BUT we are not yet perfectly righteous.

 

Not yet being perfect does not mean we don’t pursue Jesus. We wont be perfect in this life but there is still a command. We aren’t just supposed to take the hit and not follow Christ’s example. Not just say “well I guess that’s all covered by grace so I’ll just leave it alone. No Jesus said follow me! Disciples said follow me as we follow Christ. WE are called to grow in holiness. WE are to follow the example! Here is where loving neighbor and enemy becomes uniquely Christian. We don’t say love is some random standard but it is Gods. And we don’t pursue it in our strength. Because of God’s grace we work hard to follow God’s commands. We work like Paul who said in  in 1 Cor 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. And in Colossians 1:28-29 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

Or like Peter who exhorted us in 2 Peter 1:3-11 that since we’ve been given everything by God and made partakers of diving nature, having escaped corruption of sinful world, FOR THIS VERY EASON make every effort. We aim to grow in effective or fruitful in knowledge of Jesus. We aim to confirm your calling!

 

Again this is work is done not by navel gazing or conforming to the world’s ideas BUT in looking to the perfect one. From Saint Augustine “But, since we have received the power, we are made sons insofar as we fulfill the precepts that have been given by the Son.” Christian don’t see this as a “well guess I don’t have to do it” card. WE are called to do this. There is a command to pursue God’s standard of righteousness. Loving others is essential to the extraordinary righteousness that should characterize the lives of followers of Jesus Christ.

 

We see him to make us clean but also to follow his example. Look to Jesus

  • Isaiah 9:6 The prince of peace
  • Luke 2:14 who brings peace on earth
  • John 14:27 who leaves his peace with his children
  • Luke 24:36 who spoke of peace after his resurrection … of all the times peace is used in NT Jesus speaks half of them and the rest are Paul asking that Jesus would bless his listeners with Jesus peace
  • Revelation 21:1-5 who will reign in peace with his people for all eternity.

 

Until then our job is run to him to experience peace with God. Then to go and share the peace with others. In love to be a peacemaker for all fellow image bearers. While it might not be true that everybody loves everybody, Christians are called to love everybody as a reflection and representation of Jesus Christ. To think rightly about neighbors and enemies who need to gospel. To think rightly about what Biblical love truth is. To think rightly about looking to Jesus for the power to be a peacemaker and looking to Jesus as our example to follow until we are with him one day. Love and peace are the marks of true children of God. So let’s live that out by God’s grace this week. And how about this week starts today?

 

Special Offering Announcement

As mentioned last week we have been blessed with the opportunity to partner with DCG schools through the Backpack Buddies Program. Back in August we praying for opportunities to serve out community and hours later had an email from South Prairie Elementary who asked if we could help provide meals for some of their students. So we’ve committed to trying to provide these for the school year to send 2-3 meals per kid home each weekend. Cost is about $8000 in total of $1000/month for eight months. What a great way to love those around us! That’s how we will respond to this sermon, as we worship with song, we will also give to meet the needs of others. If you didn’t come prepared that’s ok, you can give online to the “special offering” fund. Whether through this offering, 5th Sunday, or loving your neighbors and enemies this week, lets pray for God to help us to think Biblically and live as peacemakers to love those around us.

 

Pray

 

5th Sunday Dismissal

  • Childcare Workers + Team Leaders
  • Freedom for Youth: Team Leader – Frasier and Mikaela Dew
  • Bidwell Riverside Center: Team Leader – Renee Taber
  • Many Hands for Haiti Clive: Team Leader – Brian and Rachel Bower
  • JOPPA & Community Clean Up: Kris & Liz Mortensen (they’ll come meet back in the worship center)
  • If you did not sign up for a project yet, meet with Amanda Quinn in the back of the worship center