True Love, Part 3

Amen. Thank you, Choir. Let's pray together. Lord, you are so good. Father, to us who are so undeserving, you have demonstrated kindness and mercy and love. We thank you for just your long-suffering toward us who believe. We pray that today as we see that even more in greater detail that we would be that way toward others, that we would especially be that way toward those who mistreat us, those who are our enemies, because, Lord, that's what you've called us to do. So may we learn to obey the word of the Lord this day.

In Jesus' name, amen. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians chapter 16, verse number 13, these words, be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong, and let all that you do be done in love.

Paul concludes his letter to the Corinthians in a way that would help them understand the importance of their ministry toward one another and to the world. And he concludes with the phrase, let all that you do be done in love. Why? Because 1 Corinthians 13, 8, love, true love, biblical love, loving the way God loves never fails. Love never fails. You say, well, I've been loving people and it doesn't seem to be working very well. So it must be failing. Well, maybe your kind of love fails, but God's love never fails.

Because God can't lie. God always speaks the truth. So if God says His love never fails, He means exactly that.

His love never fails. So what is God's love like? Well, 1 Corinthians 13 tells you exactly what God's love is like. It tells us these words in verse number 4. The love, God's love, definite articles present in the Greek text, the love is patient and the love is kind. The love, God's love, is patient and God's love is kind. Paul gives us two positive descriptions of what God's love is like. Then he gives us eight negative descriptions as to what God's love is not like. But in order for us to do all that we do in love and to understand that love never fails, we must understand the patience and the kindness of God because the love of God is patient and the love of God is kind.

That's how you describe God's love. It's long-suffering. It's long-fused. The word is macrothymia. It's a word that deals with being long-fused with people, not circumstances or events, but with people. It's a phrase used in 2 Peter 3, 9 to describe that God is not willing that any should perish, alright, but has demonstrated His patience, His long-suffering toward those who believe. He is long-fused. He waits a long time and while He's waiting, listen, He's kind. The love of God is like a coin. One side is patient, the other side is kind.

Both are true. All the while He is long-fused with you, all the while He is waiting for you, all the while He is being patient with you, He is demonstrating His kindness by being good to you. That is very important. See, we forget that about God. That God, Psalm 145 verse number 9 or verse number 7 says that the Lord is good to all. He's not just good to the believer, He's good to all men. That's why Matthew's account says that the rain falls on the just and the unjust, the sun shines on the righteous and the unrighteous because God is good to all men, not just some men.

And God is kind and God is good all the while He is being patient with them, being long-suffering with them, waiting for them to come to a place of repentance. Paul says it well in Romans chapter 2 verse number 4 when he says, do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance. It's the love of God that is patient and kind that leads man to a point of repentance. It's the patience of God that causes Him to withhold His wrath on you and all the while demonstrating His goodness to you that leads you to a point of repentance.

What leads me to a place of repentance is knowing that I deserve to die but God is long-suffering with me and all the while He is patient that I might come to a place of repentance. That is the love that never fails. So if I'm going to love God's way I must be patient, long-fused with people especially my enemies because God loved us while we were His enemies. He was kind to us while we were His enemies. And so the best way to demonstrate the love of God to an unbelieving world is to love your enemy in such a way that you are long-fused with them meaning that you are taking from them the mistreatment they give you all the while you are doing acts of kindness toward them while they are mistreating you.

That's the patience and kindness of God. That's a hard sermon to digest because for the most part we just don't want to do that. I mean I'll be honest with you I don't want to do that. If I've got an enemy I want to destroy my enemy. I want to gain the upper hand on my enemy. I don't want to be loving and kind and good and gentle and patient but if I want my enemy to understand the love of God then that's exactly how I must be. The love of God never fails because God's love is the primary commandment.

The love of God is the primary commandment Mark 12 tells us. What is the greatest commandment? To love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind and to love your neighbor as yourself. And who's your neighbor? We talked about that last week, the week before, Luke 10. Your neighbor is anyone who has a need. So the primary commandment is to love with patience and kindness. Not only is the love of God the primary commandment but the love of God is the perfect gift to man. 1 Corinthians 12 verse 31 says you are eagerly desiring the greater gifts and I show you still a more excellent way, a greater way, a more perfect way.

What is greater than all the gifts? It's the motive behind the gifts. It's the motive that operates out of love. It is the perfect gift. Then Paul goes into 1 Corinthians 13 to talk to us about the love of God that's patient and the love of God that's kind. The love of God is the primary commandment. It is the perfect gift and it is the prominent grace. Galatians 5, 22 says the fruit of the Spirit is love. It begins there. It begins there because it is the prominent grace. 1 Corinthians 13 verse number 13 says this, now abide faith, hope, love, these three, but the greatest of these is love.

It is the prominent grace. It is the perfect gift. It is the primary commandment. It is the prescription for harmony in your home. Colossians chapter 3 Paul says verse 12 and so as those who have been chosen of God holy and beloved put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving each other. Whoever has to complain against anyone just as the Lord forgave you so also should you and beyond all these things put on love which is the perfect bond of unity.

The prescription for harmony in your home is to love God's way. By being patient and being kind all the while you are long fused. That is what God says.

The love of God is the permanent virtue. Why? Because it never fails. God's love never fails. When you love the way God has prescribed for you to love, the way he himself loves it will never fail to accomplish the purpose that God wants it to accomplish. Never. Never will. And although you might think that it is failing let me tell you something if you do it God's way it will never fail.

Because that is the only way to love. And sixthly God's love is the proof of genuine sonship. It is the proof of genuine sonship. God is love. 1 John 4 tells us that. God is love. Paul in 1 Corinthians 13 describes for us what that love means. It is patient and it is kind. And so the proof of genuine sonship comes from God's love. It comes when we read Luke chapter 6 and Matthew chapter 5 in the great sermon on the mount. The greatest sermon ever preached by the greatest preacher who ever lived. Describing for us, defining for us what true genuine love is all about.

It is the way you prove as Luke says that you are a son of the most high God. It is what Matthew says that you are a son of God. You prove to be a son of God when you love your enemies. The proof of genuine sonship, the proof of true Christianity, the proof of true love is described in how you treat your enemy. That's what God said. That's not what I'm saying. That's what God's saying. So it originates with him. I'm just reiterating to you what God says.

Because I believe what God says. And so we have to come to a place in our lives where we accept what God says, believe what he says, and then act upon it.

Remember over in the book of Titus, third chapter, third verse, Titus says, for we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.

But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love for mankind appeared, he saved us. See, we were the enemies of God. We were hateful toward one another. We were envious. We were jealous. We had all kinds of malice in our heart. But when the kindness of God appeared, when the goodness of God arrived, then it was God's love for us that saved us from our sin. And we are saved by his mercy, by the washing of regeneration, by the renewing of the Spirit of God. But we were once his enemies. And because God is love and God loves his enemies, the best way we can demonstrate that we are sons of the Most High God is to love our enemies.

That's how it works. That's what the Bible clearly says. Remember the rich young ruler in Mark chapter 10, verse number 21? After he turned away from God amidst his rebellion, amidst his unbelief, amidst his obstinate spirit, amidst his materialistic attitude, amidst his self-righteous lifestyle, the Bible says that Christ felt great love for that man.

Why? Because that's the way God loves. That's what God's love is all about. It's about being patient and it's about being kind to those who are your enemies. So when God loves, he loves us enough to warn us of impending judgment. Luke chapter 13. He loves us enough to offer an invitation to take my yoke upon you. Learn from me. Why? Because his yoke is easy. Translation, his yoke is kind. The kindness of God is seen in how he deals with unbelieving man. And he wants us to come to a place where we understand him.

So he loves us enough to offer the invitation that allows us to hear the gospel. He loves us enough to warn us of impending judgment so we don't have to face the torrents of hell. He warns us and loves us enough to bestow acts of kindness and goodness and mercy when we are undeserving. That's the love of God. And that's what Christ is defining for us in Luke chapter 6. He's defining for us what true love is all about. He begins with a contrast, moves to a command, and today we look at the content of that love.

He begins with a contrast that says, but in Luke chapter 6 verse 27, I say to you who hear. It's a contrast between those who are unwilling to hear versus those who are willing to hear. Those who are genuine believers based on the previous six verses versus those who are not. There's a contrast. So he moves to the contrast to the command. He says, I want you to love your enemies. I want you to do good to those who hate you. To bless those who curse you and to pray for those who mistreat you. That's how you act.

That's a true child of God. That's how he acts toward his enemy. He loves his enemy. In fact, twice in verse 27 and in verse number 35 he says, love your enemies. The whole section is about love, particularly about loving your enemies. It's a section about true love. And so he commands us to love this way. This is how you act and this is how you react in verses 29 and 30. Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also. Whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.

Give to everyone who asks of you. Whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. That's how you react to those who mistreat you. And those were covered over the last two weeks. That's what the Lord says. He is helping us decide who is a true believer and who is a false believer. He defines for us genuine Christianity in the first six verses of his sermon and then he moves to define for us that genuine Christianity and how it manifests itself in its love for the enemy.

That's what Christianity is all about. And this is the message the church of Jesus Christ needs to understand. If you're going to separate the wheat from the tares, if you're going to be able to distinguish between the Judas's and the other apostles, if you're going to be able to distinguish between the true follower of Christ and the false follower of Christ, it is seen particularly and primarily on how they love their enemies. And Christ wants us to understand that. And today he gives us the content of that kingdom love.

He describes it for us in three ways. The essence of that love, the expectation of that love, and the end of that love. And these verses are quite remarkable as you begin, as we begin to unfold them together this morning to help us understand. They're great verses to prepare us for the Lord's table this morning. They're great verses that demonstrate to us how it is we are to live our lives on a daily basis. It begins with the essence of that love. The essence of kingdom love, he says in verse number 31 of these words, and just as you want people to treat you, treat them in the same way.

That becomes the essence of kingdom love. It becomes the essence of that which is supernatural love. Because God is asking us to do that which is not natural, but that which is truly supernatural. We've told you before that the Christian life is not the normal life. It's the abnormal life. It's not the natural life. It's the supernatural life. If what you do can be explained in the realm of the natural, it's not Christian. If it can be explained only in the realm of the supernatural, it is distinctively Christian.

Because that means the Spirit of God is operating in and through your life. And what God does goes beyond that which is natural to that which is supernatural. And naturally we can't love our enemies. Naturally we don't want to love our enemies. Naturally we don't want to pray for those who mistreat us. We don't want to bless those who hate us. We don't want to do good to those who curse us. We just don't want to do that naturally. So when it happens, it happens because the supernatural Spirit of God that resides within our souls moves us to a place that we can love our enemies.

Romans 5.5 says that the love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts. Well what love is that? The love that is patient and the love that is kind. So the only way you can take from people and all the while you're taking from people that which is evil, you are repaying to them that which is good. The only way you can do that is through the love of God. You can't do that any other way. The supernatural agent, the Spirit of God must energize you or that's just not going to happen. That's why Christ said without me you can do what?

Nothing. That was last week's sermon. Can't do anything without Christ. We think we can, that's our problem. And we operate in the flesh trying to love our enemy. Trying to love within the family. Trying to love those who, we just can't do it. But with God at work in our lives, walking in the Spirit so that we don't fulfill the lust of the flesh, then we begin to see how God supernaturally intervenes in our lives so that others can see Jesus Christ Himself. And that's what Christianity is. Christianity is living the life of Christ.

It's not living the life that you want to live because of Christ. It's living the life of Christ. To do that you love your enemy. So He gives us the content of kingdom love and that is simply this. Verse 31. As you want people to treat you, treat them in the same way. In other words He states it in a positive not a negative. He didn't say don't treat them the way they treat you. He says you treat them the way you wish to be treated. Who's He talking about? Talking about your enemies. He's talking about the people who mistreat you, the people who speak against you.

You treat them the way you want to be treated. You treat your enemies the way you want to be treated. The universal principle that applies to all men is that man will treat you the way you treat him. That's a universal principle. That's just a natural way to deal with people. Man will treat you the way you treat them. If you're good to them they'll be good to you. If you're bad to them they'll be bad to you. But God's principle which is what we call the golden rule is distinctively Christian. That is you treat people the way you wish to be treated.

And particularly you treat your enemy the way you wish to be treated. Well that's different. Because naturally you can't accomplish that. Only God can. That's why He goes on and describes it this way. He says in verse 32. If you love those who love you what credit is that of you? For even sinners love those who love them. You see that's what sinners do. They love those who love them. We love those who love us. We do good to those who do good to us. That's His next illustration. If you do good to those who do good to you what credit is that to you?

For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. You see the natural principle of life is that people will treat you the way you treat them. So if you love those who love you that's no big deal. That means absolutely nothing to God. If you do good to those who do good to you that means nothing to God. It doesn't show anybody anything. It doesn't show anybody true Christianity by doing good to those who do good to you.

No it doesn't. Because even sinners do that. Now the word sinners, hamartalos, is the word technically describing the unbeliever. This is their natural life. This is the character of the unbeliever. He is a sinner. When you become a Christian you are never called a sinner in the Bible. You are called a saint. You sin but you are never called a sinner. The word sinner is a word distinctively for the unbeliever. And this is the way the unbeliever works. He loves those who love him. And he does good to those who do good to him.

And he lends to those who eventually will end up lending back to him when he needs it. And so Christ says look this is what you do.

You treat people the way you want to be treated. Particularly the way you want to be treated your enemy. Because that is the context. Love your enemies. So if you are going to love your enemy you treat that enemy the way you ultimately want to be treated. Why? Because at the end you begin to realize that your enemy will treat you the way you treat him to some degree. So if you are going to gain a platform that is distinctively Christian so that you can present the gospel because the whole context is somehow presenting Christ to an unbelieving world in order to erect a platform of credibility with believability you must love your enemy.

You must treat them the way you want to be treated. That is the essence of the love of God. You treat them the way you want to be treated. And then he says this. Verse 35. This is the expectation of love. Again but love your enemies. Do good, lend expecting nothing in return. Stop right there. How do you know you love God's way? You expect nothing in return. Nothing. The minute you expect something in return you have ceased to love God's way. You have loved in a selfish way. You have loved in a manipulative kind of way.

You haven't ministered to anybody. You have only manipulated that person. Once you expect something in return husbands and wives take note because we always do things to get something back. That is not love. That is manipulation. True love expects nothing in return. So Christ says do good, lend and expect nothing ever to come back to you.

The expectation of love expects nothing in return. Doesn't wait for anything to be paid back. Why? Because love is an action. Love is something I do because of who God is not because of what I want in return. I am loving my enemy because I want my enemy to come to Christ. I am loving my enemy because I want my enemy to see Christ. I am loving my enemy because God commands me to love them in a way that he himself if he were here would love them. So that's my commission. That's my responsibility. And so we move from the essence of love to the expectation of love.

And that is expect nothing. But listen to this. He says and your reward will be great. Now what's that mean? Well yeah when you die you're going to have a great reward in heaven. That's not what he's talking about. He's not talking about an eternal reward. He's talking about the reward today. Your reward will be great. Now what's your reward going to be? Your reward is this. And you will be sons of the most high for he himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. What is your reward that's so great?

Your reward that is so great is that men will think and believe that you are a son of the most high God. Because only God loves that kind of way. That's a great reward. Your reward is what men will think about you. Your reward will be what men will see in you. Your reward will be that they will see God and not you. That's probably better isn't it? They will see God in you because only God does those kinds of things. Now you know that the Spirit of God is energizing your life because you're in the realm of the supernatural not the natural.

And they're going to see something distinctly different about your life. Something Christian about your life. Something that truly represents Christ to them. And they will know for certain that you are a son of the most high God. El Elyon. First time used in Genesis chapter 14.

Used of Christ in Luke chapter 1 as he was described as the son of the most high God. The son of the sovereign ruler of the universe. The king of all. The most high God. They will know that you are the son of the most high God. That your God, your Father is the sovereign ruler of the universe. That you truly are a born again Christian. That's your reward. You say well that's it? Well you know you're going to get a reward in heaven. No doubt about that because you're living for Christ. But yeah. I mean what more do you want?

I mean don't you want to represent Christ to people? Once we get beyond well if all I do is represent Christ to people and all they do is see Christ in me is that it? Then we've got a problem. Because it's more about us than it is about God. Us as Christians our life has to be about God and not about us. And so our great reward is that people see God in us. See that we are sons of the most high God and then we have proven for true that our life is distinctively Christian. Because the unbeliever doesn't love their enemy.

The unbeliever only does good to those who do good to them. The unbeliever is the kind of person who lends to those who will lend to them. The unbeliever is the one who loves those who love them. But what about you? What about me? How do we love the enemy? Verse 36. Be merciful just as your father is merciful. Wow. Show mercy to those who are miserable. He is kind to all. That's how God is. God is merciful. He is kind to all. He withholds damnation. He withholds judgment. And when we are kind and we are merciful you act God's like.

Remember back in Exodus chapter 34? How was it that God described himself to Moses? As kind. As merciful. He is merciful. He is kind to all. He has long suffering. And demonstrated his mercy to generation after generation after generation. That's the way God is. And so we are to be merciful as God himself is merciful. Remember Jonah? Why didn't he want to go to Nineveh? Because he knew his God was merciful. He knew his God was kind. He knew his God was loving. He knew his God was forgiving. If he goes to Nineveh and preaches the gospel his enemy will experience the loving kindness of God and he didn't want that to happen.

That's why he went the opposite way. Until he was swallowed by a fish. Then he went the right way. The moral of that story is if you get swallowed by a fish you'll do the right thing too. But the bottom line is that he understood the essence and character and nature of God. That God was loving kind. Is demonstrated by his loving kindness. His mercy. His compassion. His love. That's the way God is. See we forget about that. But God is merciful to everybody. Let me give you a practical illustration.

I don't want to offend anybody but listen carefully to what I'm going to tell you. We know that in excess of 70,000 people have just died in China. 70,000 people because of an earthquake of the magnitude of 8.0 on the Richter scale. We also know that from that, and I've written these statistics down, that over 30,000 people are still missing of the 70,000 that are already dead. Leaving almost 300,000 people injured. That's the number of people that have died in China. Leaving homeless over 5 million people.

Leaving at the minimum of 4,000 children without their parents. So how is it that that demonstrates the mercy of God? Because people will say well this was a tragedy. This was devastating. How? This is just so unbelievable. Where was God in all of this? See we forget that God in his mercy is so kind and so loving that when he enacts his justice, he's unholy and unjust in our minds. The Bible says the soul that sins it shall what?

Die. Every breath you take is because of the mercy of God. Every moment you live is because of the goodness and kindness of God. The very fact that you live to this day demonstrates how good and kind and merciful God is because his word says the wages of sin is death. The moment you are conceived, God is holy and just in taking your life. Because you are conceived in what? Sin. And so the moment you are conceived in God's plan, you deserve death. But God is kind, long-suffering, merciful, loving and merciful, patient and allows man to live in spite of the fact he should die.

And so when man dies and there's a tragedy, we ask the question why? Where was God in all this? Why does God not let them live longer? The question is why doesn't God take your life sooner? That's the real question. The real question is why is it you live? Not why is it people die? We ask the wrong question. We need to ask the right question. Why is it people continue to live? Because of God's kindness, his mercy, his long-suffering, his patience. Think about that. God is merciful. He's kind. He's patient.

We are to be merciful as God himself is merciful. That's what the Bible says. That's the expectation of what does God expect from us? That we be merciful as he is merciful. That we lend and we do good and expect nothing in return. Because you see, to show mercy means you expect nothing in return. Because at the base of mercy is a desire to move someone to a better situation. And that's what loving your enemies is all about. Which leads us to the end of love. The Bible says this, verse 37.

Do not judge, you will not be judged. Do not condemn, you will not be condemned. Pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and it will be given to you. The end of love begins with how it is you demonstrate your love to others. He says, don't condemn, don't judge. On the other hand, forgive and give. Forgive and give. Just keep forgiving. Just keep giving. Do not condemn. Do not judge. It doesn't mean that you don't assess someone's spiritual condition because that's what the Sermon on the Mount is all about, right?

The Sermon on the Mount is all about assessing one's spiritual condition before God. But you can't go around condemning your enemy, judging your enemy, because that's God's job. He's the judge. He's the one that condemns them. You don't condemn your enemy. God condemns them in their sin if they refuse to repent. But your job is not to condemn them. Your job is not to judge them. Your job is to forgive them and to give to them. Why? Why? Because it is natural for the unbeliever to do good to those who do good to them, but also to do bad to those who do bad to them.

So if you go around judging in a harsh way and condemning and criticizing the sinner, by the way, for being a sinner, you know, we can be awful hard on sinners sometimes. Hey, listen, folks, sinners do what sinners do because sinners can't do anything else. That's why they're called sinners. So we can go around condemning, criticizing, and treating sinners in a judgmental kind of way, but folks, they can't do anything else. That's all they can do. So unless God saves their soul, they're going to just keep right on sinning.

So it does you no good to condemn them. It does you no good to judge them. But what it does do is show you how it is you should forgive them and give to them because that's what Christ did. He forgave them and gave himself up for them. See that? That's what you do. That's how you live. Because you see, if you judge them harshly and you criticize them, you know what they're going to do? They're going to do the same thing to you. Because that's what sinners do. They can't do anything else. But if you forgive them and you give to them, you know what God says?

Read on. He says this, give and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over. They, who's they? The enemy. They will pour into your lap. For by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you in return. This is the end of love. This is how it all works itself out. See you give and you forgive. Why? Because by your standard of measure, it will be measured unto you. If you give and forgive, the sinner, because he can't do anything else, will begin to give and to forgive.

This helps us understand Proverbs chapter 16, verse number 7, that when a man's ways please the Lord, it makes even his enemies, to what? Be at peace with him. How do your ways please the Lord? You love as Christ loved. You love as God loved. He says, when you do that, then what happens is that when you give, it will be given back. How will it be given back to you? Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over. Now, how many of you have been to the grocery store to buy a box of cornflakes?

You open the box of cornflakes and you ask the question, where are all the cornflakes? Where'd they all go? Because by the time you get home, if that thing is a third of the way full, you're lucky.

Okay? Because it all shakes down to the bottom. So what Christ is saying is that the way the enemy gives back to you is that it's shaken down, pressed down, and running over. So that's like going to the store, taking a box of cornflakes, opening it up, shaking it down, pouring another box of cornflakes in that box, shaking it down more so it settles to the bottom, pouring another box. It'll probably take you three or four boxes to fill one box. Keep shaking it down, shaking it down, shaking it down until it's flowing over.

Wouldn't you like to buy a box of cornflakes like that for $3.99 or $2.99, whatever it costs nowadays? Sure you would. That's how the unbeliever is going to measure you. That's how they're going to give back to you. Because you see, they will see something about your life that is uniquely and distinctly different than they have ever seen before. You see, now you have a platform. Now you have a platform of credibility that is truly believable to the unbeliever. So when you open your mouth and you begin to speak, they will believe what you say.

Because you serve a God who loves their enemies, who loves his enemies. He loves them with kindness. He loves them with patience because that's the way he is. And Jesus says, this is proof of your genuine sonship.

This is proof that you are truly a son of the Most High God. Now remember that enemy I asked you to pray for during our prayer time this morning? This is the content in which you are to treat that person. You give and you receive. You give without expecting anything in return. You do good without ever expecting him to ever return anything whatsoever. You love your enemy. You pray for him. You bless him. You do good to him. Expect nothing in return. And your reward will be absolutely great because they will know that you are a son of the Most High God.

They will see God at work in your life. And all of a sudden they will know that God truly exists in your life and in mine. And all of a sudden, all of a sudden, the way you live your life will open all kinds of doors for the gospel to be presented. I am convinced that the number one reason the unbeliever in our families, and we all have them to some extent, unbelievers in our churches and unbelievers in our workplace don't ask us about Christ or don't hear about the words that we give them about Christ is because that platform of credibility is being torn down by our words and our actions daily.

You say, wait a minute, Pastor. I have tried to live the Christlike life. I have tried and I am doing this every... Yes, that's true. And you know what? It doesn't mean that that person is going to come to Christ tomorrow or the next day. It's that constant testimony in my words and my actions that that person who's an unbeliever sees in my life. And you know what? Your only responsibility is your life before God. And how you live that life is going to speak volumes to the opportunity you have to present the gospel.

And even when you do it the right way, as Christ himself did, listen carefully, the majority of people will still reject the gospel. They will. They will. Because they rejected Christ, right? The majority of the people will still reject the gospel. But it doesn't mean you stop loving your enemies. It doesn't mean you stop praying for those who mistreat you. It doesn't mean you stop... Because Jesus never did. He just kept coming to those who mistreated him, who rejected him. He didn't say, well, if you don't want me, that's it.

I'm leaving. I'm going home. I'm going back to heaven. He didn't do that. He died for his enemies, right? He died for them first.

Because greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends, right? And when Jesus looked at Judas on the night of the betrayal with a kiss in the garden, what did he say? He said, friend. Because even the enemies of God are his friends. Why? Because that's the way God loves them. That's why we should love them. To prove we are sons of the most high God. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for today and the opportunity we have to look at your word once again.

As we partake of the Lord's table, we are reminded how you loved us while we were enemies of God. And you gave your life for us. And we are about to celebrate that love. And we thank you that we can see this day that Jesus is our Lord and Savior. May we demonstrate to others the great love of our God. In Jesus' name, amen.