Luke's Gospel

Okay. So that's loop 6 12 to the 36. Before we read, let me just pray quickly. Heavenly father, we thank you for your life giving holy spirit word. We praise you that your word does give us life.

It is your very word that is breathed by you, and thank you that we can read it now. Please will you open our eyes and our ears and our hearts to your truths, make us teachable and humble. Will you please show us Christ more clearly? And we pray for Rory as well as he preaches, help him lord proclaim your truths faithfully and to point us to Christ. So please speak to us now in Jesus's name, amen.

1 of those days, Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray and spent the night praying to god. When morning came, He called his disciples to him and chose 12 of them whom he also designated apostles. Simon, whom he named Peter, his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartolomeu, Matthew Thomas, James Son of Alpheus, Simon, who was called the zealot, Judis son of James and Judith Escariot, who became a traitor. He went down with them and stood at honor level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea from Jerusalem and from the coastal region around tyre and sidon.

Who would come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those trouble by impure spirits were cured, and the people all tried to touch him because power was coming from him and healing them all. Looking at his disciples, he said. Bless to you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of god, blessed to you who hunger now for you will be satisfied. Bless to you who weep now for you will laugh.

Blessed to you when people hate you when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil because of the son of man. Rejoice in that day and need for joy because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets. But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Woe to you who are well fed now for you will go hungry.

Woe to you who laugh now. If you were mourn and weep, Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets. But to you who are listening, I say, love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you.

Pray for those who ill treat you. If if someone slaps you on 1 cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back, due to others as you as 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 even sinners lent 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. Alright. Father, we we thank you, for our young people. We thank you that you have saved many of them, that they are professing believers, that they want to know you more, that they want to live for you, We thank you for our weekend where they heard great truths about who you are and and what that means for them.

And we pray father that they will be so in love with you as a result of this, that they will now live in this world, that they will stand up for the lord Jesus. And father, we pray now for our time. We thank you for this passage in Luke. We pray that as we look at it, you will help us, that you will help us to listen to what you have to say, that you will challenge us where we need challenging, father. This is a challenging passage.

We might have heard it before. But there are things that might convict us. But father we pray that with those challenges and with those convictions, that you'll help us to correct where we need correcting. File, we need your help in this let us hear you tonight. We pray this in Jesus' name.

Oh, man. Okay. Let me begin by asking you, what does it mean to live a happy life? What does it mean to live a blessed life? What do what do people think will make them happy that will give them that satisfaction and contentment What is it that the world says will make you happy?

Now I imagine the the the the the answers are coming quite quickly to your heads. It seems quite obvious what this world says that you need to pursue wealth and possessions and material things. To be happier. I mean, it was interesting. I was, I was at my school, this week, and we had an assembly for the year eleventh.

And the year elevens were told, listen, if you, get such such and such grades in life, whether that's your GCSEs and your a levels, then your degree, and that if you get a degree, you could get a master's. And if you get a master's, you could get a PhD, and you'll be a doctor. And, and the higher you go up, the bigger the salary. And he was saying he was saying, you do really you do better and better. You do really well in these exams.

Then you'll get a good salary and you'll be happy. Or maybe it's, a thrill or an experience or the people that says, you just need you need to have a a really good time. You need to enjoy life. Do what makes you happy. Be who you want to be, be who makes you happy, or Maybe it's a a relationship.

Family members having a having a wife and kids or a husband and kids, if you're a woman Or is it about having lots of friends and, lots of popularity? That'll make you happy. Fit in. You conform to the society that you live in so that you don't stand out so that everyone just accepts you and likes you and loves you. Is that what makes you happy?

Is that the happy life? I think that's probably probably what the world says. Right? I mean, you see it see it everywhere. But actually, when we come to this passage, Jesus is saying something utterly different.

So the last 2 Sundays, we've we've looked at the Sabbath and we've looked at fasting. So Jesus has said just before, that I'm the lord of the Sabbath, that I'm here to bring rest, that I'm here to bring new rest for people And before that, he was looking at fasting and saying, listen, I'm bringing new wine. Is that old wine the old way wasn't I I've I've got a better way. It's new wine. It's a better way.

It's a better wine. It's a better rest. There's a better covenant. This is a new kingdom. That's what Jesus is saying here.

I'm bringing in a new kingdom. And tonight, we're gonna look at kinda what that kingdom is. And I wanna say that this kingdom is the upside down. This is the upside down. Now, some of you might have watched a program stranger things.

The upside down and stranger things is a bit of a freaky place. This isn't a freaky place. It's a really good thing. It's the upside down kingdom. And I wanna think about what it means to be a part of it.

So let's explore the upside down kingdom. So firstly, look with me, choosing 12 for the upside down kingdom, choosing 12 for the upside down kingdom. And so we pick up the story in verse 12, and we have Jesus pray him. And he's I mean, amazingly he seems to be able to pray for the whole night. I mean, I can't even pray for 5 minutes.

Never mind, for the whole night. But he's praying all nights. And why is he doing this? Well, because in the morning, he knows that he's gonna choose 12 men. 12 of his disciples to be his apostles.

And these men are gonna be the ones he trains up. He's gonna spend 3 years trading up, and then then they're gonna be his eyewitnesses of everything that he does, or his ministry, his death, his resurrection. These are the men that are going to experience that. 12 men. And it's these 12 men that he that are gonna take Jesus' new kingdom out to the world.

But they're they're not just taken out to the world. They're not just preaching a message. No. They're gonna model what this upside down kingdom looks like. They're gonna live it out.

And so Jesus wants to make sure that he's discerning the minds of God. He wants to make sure that he's relying on the father. That's what Jesus does. He's the perfect human being. He always relies on the father.

And so he must make the right choice. And so he picks 12 apostles. And this is foundational because you've got 12 apostles. What did we have in the the old testament? We had 12 tribes of Israel.

12 tribes that represented Israel 12 apostles that represent this new kingdom. And they're gonna lead the way in Christian Kingdom Living They're gonna show the world what it means to be in Jesus' new, happy, blessed upside down kingdom. And so it's fundamental that he gets these apostles right that they know the message of the kingdom that they preach the message of the kingdom, but also that they live the message of the kingdom. Because if they don't do it, then no 1 else will. If they don't live it out, no 1 else will.

So he needs to pick these 12 men and you get the 12 names there. So that's the first thing. Choose in 12 for the upside down kingdom. Here's the second thing. And it it's a lot longer than that.

Don't get happy because that was quite a short point. That's that's the shortest 1. So secondly, blessings and woes in the upside down kingdom. Blessings and woes in the king the upside down kingdom. Look, so he's picked his 12 men, And so they walk down in verse 17, and they land on this level place.

And as as per usual, wherever Jesus goes, there is some massive crowd that faces. Just look with me down at verse 17. He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judaism, from Jerusalem and from the coastal region around Tyre and Siden who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, and the people all tried to touch him because power was coming from him and healing them all.

These are that's amazing. Right? There are amazing verses right there. There he goes. He comes down to the bottom of this this man onto this level place and there's loads and loads of people, and it just seems like power is exuding from him to everyone.

And so you're there, you're there trying to touch him and Oh, I'm healed. It's remarkable. But only 2 verses given to this these healings. Only 2 verses. And the reason that is I think if this is not the main thing, This is not the main thing that Jesus wants you to focus on.

Yes. Healings are good. Yes. They show us something a glimpse of what will happen in the future when Jesus's kingdom will come in its fulfillment and there'll be no pain. But that's not what he wants us to major on.

See, he knows that people will be attracted to his miracles. But they don't want him as king. And he wants people to know what it means to have him as king and to be in his kingdom. And so he doesn't want his disciples going away thinking It's all about just getting well. It's all about physical healing.

It's all about, you know, get my body right. No. It's more than that. And so look in verse 20, it says, looking at his disciples. In other words, the translation he lifts his eyes up from all this crowd as he heals them, as his power goes out, and he's healing everybody, and he looks up and he fixes his eyes on these 12 It's looking at them dead in the eye and he goes, this is what my upside down kingdom is like.

And he pronounces 4 blessings and 4 woes. 4 blessings, 4 woes. And what you've got going on here, you've got 2 kingdoms in play here. 2 kingdoms at a wrestle with 1 another. 2 kingdoms that are totally different.

It's Jesus Kingdom. Jesus is upside down kingdom versus Satan's the world Satan's kingdom. But the the way that Jesus says it, the blessed kingdom, the upside down kingdom, We would not think that would be the happy kingdom. No 1 would think looking at those blessings, Oh, that that looks happy. Oh, yes, please.

Now, in fact, when we read that, we think that's surely. That's It is surprising to see what Jesus says. The Happy Kingdom looks like. See, that word they're blessed literally means happy. It it means you're happy.

You're to be envied off because God's favor's on you. God's grace is on you. It's it's kind of I I guess, you know, when you when you see someone having a really, really lovely time, and they're laughing and smiling. And someone always makes that dumb quote. I'll have what he's having.

Yeah. It's a bit like that, I suppose. You're you're a bit envious of the happiness that they have because that's what blessed means is happy And so who is the blessed 1? And who's the 1 in grief? Which kingdom gives happiness.

Is it Jesus' kingdom or is it Satan's kingdom? Well, let's have a look at these blessings and woes. The first 1 you'll see is the poor and the rich. Look at verse 20 first. Bless are you who are poor for yours is the kingdom of God.

And then verse 24, but woe to you who are rich for you have already received your comfort. Now, that poverty I don't think is, talking specifically about actual material wealth and money. I think actually this is more to do with spiritual poverty at a debt to god. Because because people rebel against god, and they don't want god in their lives. They say, actually, I'm gonna do my own thing god I have no god in my life and so I'm there poor spiritually.

But I do think actually And I think if you look at our culture, that material wealth, it can be definitely linked to spiritual poverty. I mean, it's interesting if you look at I think if you look at our work, our culture, in the UK, in the western culture, I think we see a lot of people who are rich, but give no glory to god. And and and Luke knows these dangers. If you read through Luke, I remember what I think we looked at in the media fast last year, didn't we? We looked at Luke 2 years ago or last year.

I was I was actually amazed by the amount of times that Luke says, look, money is dangerous. Money is dangerous. Money is dangerous. Money is dangerous. And I think it's because when you put your reliance on money, and you think, oh, all I'm gonna be about is money in this world.

That's all I'm gonna live for. This is what Jesus is saying. You've got your rewards. If all you're living for in this world is to get a little bit more money, little bit more wealth. That's all I care about, and I don't care about god.

You've got your reward. I'm woe to you. Because in the life to come, there will be none. But if you realize that this money and this wealth is only temporary and that you are poor before god and that you need god, that there is so much more than this world and the money that I have and that actually I'm gonna rely on god. And actually, with the money I have, I know that this isn't my money.

This is god's money. And so therefore, I can use it to serve god because I wanna be closer to god. I wanna be with god. Then there are riches beyond belief. Do you see the riches?

There's 20. Yours. Is the kingdom of God. Doesn't get richer than that. You get the very riches that god has.

The creator god has created everything. He can give you it all. You get the kingdom in its fullness. And so let me ask you, what does your bank account reveal about the kingdom you're living for. What is it that you're gonna spend your money?

Are you gonna spend your money on yourself or try to get more money? Or are you spending your money in reliance and god? See, some of these apostles got this, right? If you look back at chapter 5 verse verse 27, who saved? Who does Jesus say call call on to follow him?

Levi. LeVI is in the lucrative business of tax collecting. Everyone loves a good tax collector. A lot of money in tax collecting But he realizes that it's much better riches with Jesus and his kingdom. The the Peter and and Andrew and James and John Fisherman.

They're in a business. They're earning money, but they follow Jesus. He's got more to offer. So that's the first thing, the poor and the rich. Secondly, the hungry and the well fed.

Look at verse. 21 and 25. Bless to you who hunger now for you will be satisfied. Then verse 25. Woe to you who are well fed now for you will go hungry.

Where is it that you look for fulfillment? Where is it that you look for satisfaction? Is it in this world? As you are you trying to fill your life in this world with things that it has to offer to to help you to feel satisfied? Or are you looking at the kingdom to come?

Are you looking at the lord Jesus and what he has to offer? The 1 who says, come to me. And I'll give you satisfaction. Are you trying to rely on the things in this world to make you happy? People do this all the time.

They try and fill their lives with we talked about at the start, a relationship, a family. I wanna be who I wanna be? So I'm gonna find my fulfillment in my sexuality or my gender. But all these things will pass away. And as you try and fulfill yourself in this world.

All you'll find is an emptiness in the next. That's the second thing. Hungry and well fed thirdly. Weeping and laughing. Weeping and laughing verse 21 and 25 again.

Blessed are you who weep now for you a laugh. Verse 25. Woe to you who laugh now. For you will mourn and weep. And, you know, I think we've got here at the moment.

It's kind of paradoxical, right, with those blessings. I I think this 1 here is the 1 of the biggest paradoxes, or it feels like a paradox anyway. So happy are the poor. Happy, are the ones who are hungry now. I I'm never happy when I'm hungry.

If you've ever come across a canard, they are very, very grumpy and irate. When hungry. In fact, I'm quite hungry right now. But this 1 here, happy Happy. Happy are you who weep now.

If you're weeping now, you're happy. Happy. And I'm weeping. I'm happy and I'm weeping. What?

And Jesus is saying the blessed person is the person who grieves. But I think there is a reason for this. I think this is right because the person who weeps now is weeping with a view that there is a day coming when they will no longer weep. What causes the weed and why do people weep? Well, the reason they weep in this world is because they look at the sin in the world.

They look at the sin in their own lives and they're broken by it. They look at a broken world full of chaos and confusion of people of 17 year olds getting stabbed and they weep. They see this world and they're dissatisfied with it. It's a broken world. They see death They see suffering.

They see cancer. They see pain. And they know that this world is not right. And it makes them weep. But they know as well that it won't last.

They know as well that there is a day coming when they will no longer we, but they will laugh because they will be free. Because all wrongs will be righted. Revelation 17 7. Turn with me if you want Revelation 7 17. Sorry.

Some glorious words as we look at the new creation to come This is what the what it says 7 7 chapter 7 verse 17. For the lamb, at the center of the throne will be their shepherds. He will lead them to springs of living water, satisfaction. He will lead them to springs of living water. And this is a beautiful bit.

I love it when talk when the Bible talks about God like this. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. No more weeping. No more crying. No more crying there.

We're with the king, and it'll wipe away those tears. And so, whoa, if you laugh in this world, whoa, If you think it's okay that people get stabbed at 17, whoa, if you're comfortable in this world. Because there is a day coming when you will be in a place where there'll be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Where there'll be mourning and weeping. Whoa.

The happy person weeps now, and the happy weeps down because they know what's to come. 1 of my examples of this is my mother. My mother seems to get cancer constantly. I don't know why. And the the third time she got it, we we it grieves us.

Right? It hurts, cancer. Their time. Come on. She usually beats it, which is good.

She did this time again, but it felt like they thought that she was gonna die. And, yeah, there's a little bit of weep and a bit of grief there, but we also know that she'll be free. And there's a hope. And we'll be happy and we will laugh. Chapter 16 of Luke is brilliant about this.

I think it really illustrates as well. These first 3. Okay. You get the the story that Jesus tells about lazarus and the rich man. And you've got the rich man.

He's got it all. He's got the money. He's got the possessions. He's got the fine house. He's got lovely food to eat.

And then you've got the the man Lazarus, the only man named in the story and he's hurting. He's sore. He's poor. He's hungry. He longs to eat the food.

They're far from the table. He wants to eat with the dogs. But who is in heaven and free, lazarus? Who is in hell and in pain and in weeping? The rich man.

Happy. Is the poor? Happy. Is the hungry? Happy is the 1 who weeps.

And lastly, happy is the 1 rejected. Rejection, and people speaking well of you. Look down verse 23, verse 22. Sorry. Blessed you when people hate you when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil because of the son of man.

And then at the end verse 23 for that is how their ancestors treated the prophets. Then verse 26, woe to you and everyone speaks well of you. For that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets. So Jesus often talks about this in the gospel because he says, if you're my follower, if you're about following me, you're gonna be rejected. And the reason why is because the gospel, this upside down kingdom is so counter cultural.

And so when you come with this gospel and you come with this kingdom and you go into the kingdom of Satan, people will hate you. And they will reject you and they will oppose you. And that is because of the message that this kingdom brings. And when that message comes satan hates it, the world hates it. I mean, so much of the Bible is offensive to this world.

We're talking about the you we're talking about the young people. They've gotta live in an age where they're told that being a transgender person is okay that it's okay to wanna be a a a girl if you're a boy and a boy and girl, or if you don't wanna be either just be your own thing. And Genesis 1 says, God created the man and female. How dare you tell me what I am and what I can't be? We live in a we live in an age that thinks abortion's okay, but our Bible says that it's not.

We live in a in a an age even that that that says forgive and people hate to forgive. And so when we come, and what should happen when we come with this gospel message is that we should be hated. But the good news is is that if you're treated like this because of your belief in Jesus, then it shows that you're part of his kingdom. It shows that you're god's people, doesn't it? Look, that's what god's prophets what's what happened to them.

And so if I'm being treated like this, this is showing me that I'm god's person. But woe to you if you if you're loved by this world, if people love you. Because if you're loved by this world, That tells us or that tells that you're of this world. And ultimately, that will lead to your downfall. But look, there's even more.

I mean Jesus doesn't leave it there for the blessed 1, for the happy 1. These next verses let's just read them verse 23. Just this verse. So he's just said, happier you when people hate excludes you and insult you and reject your name as evil because of the son of man verse 23, rejoice in that day. What?

Rejoice in that day and leap for joy. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy. Really? I get hated. I get excluded.

I get insulted. I get opposed people hostile. And what do I do? I leap for joy. I don't know if you heard when we did the media fast this year.

Acts. 1 of my favorite verses of acts, but it it completely bowls me over. Acts chapter 5 and verse 41. The the 2 apostles there have just been flogged and told not to preach the word of god anymore. Acts chapter 5 verse 41 says this.

The apostles left the Sanhedrin, really glum, because they'd just been flogged for being a Christian. No. It doesn't say that. It says the apostles left the Sanhedron ricoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the name. That's that's me.

I don't understand. I get a little bit of flak for being a Christian and I feel sorry for myself. But Jesus says rejoice. Rejoice rejoice you've been counted worthy. And so why?

Well, he goes on in verse 23, great is your reward in heaven. See, when you're hated and insulted, That's confirmation. And it's confirmation of the kingdom that you live in, and it's confirmation that you're gonna receive the kingdom to come. So suffering and hardships show the rewards. And that is totally worth it.

It is, isn't it? It is worth it, isn't it? Romans chapter 8 verse 18. I consider these present soft rings incomparable with the glory that is to come. Worth it.

And let us not forget that the lord Jesus goes through this himself. The lord Jesus gives up the very throne room of heaven. He becomes poor. So that we can be rich. The Lord Jesus goes to the funeral of his mate lazarus and we've got the shortest verse in the bible.

Jesus wept. He saw the brokenness. He wept. Jesus was hated. We saw, with Ben last week, hated.

Rejected opposed. Jesus was hated by them so much that they slung them on across. But for the glory that was set up for him, he endures the cross. And then even if you look at the apostles after him, poor, hungry, weeping, hate it. So let me ask you, who do you match up to?

Which versus here describes you? Think about this. Which verses describe you? Are you versus 20 22? Are you a happy person?

Are you in the upside down kingdom? Or are you verse 24 to 26 and woe to you? I I use these verses, on the first morning of the youth weekend away. As our devotional. I think essentially what's going on in these verses are either you're gonna be a settler you're gonna be someone who looks forward to the new kingdom.

It'll be easy to be a settler. It'll be easy just to have the contentment now and the satisfaction now. But the person who settles, there is whoa. But if you fix your eyes and the stuff that is to come, that is so much greater that it's eternal, then that is worth it. So which 1 are you?

And which 1 are you gonna be? So often I think we could just try and find a middle ground. Or I'll try and I'll try and make sure that I talk about Jesus, but not so much so that people swear at me. I'll give I'll give some of my money, but actually I wanna keep some for myself and we try and find a middle ground. I think we in this country and our churches, we've gotta be really careful.

And we gotta think about this carefully. Am I looking forward to the new creation? Am I so looking forward to it that I'm willing to put it all on the line? Jesus calls us to be extreme. He tells you to be radical.

He tells you to be extreme. Are you willing to do it? Are you yearning for the day when he returns? I know you're living out of that. Which kingdom are you in?

Are you in the upside down or are you in this world's kingdom? So that's my second point. Blessings and woes in the upside down kingdom. Third point. Responding to enemies in the upside down kingdom.

Responding to enemies in the upside down kingdom. So we've seen that to be happy means that you're gonna be opposed that people are gonna be hostile towards you. That's in verse 23. So when these people are hostile, when these people are opposed to me, when they insult me, how am I supposed to respond? Well, amazingly, Jesus says, I've not been radical enough yet.

Do you think that was radical? Wait till you hear this? So he says, you who are listening to me. Listen. Listen.

I'm gonna get radical now. And this is so radical to the world's ears. Look at verse 27 to 28. But to those who are listening, I say, love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who will treat you.

Really? Really? I've got a lot of my enemy. I've gotta bless the person that curses me. The 1, you know, I, you know, I'm driving my car.

I've I've made a mistake if someone's effin' and blind. And I mean, I know this is I've gotta bless you, brother. The person who mocks you, I've gotta bless them. What? Jesus is telling us to do the impossible.

I can't do this. I've gotta forgive. Really? I can't do that. And then he goes on in verse 29 to 30, and he gives us practical examples of how to do this.

Look, verse 29. If someone slaps you on the cheek, turn to them the other also. So I'm not allowed to smack him back, which is what every fiber of me wants to do when someone hits me, I wanna whack him back. If someone beats me, I like to win. I don't I don't hide that very well.

If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you And if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. This is going the extra mile. This isn't just this isn't just going okay. I'll forgive you.

This is I'll forgive you and have some more. It reminds me, I don't know if any of you've seen late. I mean, There's so many ways to access les mis. It's ridiculous. You can watch the theater show.

You can watch the movie. You can read the book. I'm sure there's probably some other format that it's in. But there's a wonderful scene in in les Miz and, the bloke, who I forget his name, Jean Val Jean. He he robs from the priest.

He gets caught. He's taken a lot of the stuff from the priest. He gets caught. He comes back. He thinks it's here.

I've gone back to prison after goodness sake. Just got out. And the priest says, you forgot the candlesticks. He gives more. He just he doesn't just forgive and say, yeah, I gave them.

He gives more. He goes the extra mile. First 31, due to others as you would have them do to you. Impossible. That's impossible to do.

We're not to treat people how they treat us. In fact, it's despite how they've treated you. You treat them how you want to be treated. Despite the fact that they may have ill treated, despite the fact that they've mocked you, you still treat them with love and respect. But he goes in further verse 32 to 34.

He sort of starts to even show this why we have to do this. 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 learn to those from whom You expect repayment.

What credit is that to you. Even sinners lent to sinners expecting to be repaid in full. See? It's not hard to lend some to it's not hard for me to lend to someone if I know for dead certain that I'm getting it back. It's not hard for me to love.

My wife. Okay? Not always. Sometimes it might be, but because she loves me. She's for me.

Not hard for me to love the people that love me. But what about when it's that colleague who's totally vile towards you? Who makes your life a misery, the boss that makes you work hours and is cutting down a few and mocks your religion. The classmate or the the the university mate who who sneers are the fact that you're a Christian and insults you for it. The family member who dismisses you.

Then it gets hard. It's easy to to forget to love those who love me. Everyone does that, even sinners do that. But to love someone who doesn't love me, that's radical. That's counter cultural.

That's impossible. And then in verse 35, he then repeats us up. But love your enemies. Do good to them. And lent to them with expecting to get anything back.

Jesus, I've told you this is impossible. I can't do this. But you can do this because he is the 1 who enables you to do it. Naturally, I can't do this. But when I live in the blessed kingdom in the happy kingdom, I can do this because he gives me the power.

And the reason I should do this, well, look at the reward. That's the reason we should do it. And he kinda goes back to the reward he was talking about before, but he makes it even better. He shows it to be better. Look.

Verse 35. Then your reward will be great, and you'll be children of the most high. You get to be called children of the most high. You get to call god father. And you're able to do that, you're able to have him as father because he's brought you into his kingdom.

And now you can reflect him And you can reflect his character and what is his character. He is kind to the ungrateful. And the wicked. He's kind. He's been grateful and the wicked.

Matthew says he makes the sunshine on the evil and the righteous alike. He makes the rain pour on the the righteous and the evil alike. God is kind. And where more do we see the kindness of god to ungrateful, wicked, evil sinners? That on the cross of the lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 5 verse 8 whilst we were still sinners. Whilst, I was an enemy whilst I was rebelling against God and saying, I don't anything to do with you God whilst I was in that state, Christ died, but me. And as he hangs on that cross for sinners, What does he shout? Father, forgive. That's amazing.

It's it dies for his enemies. And so when we get that, when we understand that he's brought me into the upside down kingdom by his blood, by dying for me as an enemy, then I can do the impossible. And we see it time and time again. You go to acts chapter 7. Who do we have Stephen?

And he gets stoned by his enemies. But what does he say? Don't hold the sin against them lords. He prays for them. And then believers down the ages have done the same.

A bloke called Polycop. You might not have heard of me. It was 1 of the first, forefathers of the church. He's 87. And there he is in hiding from the authorities because they wanna kill him.

And as they come to his house, what he do, leave me alone. Go away. You don't like me. No. He doesn't do that.

He says he invites him in. He basically gives him a cup of tea. And he says, I'll go with you. You may have heard of the stories of Corrie 10 Boom. Someone who was in a constant tracing camp for hiding, Jews.

Her sister gets killed in a concentration camp. And then she sees 1 of the perpetrators face to face. And he's saying I I I I I want forgiveness from you. She can't do it. She can't do it.

She can't do it. Why can't she do it? Because naturally, we can't do it. It's impossible. So what does she do?

She prays Jesus help me. And with that, she can then forgive him. Helim Rosovir, an amazing woman in the Congo raped twice tied up has a book that she's working on, burnt in front of her. It's the only book she has. She comes back to meet the man that's done it.

Can I forgive him? At the first, no. I've got resentment in my heart. I've got resentment. I can't do it.

I can't do it. But with the lord Jesus, she could. We can't forgive. It's impossible, I know, but it becomes natural when we have the lord Jesus with us. See, if we're gonna be the most highs in the most highs kingdom as his children, then we must reflect him.

We must be about his will. We must be about his ways. We must be about his kingdom. If we worship him as king, then we need to become like him. So we need to listen to Jesus in this last verse.

What did he say? Be merciful verse 36 just as your father is merciful. Understand what the lord Jesus did for you to win you. Understand that he died on a cross to buy you into this kingdom. What mercy Mercy, I don't deserve it.

I deserve death in condemnation, but Jesus died for me. And so tonight, I wonder, do you know that? If you're an enemy of god, If you're not trusting in him, do you know that the lord Jesus died? Tied for you? So you can be in his kingdom.

So you can live the happy life. Are we reflecting god? Are we reflecting his mercy? How are we doing with this? Are we living the blessed life?

Are we living the happy life? Or are we living a life of wow? We're just trying to find the middle ground a little bit of both. Don't be a settler. Don't A seller, look forward to the new creation, look forward to the day when the lord Jesus returns and brings perfection and brings his new kingdom in fulfillment.

And as we live in the upside down world that he has bought us in, then radically love Do the impossible. Do the impossible show the world that you can do the impossible. Forgive love, pray for those who oppose you. Maybe it's worth thinking right now. Who is it that you're gonna show this radical love to?

Who is it that is opposing you? Who is it that insults you? How will you show them love? Let me pray. Father, we thank you that you have given us this kingdom.

We thank you that to be in this kingdom is truly blessed. That to be in it means happiness. And father, we know that in this world and in this culture, in this country, it's so easy to settle, and it's so easy to be comfortable, and it's so easy not to look forward to the return of you. And so we pray father, lift our eyes. From this world and put them on you.

How was to see that this world is is broken? But there is a world to come. And father we pray that as we live in your kingdom, that you will radically change us. So much so that we're willing to forgive, that we're willing to love, that we're willing to pray, that we're willing to bless. Those who oppose us.

And father we pray that as we do that, as we show these people the happy life, they will be envious. And that they will turn and know the lord Jesus' as savior. And so we pray this in Jesus' name.