Retaliation Versus Going The Extra Mile

When people wrong us, insult us or take our property, we want to see them pay for what they did to us. The question we all need to ask ourselves today is, “Are we willing to go the extra mile for Jesus?”

When people wrong us, insult us or take our property, we want to see them pay for what they did to us. The question we all need to ask ourselves today is, “Are we willing to go the extra mile for Jesus?”

Revenge happens when we feel that justice wasn’t served

The eye for an eye Verse was meant to be a guide to Judges as to the maximum sentence of justice handed out for a crime and was direct and meant to be carried out the court (Justice). When Individuals use the eye for an eye verse against someone it is called revenge.

We are not to take it upon ourselves to retaliate when insulted; we are to use that as an opportunity to witness to others. It takes a spiritually disciplined person to do that, doesn’t it? Are you willing to suffer insult for Christ, or do we have to get back at the person who insults us, an insult for an insult?

Verse List

• Matthew 5:38 – 42

• Matthew 5:38

• Exodus 21:24

• Leviticus 24:

• Deuteronomy 19:21

• Hebrews 10:30

• Matthew 5:39

• 1 Corinthians 9:19-23

• John 18:22-23

• Matthew 5:40

• Exodus 22:26-27

• 1 Corinthians 6:

• Matthew 5:

• Philippians 1:12

• Matthew 5:42

Sermon Summary

Even the disciples had to be taught to pray. Luke 11:1

“For Christians prayer is like breathing. You don’t have to think to breathe because the atmosphere exerts pressure on your lungs and forces you to breathe. That’s why it is more difficult to hold your breath than it is to breathe.” I don’t know whether not praying is more difficult than praying is. But I do know that not praying is as hazardous to your spiritual life as not breathing is to your physical life. Not praying will spiritually kill you. But the fact is that sometimes—praying will spiritually kill you.

Our enemy Satan is clever. He’s been at this a long time. And he wants nothing more than for you to have a completely ineffective prayer life. Oh, he won’t ever make you stop praying. But, if you’re not careful, he’ll trick you into praying with the wrong attitude.

Jesus teaches us two ways not to pray. The first way is, don’t pray like a hypocrite. Look back at:

MATTHEW 6:5-6 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. ⁶ But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

The word (Hypocrite) itself originally referred to Greek stage actors. When you pray, your audience isn’t other people. Your audience is with the King of Kings.

The first way not to pray is like a hypocrite. The second way is like a heathen.

Matthew 6:7-8: ⁷ And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

Heathen here refers to people who prayed more out of superstition or ritual than anything

There are two things you need to avoid to keep your prayers from being like heathen prayers. First, you need to make sure you’re not using your words to try and manipulate God.

Also make sure your words are not used out of superstition.

Did Jesus say we’re supposed to pray in His name? Of course He did. Was He talking about using those specific words like some magic formula? Are we supposed to say, “In Jesus’ name” almost like a magician uses the word, “Abracadabra”? Of course not. Praying in Jesus’ name means that we pray in line with the will of Jesus. It means that we submit our will and desires to Him. It means that as we wear His name as Christians, we pray in His name as well. Not out of superstition—BUT out of submission. Keep your prayers from being like heathen prayers by not trying to manipulate God. And keep your prayers from being like heathen prayers by not using words superstitiously.

How is your prayer life? Are you just praying out of habit? Are you just praying out of obligation? Are you just praying to get your needs met? Or are you praying out of a desperate longing to communicate with the One you love? With the One who loves you? With the One who gave His life to have a relationship with you? With the One who by His grace provided a way for you to boldly approach the throne of God?

If there was ever a time when God’s people needed to pray—it’s now. Right Now Daily, Several times Daily, In all Matters of Your Life Talk to God , Confide in God, God What’s A Relationship With You. So Are you Praying?

When you pray, you’re in private, close quarters with the Creator of the universe. You are in a one-on-one conversation with Him. Below is a contemporary Christian song that captures this idea perfectly.

Audience of One

Big Daddy Weave

"I come on my knees

To lay down before you

Bringing all that I am

Longing only to know you

Seeking your face

And not only your hand

I find you embracing me

Just as I am

And I lift these songs

To you and you alone

As I sing to you

In my praises make your home

To my audience of one

You are Father, and you are Son

As your spirit flows free,

Let it find within me

A heart that beats to praise you.

And now just to know you more

Has become my great reward

To see your kingdom come

And your will be done

I only desire to be yours,

Lord

So what could I bring

To honor your majesty

What song could I sing

That would move the heart of royalty

And all that I have

Is the life that you€™ve given me

So Lord let me live for you

My song with humility

And Lord as the love song

Of my life is played

I have one desire

To bring glory to your name

To my audience of one

You are Father, and you are Son

As your spirit flows free,

Let it find within me

A heart that beats to praise you.

And now just to know you more

Has become my great reward

To see your kingdom come

And your will be done

I only desire to be yours,

Lord

And we lift these songs

To you and you alone

As we sing to you

In our praises make your home

To my audience of one

You are Father, and you are Son

As your spirit flows free,

Let it find within me

A heart that beats to praise you.

And now just to know you more

Has become my great reward

To see your kingdom come

And your will be done

I only desire to be yours,

Lord"

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Michael Weaver / Michael David Weaver

Audience of One lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

Verse List

• Matthew 6:5-8

• Luke 11:1-4

• Matthew 6:7-8

• II Corinthians 12:8

• Matthew 6:9

Sermon Summary

We greet our children, we greet our spouse, we even greet strangers we meet on the street. But How do we greet the Lord in prayer?

I Just want to remind us all of the model prayer Jesus taught to his Disciples when they ask him to teach them how to pray:

Matthew 6:9-13

We’ve gotten out of the greeting business. And, unfortunately, many times we carry that over to our prayer life. At best, we might start off, “Lord, comma.” But that’s not how Jesus told us to pray

Matthew 6: 9 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.

How do you greet the Lord in prayer? Do you greet Him formally like an 18th century letter? Do you greet Him casually like we greet each other? Or do you completely leave out a greeting to the Lord like we do in emails & text messages today?

As a matter of fact, the way you greet the Lord in prayer speaks loudly and clearly of three things. First, it speaks of your relationship.

Jesus said that when you pray, you are to call on your Father.

whatever picture you have in your mind of your earthly father… if Jesus has saved you, God is your heavenly Father. He is intimately involved in every aspect of your life. He knows you better than you know yourself and will never reject you. He will never abandon you, leave you or forsake you. He will lovingly supply all your needs. And He will chastise you and discipline you when you need it. When Jesus saves you, you are adopted into the family of God.

That’s the kind of relationship your greeting in prayer speaks of. It speaks of God as your Father. But not only does the way you greet the Lord in prayer speak of your relationship, it speaks of your reference point.

Yes, God is our Father. He loves to hear us cry out to Him as our Father. When Jesus saves us, we have an intimate relationship with God that is closer than you can ever imagine or describe. But the fact remains that He is God. He is the only truly Holy One.

Yes, we are to have such an intimate relationship with God that we see Him as our loving and caring Daddy. But at the same time, we must always remember that He is God and we’re not. You always need to keep a heavenly reference point. Remember that God is everywhere at all times, but His throne is in heaven. That is the center of His rule and reign. That was the place where He spoke the universe into existence.

The way you greet the Lord in prayer speaks of your resource. What an awesome resource we have in God. When the Bible speaks of someone’s name, it speaks of their character. It speaks of their nature. It speaks of who they really are. So when Jesus says that God’s name is hallowed, He’s not just talking about what to call God. He’s speaking of God’s essence. Who He really is in His being. Hallowed is an old King James word that just means to be holy. In plain English, what you are saying is, “our Father who is in Heaven, your name is Holy.” When God is holy, it means that He is set apart. He is categorically different than anything else. He is to be praised and magnified and exalted above all others. He is worthy of all honor and glory and praise because of who He is. Because of the name that He holds. God reveals His nature to us in His names. In the Old Testament, God reveals His nature using eight different compound names. He reveals Himself as

1. Jehovah Tsidkenu . That is “The Lord our Righteousness.”

2. Jehovah Mekoddishkem . That is “The Lord who Sanctifies.”

3. Jehovah Shalom. That is “The Lord our Peace.”

4. Jehovah Shammah. That is “The Lord who is here.”

5. Jehovah Rapha. That is “The Lord who Heals.”

6. Jehovah Jirah. That is “The Lord who Provides.”

7. Jehovah Nissi. That is “The Lord my Banner.”

8. Jehovah Rohi. That is “The Lord who is my Shepherd.”
   

I want you to think about how it would change your prayer life if you were to hallow each of those names for God. Think about the times when you are struggling with a sin problem.

Think about the times when you really see how far you fall short of what God expects of you. Think about the times when you are stressed out and full of worry and anxiety. Think about the times in your life when you are lonely and hurting emotionally. Think about the times when you are sick and physically hurting. Think about the times when you can’t seem to figure out how to make both ends meet. Think about the times when you don’t know which way to turn. Or the times when you just feel like you have no meaning or purpose in life.

And think about that time when you will walk through the valley of the shadow of death. Those eight names are wonderful and hallowed. They are an ever present help in times of trouble.

But there is one Name that is above all names.

Jesus is the name above all names. His name is to be hallowed above all names. It is only at the name of Jesus that every knee will bow and every tongue confess.

Is Jesus your resource? Is His name hallowed in your prayers? Is His name hallowed in your life?

Verse List

• Matthew 6:9-13

• Matthew 6:9

• Galatians 4:4-7

• 1 John 3:1

• Ezekiel 1:26-28

• Revelations 1:13-16

• 2Peter 3:10

• Hebrews 1:1-3

Verse List

• Matthew 6:10-11

• Ecclesiastes 2:10-11

• Hebrews 1:8-12

• Revelations 21:22-27

• Hebrews 2:8

• Colossians 1:15-20

• Hebrews 12:28

• Colossians 1:13-14

Sermon Summary

The way you pray reminds you who is in charge.

God is not there to grant our every wish and desire. He meets our needs in order that we might bring Him glory and honor and praise. Not that we might have all the things we want or desire.

We’re looking specifically at Matthew 6:10 but we must remember verse 9 and verse 11 So starting with verse 9 ⁹ In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.

verse ¹⁰ Your kingdom come, Your will be done , On earth as it is in heaven.

verse ¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread.

It’s pretty understandable why verse 9 comes before verse 11. Because, as we talked about last time, verse 9 is our greeting to God. It’s the opening line. It’s how we are addressing the One we’re talking to. That’s pretty easy to understand. But why does verse 10 come before verse 11? Why does Jesus tell us to pray, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven” before He tells us to ask for anything for ourselves?

Jesus knows that we have to constantly remind ourselves that the Lord is not our personal Santa Claus. He’s not our genie in a bottle. He is God and we’re not.

Jesus teaches us to pray recognizing and understanding who is in charge. The way you pray reminds you that God rules and reigns His kingdom.

“Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven,”

Jesus rules and reigns over three Kingdoms we are to remember this in prayer in order to keep our asking in perspective.

The three Kingdoms are:

1. The Kingdom that is yet to come.

Before you ask for anything in prayer, recognize the One who reigns by remembering the kingdom that is yet before you. But you also need to remember

2. The Kingdom that is around you

Sometimes this is the difficult part. When we see things like the hurricane Harvey we see things like war, poverty, sickness, disease, death, sin, hurt, pain, abuse. When we see those things, it’s hard to see the Kingdom around us, isn’t it? That’s why you have to remind yourself that God only wants good for us, good for others and good for his Kingdom. That’s where faith comes in. That’s why Jesus tells us to constantly remind ourselves that He is in control. He is God and you’re not.

3. The Kingdom that is in you

This is where it all comes to a point. Because unless you get this one right, the other ones will never be right. See, you will never have a stake in the kingdom that is before you unless Jesus’ kingdom is in you. You will have no way to reconcile all the bad things that happen in the world. You will have no peace in difficult circumstances. You will have no one to turn to, to ease your burdens. You will have no relief or explanation for the trials of life. You might be able to find temporary distractions from those things. But you will never find true peace and relief from them.

Entry into the kingdom has already been bought. It has already been provided. Access has been granted through the blood of the King Himself. By that blood, you can be a part of the kingdom of Jesus.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forevermore. From before the time He laid the foundations of the universe, Jesus is King.

In your prayers, when you remember these three parts of the kingdom of Christ, it gives you a complete new perspective on the things you ask for. It reminds you of the One who reigns as King. The One who reigns as King of all creation. The One who reigns as Head of His church. And the One who reigns as Master of His children.

Are you in His kingdom? Is Jesus your King today and everyday? The price has been paid. Have you bowed your knee in submission to Him?