Power House Over Night

April 11, 2008

Love Your Enemies

KEY TEXT
Matthew 5:43-48

INTRODUCTION: What is our real problem?

1. Many of us have been carrying wounds and hurts that we have received from loved
ones.

Think about wounds and hurts! It is amazing that little children, like Brandon, have wounds
and hurts that are affecting them more than they realize! How can little children have such
pain? Just recently, I met a young boy that was contemplating suicide. He doesn’t want to
live and the spirit of suicide is in his life. He is only 14 years old.

Amazingly, these wounds and hurts come from loved ones. Those people do not realize that
the things they say and do are hurting the other. There is so much deep damage that nobody
can see. Do not cover your wounds and hurts!

2. Devil can control our lives through those wounds and hurts, as the result he will
steal and destroy our lives and finally kill us.

Since we live in a world where people have wounds and hurts, we need to find a remedy.
Through these unhealed wounds and hurts, Satan comes in and uses that to cripple us.
Those wounds and hurts are food to demonic beings. It is a legal gate/doorway for evil to
come in! Therefore, we must identify our wounds and hurts, recognizing that Satan is using
that to steal, kill, and destroy in your life. We need healing!

Although perhaps I (Pastor Isaiah) can see somebody’s wounds and hurts, they might not
acknowledge them. Therefore, they will not desire healing from those wounds and hurts. We
must first acknowledge them and realize that the wounds and hurts are there.

3. The only remedy is to obey the law of Christ: Love your enemies and pray for those
who persecute you.

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In Christ we find a remedy! He calls us to love our enemies, even the ones who have given
us hurts and wounds. Our example is Christ Himself. When He was dying on the cross,
although his enemies were mocking them, He forgave them. Who has true power in this
story? The Pharisees or the Roman soldiers? No. Christ had the greatest power because
He was able to forgive His enemies.

Therefore, we as Christ-followers must be like Him! We must love our enemies and prove
that we are followers of Christ…a Christ who has the power to forgive and love.

BODY: How can we love our enemies?

I. There are many examples of people who have fulfilled the law of Christ, taking the guilt of
sinners and praying for those who persecuted them.

1. The story of Theodora, a female monk  she took another’s guilt/sin

Story: Her father was a monk. She decided to follow her father. However, since she
was a woman who could not be in the monastery, she disguised herself as a man to
enter the monastery. She was well-known in the monastery for her gentleness. As
she would go out of the monastery to buy things in town, she would stay at an inn.
The inn-keeper had a daughter, a single woman who was pregnant! To cover for her
lover, the daughter blamed Theodora, thinking that she was a man! The chief monk
then asked her if she had committed such a crime. In order to cover the other monks
she took the blame. Therefore, she was expelled. At the gate of the monastery, she
stood for years, asking for forgiveness. Finally, the chief monk took her back in out of
pity. When she died, they discovered she was a woman!

Although she could not live a fulfilling life because of the guilt that she carried, God
looked upon her with love because she truly experienced what Jesus had done.

2. The story of Bishop Victor Belikh, an Ukrainian Christian

Story: This bishop was caught by Communist soldiers who were persecuting
believers. For 24 years he was in prison. During that time he was tortured so that
they could find out where the underground church was. In order to get information,
they told him to walk around in his small cell for up to 17 hours a day! Finally, he was

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released!
One of his friends asked him, “How could you bear this suffering after the years in
solitary confinement and a starvation diet?” He was asking him how he could
overcome his hatred, hurts, and wounds for his enemies. The bishop replied by
singing a song he composed: “With the flames of love’s fire that Jesus kindled in my
heart, I caused the ice of Siberia to melt.”

The love of God sustained the bishop, so that he could overcome his hatred. Jesus
love was enough to melt away all the hatred and anger that he could have had in his
life.

3. The story of Ann-Marie, a young Slovak Christian

Story: She was also caught during the Communist reign. The jailor was continuously
beating her so that he could get more information about Christians.

“While she was being tortured, her main desire was to prevent her torturer from going
to perdition (eternal death or falling into hell). She shared with him again and again
the beauty of Christ and His kingdom. His reply was more punches and more
whipping, to which she responded by using every pause in the beating to bring him to
God.”

Although this jailor was hurting and torturing her, Ann-Marie’s main focus was bringing
the gospel to this jailor so that he could be saved. This is true power!

Finally, the jailor gave up! He asked about Jesus because he realized the power that
was on her side. He asked her to baptize him. Finally, he became a believer. Then,
in risking his own life, he set her free.

Not only did Jesus live this lifestyle of loving our enemies, there are people in this
world who are living the way Jesus did. When the love of God comes and melts away
all of our anger, bitterness, and hurt…we are able to love others because we are
consumed by the love of God.

Another example of true power = love of God:

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A Communist officer told a Christian while beating him, “I am almighty, as you suppose your
God to be. I can kill you.” The Christian then answered, “The power is all on my side. I can
love you while you torture me to death.”

This is true power! The love of God cannot be overcome by this world or the devil. Jesus
Christ has given this love to you. The same power and lives that these Christians had and
lived is in you! You can overcome your wounds and hurts and be free…by the love of
God!

II. Know that we are called to be holy like our Father in heaven and Jesus our Lord.

1. 1 Peter 1:16; Mat. 5:45

2. Romans 8:28-29
• No matter what happens in our lives, God can bring good out of that persecution
or suffering.
• God has chosen you TO BECOME LIKE HIS SON JESUS CHRIST = the way
Jesus lived on this earth; we can live like that as well!
• True power is the power to forgive and love those that persecute you…that is what
Jesus did and we can do that too!
• Jesus was just the first brother…we are his brothers/sisters so that we not only
preach the gospel but we can also love our enemies.
3. 2 Peter 1:3
“By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have
received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his
marvelous glory and excellence.”
• God has already given us the ability to live a godly life!
• When we come to know Jesus, when we repent of our sins and receive Jesus as
Lord and Savior, the spirit of God comes into you. Then, we are able to live the
life God has called us to because He lives in us!
• Why does it not happen? We do not believe!

It is God’s calling that you are to live like Jesus and He has given us the power to be able to
do so. We can do this by believing in His promise that He has given us the ability and power.
Also, we must pray like Jesus did, that all will be done through GOD’S WILL.

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Because we love God, we will desire for His will to be done. So even if we do not want to
forgive our enemies, God desires for us to forgive so we are able to!

III. Pray like Jesus did at Gethsemane before His crucifixion (Mat. 26:39).

“My Father, if it is possible may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you
will.”
 We can express honestly what we feel…just as Jesus did. But still, we put our will
down and we desire for God’s will.

I cannot do it…and I don’t even want to (forgive my enemies). But God, I love you, so I want
your will to be done through me by your power.

CONCLUSION

That is the only way we can be free from Satan and from the world. Through the love of God,
nothing can hold us down because we are willing to fulfill His desires.

Still, Satan will desire to trick us and cause us not to believe in our authority to love our
enemies. But God is saying, “You are my child. You can love others because my love flows
through you.”

Who will you listen to?

QUESTIONS
1. Discuss the feelings/power you felt when you hated somebody and also when you
forgave and loved somebody.
2. Now that you love there is greater power in loving others, what do you want to do? Do
you want to love or do you want to hate?
3. Talk about somebody you need to forgive today. You want to have the power to love
and experience freedom. Determine in your heart today that you desire to be set free
from hurts/wounds and love others. [This is a declaration…leaders please be wise
about what the students share…not too much detail…more about forgiveness].

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