Smiles & Miles
Posted by: aubuchon8 <aubuchon8@...>
Hello ...
Below is my Wednesday night devotion ... been looking
at the Sermon on the Mount is a devotional sense. Thought I would
share with you this week's devotion.
Bob AuBuchon
Second Smiles & Miles
Matthew 5:38-42
Matthew 5:38-42 "You have heard that it was said,
'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' 39 "But I tell you not to
resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn
the other to him also. 40 "If anyone wants to sue you and take away your
tunic, let him have your cloak also. 41 "And whoever compels you to go
one mile, go with him two. 42 "Give to him who asks you, and from him who
wants to borrow from you do not turn away.
Jesus has talked to us thus far about
· Kingdom Attitudes (beatitudes)
· Kingdom Attributes (salt & light)
Kingdom attitudes and attributes are to impact how you
live
what you say
and where you go. With each lesson Jesus has
moved in closer to the heart (and hard) issues of all our lives.
Today the world we live in is really no different than
the yesterday of the Old Testament world. The sin nature of man then
as today rages in arenas of revenge and retaliation.
When someone says or does something to you
the first
thing we naturally want to do is to retaliate in a revengeful way.
But Jesus wants to work in your life supernaturally so that the first
thing you do when slapped with injury or insult is smile and go another
mile.
Jesus wants to talk to us tonight about Second Smiles
and Miles.
The Old Testament law
eye for an eye, etc (Exodus 21:23-25,
Leviticus 24:19,20, Deuteronomy 19:21) is often quoted by the Ill get
you back! crowd. But the originality of the law was not intended
to produce retaliation and revenge
but rather control it, so as to produce
the beginning of mercy. The law allowed fair treatment for the
hurt or injury received
but never made allowance for the actions of R&R
and that is not rest & relaxation!
Leviticus 19:18 NLT "Never seek revenge or bear
a grudge against anyone, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
Proverbs 24:29 Do not say, "I will do to him just
as he has done to me; I will render to the man according to his work."
There is mercy in the Old Testament
and Jesus builds
on it to show that kingdom subjects live differently than the R&R world
around them.
The building block for second smiles and miles is the
Kingdom attitude of mercy
Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall
obtain mercy.
James 2:13 For judgment is without mercy to the
one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
· A Second Smile (v. 38-40)
Can you smile in the face of injury
be it insult or
bodily harm? It is not easy
and it is not natural. But then
living the Christian life will never be easy and it is not for sure is
not natural, but supernatural.
o Jesus says not to resist (counter act or oppose) an
evil person
but rather keep smiling
knowing God is at work in your
life.
o Take the higher road of living and do not lower yourself
to become as they are
without spiritual (Holy Spirit) guidance in life.
o Jesus wants you to give of yourself
who you are and
what you have.
o His purpose in turning the other cheek is not to add
insult to injury or to be brave and take it.
o No, His purpose is show (by example) that His living
and dying is the difference in your life.
Romans 12:20-21 Therefore "If your enemy is hungry,
feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will
heap coals of fire on his head." 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome
evil with good.
Can you go the second smile? To go the second smile
says you have to stay where you are
not retreat and sulk in your
injury or to plan your revengeful retaliation. Stay where you
are in Jesus
and let Him put a smile in your heart and on your face!
· A Second Mile (v. 41-42)
Matthew 5:41-42 "And whoever compels you to go one mile,
go with him two. 42 "Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to
borrow from you do not turn away.
The second smile asks you to stay but the second mile
asks you to go.
No one likes or enjoys being made to do something.
If you do something for others out of your own free will
that is okay,
because you have chosen to do it. But to be compelled by force is
hard to walk in.
Mark 15:21 Then they compelled a certain man, Simon
a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of
the country and passing by, to bear His cross.
To be compelled pushes against our human nature.
But remember
Jesus is working in the realm of the new nature.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,
he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have
become new.
o What is the compelling factor of living in your life
you (rights, revenge, retaliation) or Jesus (righteousness, peace)?
o What would cause you to go a second mile
suck it
up attitude or blessed are beatitude?
o Jesus might well be telling you to go where we have
never been before in your relationships.
Luke 14:23 "Then the master said to the servant,
'Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that
my house may be filled.
o Could it be that when you and I smile and go the extra
mile
we are really going out into the highways and hedges of life and
with a compelling interest
to witness about and promote the life of Jesus
in us. I believe so!
In both the Second smile and mile
Jesus asks you to
give of yourself. Whoever insults or asks
let us be of the kingdom
mind and heart of Jesus that keeps on smiling as the miles go by.
Amen!
--
Running for the Prize Sermons