Sinclair Ferguson: Loving Your Enemies
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- Опубликовано: 10 сен 2024
- A radical concept in Christianity is to lovingly pray for those who persecute us (Matt. 5:43-45a). This is not easy to do in the face of threats and violence. It is hard to do since persecution often comes from within the church (Ps. 55:12-14).
This message is from our 2000 National Conference, Upsetting the World: • Upsetting the World: 2...
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The toughest command for me....love my enemies....thank you for this....
O how we need the grace of God and his power to enable us to do what is so contrary to our fallen nature!! With us this is imposible, but with God, it is possible, for all things are possible with God!! O Lord, create in me a loving heart toward my enemies, help me to love those who hate me because I desire to do your will. I cannot do it on my own, without you Lord I can do nothing good!! In Jesus precious name I pray, Amen 🙏💘 Thank God for his Word!!
Amen, dear Sister! I have been listening to sermon after sermon, seeking an arsenal of Scripture to stand against my feelings of hurt targeted towards my children. I can take arrows, but those sent to my children are like missiles of pain to me. I am seeking forgiveness towards these individuals. We are over-comers through Christ! And in Him, we can do all things, even forgive those who hurt our children.
One challenge for me is avoiding “fake nice”.
Loving thine enemies still means speaking the truth when appropriate (and certainly not lying); it doesn’t mean pretending it’s ok or pretending I don’t care, or even just being insincere about preferences... all that whussy type stuff. Christ was bold and strong: challenged powerful authorities, called people vipers, never backed off an inch from the truth (since He is Truth), and even got angry when The Father was dishonored - not so much when He was but when “His Father” was. And even very capable of great violence on behalf *of others* (and which we’ll see unrestrained when he rides on a white horse already dripping with blood and proceeds to slay enough to have blood up to the horse’s bridle for miles). Not saying that’s for us to do.. main point is there is nothing weak or like a sycophant in loving enemies. Be real. Hard looks of truth are ok, it is better for them even. It’s real love.
Such poignant sharing, thank you! The struggle I agree, for me, too is with the “fake nice.” Sometimes I don’t want to confront situations, so we keep the “fake nice.” But Matt.18 says that if we have something against a brother, we should go to that brother. Lord give me wisdom to rightly navigate these turbulent waters. Because when all is said and done, it is Jesus I want glorified and my own flesh denied.
@@lauraretail3923 well said. Thanks
Amen! The family of the faith in Christ Jesus our Lord must hear this reminder. Thank you Sinclair Ferguson!
All glory to The LORD our God!
Wonderful Timely powerful message today for us.
Love Dr.Ferguson.
So needful now. Thank you.
Glory To God 🙏
Thank you Dr Ferguson! Although you stated some ambivalence regarding your messages in this form of technology vs your pastoral role in the church which I understand. I want to let you know that being homebound in the last months/years of this pandemic and with MS and being a single woman and multiple challenges I came to Christ in my suffering and with deep repentance and have experienced a renewal and deepening of my faith in a way that He sustains me. May I thank you for your ministry and how I continue to be taught. Also from your friend Alistair Begg and many recordings of RC Sproul, Spurgeon... My Gramma taught me to always look up to my Heavenly Father. I thank God for your servanthood that leads me more deeply in my walk with Him! I hope to find church community and home in the days ahead. Today I listened and prior to finding your message had asked God to rescue me from being like Jonah... (your teaching and Alistair's)... How patient God is with me His grace in my life! Blessings to you and your family today for your palpable care in your messages! Kathleen
What a blessing to have access to these teachings. The book “The Plant Paradox” by Steven Gundry has been very helpful to many with MS.
Grace and peace! ✌😎✌
This is a sermon we can all be easily tempted to skip! Scripture proclaims what we need to hear, though, not what we want to hear.
Pray for your enemy and you will increseingly love them more
Indeed the hardest part of the bible for me - as David shows with Abigail & Nabal (1 Sam 25), we need God’s mercy to be merciful to others. One other thing I’m thinking only after getting into Calvinism is that the perception of enemy status can itself be suffused by our sinful nature. We can persecute others based on a wrongful but convenient belief that they’re persecuting us, or the persecution may be mutual.
Beautiful
Some people have been doing things to try and affect my walk with God for years. Constantly trying to provoke me to act out in ways that are contrary to my faith, trying to discredit the way that I live as I seek to be obedient to Christ and always trying to rub past mistakes in my face. Now they are claiming Christianity and using their supposed faith to "compete" with me and upset me. I am trying to respond as God wants me to but I am just plain sick of these people.
They have some kind of obsession with me that doesn't make any sense. Pray for me please because I have such a strong desire for revenge.
Man is created in the image of the Lord God, how can we hate mankind.... But we do... Forgive me Lord God, I am wrong.. Cain was jealous of Abel and killed him... We are all accountable to each other because we are accountable to the Lord God
Amen
Do not love the world and the things in the world.
The beast and the false prophet
Tormented before the lamb
No love there
Judas.better if he had never been born
Such shall receive the greater damnation.referring to the pharisees!