Lead with Love
MATTHEW 7:24-25 ESV
Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.
MATTHEW 5:38-47 NIV
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?
EPHESIANS 6:12 NIV
… our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
3 TRUTHS THAT WILL HELP YOU LEAD IN LOVE
- LOVE DOES NOT RETALIATE
MATTHEW 5:38 NIV
You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’
LEVITICUS 24:19-20 NLT
Anyone who injures another person must be dealt with according to the injury inflicted—20 a fracture for a fracture, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Whatever anyone does to injure another person must be paid back in kind.
MATTHEW 5:38-39 NIV
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person.
- Turn the other cheek
- Give them your cloak also
- Go the second mile
Jesus is not undoing the law, He is affirming it.
MATTHEW 5:17 NIV
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them.”
JOHN 1:1 NIV
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
3 TRUTHS THAT WILL HELP YOU LEAD IN LOVE
- LOVE DOES NOT RETALIATE
- LOVE REPAYS EVIL WITH KINDNESS
“Returning hate for hate only multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. In the same way, hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr
MATTHEW 5:43-44 NIV
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
ROMANS 5:8 NIV
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
MATTHEW 5:43-44 NIV
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in Heaven.
GALATIANS 5:22-23 NIV
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
PHILLIPIANS 2:13 NLT
For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
3 TRUTHS THAT WILL HELP YOU LEAD IN LOVE
- LOVE DOES NOT RETALIATE
- LOVE REPAYS EVIL WITH KINDNESS
- LOVE RECEIVES A REWARD
MATTHEW 5:46-47 NIV
If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?
LUKE 6:35-36 ESV
But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
ISAIAH 53:3-5,7-9 NLT
'He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants, that his life was cut short in midstream. But he was struck down for the rebellion of my people. He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man’s grave. '
ISAIAH 53:11
'When {the Father} sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins. '
What will your response be?
- RETALIATION or RECONCILIATION?
- ANGER or UNDERSTANDING?
Will you REACT in REVENGE? Or RESPOND in LOVE?
