Glynlea Grace United Methodist Chruch

Psalm 36:1-12

Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes. ² For he flatters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated. ³ The words of his mouth are mischief and deceit; he has ceased to act wisely and do good. ⁴ He plots mischief while on his bed; he sets himself in a way that is not good; he spurns not evil. ⁵ Thy steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, thy faithfulness to the clouds. ⁶ Thy righteousness is like the mountains of God, thy judgments are like the great deep; man and beast thou savest, O LORD. ⁷ How precious is thy steadfast love, O God! The children of men take refuge in the shadow of thy wings. ⁸ They feast on the abundance of thy house, and thou givest them drink from the river of thy delights. ⁹ For with thee is the fountain of life; in thy light do we see light. ¹⁰ O continue thy steadfast love to those who know thee, and thy salvation to the upright of heart! ¹¹ Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away. ¹² There the evildoers lie prostrate, they are thrust down, unable to rise.

Matthew 5:43-48

"You have heard that it was said, `You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' ⁴⁴ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. ⁴⁶ For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷ And if you salute only your brethren, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? ⁴⁸ You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Summary and Purpose

Summary: Evil often seems to have the upper hand. For a time people like Hitler, Pol Pot and Saddam Hussein will achieve and maintain power. They will, however, fall. Good will triumph over evil and love will conquer evil. The ultimate victory will come when Christ returns to judge the world.

Martin Luther King Jr. understood that love will triumph over evil. After all, God is love. That’s why his primary tactic against evil was love. As followers of Christ, this should be our primary tactic against hatred and evil.  If we want to make a difference, let’s use God’s strategy and love all people, to include our enemies.

Purpose: To encourage the congregation to trust in God’s love to change the world.

The Sermon

I. Introduction: Our sinful, fallen world

1. We live in a sinful, fallen world

• Hatred is all around us: Racism, ethnic cleansing, crime, murder, rape etc.
• Just watch CNN or Fox news: We humans have a problem with sin
• People like Hitler, Pol Pot and Idi Amin are able to take power.

2. God, however, is still ultimately in charge.

• There is still plenty of Good in this world. Look at Psalm 36

°         Psalm 36:1-4 states there is evil and evil plots and conspires

°         Psalm 36:5-12 states that God’s steadfast love will keep evil in check

• Evil never has a lasting triumph.

°         Hitler never established his 1,000 year Reich. He ended up killing himself.

°         PolpPot died while in prison. He was possibly poisoned.

°         Idi Amin died while in exile in Saudi Arabia

• This victory is assured because the decisive battle was won on the cross. We knew we would win WWII once we won the decisive victory at Normandy. In the same way, we know that God triumphs over Satan because Jesus won the decisive victory on the cross
• The driving force behind Jesus going to the cross is love. It was love and goodness that defeated hatred and evil.

II. Defeating hatred and evil

1. Scripture tells us that we fight hatred with love and evil with goodness.

• Romans 12:17-21: Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. ¹⁸ If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. ¹⁹ Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." ²⁰ No, "if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads." ²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
• In Matthew 5:43-48 Jesus says: "You have heard that it was said, `You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' ⁴⁴ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. ⁴⁶ For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷ And if you salute only your brethren, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? ⁴⁸ You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

• He’s quoted as saying: Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
• It’s like fire and water. If you fight fire by adding fire, you create more fire. If, however, you fight fire with water, the water will eventually put out the fire. Likewise, if you fight hatred and evil by adding hatred and evil, you create more hatred and evil. If, however, you fight hatred and evil with love and goodness, the hatred and evil will eventually lose out.
• One of the reasons Dr. King should be celebrated, is that he teaches us the Scriptural way to fight hatred and evil.

• The 19 year old daughter was dating a boy the mother didn’t approve of.
• The daughter and boy friend were considering moving in with each other
• The mother heard of this plan and, in a fit of rage, kicked the daughter out of the house. So, the daughter and boyfriend started living with each other.
• The mother remained angry at the daughter and wouldn’t speak to her.
• The daughter refused to reply to the mother’s anger with more anger. She continuously reached out to her mother. On Mother’s Day she stopped by the mother’s house with flowers but the mother refused to answer the door.  The daughter, however, continued to reach out to the mother.
• Eventually, after several months, the mother started talking with the daughter again. Their relationship was mended and now its stronger than ever. (The daughter also realized her mistake in moving in with her boy friend.)
• If the daughter had responded to her mother’s anger and hatred with more anger and hatred, their relationship might still be broken.

• In order to do this, we must be empowered by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit does this by putting a love for all people into our hearts. This makes us more like Christ.
• The same love that drove Christ to the cross is the same love that will enable us to fight hatred with love and evil with goodness.
• This empowerment from the Holy Spirit begins with repentance and faith in Jesus.