Key points
1Jesus, like a good youth pastor, deliberately puts His disciples in uncomfortable situations to grow them
Pastor TJ tells the story of his own youth pastor surprising the group with a bungee jump he was terrified to attempt but ended up loving. He connects this to Jesus taking His disciples up the mountain by the familiar Sea of Galilee and then preaching a sermon that pushed them into deeply uncomfortable territory.
I'm so thankful for a youth pastor who put me in an uncomfortable situation
2Jesus's command to love our enemies is radical and meant to be uncomfortable, not softened by familiarity
Pastor TJ notes that churchgoers have heard 'love your enemy' so many times they've become inoculated to how radical it is. He reframes it starkly: the person who would celebrate your firing, your bankruptcy, your public shame, or even your death is exactly who Jesus says to love.
3Maturity is letting go of self for the glory of God
Borrowing the phrase from his own youth pastor, Pastor TJ explains that growing up in Christ requires repeatedly giving up pieces of self, whether through paying bills, marriage, or raising children, and that God will especially use an enemy to force this growth. He clarifies that biblical love, per 1 Corinthians 13, is action and discipline, not warm feelings, and points to an eternal perspective (illustrated with a long rope representing eternity versus a short marked segment representing earthly suffering) as the reason we can endure it.
maturity is letting go of self to the glory of God
4The only real way to defeat an enemy is to make them a friend
Pastor TJ shares an extended personal story from his early youth ministry career in Oregon, where a volunteer youth pastor named Sonny became a bitter rival after Pastor TJ was hired without Sonny's knowledge. After a prank involving toothpick-tipped 'gotcha darts' accidentally hurt Sonny, the two bonded through laughter, discovered they shared the same calling, and Sonny went on to become a celebrated drug and alcohol counselor using methods they had built together.
The only real way to defeat an enemy is to make them a friend
A story from life
Story about a conflict with a fellow youth pastor named Sonny that turned into friendship after a dart-game mishap, and Sonny's later career as an addiction counselor
5We love our enemies because God is the one who made them and is still pursuing their redemption
Pastor TJ highlights Matthew 5:45, love your enemies so that you may become children of your Father in heaven, arguing that recognizing God as our enemy's creator changes how we see them. He illustrates this with a story of crying over his broken balsa wood airplane in sixth grade, telling a friend he still picked it up because it's mine and I love it, and applies that same logic to God's ongoing love for broken people, even those who call themselves God's enemies.
there's enough courage in you through the Holy Spirit that you can do a miracle so big that only God can get the credit
can we be the church that makes enemies of no one and rescues some
A story from life
Story about breaking his balsa wood airplane at a school assembly and still loving it because it was his
A story from life
Story about being pressured into bungee jumping by his youth pastor at camp
Application
Pastor TJ frames the charge as finding the courage to do the impossible: love your enemy.
Love your enemy through action, not feeling
Discipline yourself to act in love toward whoever is against you, per 1 Corinthians 13, regardless of what you feel toward them this week.
Let go of self when God gives you an enemy
Recognize that God may be using a difficult person to grow you into maturity, and choose to release your grip on self rather than demand fairness.
Pursue friendship, not victory, over your enemy
Instead of trying to defeat or grind down someone who opposes you, look for the redemption story God might be writing, aiming to turn the relationship into friendship.
Remember your enemy is God's creation, still pursued by Him
See the person who hates you as someone God still loves and is working to restore, and join Jesus in that rescue mission rather than rooting for their downfall.
Take it into your week
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