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Message from Chuck Allen on July 27, 2022
In this episode of the Sugar Hill Church weekday podcast, Pastor Chuck Allen invites listeners to reflect on the intensely personal teachings of Jesus found in the Sermon on the Mount. He emphasizes Jesus' call to move beyond the old law of retaliation, urging followers to embrace a radical love that even extends to enemies. By sharing examples like carrying a soldier's gear an extra mile, Pastor Chuck highlights how counterintuitive and countercultural Jesus' message truly is. He encourages everyone to surrender their hearts to God, seeking His strength to love unconditionally and embody the spirit of Christ in every interaction. Join him in this journey of faith and let’s strive to reflect Jesus’ love in our lives!
I'm so glad you've joined me on today's weekday podcast. I have discovered that when Jesus is teaching the Sermon on the Mount, one of the things that we can take away from that is how intensely personal it is.
I mean, listen to what Jesus says in verse 38 in chapter 5 of Matthew's gospel. He says, you've heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Now Jesus is alluding to several Old Testament texts here like Exodus 21:24, Leviticus 24:20, or Deuteronomy 19:21 about retaliation.
And Deuteronomy 19:18 would give us the indication that the law of the tooth was a guideline for the civil authorities and not for private retribution. It was possible that a lot of folks were applying it wrongly for personal revenge. And then Jesus comes along and then he forbids that practice for us who are followers of him.
Not only should we not retaliate, Jesus goes on and says, but I say, do not resist an evil person. If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give them your coat as well.
If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. Give to those who ask and don't turn away from those who want to borrow. So the picture here is that when we get to the part that somebody takes your shirt, go and give them the coat.
If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, go and carry it too. Have you ever heard the phrase that Jesus calls us to be second mile Christians? I believe that to be true. Jesus wants us to be a people that even though the law requires one thing, we might go even further.
That we might be so counterintuitive and so counterculture that we would match how counterintuitive Jesus was. That the Lord Jesus, when he entered into this world, came into a world that literally was barbaric. A world where if you got in an argument with your neighbor, you killed them.
If someone was caught in a sin, you stoned them. It was a barbaric world and Jesus came along and he gave them all a better way. He said, I'm asking you to love one another.
As a matter of fact, he said, I'm giving you a new commandment, love one another the way I've loved you. But Jesus makes a big point here and later in the Sermon on the Mountain, he says, and you know if a soldier who can demand that you carry his pack for a mile asks you to do that, basically what he's saying to them at that point is, even though you are oppressed, even though that you are being held down, even though you're asked to do something that is unfair, instead of griping and whining about it, instead of getting online and talking about how unfair it was, can you imagine Facebook and Instagram and Twitter back in the day of the first century? How many Jewish people would be griping about the Romans? And rightfully so. But Jesus is saying to them, don't spend your time in that sideways energy.
Put your energy toward going and carry it a second mile and blow their mind. I love the fact that if we could have walked with Jesus as the disciples did, our minds would have been blown and we would have wrapped our head around, well really, how counterintuitive and how counterculture Jesus's teachings really were. But today, if he walked with us, I bet we would respond the same way.
How could he say that about those people because they're so wrong? I wonder how many times this week we would say, if they only knew, if they just realized how wrong they were, and Jesus is saying, but even though your enemy loved them anyway, even though they curse you, go ahead and bless them. Even though that they treat you poorly, love them in my name. And you say, but Chuck, I don't have the capacity to do that.
And the answer is you're absolutely right. In our own humanity, we have no power to be able to do that. And this is why each day we have to surrender our life and be able to say, Jesus, I can't do this, but I need your spirit to be so alive in me today that I don't squelch it, that I'm not going to leave a pocket of my heart available for hatred or envy, or to leave it there for any sense of anger or pettiness.
I want to surrender all of me to you so that I can love even my enemy. My friend today, maybe your prayer should be, God, would you allow me to surrender it all and lay it down at your feet so that today I could trust you and I could lead by being a good follower. And I could follow you in every way, including how you have taught me to treat other people, especially those who disagree with me.
God bless you, friend. Thanks for joining me on today's weekday podcast as we seek to know God and to let him be known. God bless you.
Bye now. Thanks so much for joining us today for the weekday podcast. We would love to see you at Sugar Hill Church for one of our gatherings each Sunday at 9:15am and 11am at live.sugarhill.church. Again, thank you for joining us today.
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Have an awesome day.
Chuck is the Lead Pastor at Sugar Hill Church. He’s been the Lead Pastor since 2011, but he’s been around Sugar Hill Church since 2008. Since day one, Chuck’s passion has been to encourage others with this one big belief: “You can do this! You can love God with all your heart, mind and soul and be normal!" You will often hear him say, “the Bible is a very big deal, Jesus is the very biggest deal and living that out always involves serving people here and around the globe.” Chuck's passion is to graciously lead people to Jesus and create a simple path for them to grow in their faith. Some of his goals are to reduce the dropout rate in our local schools, serve with our missions partners well, lead our church and families with a healthy fiscal plan, and in the future, to provide transitional housing for single moms. Chuck and his wife, Jenny, stay plenty busy with six daughters, three son-in-laws, five grandkids and an awesome dog, Kirby. They are foodies and enjoy eating through the Atlanta Magazine Top 50 Restaurants. Chuck’s favorite things to do include fishing, reading, writing and cheering on the Georgia Bulldogs!
Bobby serves as both the Associate Pastor and the Teaching Pastor at Sugar Hill Church. He has been on staff here since December, 2008 (where he started part-time in Student Ministry). Bobby’s passion comes from a love of seeing the light-bulb go on for folks. Whether it’s in a small group, a NEXT gathering, or during a weekend message, he loves seeing people “get it” and apply the truth to their lives. As one of our pastors here, Bobby helps individuals take the next steps in their faith, he helps the church fulfill its God-given mission, and he gives day-to-day direction to our Adult Ministries, Communications, and Finance teams. In his spare time, you can find Bobby riding his motorcycle, working out, reading, or eating gas station tacos. He and his wife, Laura, have been married since January, 2011, and they have a very “manly” 10lb cockapoo named Ollie. He would love to connect more, so find him on social media (@bobbymcgraw) or check out his blog at yourbetterstory.com.
