Willow Ridge Sermons

March 29th, 2026 • "But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" – Matthew 5:44

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Creators and Guests

Host

Beau Bradberry

Senior Pastor

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Good morning, you may be seated.

If you have your Bibles, and I hope you do, I want to invite you to join us in Matthew

chapter 5, is where we will be here in just a moment.

We'll be reading starting in verse 43.

If you don't have a copy of a Bible, we do have some free ones that are available.

They are back at the Connections desk, and whether you are a first-time guest or a long-time

member, if you don't have a copy of God's Word, we want you to have one.

And so please stop by there after the service is over with and pick one of those up.

They are free.

We would love for you to be able to have one of those.

Well, I want to state a truth that I believe is difficult for all of us to actually apply

in our life.

that sometimes doing things that feel unnatural can benefit you greatly.

Doing things that seem unnatural can benefit you greatly.

I was sitting on my phone, full confession, this week, right?

Sitting on my phone, and I'm lost in this motion with looking at some videos.

And a video popped up, and it said, are you not a morning person?

I need to watch that video.

When Aaron and I, when we both wake up in the morning, if you want to know what that looks

like, the older we get, I just kind of picture like we kind of resemble getting out of bed

kind of looks like zombies, right?

Like, the hair's all over the place.

We're dragging a leg, you know?

And there's just grunts that are happening, right?

So I'm not a morning person.

It takes me a long time for my brain to get up and get going.

It takes me even more time to get where I feel like I'm ready to talk and ready to engage with people.

And so I thought, well, this may be beneficial.

Aaron's a lot quicker at that.

Like, once she gets up and gets going, like, the first sip of coffee hits her mouth,

and she's ready to go and tackle the day.

And for me, there's a lot more involved in the process to get me going.

And so here's what this video said.

In order to become a morning person, if you, if the first thing you do,

if you will brush your teeth with your non-dominant hand,

and I thought, there's no way that's true, but I got some time to kill.

So let's see what Google has to say about this.

Now, I'm not a dentist, a scientist.

I'm none of these things.

But through the help of AI and Google, I checked this out,

and there seems to be some legitimacy to it.

One thing that I read was said that brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand,

if you do it first thing in the morning,

it will cause your brain to wake up faster,

causing you to have more physical energy and mental energy throughout the course of the day.

Right?

Number two.

Oh, there's more.

There's four things.

Number two.

It engages the part of your brain that produces calmness.

So throughout the course of the day,

you have less stress in your life

if you will brush your teeth with your non-dominant hand.

Number three.

It forces the brain to break automatic routines

and therefore will help you in building both memory and focus throughout the course of the day.

If all you'll do is do this.

I'm right-handed, right?

All right.

Number four.

It engages brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand.

It engages the creative part of your brain.

And as a result, will spark more creativity in you.

The last thing it does.

From experience.

It will cause you to get a massive amount of toothpaste in your beard.

All right?

For some of us, that's a problem.

For others, not so much.

So you're asking me,

well, Bo, did you try it?

I did.

For one day.

And I was like, this just isn't worth it.

Right?

Like, I can't do this.

Right?

Like, this is not really what I want to be a part of,

what I want to be about.

Right?

What would have taken a certain amount of time.

I don't want to say how long it takes me to brush my teeth

because I don't want some of you to judge me.

Right?

It took longer than that in order to feel like I'd accomplished anything.

And even though the course of the day, it didn't.

Why in the world am I doing this?

Well, Jesus, so far in the Sermon on the Mount,

has been laying forth some kingdom characteristics

for those who choose to follow him as king.

Jesus already said, here's how you follow me.

Repent.

And now within that,

and this kingdom culture that he's calling them to,

what he's pressing into is that he's commanding them

to do things differently than what they've been taught

and what may seem natural to them.

And I would argue that verses 43 through 48

during the time of Christ and during the time of today

is probably one of those things

in the commands that he's called us to

that calls us to go,

but I don't know about that.

That's more uncomfortable than brushing your teeth

with your opposite hand.

So let's read verses 43 through 48.

You have heard that it was said,

you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.

But I say to you,

love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you

so that you may be sons of your father who is in heaven.

For he makes the sun rise on the evil and on the good

and send rain on the just and on the unjust.

For if you love those who love you,

what reward do you have?

Do not even the tax collectors do the same?

And if you greet only your brothers,

what more are you doing than others?

Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

You, therefore, must be perfect

as your heavenly father is perfect.

Now this is the last of Jesus' part

in the Sermon on the Mount

where he is saying,

you have heard it was said,

but I say to you.

And in this moment,

I believe that he cuts to the heart of his audience.

What Jesus is doing is twofold.

Jesus is placing emphasis on the heart of the law

of what God has given.

But Jesus is also drawing out

the improper teaching

of those who have incorrectly,

oftentimes knowingly,

mistaught the law of God.

We're back at verses 43 through,

about midway through 45.

You have heard that it was said,

you shall love your neighbor

and hate your enemy.

But I say to you,

love your enemies

and pray for those who persecute you

so that you may be sons of your father

who is in heaven.

What Jesus is calling them to,

what Jesus is calling us to this morning

is a holy,

like God is holy,

and holy as in a fullness mind shift.

Jesus is moving them from,

you have heard that it was said,

love your neighbor and hate your enemy,

but I say to you,

love your enemy

and pray for those who persecute you.

And this is important

as we understand

what Jesus is stepping into.

Jesus is stepping into

an oppressed people.

And what I mean by oppressed,

I mean oppressed.

It's not a system of slavery,

but it's pretty close.

People have been beaten down

and taxed and cheated.

People have had their,

the temples,

their places of worship desecrated.

People who live in an area

where if I go against the government

who's at rule,

then they will crucify me

and leave my body hanging

as a reminder of those who are in power.

And at the time of Christ,

when people hear a Messiah is coming,

they're looking for a political Messiah.

It's easy to know in their mind

who the good guys

and who the bad guys are.

It's easy to see who's on God's side

and who's not on God's side.

And so Jesus comes in

and I bet in their mind,

they're thinking,

you shall love your neighbor

and hate your enemy.

And they're like,

oh great,

he's going to tell us

that our enemy is Rome.

And we hate him

and we hate him

and we hate him.

Man,

Jesus comes in

and before he turns over the table

in the temple,

man,

he flips up the table

in their mind.

You've heard it said,

love your neighbor

and hate your enemy.

But I tell you,

love your enemy

and pray for those who persecute you.

What Jesus is correcting

is an abuse

and a misteaching

that the scribes

and the Pharisees taught

of Leviticus 19.

We haven't done this

for all of these,

but I want to share with you

what happens

when culture and convenience

determine the teachings of God

versus God determining

the teachings of God.

The scribes did teach,

the Pharisees did teach,

love your neighbor

and hate your enemy.

Jesus is quoting

if you had gone to a temple,

if you had gone to a place of worship,

what you would have heard them teach on

as they were teaching

out of Leviticus 19.

They would have taught,

love one another,

love your Jewish brethren

and hate your enemy.

Hate them.

Here's Leviticus 19,

here's what this is based off of.

Leviticus 19, 17 through 18.

You shall not hate your brother

in your heart,

but you shall reason frankly

with your neighbor

lest you incur sin because of him.

You shall not take vengeance

or bear a grudge

against the sons of your own people,

but you shall love your neighbor

as yourself.

I am the Lord.

Now when the scribes and Pharisees

taught this,

here's what they mistaught.

They taught in Leviticus 19,

17 through 18,

number one,

that you define

who your neighbor is.

Well, who do I love?

I don't know.

Tell me who you want to love.

Then that's who you love.

But God never

gives limitations

to the word neighbor.

Number two,

they left off the command

to love your neighbor

as yourself.

They would completely

skip over that.

Why?

Because even within

who I choose to love,

but I don't have to love you

in depth that I want to love,

me.

And I'm good at loving me

some me, right?

They left that off.

And then they added

while you are called

to love your neighbor,

you hate your enemy.

You hate your enemy.

Man,

isn't that really reflective

of our culture today?

Who's for me is for me.

Who's against me is against me.

I'm for me who's for me.

And I'm against who's against me.

Here's what's ironic about this.

Like, well, Beau,

it doesn't necessarily say

in there,

in Leviticus 19,

17 through 18,

to love your neighbor.

Well, jump down with me

to verse 33.

When a stranger,

pause there,

stranger's not a friend.

Stranger's not a friend.

Stranger is an outsider.

Stranger is an enemy.

Stranger is someone

you don't know.

Stranger is someone

when you're suspicious of.

Stranger danger, right?

Right in here, right?

1933.

When a stranger

sojourns with you

in your land,

what does it say?

You shall not do him wrong.

You shall treat the stranger

who sojourns with you

as the native among you.

And you shall love him.

And you shall love him

as yourself.

For you were strangers

in the land of Egypt.

I am the Lord your God.

So here's what we see.

In the manipulation of God's word,

in the manipulation of God's word,

God never said,

love your neighbor,

your friend,

your brother,

and hate your enemy.

God says love.

You bless.

This is who we are.

Now this,

for you

and for me,

the people,

Jesus' time,

would have taken

a change

of their mind

that is reflective

of the holiness of God.

It comes from,

because this is what's best

for political reasons.

This is what's best

for strategy.

No.

Because I am the Lord your God.

What they taught

was you define

who you love.

And folks,

that's not what Jesus teaches.

It's very interesting.

The parable of the Good Samaritan

found in Luke chapter 10.

Oftentimes,

and in repentance with things,

you know,

you're reading back through,

I'm reading back through,

and man,

I realize,

man,

sometimes I don't put

the right emphasis

where it needs to be.

And so many times,

I know that I've done this,

you've probably done this

or heard this,

right?

We look at Luke chapter 10,

the parable of the Good Samaritan,

and we base all of it

off of how to love someone.

And can we do that?

Absolutely.

Like,

we can draw beautiful pictures

and beautiful pieces

of what it means

to love someone

and what that could look like.

But you know,

that's not,

the point of the parable.

That's not the point

of the parable.

It's a truth

we can draw from it,

but it's not what Jesus

at the heart of the parable

is addressing.

The purpose of the parable

is who is my neighbor?

Luke 10, 25,

and behold,

a lawyer stood up,

this is a scribe,

stood up to put him

to the test,

being Jesus,

saying,

teacher,

what shall I do

to inherit eternal life?

Jesus,

tell me what to do,

tell me what to do.

And he said to him,

what is written in the law,

how do you read it?

And he answered,

you shall love the Lord your God

with all your heart,

with all your soul,

with all your strength,

with all your mind,

and your neighbor

as yourself.

And he said to him,

Jesus says to him,

you have answered correctly,

go and do this,

and you will live.

But he,

desiring to justify himself,

said to Jesus,

and who is my neighbor?

Who?

And then Jesus taught.

Jesus taught.

Defining who is your neighbor.

Folks,

who is your neighbor?

Yep.

Did you encounter them?

Yep.

Did you not encounter them?

Yep.

Do you know them?

Yep.

Do you not know them?

Yep.

Do you love them?

Yep.

Do you not love them?

Yep.

They're your neighbor.

They thought that you would define

the standard to which you love.

Don't love as you desire,

as you love yourself.

Love is what you seem fit.

You are the judge.

You are the jury.

You decide.

Jesus says, no, God,

God teaches.

That you love

sacrificially

out of a response

to how you've loved.

And they taught

that for people

who want to live their lives

and honor God,

that hate

was acceptable.

It was norm.

It was expected.

And Jesus says,

but not for kingdom people.

Not for kingdom people.

Jesus says, you don't hate.

Jesus says,

you love

your enemies

and you pray

for those

who persecute you.

the passing down

of culture

rings true

in first century

Jerusalem

as it does today.

I love

who I want to love

based off of

what I determine

they should

or should not get.

And hate

is a natural response

because of what

they've done to me.

Jesus has already spoken

that blessing

of persecution

and the Beatitudes.

Matthew 5.10

Blessed are those

who are persecuted

for righteousness' sake.

For theirs is the kingdom

of heaven.

Blessed are you

when others revile you

and persecute you

and utter all kinds

of evil against you

falsely on my account.

Rejoice and be glad

for your reward

is great in heaven

for so they persecuted

the prophets

who were before you.

And now,

now Jesus

ratcheted it up again

that as blessed people

who are enduring

the difficulty

of the world

that our response

as he just shared

is not an eye

for an eye

or a tooth

for a tooth.

It's not just

give them your shirt

it's give them your cloak.

Jesus says

love your enemy

and pray

earnestly

for those

who persecute you.

Why in the world

would he do that?

Why in the world?

Jesus

this doesn't even seem

to make sense

they're not doing

what you're asking

me to do

in return.

Why should I

reward their hate

with my love?

Verse 45

so that you may be

sons

of your father

who is in heaven.

Now,

what is Jesus saying?

Does Jesus mean

that if I do this

then certain

if I do certain things

then I will earn

my salvation?

That's not at all.

Is Jesus saying

that

in and of

myself

can obtain

a level

of personal

righteousness

that makes

salvation

obtainable

by works?

No,

not at all.

Here's what

he has said.

Here's what

he will continue

to say

is that

salvation

is possible

by faith

and repentance.

That's it.

But what

Jesus is getting

to in the

calling of

the people

of the kingdom

is that

when we are

saved

God produces

fruit in us.

God transforms

us.

God sanctifies

us so that

we become

more like him

and less like

us.

So what

do we need

to know

about the

love of

God

so that

we can

love in

the manner

and the

fashion

that he

does?

Let's

understand

that in

this

God

extends

love

to all.

God

extends

love to

all.

Look at

the second

half of

verse

45.

For

he makes

the sun

rise on

the evil

and on

the good

and sends

rain on

the just

and on

the unjust.

John Calvin

referred to

this as the

common grace

of God.

Right?

The sun

didn't just

come up for

you and me

this morning.

Right?

The sun

came up for

good and

bad.

Hopefully

that the

rain will

fall in the

next 60

to 90

days.

And when

that happens,

right?

It'll fall

for the good

and the bad.

That the sun

rises regardless

if you love

God or not.

That the rain

falls regardless

if you love

God or not.

But God

in doing

this extends

his love

to all

by the sun

and the rain.

God

loves

his enemies.

You're like,

okay,

well good.

Then I'm not

going to limit

the sunshine

for my enemies

and I'm not

going to limit

the rain

for my enemies.

Jesus is

teaching a

principle here.

The principle

is that

God

loves

his enemies.

And if

you are here

today

in the

saving grace

and work

of Jesus

Christ,

can I tell

you what

you and I

should sing

praises about

and what

you and I

should jump

around about

and what

you and I

should clap

our hands

about

and what

builds joy

in our

hearts

is we

should love

the fact

that God

loves

enemies.

Because

God,

when he

saved you

and when

he saved

me,

didn't

save his

friends,

he saved

his enemies.

Romans 5.8,

God

shows his

love for

us in

that while

we were

still sinners,

Christ died

for us.

Romans 5.10,

for if

while we

were enemies,

we were

reconciled to

God by the

death of

his son,

much more

now that we

are reconciled

shall we

be saved

by his

life.

Colossians 1.21-22,

and you

who were

once alienated

and hostile

in mind

doing evil

deeds,

like let's

pause it

just for a

second,

like when

God saved

you,

I don't

care if

he saved

you at

five or

at 95.

I don't

care if

he saved

you in a

bar or in

a Sunday

school class.

I don't

care if

he saved

you in

a prison

cell or

at youth

camp.

When God

saved you,

what you

and I

in the

heart of

the depravity

of who

we are,

we exuded

this,

we were

alienated,

hostile,

doing evil

deeds.

He has

now reconciled

in his body

of flesh

by death

in order

to present

you and

me as

holy and

blameless

and above

reproach

before him.

This is

how God

loves

enemies.

Next week

we're going

to gather

for Easter

and we're

going to

praise and

celebrate

that the

tomb

is empty.

But folks,

in order

for the

tomb to

be empty,

at one

point in

time the

tomb had

to be

full.

And

Jesus

did not

just die

for the

sins of

those

people.

Jesus

died for

your sins

and my

sins

because we

were enemies

of God

and God

loved

us.

You see,

the world

says you

love your

neighbor and

you hate

your enemy

but the

king

says we

love

because we

have been

loved.

So let's

talk about

reflecting the

king.

Reflecting

the king.

Verse 46

through 48.

For if you

love those

who love

you,

what reward

do you

have?

Do not

even the

tax collectors

do the

same?

and if

you greet

only your

brothers,

what more

are you

doing

than

others?

Do not

even the

Gentiles

do the

same?

You

therefore

must be

perfect

as your

heavenly

father

perfect.

Reflecting

the king.

Jesus

gives two

illustrations

here.

and in

the mind

of the

audience

who

would

hear,

Jesus

chooses

two

types

people,

who they

are in

their day

to day

life.

Jesus'

Jewish

audience

would have

seen them

as their

mortal

enemies.

The tax

collector,

the traitor,

the betrayer

of faith,

the one who

robs and

steals and

exudes

greed in his

life.

the Gentile,

the pagan

who has

come over

and conquered

and taken

over.

Jesus says

the world,

the tax

collector and

the pagan,

they even

love people.

They do.

They love

those who

love them,

who they

determine

deserves their

love,

but Jesus

loves all.

So is

your love

going to be

reflective of

the tax

collector,

the pagan,

the Gentile,

the world?

Or is

your love

going to

reflect

Christ?

Danny

Akin said

this in

his book,

Christ-centered

exposition

on the

Sermon

of the

Mount.

He said

returning

evil for

good is

satanic.

Returning

good for

good is

simply human.

Returning

good for

evil,

now that

is divine.

That is

divine.

That's

what Jesus

did for

us,

right?

We did

him evil.

He gave

us good.

He gave

us good.

He gave

us good.

The call

for our

life is

not to

live as

a reflection

of our

deprived

nature that

we've been

saved from.

the call

of our

life is

of the

divine,

of the

holy,

of God.

It's

human to

love those

who love

us.

It's

holy to

love those

who don't

love us.

The call

to perfection

is not

an obtainable

call this

side of

eternity,

but it's

a call

to set

our hearts

and minds

to,

to be

Christ.

folks,

there are

people in

your life

that are

easy to

love,

and my

guess is

you,

just like

me,

you're

loving

them

well.

But then

there are

those who

are hard,

who are

difficult,

and Jesus

this morning

is calling

you to

love them.

So how

do I love

my enemies?

Four

practical

ways.

that I

believe that

you and

I can

reflect the

work of

Christ in

the heart

of God

as he

calls us

to love

those that

we're

struggling,

that we've

determined

are our

enemies.

Number one,

seek to

serve.

Number one,

seek to

serve.

Jesus

washed

the feet

of the

dirty

disciples,

we should

seek to

serve

those

even

though

they

don't

deserve

it.

Number two,

number two,

speak in

kindness,

speak in

kindness.

Well,

fine,

but I'll be

kind to

their face

and nasty

behind their

back.

May we be

people of

kindness

and compassion

and empathy.

May we

be people

that what

is in

our

heart

reflective

on what

say.

Number

three,

straight from

Jesus'

own words,

pray for

them.

Pray for

them.

Okay,

that's,

Lord,

we just

need a

little dosage

of your

wrath to

kind of fall

here today,

right?

Like,

some misery,

some punishment,

some sickness,

like one of the

plagues,

like if that

could happen,

right?

Pray for

blessing.

Pray for

blessing.

Pray that

they would

be blessed

in their

family,

in their

life,

in their

career,

in their

pursuits.

They would

live in and

experience the

spiritual blessings

of the Lord.

Oh boy,

but maybe even

some of the

tangible blessings

as well.

Number

four,

number four,

share the

gospel.

Share the

gospel.

Share the

gospel.

Maybe,

theologically

speaking,

they are

enemies of

Christ.

And maybe

what God

has for you

to do

is to share

the gospel

with them

so that

they might

become

a brother

and sister

in Christ.

I'm going to ask

the praise team

and the prayer

encouragers to

make their way

on the stage,

prayer encouragers

on the side

of the room.

In closing,

I want to ask

you four

questions to

consider.

Four questions

as we take

and we look

at verses

43 through

48.

Number one,

who is the

enemy that

needs to be

your neighbor?

Who is the

enemy that

needs to be

a neighbor?

Who does

God need to

have in your

life so that

you see

them the

way that

God has

called you

to see

them?

Number two,

number two,

how can

you pray

that God

will do

a work

in your

heart

concerning

them?

What does

God need

to change

in you?

Bo,

they're difficult,

they're hard,

they're,

I know,

I know.

What does

God need

to change

in you?

Number three,

what act

of love

is God

calling you

to today?

What act

of love

is God

calling you?

How is

God calling

you to

serve them

right now?

And lastly,

how can

loving them

display God's

love for you

and your

love for God?

Would you pray

with me?

God,

we thank you

for the truth

and the power

of your word.

God,

the challenge

you lay

before us

is not

simple,

it is not

easy,

and Lord,

it is only

possible through

the work

of your

spirit.

Lord,

I pray

as we

wrestle with

the truth

of your

word,

Lord,

that we

would be

faithful

to seek

you,

to seek

your will,

to seek

your way.

God,

forgive me

where I

have failed

to love.

God,

forgive me

where I

have embraced

hate.

God,

forgive me

where I

have been

unkind.

God,

forgive me

where I

have been

selfish

and self-seeking

in my

serving.

God,

forgive me

when I

would rather

someone experience

the wrath

of God

than the joy

of salvation.

God,

thank you

that you

don't give

up on us,

that you're

working on

us,

or may we

respond to

you as

you lead

us.

It's in

Jesus' name

we pray.

Amen.

That's it

for this

week's

message.

Be sure

to check

back next

week for

a new

episode.

And in

the meantime,

you can

visit us

online at

willowridgechurch.org

or by

searching for

Willow Ridge

Church on

Facebook,

Instagram,

and YouTube.

Thanks again

for listening.

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