that you may be sons 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.that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.that ye may be sons of your Father who is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust.
6 sermons cite this verse
… we have in theology what we call common grace. That's the benefits everybody, believers and unbelievers alike, experience in the world. Jesus said it this way in Matthew 5 45, God causes his son to rise on the evil and the good. He sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteousness. All creation is the beneficiary of God's goodness. But God's power is reserved mainly for Christians, for his own children. I feel a special responsibility to my children and grandchildren. You feel that too. You know why we feel that way? Because we're made in the image of God. God cares especially about his children. And if you want to experience God's miracles in your life, the single greatest thing you can do is become a part of God's family. And you do that by faith. John 1 12 says, as many as received Jesus to those, he gave the privilege to become the children of God, even to those who believe on his name. God's power is primarily reserved for his children. Principle number two, God's power is generated by the Holy Spirit of God. God's power is generated by the Holy Spirit. We'll talk about that in the weeks to come, but two things under that I want you to write down. First of all, we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit once for all at our salvation. We are indwelt by the Spirit once for all at our salvation. 1 Corinthians 12, 13 says, for with one Spirit, we were all …
We have in theology what we call common grace. That's the benefits everybody, believers and unbelievers alike experience in the world. Jesus said it this way in Matthew 5 45, God causes his son to rise on the evil and the good. He sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteousness. All creation is the beneficiary of God's goodness, but God's power is reserved mainly for Christians, for his own children. You understand that. When Julia and Dorothy were growing up in our house, Amy and I would often go to their sporting events, basketball and soccer and tennis or whatever else they were playing. And when we were watching them play, of course, I was concerned for the safety of all the girls who were playing on both teams. But I was especially concerned about my own daughters and their well-being. Sometimes I'm walking around the church, and a little child will come up and be excited to see me, and I'm always so grateful for that. And I love talking to our children, but occasionally a child will walk up and say, can I have a dollar? …
… Pray for those who persecute you so that you may be sons of your father who is in heaven. For he makes his son rise on the evil and the just and on the unjust. Who are our enemies? Well, by these enemies, Jesus does not mean merely difficult people, though they are included in that list. But even those who persecute you, perhaps maybe on the job, they make fun of you, of your faith, or in school, because you stand up for the Lord and you won't go the direction of the pressure of the world. Our Lord says that we're to pray for those who persecute us. I like what John Piper said. He says, praying for our enemies is in the presence of God, who knows your heart and their heart. And prayer is interceding with God on their behalf. It may be for their conversion, repentance, or that they would be awakened to the enmity in their own hearts. It may be that they will be stopped in their downward spiral of sin, even if it takes disease or calamity to do it. …
follower of Jesus does not exempt you. Valleys are part of life and valleys happen to everyone. In fact, Jesus said in Matthew 5 45, the rain falls on the just and the unjust. Everybody goes through the exact same things in life. Not only are valleys inevitable and impartial, number three, valleys are unpredictable. And that's part of what makes them a problem is you can't predict them. You can't plan them. You can't time them. Problems typically catch you off guard. They come unexpectedly. In fact, your valleys and your problems come usually at the worst time. When you don't have time, when you're unprepared, when you're inconvenient. Wouldn't it be easier if you could schedule all your valleys in life? I'm caught up on my sleep. My health is good. Nobody's bugging me. Okay, now I'll take a problem, Lord. It doesn't happen like that. They're inevitable, they're impartial, and they are unpredictable. Have you ever noticed how quickly a good day can become a bad day? …
… you pray for those who persecute you because you are sons of a heavenly Father, and that heavenly Father makes his Son rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the just and the unjust. And what does amount to if you love those who love you? It was when we were still his enemies that God showed his love for us in giving his Son for us. And if at the end of the day we think our neighbors are just the people we like and therefore are to love, we're no different from the tax collectors. We're no different from the people we despise. They like each other. There is honor among thieves. No, he says, here is the wonderful motive the gospel gives to you. You are a child of a heavenly Father who is generous to His enemies. Remember what family you're in. A friend told me years ago of an incident that took place in Buckingham Palace, where the chaplain, one of the royal chaplains, just happened to be in the palace when the The present Queen Elizabeth and her late sister were just small girls. …
… THEM WHICH DESPITEFULLY USE YOU AND PERSECUTE YOU, THAT YE MAY BE THE CHILDREN OF YOUR FATHER WHICH IS IN HEAVEN, FOR HE MAKETH HIS SON TO RISE ON THE EVIL AND ON THE GOOD, AND SENDETH RAIN ON THE JUST AND ON THE UNJUST. FOR IF WE, FOR IF YE LOVE THEM WHICH LOVE YOU, WHAT REWARD HAVE YE? DO NOT EVEN THE PUBLICANS THE SAME? AND IF YE SALUTE YOUR BRETHREN ONLY, WHAT DO YE MORE THAN OTHERS, DO NOT EVEN THE PUBLICAN SO. BE YE THEREFORE PERFECT," AND THE WORD THERE PERFECT MEANS MATURE, BE YE THEREFORE MATURE, PERFECT, EVEN AS YOUR FATHER WHICH IS IN HEAVEN IS PERFECT. NOW THE KEY TO LIVING WITH A SMILE IS A CHRIST-CENTERED LIFE. THE KEY TO LIVING A CHRIST-CENTERED LIFE IS FIRST OF ALL EMPTYING YOURSELF OUT OF YOUR OWN SELF LIFE. EVEN GOD CANNOT FILL THAT WHICH IS ALREADY FULL, SO THE, UH, CHRIST-FILLED LIFE IS THE SELF-EMPTIED LIFE. SO MANY OF US ARE SO FULL OF SELF. AND AS A WISE MAN SAID, A MAN WRAPPED UP IN HIMSELF MAKES A VERY SMALL PACKAGE. I WANT YOU TO THINK WITH ME NOW ON THIS PRINCIPLE, A PRINCIPLE OF LIVING, SELFLESS LIVING, JOYFUL LIVING, CHRIST-FILLED LIVING, THE PRINCIPLE OF THE SECOND MILE. AND REMEMBER THIS, IT'S THE SECOND MILE THAT BRINGS THE SMILE. I HAVE THREE THINGS I WANT TO TELL YOU ABOUT THE SECOND MILE THIS MORNING, AND I PRAY GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL NOT ONLY WRITE THEM IN YOUR NOTES, BUT WRITE THEM ON …