AM Sermon: 10/23/22
What is this Thing about Hate? (Ecclesiastes 3:8 BSB)
Bro Avery Hines
What hate has become is more than hate ever was. Hate has evolved because we are being told what hate is, but I believe we are not given the true definition of the word. Not everything that is being called hate is hate; so, the definition of hate has become unclear.
What is hate?
The verb definition of hate is to feel intense or passionate dislike for (someone), and hate has synonyms like loathe, detest, despise, dislike, abhor, and execrate. Now, I do not know what some of those words mean, but I don’t think any of them have anything to do with love. The noun definition of hate is intense or passionate dislike.
Hatred or hate is a deep and extreme emotional dislike, especially invoking feelings of anger or resentment. It can be directed against individuals, groups, entities, objects, behaviors, or ideas. Hate is often associated with feelings of anger, disgust, and a disposition towards hostility.
And I do not mean to try to just beat a dead horse but hate takes effort.
Hate takes times and energy.
It takes time because something seems to have to bother a person so much for so long that all they can think, or feel, is hate.
It takes energy because to hate something, or someone, wears you down. It eventually wears you out; draining your energy as if you had just run a marathon. It leaves you angry and bitter to the point where it is hard to do anything but hate.
See, to me, it seems hate takes so much time to develop that thing you feel against a person, or situation, could be easily rectified. And even if the situation cannot be easily rectified the time spent hating could be applied to fixing the problem.
So, what I guess I am saying is, you don’t have to hate, you got to want to hate!
But, when you are a member of the body of Christ, there is an alternative to hate.
Turn with me to Luke chapter 6:27 – 36…
Luk 6:27 But to those of you who will listen, I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
Luk 6:28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
Luk 6:29 If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone takes your cloak, do not withhold your tunic as well.
Luk 6:30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what is yours, do not demand it back.
Luk 6:31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
Luk 6:32 If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.
Luk 6:33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same.
Luk 6:34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full.
Luk 6:35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
Luk 6:36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
If we go backwards a few verses in this very chapter to verse 22…
Luk 6:22 Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil because of the Son of Man.
Luk 6:23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For their fathers treated the prophets in the same way.
Notice that Jesus says…
When they hate you
When they exclude you
When they insult you
When they reject your name as evil
Then recognize the reason, because of the Son of Man.
Jesus is saying don’t be a hater too, He says what?
Luk 6:27 But to those of you who will listen, I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
See, there is always an option, as I said before, you have to want to hate.
Microsoft word’s grammar check wanted me to change “have to” into “must” because it said it sounded better. I left it as is because I’m trying to make a point.
You have to want to hate…
You put all your effort into it
You don’t attempt to find a resolution
It takes all your time
You put whatever time you have left into it
You have to want to hate
These days especially I believe there are those who really want to hate!
Isaiah said something, not even sure if it fits in this message but when I read it…
Isa 64:1 If only you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence—
Isa 64:2 just as fire sets twigs ablaze and the fire causes water to boil—to make known your name to your enemies, yes, to your enemies before you, so that the nations might quake at your presence! (ISV)
I believe all the hate in the world would immediately come to an end.
I believe the hate of this day and age has caused many to think it is a sign of the end of the age. Well, it is no different from what we are about to read…
Mat 24:1 As Jesus left the temple and was walking away, His disciples came up to Him to point out its buildings.
Mat 24:2 “Do you see all these things?” He replied. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
Mat 24:3 While Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?”
Mat 24:4 Jesus answered, “See to it that no one deceives you.
Mat 24:5 For many will come in My name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.
Mat 24:6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. These things must happen, but the end is still to come.
Mat 24:7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
Mat 24:8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.
Mat 24:9 Then they will deliver you over to be persecuted and killed, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.
Mat 24:10 At that time many will fall away and will betray and hate one another,
Mat 24:11 and many false prophets will arise and mislead many.
Mat 24:12 Because of the multiplication of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.
Mat 24:13 But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.
Mat 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
You will be hated by all nations
Many will fall away; will betray and hate another
The love of most will grow cold
But those who do what; persevere to the end, will be saved.
The Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes teaches that there is a "time to love, and a time to hate.
Please go with me to Ecclesiastes 3, some bibles have dubbed it “Everything Has Its Time” …
Ecc 3:1 To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven:
Ecc 3:2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
Ecc 3:3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to break down and a time to build,
Ecc 3:4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
Ecc 3:5 a time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
Ecc 3:6 a time to search and a time to count as lost, a time to keep and a time to discard,
Ecc 3:7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,
Now, look at verse 8…
Ecc 3:8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
A time of love, and isn’t that how it all starts out
And somehow love turns to hate
And hate turns to war
And only after enough damage is done do we seek peace.
"Turn! Turn! Turn!” sometimes known as “To Everything (turn, turn, turn)", is a song written by Pete Seeger in the late 1950s. The lyrics, except for the title, which is repeated throughout the song, and the final two lines, are adapted word-for-word from the English version of the first eight verses of the third chapter of the biblical Book of Ecclesiastes. The song was originally released in 1962 as "To Everything There Is a Season" on folk group the Limeliters' RCA album Folk Matinee and then some months later Seeger's own The Bitter and the Sweet. The song became an international hit in late 1965 when it was adapted by the American folk-rock group the Byrds. The Byrds' single is the most successful recorded version of the song, having reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 charts and number 26 on the UK Singles Chart. The book of Ecclesiastes was written between the 3rd and 10th centuries BC, thus "Turn! Turn! Turn!" is the number one pop hit with the oldest lyrics.
So, I believe all these folks were trying to make a statement, and as popular a statement it was it seems most of the folks back then miss the point. These renditions of the first 8 verses of the book of Ecclesiastes was received worldwide as a form of art and thus it was taken as art: many probably missing the point.
That song starts out
To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And then goes into those 8 verses
Now take a look at how they finish the song
A time of love, a time of hate, a time of peace, I swear it’s not too late
At least it is not too late today, tomorrow may be too late
This is the season you should turn your heart to God
Because one day it will be everlasting too late.
The bible says there is a time to hate, but if you are going to hate something, why not hate what God hates? You can read about what God hates in Proverbs 6:16 -19. Why not read it, why not consider being on God’s side?
Psalm 139:19-24, says there is a kind of "perfect hatred" which is consistent with the hate David felt for God’s enemies. The Hebrew word describing David’s "perfect hatred" (KJV) means that it "brings a process to completion. In other words, goal-oriented opposition. Of course, the ultimate opposition to those who oppose God would be to get them to love God, or, failing that, to at least stop them from destroying others. The New Testament describes a similar, if not the same, process: "to deliver...unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved (1st Corinthians 5:5), where Paul is explaining how immorality hurts the church.
Now, the Old Testament contains condemnations of hatred. For example, "thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart" The New Testament emphasizes that evil intentions can be as serious as evil actions. Thus, John counted hatred as serious as murder, as I leave you with the book of first John chapter 3.
1Jn 3:11 This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another.
1Jn 3:12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did Cain slay him? Because his own deeds were evil, while those of his brother were righteous.
1Jn 3:13 So do not be surprised, brothers, if the world hates you.
1Jn 3:14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. The one who does not love remains in death.
1Jn 3:15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that eternal life does not reside in a murderer.
If there ever was a season to; this would be the season to turn, turn, turn!
I will end it right there; I pray nothing else should needs to be said. I would encourage all of you to read and reread 1st John chapter 3.
Hear, believe, repent, confess that you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and be baptized.