Journey Through Matthew: "Have Mercy!"
Journey Through Matthew • Sermon • Submitted
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· 6 viewsIf God shows us mercy, love, grace, and forgiveness, shoudn't we do the same for others?
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Introduction
Introduction
Alright, well good evening and welcome back!
I hope everyone had a good afternoon and was able to get a “Nazarene Nap” in!
Tonight we are going to plug right along with our “Journey Through Matthew” looking at the subject of Have Mercy!
And we will be in , if you would like to start turning there in your Bibles.
And if you remember, this morning we didn’t get all the way through the last passage, and in fact left off in verse 17, as Jesus is trying to teach his disciples how to deal with conflict.
And the last verse we read, verse 17 for reference says . . .
17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
And we know that Jesus is talking about those who claim to be brothers and sisters in Christ, who refuse to be reconciled with their brother or sister, whom they are in conflict with.
And he is basically saying if they refuse to listen, turn them out like the rest of the sinful world.
And we may think that this is cruel, but in reality it is no different than what Paul says in , when he is dealing with sin in the church as well. Paul says . . .
5 hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.
1 Corinthians 5:
Which is the point. Those who claim to be part of God’s family, have no business acting in these sinful and spiteful ways, and if they do and if they refuse to repent and change their ways, what choice do you have?
You can’t condone their sin.
You can’t ignore their sin.
If all else fails, you have to pretty much turn them out and let the consequences of their sin take it’s course with the hope AND prayer that one day they will return.
And of course one of the biggest arguments we hear is that “you can’t judge others, that’s God’s job!”
Which is partially true.
We are not to pass judgment on other people, but we are to discern and judge their actions.
After all Jesus himself says, you will know them by their fruit.
And if their fruit is rotten then you call it like you see it.
Which really plays into what Jesus is saying, starting in verse 18 of our text when he says . . .
18 “I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
Which is a great deal of responsibility.
And we often go back to the question about Church doctrines and what authority they have.
Well, if they don’t contradict God’s Word then, here is the authority.
God has given us the authority to say what is acceptable and unacceptable practice in church disciple and in church doctrine.
The world calls it morals, which many people have none, but we in the Church are bound by our Doctrines and beliefs.
Our interpretation of God’s Word and God’s Will.
And our Church of the Nazarene Doctrine is not the end all/beat all, but we choose to be part of the Church of the Nazarene and by choosing that, we choose to accept their Doctrines.
If we were Baptist, then we would be choosing to follow their Doctrines.
The same goes for Pentecostal, Methodist, and on and on.
As long as it does not contradict God’s Word, then it is really okay.
And Jesus reiterates this point in verses 19-20 . . .
Matthew 18:
19 “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”
And the reason why there are “two” or “three” mentioned here is because it’s real easy for one person to go out and make all sorts of crazy decisions.
And if they are the only one with the authority, things can get pretty ugly pretty quickly.
However, if there are two agreeing or two or three gathered in His name, then that is much less likely because if one person is off kilter, the rest can take up the slack.
The key though is being in His Will and doing things under His authority.
That’s how harmony is achieved in the church.
When people are living and operating under the power of the Holy Spirit, who fills us and instills in us the Fruit of the Spirit, which by the way is really the root of tonight’s passage.
So, if you have found in your Bibles, I’d invite you to stand with me.
Starting in verse 21, Matthew writes . . .
Scripture Focus
Scripture Focus
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. 23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. 26 “The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, cancelled the debt and let him go. 28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow-servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. 29 “His fellow-servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ 30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. 32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I cancelled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow-servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. 35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”
Matthew 18:21
Forgiving (vs 21-22)
Forgiving (vs 21-22)
So, the passage starts out with good ole’ Peter coming to the Lord wanting to split hairs over an issue.
And the Bible says that . . .
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”
Matthew 18:21
The old saying goes “burn me once, shame on you, burn me twice, shame on me!”
Well, not exactly, but Peter is bringing out an attitude that many of us hold.
When someone does us wrong, how many times do we forgive them?
After all you get a little tired of it after a while, and why should we?
Well, that is when the flesh is rising up over the Spirit.
And that is when we need to take a step back and examine ourselves, because Jesus responds to Peter . . .
22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
And what Jesus is saying, is “as many times as it takes.”
And that is hard, very hard in some instances, but Jesus is telling Peter, and us, if someone does you wrong and they come and repent and try to make things right, we are to forgive them.
Whether they do it once or 100 times, as Christians we are to forgive and give them another chance.
But do we?
I will tell you the answer is no.
Many times we do the complete opposite, out of anger, hurt, bitterness.
And the reason is we are not living under the power of the Holy Spirit.
We have this idea of how everything should be and when it is not, we get all in a tizzy and throw a tantrum.
Or we take our toys and go home.
That’s not the way God’s people are supposed to act.
We are supposed to be the example to the world, not just one more example of the world.
Jesus called us to lead the way, not to get in His way.
And to be honest, when we refuse to forgive, when we hold grudges, we are the one suffering.
God can’t work in a hard heart and it hinders our entire relationship with God and with other people.
And like I said, it is not easy, but it is possible through the power of the Holy Spirit.
An Example of Mercy (vs 23-27)
An Example of Mercy (vs 23-27)
And apparently Peter wasn’t fully grasping the concept.
Maybe he had that blank “what are you talking about” look on his face, we don’t know.
But Jesus gives him an example from a parable.
Jesus tells Peter . . .
23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
Matthew 18:23
Aren’t we glad bill collectors are not like that today?
This guy owed the king some money and didn’t have the money to pay.
So, the king was going to take the guys wife and kids as payment of the debt.
Joke: “I Wonder if I could get enough for Michelle to pay off my car.”
I had better not, because if I did I would starve to death!
But seriously, this guy was in trouble and naturally he was distraught because if the King took his wife and kids, chances were he would never see them again.
They would be sold into slavery and that would be it.
He would never see them again, they would be slaves, and he would have to live with the fact that it would be all his fault.
So, . . .
26 “The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’
And because the master saw the man’s sincerity and his grief . . .
27 The servant’s master took pity on him, cancelled the debt and let him go.
Matthew 18:
Not only did he not take the man’s family, he cancelled the debt all together.
Which was a huge relief for the guy.
And we would think he would be grateful for such a gift, but . .
No Mercy (vs 28-31)
No Mercy (vs 28-31)
No Mercy (vs 28-31)
No Mercy (vs 28-31)
28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow-servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
Matthew 18:
Sound familiar?
We do and do for people, help them out time after time, show them love mercy and grace.
And what happens the first time we do something that they don’t like, it’s like they are grabbing them by our neck and choking us.
They forget all of God’s mercy and grace when it is something they want.
They will take what they want from who they want when they want.
They think the world “owes them something.”
And they are ruthless, going to do whatever they have to in order “get what it theirs.”
They will lie, cheat, steal and do whatever because they feel they are owed it.
Regardless of how forgiving and how much God has blessed them.
And sadly we can also do this.
God has blessed us so much, but when we feel like somebody owes us something we go after them like a bulldog.
God has forgiven us time and time again, but when somebody does us wrong, we “get ‘em back!”
God has shown us eternal mercy but we have no mercy on anyone.
And if that describes us…well, shame on us.
Because that is not a Christlike attitude.
Now, sometimes we get angry and react, but many times, acting this way is part of our character, who we are.
And if it is, then we are not living under the power of the Holy Spirit.
Because if we were, we wouldn’t act that way.
If we messed up, we would repent, ask forgiveness and move forward.
But some of the most ruthless people I have ever known claim to be Christians.
And I am sorry, but if they act this way, they are not.
And it is not because I say they are not, it is because their Fruit are telling on them.
And if the Spirit is convicting any of us here tonight of this attitude, we need to do something about it.
Because here is what happens to our servant who had just been blessed and refused to bless another . . .
29 “His fellow-servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’
Matthew 18:
Sound familiar? Exactly what the now accuser did. However, his response . . .
30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.
Matthew 18:30
Which did what?
Who did that help?
But that wasn’t the end of it . . .
Forgiving Comes from the Heart (vs 32-35)
Forgiving Comes from the Heart (vs 32-35)
32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I cancelled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow-servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
Matthew 18:32
And we can draw this from this scenario.
Even though this man had his debt, his sin forgiven.
He refused to change his ways, refused to give his heart to God.
And in the end, even though he had said the right words in the beginning, he ended up being thrown into prison, thrown into hell to be tortured.
And the reason why, his words were fake. They were just words.
They had no meaning behind them.
He had no Spirit living in him.
He was just doing what he thought he needed to to benefit him.
His “get out of hell free card” if you will.
But it didn’t work, because by their fruits you will know them.
And by YOUR fruits God knows you. Good or bad.
And Jesus ends this way . . .
35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”
Altar Call
Altar Call
The key word here is “heart.”
It has to come from our heart, not our mouth.
Because God knows what is in our heart, whether our heart is right with him or not.
Whether we put on a good show when we come to the church house, or whether we mean what we say.
Whether we are filled with the Holy Spirit or filled with the world.
God knows.
And God knows each heart right here tonight.
And God knows if you are under conviction for anything right now as well.
God knows whether you need to come and pray tonight.
So, tonight I’d like to ask you all to stand.
And as music is played I want to give you a chance to come to this altar and pray.
Will you do that tonight?
Will you be obedient to the Master’s call or keep on doing the same old thing?
It’s you choice, which one will you make?
The altars are open, will you come?