Sermon Tone Analysis
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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 . . .
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 . . .
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 . . .
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:
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
Matthew 18:21
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 . . .
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 . . .
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)
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 . . .
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, . . .
And because the master saw the man’s sincerity and his grief . . .
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)
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.”
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