Sermon Tone Analysis

The Lord's Priority for Unity in His Church

The Gospel of Matthew

Matthew 18:14-20

Sermon by Rick Crandall

(Prepared October 11, 2022)

BACKGROUND:

*Please open your Bibles to Matthew 18, as we focus on the Lord's Church.

The church is mentioned over a hundred times in the New Testament.

But surprisingly, it's only mentioned 3 times in the Gospels, and all 3 are here in Matthew's Gospel.

*The first was in Matthew 16:18 where Jesus was speaking to Peter, and the Lord confidently said, "You are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it."

*We must remember that Jesus is the rock-solid foundation of His Church.

Yes, Peter's name is from the original word "petros," and that means rock or boulder.

But the word Jesus used for "rock" in that verse was "petra."

And that word is talking about a huge, mountain-sized rock like the Rock of Gibraltar or Mount Rushmore.

In other words, Jesus said, "You are a little rock Peter.

And on this huge mountain of a rock, I will build My Church."

Maybe Jesus even pointed to Himself as He said it, because the Rock of our salvation is Jesus Christ!

*This truth is confirmed in both the Old Testament and the New.

For example, in Deuteronomy 32:3-4, Moses' song says, "I proclaim the name of the LORD: ascribe greatness to our God.

He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; righteous and upright is He."

*In 2 Samuel 22:2 King David said, "The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer."

And in vs. 31-33, David said, As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is proven; he is a shield to all who trust in Him.

For who is God, except the LORD?

And WHO IS A ROCK, EXCEPT OUR GOD? God is my strength and power, and He makes my way perfect.

*Jesus Christ is the Rock of our salvation!

That's why in 1 Corinthians 3:11 Paul spoke of Jesus Christ being the only foundation for God's Church.

But what is God's Church?

Basically, it is the growing group of all people who have believed in Jesus Christ, everyone who has received Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

*Pastor Russ Blowers gave a wonderful description of God's Church when he was speaking to the Rotary Club in Indianapolis.

Each week, a different member told a little about his job.

And this is what Russ said when his turn came up:

*"I'm with a global enterprise.

We have branches in every country in the world.

We're into motivation and behavior alteration.

We run hospitals, feeding stations, crisis pregnancy centers, universities, publishing houses, and nursing homes.

We care for our clients from birth to death.

We are into life insurance and fire insurance.

We perform spiritual heart transplants.

*Our original Organizer owns all the real estate on earth, plus an assortment of galaxies and constellations.

He knows everything, and lives everywhere.

Our product is free for the asking.

(There's not enough money to buy it.)

*Our CEO was born in a hick town, worked as a carpenter, didn't own a home, was misunderstood by his family, hated by enemies, walked on water, was condemned to death without a fair trial, and arose from the dead!

I talk with him every day."

(1)

*God's Church is all of that, and much more!

In the Book of Ephesians, the Holy Spirit led Paul to give us a multi-faceted view the Church.

For example, in Ephesians 2:19-22 Paul tells Christians that we are citizens of Heaven, members of God's family, and part of the growing, holy temple where God now lives through the Holy Spirit.

Praise the Lord!

*In Ephesians 3:15, Paul confirms that we are part of the family of God.

In Ephesians 3 and 4, he also stresses that we are part of the Spiritual Body of Christ on earth.

And in Ephesians 5:25-27, Paul confirms that the Lord's Church is the spiritual Bride of Christ.

There Paul wrote, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish."

Thank God for the Church of Jesus Christ!

*Today's Scripture focuses on the Lord's priority for unity in His Church.

Please think about our unity as we read Matthew 18:14-20.

MESSAGE:

*Remember the situation here: In Matthew 18:1 the disciples asked Jesus, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?''

They were wondering about that question, because they had been arguing about it as they walked on the road to Capernaum.

Mark 9:33-35 says:

33.

Then He came to Capernaum.

And when He was in the house He asked them, "What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?''

34.

But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest.

35.

And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.''

*On the road, maybe all of them thought they deserved to be greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

And they were stubborn about it, even up to the night before the cross.

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*But Jesus tried to teach them that their whole idea of greatness was upside down, and He used a little child to do it.

In vs. 2-4:

2. . .

Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them,

3. and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

4. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

*Jesus wanted them to know the truth about how God measures greatness.

Then the Lord began to talk about His greatest reason for coming to earth.

And in vs. 11-14 Jesus said:

11. .

."The

Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.

12.

What do you think?

If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?

13.

And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.

14.

Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish."

*Christ's greatest purpose for coming to earth was to seek and save the lost.

But Jesus knew that our lack of Christian unity would be a huge stumbling block to His purpose, so He began to help His arguing disciples understand.

*And unity makes a big difference.

James Dobson made explained this in a story about his parents.

One night they heard a strange sound in the house.

Mrs. Dobson jumped out of bed and grabbed hold of the bedroom door.

Mr. Dobson also jumped out of bed and grabbed the door.

*In the darkness, she pushed as hard as she could.

She was determined to keep the door closed, so the intruder could not enter.

At the same time, Mr. Dobson was pulling as hard as he could.

He wanted to open the door, so he could confront the bad guy.

So, there they were, frantically struggling in the dark, pushing and pulling against each other, until they turned on the light and found out that there was no one there but them.

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*Pulling against each other in the dark will get us nowhere.

That's why God has a heart for harmony in His church.

He puts a great priority on our unity.

1. FIRST JESUS SHOWS US THE PURPOSE OF OUR UNITY.

*It's in 14-15 where again, Jesus said, "Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.

If he hears you, you have gained your brother."

*Jesus wanted His arguing disciples to walk together as one, united by humble hearts and a Christ-like commitment to reach the lost.

You see, the Lord knew that prideful divisions could hinder His goal of reaching the lost.