Blessed are the merciful (Part 3)
Notes
Transcript
Order of Service
Order of Service
Welcome
Welcome
Hymn - O the deep, deep love of Jesus (325)
Hymn - O the deep, deep love of Jesus (325)
Psalm Reading
Psalm Reading
But I call to God, and the Lord will save me. Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice. He redeems my soul in safety from the battle that I wage, for many are arrayed against me. God will give ear and humble them, he who is enthroned from of old, Selah because they do not change and do not fear God.
Prayer
Prayer
Teen Talk
Teen Talk
Hymn - IMMORTAL, INVISIBLE, GOD ONLY WISE (248)
Hymn - IMMORTAL, INVISIBLE, GOD ONLY WISE (248)
Notices
Notices
Prayer Meeting - 7:30pm
Friday 7pm - Online
Sunday Morning 11am & 6pm
Tithes & Offerings - £
Main Prayer
Main Prayer
Birthdays
Birthdays
Sarah - Wed
Prayer Items
Prayer Items
Hymn - BY FAITH (1256)
Hymn - BY FAITH (1256)
Sermon Search
Sermon Search
Reading
Reading
Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Sermon
Sermon
The Kingdom of Heaven
has come
is among you
is yet to come
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Mercy
Physical
Spiritual
Motivation
God’s Common Grace
God’s Saving Mercy
Forgiving Others
Forgiving Others
Forgiveness - release of consquences
Creditor - release any expectation that a debt will be repaid
Offender - release of punishment for an offense
And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.
Lend expecting nothing in return
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Mercy:
Be kind and tenderhearted
Forgive as God forgave you
bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
Do not hold things against one another - forgive
Stop counting...
Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.
Jews were taught by Rabbi’s to forgive 3 times
Peter is not told to count but rather lose count
seventy times the number (multiplication rather than addition)
490 times
Mechanism of Forgiveness
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”
your brother/sister sins
rebuke him
if he repents, forgive him
if he sins 7 times in one day, and he says “I repent” .... you must forgive him
Repentence
Is not “I’m sorry” - is needed as prerequisite to reconciliation
but is not repentence
repentence is a change of heart - without it saying sorry is meaningless
For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.
Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.
Literally: Do something that proces you have changed your heart
Alternatively...
If there is any blaming, it is not genuine repentance
If there are any excuses, it is not genuine repentance
To say “because I’m a weak sinner”, is not genuine repentance
it is literally to blame God
Reminder: Forgive as often as there is genuine repentence
Do you have a forgiving Spirit?
The Beatitudes for Today Burying the Mad Dog
C H Spurgeon used to say, ‘Forgive and forget. When you bury a mad dog, don’t leave his tail above the ground.’
will not remember - rather than forget
english - Forget
inadvertently neglect to do, bring, or mention something
amnesia
zākar remember - by implication to mention / recount
burn
not bring attention to, or recount - is a deliberate act
Forgiveness - do not count against them
Only time God used the word zākar ...
And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
Paul reminds believers in his letters… (as previously quoted)
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
God has fogiven you completely and unconditionally
Your sins will not be held against you
Jesus will always show the signs of his sacrifice
Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
books openned - all you have ever done
Book of life - if absent thrown into the lake of fire
Not Forgiving has a terrible consequences
Jesus taught parable of the servant who owed a high amount (approx £1m) but he was penniless and the king graciously forgave him
And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.
but he did not forgive his fellow servant
Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”
Jesus later in the Sermon the mount, when teaching to pray:
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Multi-Faceted Mercy
Multi-Faceted Mercy
Mercy means giving help regardless of the attitude of the person in need.
Mercy does not
insist on its rights
demand everything that is legally due
retaliate in the face of criticism
Mercy seeks to understand situations that at times seem beyond understanding
Mercy has defective hearing when rumours are flying around
and refuses to join in condemnation without cause
Mercy is always prepared to give the benefit of the doubt.
The Beatitudes for Today Multi-Faceted Mercy
C H Spurgeon used to say, ‘My blind eye is the best eye I have, and my deaf ear is the best ear I have.’
Mercy is not limited to humans...
Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.
The Beatitudes for Today Multi-Faceted Mercy
The nineteenth-century preacher Rowland Hill once said, ‘I would not give anything for that man’s religion whose very dog and cat are not the better for it.’
Covenant in Kind
Covenant in Kind
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
“Blessed in the Merciful person, for they shall be shown mercy”
we have received
we are receiving
we will receive
It is God’s Mercy that we...
become poor in spirit
mourn over sin
are meek
hunger and thirst for righteousness
In summary ...
The Beatitudes for Today Covenant in Kind
A W Pink points out, the Beatitude would then read ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain justice.’
We love because he first loved us.
Warning...
The Beatitudes for Today Covenant in Kind
J C Ryle is perfectly right in saying that ‘to talk of merit or claim to God’s favour is absurd and preposterous’
Natural benefit
A man who is kind benefits himself, but a cruel man hurts himself.
John Blanchard spoke of being taught as a child...
JOY - Jesus First, Others second, Yourself last
One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.
give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”
Example of natural benefit - when giving to other
The Beatitudes for Today Covenant in Kind
One prosperous businessman, asked how he could afford to give so much to Christian service, replied: ‘I shovel it out, and God shovels it back—and God uses a bigger shovel!’
Example of Natural benefit - When forgiving others
The Beatitudes for Today Covenant in Kind
the nineteenth-century writer and philanthropist Hannah More testified, ‘A Christian will find it cheaper to pardon than to resent. Forgiveness saves us the expense of anger, the cost of hatred, and the waste of spirits.’
Eternal Benefit
keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.
Conclusion: We have
changed from self-centred, self-serving sinners
reached out in mercy to those in need, and who know that by the grace of God they have become tolerant, gracious and forgiving, have cause to rejoice
Hymn - THERE IS A HOPE (1230)
Hymn - THERE IS A HOPE (1230)
Closing Prayer
Closing Prayer
Doxology
Doxology