Scripture referenced 10 passages
The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
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Romans 8:1-2 opening encouragement read before worship: no condemnation for those in Christ, the life-giving Spirit has freed us from sin
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who don’t walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death.
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Keep this verse
Romans 8:38-39
read before the offering: nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God revealed in Christ Jesus
38 For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from God’s love, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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Luke 17:1-10
the main passage for the sermon, covering false teaching, forgiveness, faith, and service
1 He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no occasions of stumbling should come, but woe to him through whom they come!
2 It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, rather than that he should cause one of these little ones to stumble.
3 Be careful. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him. If he repents, forgive him.
4 If he sins against you seven times in the day, and seven times returns, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”
5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”
6 The Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you would tell this sycamore tree, ‘Be uprooted, and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.
7 But who is there among you, having a servant plowing or keeping sheep, that will say, when he comes in from the field, ‘Come immediately and sit down at the table,’
8 and will not rather tell him, ‘Prepare my supper, clothe yourself properly, and serve me, while I eat and drink. Afterward you shall eat and drink’?
9 Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded? I think not.
10 Even so you also, when you have done all the things that are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy servants. We have done our duty.’”
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Proverbs 22:6
quoted during baby dedication: train up a child in the way they should go and when they are old they will not depart from it
6 Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.
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James 3:1
referenced in connection with false teaching: not many should be teachers
1 Let not many of you be teachers, my brothers, knowing that we will receive heavier judgment.
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1 John 1:9
cited on forgiveness: if you confess your sins God is faithful and just to forgive
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
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Matthew 18:21-22
referenced when Peter asks how many times to forgive and Jesus answers seventy times seven
21 Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Until seven times?”
22 Jesus said to him, “I don’t tell you until seven times, but, until seventy times seven.
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Matthew 11:28
quoted in the forgiveness section: come unto me all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest
28 “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.
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Matthew 28:19-20
referenced twice as the great commission: go and teach them to obey all that I have commanded you
19 Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
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John 13:34-35
read as closing commission: a new command to love one another as Christ loved, so all will know we are his disciples
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also love one another.
35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
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Recap
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
Pastor Mark opened Luke 17:1-10 as four sayings Jesus gave specifically to His disciples, on false teaching, forgiveness, faith, and service. He argued that rather than being disconnected proverbs, these four things belong together under one roof: discipleship. The thread running through all of them is what it actually looks like to follow Jesus in the day-to-day.
What was said
Jesus says stumbling blocks are inevitable. People sin. That is not news. But the warning He gives His disciples is sharper than that: woe to the one through whom those stumbling blocks come. Pastor Mark connected this directly to teaching, noting that James warns not many should be teachers precisely because the stakes are so high. A teacher who trims God's word to match cultural pressure, or softens what the Bible plainly says to keep people engaged, is in the territory Jesus is describing. The millstone image is not decorative.
From there Jesus says, if your brother sins, rebuke him. Pastor Mark was careful to point out that Jesus is talking about someone inside the family of faith, not the world at large. The Greek word behind "rebuke" carries the sense of assigning fitting weight to a situation, warning someone who is stepping near a cliff's edge. It is a caring act, not a punitive one.
The forgiveness teaching follows directly, and Pastor Mark treated it as the natural other side of rebuke. If the brother repents, forgive him, and if he sins and repents seven times in a day, forgive him each time. He acknowledged how difficult that is, noting that real repentance involves turning, so a pattern of sinning and returning strains credulity. But Jesus' instruction stands flat: you shall forgive him. Forgiveness here carries the sense of release, letting go of what you have been carrying.
When the apostles hear all of this, they ask Jesus to increase their faith, because they recognize they do not have what it takes on their own to live this way. Pastor Mark said Jesus' response is not really about the quantity of faith a person has. Citing Leon Morris, he put it this way: it is not great faith in God that is required, it is faith in a great God. The mulberry tree illustration is hyperbole making a single point, that the objective faithfulness of God is what saves, when our own subjective faith is placed in it.
The final section on service rounds the whole passage out. A servant who comes in from the field does not expect to be thanked simply for doing what he was told to do. Pastor Mark connected this to everything Jesus had just commanded, being on guard against false teaching, forgiving, walking in faith, and going out into the world with the great commission. None of those things earn an attaboy. They are simply what disciples do.
Pastor Mark brought all four threads together under the word discipleship. His point was that none of these sayings are easy, and none of them are natural to the human heart, which is exactly why the apostles asked for more faith. The answer Jesus gives is not more faith as a quantity to be accumulated, but faith acted on, pointed at a great God who is already ready to do what He has called His people to do.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
- Pastor Matt warned that false teachers who lead others astray face serious consequences, and said it is tempting over time to soften what the Bible says in order to keep people engaged. Have you ever felt that pull, either in your own life or in something you heard taught? How do you guard against it?
- Pastor Matt said that if a brother sins, we are called to rebuke him, and he described that rebuke not as harshness but as a loving warning to prevent someone from going further wrong. What makes it hard to do that, and what would help you do it well?
and 3 more questions in the guide
Read the full transcript 7,006 words
Speaker 2Alright. Good morning, everybody. It's about that time to get started. Would you stand with me and we'll sing together? Here's an encouraging word from Romans eight to lead us into worship.
It says, there is no condemnation, none for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life giving spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. So, we sing in Christ alone.
Speaker 1Amen. Y'all can have a seat. Have a few announcements. They are Monday nights at first week. What's happening, Carl?
Speaker 2We are on tomorrow down the hall, 06:00. Meal, music, and message Felix and Guadalupe are cooking. And, we're in Mark 13, where Jesus talks about his return and remaining watchful.
Speaker 1July 3, down the hall, that's and then July 4, I don't know if this is gonna be in there. It is in here. Oh, that's not it though. That's not it. There it is.
Join us on the lawn. On this side this week, this side over here is the parade route. So if you would join us on the Glenwood side for fourth of July parade, it's a fun time.
Speaker 2Bagels, coffee.
Speaker 1Bagels, coffee, fellowship, just hanging out, watching a parade. It'll be a fun time. Join us on the lawn out there for the Fourth of July parade. That's that's a good time. We do have right now media.
If you want to get signed up with what is basically a Christian version of Netflix, it's free to you. So, if you would like to get signed up, you can tell us and we'll sign you up. You'll see Bible studies, videos, resources, that sort of thing. The Vacation Bible School this week. Thank you, volunteers.
Wow. It was fantastic. It's a really power packed three days. But the decorations and everything, getting it up and getting it down, but in between time, just sharing the love of Jesus with the kids. It was fantastic.
So I'm very, very happy with that. Liz and Glenn and all of the people that worked on it. Just amazing. Good job. There's the fourth of July.
Church directory. If you'd like to be included in our church directory, we'd love for you to be. You don't have to be a member. Just we need a horizontal photo and then some information, name, phone, email address, stuff like that that you wanna put into the bulletin so we can get in touch with you. That would be great.
You can talk to Nick who's standing in the back door back there waving his hand, And he will even take your picture if you'd like. He's set up in the back to do that. First, camp out. Mike, do you want to say anything about it? Is always really fun because we're gonna be down at Palisades this year.
Palisades Lake, July seventh to the ninth. Breakfast. We'll have grills for lunch and dinner. So bring your own food for lunch and dinner, something at the Roman Grill, and we'll take care of breakfast. Breakfast will be provided by First Bee, but bring your own lunch and supper for July 7 night down at Palisades.
If you want more talk to the guy who was just talking, Mike Demetrius, he's our Youth Director. First BBQ went well last week. That was the kind of between services. And it will happen once a month from now to the end of summer, so July and August for sure between services, maybe weather permitting September too, we'll see. But it a success, I'm glad for that.
Jackson Hole Men's Alliance meets the first Wednesday of each month. And this Wednesday, Matt, are we meeting? Yes. All right. Good deal.
First Wednesday of the month, 06:30. Shouldn't even have to ask the question. It happens. July, first Wednesday of this month. Annual benefit for is it Compass?
Sorry. Compass, it was formerly Turning Point. It's 07/11/2023. So that is the annual gala for Compass Women's Care. And so if you would, Carolyn is here somewhere.
Carolyn, would you stand up for a If you want more information about that, you can ask Carolyn. She's right there, the Director of Compass. Okay. Fantastic. Corner South Park And High School Road, July 11.
RSVP deadline, I'm saying this for the Internet, is tomorrow. There are going to be three wonderful stories of the way that God has provided for folks in this community through Compass Women's Care. So thank you, Carolyn. Appreciate it. 07/11/2023.
Contact her if you want more information. Absolutely. First Bee supports Compass also. If you want to know more about what's going on around here, you can sign up for weekly church announcement emails at first b jackson dot org. Is there anything else?
Yes, there is something else. I'm looking for the Gibsons. You're here. Okay. Good.
Y'all are spread out too. Would you? Come on up. I caught his eye, and I didn't catch yours. That's why I said it so gingerly.
So we have folks from lots of different backgrounds out here. It's it's First Baptist Church, so we're baptist. We're baptistic. We do believers baptism. But we also do baby dedications, which is if you're Presbyterian, it's sort of like your baptism except for it's dry, okay?
We're promising as a family to be a covenant carrier, right? We're promising to this family that we're going to do the best we can by these little girls, but this particular Avery Elaine Gibson. It's so great to be doing this. So do you all have anything that you want to say? You.
Close enough. So I'm asking you all, if you would, covenant with us to do the best that we can by the Gibsons, by Leah and Josh, and by these sisters to take care of Avery Elaine Gibson, ask for God's blessing. The scriptures say, train up a child in the way that they should go, and when they're old, they'll not depart from it. That's a principle that we need to kind of keep close at heart. And so I want to pray for her, but I also want to ask y'all and give you a chance to say amen.
Alright? Will you take care of this family and this baby to the best of your ability as God leads? Will you?
Speaker 2Amen. Amen.
Speaker 1We will. Amen. Good. Confusion. Alright.
God, would you we ask for your blessing, lord, to rest upon this family. I say rest and then I take it back. Lord, I want for your blessing to travel through this family. I believe that marriage is one of your greatest gifts to the world, to society, societies. And God, I pray that we would not ever undervalue that, that we would always keep it as high as you do.
I also pray, Lord, that this loving union would be lifting up this child before you, always leaning towards and never away. Lord, may we never brace ourselves against the wind that the Holy Spirit blows into this life. In Jesus' name, we ask that you would protect and guide Avery Elaine Gibson. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen.
Alright, buddy. Thank you. Alright. Would you stand with us? We're going to sing about the goodness of God.
Speaker 2God, we wanna pause just to to praise you for your faithfulness, for your loving kindness toward us, for your forgiveness, and for new life in you. Truly, the work that you did on the cross, it's the it's the finished work so that when we put our faith and our trust in you, we truly are forgiven. We truly are made right with you. Would you remind us over and over again of that truth this morning? In Jesus name.
Amen. You're have a seat here for a moment and I'll invite the the ushers to come on forward for the worship through giving.
Speaker 1I'm gonna
Speaker 2say one thing remains from Romans eight. Why'd you hear this? It's I'm convinced that nothing can separate us from God's love. Nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that's revealed in Christ Jesus. Before we sing, Ray, would you pray?
Speaker 1Amen. God, thank you for the thank you for the gathering this morning, for the place to gather, for the people who have gathered. Thank you for the hearts that are united as one. Lord, beating with praise for you. And I pray, Lord, that you would have an impact on this community through these that are gathered in your name this morning.
I pray that it would extend to the very uttermost parts, Lord. That's that is our commission. That's our great commission. Teaching to obey all that I've commanded you. Baptize a teaching to obey all that I've commanded you.
Lord, would you help us to be more obedient? Would you would you give us direction, which we can, by your power, obey? Lord God almighty, what a privilege it is to be called by your name. Lord, would you do your will among us and through us this morning, in your way, whatever that is? Direct us.
Send us as you would have us go. Empower us. Have your word that has filled our hearts, Lord, coming out of our mouths. In Jesus name, I pray that we would be diligent scholars and stewards of that which you've entrusted to us. Us.
Would you bless the gift and the giver this morning, lord? In Jesus name, multiply. Amen. Amen. It's time for children's church downstairs.
I introduced myself to somebody this morning and they said, Oh, somebody plays the bass. I said, I play the bass. I play it to keep from getting distracted before the sermon. I can just run around and run around. And any time that I do get distracted, I miss something.
And I wanted to make that roaring lion roar this morning so bad that I didn't fret the note, and it just sounded like a catastrophe. And that's the and the only person that heard it well, all of y'all heard it, but the only person Lisa laughed out loud. It was like, was I want to hit that so bad, this roaring lion. But you know what? Corporate worship is about just being corporate, not showing out.
And we don't ever show out. None of us ever show out. Oh my goodness. Lord, forgive me. I've got something this morning that I I I have studied and studied and studied this passage and thought about it a lot of different kinds of ways.
So in Luke seventeen one through 10, we have for, according to some commentators, warnings from Jesus. For in for his disciples, it says specifically, he's speaking to disciples. If he was speaking to disciples then, he's speaking to his disciples now. Okay? So it's for any of us who consider ourselves to be his disciples, forewarnings for Jesus, or directives, or injunctions, or proverbs.
Some people just say they're proverbs. Luke had four different sayings. He didn't know where they fit. He put them all together right here. They don't go together.
They don't have any connecting tissue. There's not a but or a however or a anything. It's just four. Boom. Boom.
Boom. It's four little paragraphs. In most of your Bibles, it'll be listed that way. Most of them, not all of them. Four proverbs from Jesus, for any of his disciples.
So four disconnected thoughts, that doesn't sound like Jesus. Everything he says matters. And so I think there's some connection through this, And I'm going to ask you to walk with me through it to see if we can find it. I think that it is all under the same umbrella for sure. They are about false teaching, forgiveness, faith, and service.
So these are the four little whatever they are in a row. That's what they are. False teaching, forgiveness, faith, and service. And this is all we're covering today. That's the whole slide.
That's everything, all the scripture we're hitting to get today. I might take you on a detour here or there just to kinda back it up, but it's doubtful. I don't have any in the slides this morning. That's what we're covering. So here it is.
Now he said to his disciples, that's important. He has been speaking in chapter fifteen and sixteen to a group of disciples and pharisees and scribes and maybe sadducees and other people who were not necessarily on board with him, who had not said, yeah, you're the one that must increase, and I gotta go and follow after you. But now, in this chapter, now he said to his disciples, I think that's important, and these flow out of that. It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come. But woe to one through whom they come.
Woe to the one through whom they come. It's inevitable that stumbling blocks stumbling block is a place where you're walking along and you trip up. I mean, you think about that. The word there is skandala, it's plural. Skandalone is the singular.
Sounds like scandal. It's where we get our word scandal. A stick for bait of a trap. Can you imagine the old cartoon trap, cardboard box, cover of some sort, maybe an anvil sitting on top of it, and then a stick that's just about to break. It's situated in such a way that if you get anywhere near that, you touch that, boom.
Trap falls, slams shut on you. That's what the word is. Generally, it is a snare, maybe a covered up rope attached to a spring, Wile E. Coyote style, and all you have to do is step in that and triggers. So Jesus says it's inevitable that these things would come along.
The means of stumbling stress is the method or the means of entrapment. How someone is caught by their own devices. We put things under the trap that the birds like. Right? We put things under there that might entice whatever we're trying to catch.
And so we have an enemy, and he puts out there in front of us things that are shiny and look attractive, things that we might want. Personal bias, carnal thinking, those are all included in this. But here it is. It is inevitable that those things would come along. Some of your Bibles skip the snare part of it altogether and just says, it is inevitable that sin would come along.
Enticements to sin would come along. That's fine. That's a good translation. That's what he's talking about. False teaching, leading someone astray, leading someone into a trap, on enticement to do what is contrary to God's word.
Now, he said to his disciples, it's inevitable that things like this are going to come along, but woe to the one through whom they come. It is better for him or for that person, includes males and females, it is better for that person if a millstone is hung around their neck and he is thrown into the sea, then that he may cause one of these little ones to sin. Little ones can be children, but it can also be new believers. It can be people who are young in their faith. And so he's speaking to his disciples, and he's saying, people are going to fall into sin.
People are going to sin. That's what people do. They're fallen creatures in a fallen world. And he's saying, be careful because it's gonna happen. But woe to the one who causes it to happen.
So James says not many of you should be teachers. Right? This is part of the reason James says not many of you should be teachers. If if the teacher doesn't take God's word seriously or decides we can cut corners there, Surely, didn't mean that, and starts to strike out areas of God's word or begins to trim the sails to the winds of culture, we're in dangerous position. Jesus says it's better off for that person if a millstone would be hung around their neck and they would be thrown into the sea than that he would entice one of these little ones to sin.
Oh. So for the teacher, he's speaking to disciples who are going to be carrying his word and his last words. Right? All authority has been given to me. I'm giving it to you.
Y'all go out into all the world teaching them to obey all that I've commanded you. And if you're gonna be teaching that, you need to be doing that. You gotta be walking it out. So he's saying, first of all, it's be on guard. Actually, that's the next thing that he says.
Be on guard. And your there is plural. Y'all be on your guard or y'all be on y'all's guard. Alright? So on false teaching, this is all.
This is the on false teaching part of it. No. Now he said to his disciples, it's inevitable that stumbling blocks would come. We're people. People fall.
That's what happens. We do. We are prone to wander. Lord, I feel it. As believers, we're even that way, but he's speaking to disciples who will be speaking to the world.
Right? Thomas walked to India. Right? He's talking to people that are going out into the world. It's inevitable that people sin.
That shouldn't be a question at all. If we see people outside of our body of believers that we know and they're sinning, that should not be a surprise to any of us. Right? That's what people do. But woe to the one through whom they come and saying, don't teach them to sin.
Don't entice them to sin yourself. And God forbid that anybody else would. Woe to the one that would be leading them astray. There's a lot going on in the world right now that is leading people astray. There are some people who are redefining words and redefining what the scriptures say.
And it's plain spoken in a lot of places that the culture has been such a pressure that some teachers are beginning to say, maybe it doesn't mean what it says. Maybe it means that that's okay. I'm going to leave it vague because y'all all know what I'm talking about. I still I have to go with what the next part says. Okay?
So on false teaching, I never want to tell you yeah. It's alright. Everybody does. No big deal. When the Bible says, flee.
Leave. Run. Leave it. Get out of there. That's dangerous.
That is a burning hot stove. Don't touch it. Please, for your own sake, don't go there. Right? Be on your guard.
Be on your guard against false teaching, first of all. It's very tempting after you've said the same thing for a long, long time, and you keep on feeling like, I'm a broken record, man. Humility and pride. How many times do I mention that? It really is that that's the truth.
And if I ever get tempted to say, you know what? Maybe I'll try something different for now. Maybe I'll just try something different and pique their interest a little bit. Keep them in keep them engaged. No.
On false teaching. I don't want that millstone around my neck. I don't wanna lead anybody astray ever. I don't ever wanna preach heresy ever. It's inevitable that stumbling blocks will come.
That's what's gonna happen. But woe to the one through whom they come, through Christian disciples who may be well meaning decide, I'm gonna take a little bit off in order to gain more people, and then I'll tell them. Well, if you do it to gain more people, they're never gonna be listen. What you win them with is what you got them with. That's what you're gonna have to keep them with.
It's better for him if a millstone is hung around his neck. He's thrown into the sea than if he calls one of these little ones to stumble. Be on your guard. The be on your guard can go with that, and I think that it is, but I think it also is right in the middle here. Woe to the one that entices someone else to sin.
And that's the false teaching part. But the next part is if your brother sins, if your brother sins. Okay? So this is talking about disciples within the body of Christ. If one of those who has been converted, regenerated, has believed, and comes into the family of God, And if this brother now sins and it doesn't say he's going to.
It says it's a subjunctive. It's a maybe. It's a might. If this should happen, because we're people and it will happen. But Jesus says, if your brother sins, rebuke him.
Oh, it it doesn't say if if the world sins, rebuke him. It doesn't say that. I mean, live a life that is winsome and attractive within the peace of God, that has the sustaining strength of the word and and the spirit of God, live a life that draws people in, that's great. And when they're in, they will be wanting to be more like Christ. If you have genuine faith in Christ, you will want to be more like Christ.
And you will seek out people who are more like Christ than you are. You'll say, what am I doing? And they'll say, well, that's hurting you. You probably ought to lay that down. You can't hold on to Christ and sin at the same time.
If you're loving the things of God, you cannot be simultaneously loving the things of the world. You gotta make a choice. If your brother sins, rebuke him. The word there is that, epitemison. To honor, to mete out due measure, to censure usages, to rebuke, to try, to admonish, all those sound bad in our society, To warn properly, it is to assign value that is fitting to the situation.
Building on, that's epi, the situation to correct. Looking for teachable moments and being ready with the word of God in those moments. To warn by instructing, it is verbal. It can mean rebuke, but its fundamental sense is warning to prevent something from going wrong. You're stepping near the edge of a cliff.
Step back. It's a warning. It is saying God's given us these parameters for a reason. It's our good and his glory. If we will trust him, things will go better for us.
That doesn't mean you won't ever get in a situation that's difficult. But if you'll trust him, things will go better for you. The good old gospel way. Not being legalistic and not being licentious, but trusting Jesus day by day, waking up, and knowing there's gonna be sin on both sides, Lord. I can be enticed to go this way, and I can be enticed to go that way.
Would you grant me the strength to just keep on walking after you? And I know you're road led to crucifixion. I got that. I understand that. I wanna be following you.
I wanna be laying my life down every day for you. So if your brother sins, rebuke him in love. That's a loving, caring thing to do. And if he repents, forgive him. Amen.
I I I am constantly telling people that you can forgive somebody who has not yet repented. You can't. That you can't because if you don't, it will rot your bones. Unforgiveness is like taking a poison pill and expecting the other person to die. Okay?
You have to be forgiving. If he repents, forgive him and you let it go. Oh, is that absolutely contrary to cancel culture? If somebody makes one misstep, oh, that's what they did forever. That's how they're gonna be defined and known forever.
If you rebuke and they repent, forgive him. You've won your brother, Matthew would say. You've won that person back into harmonious, loving, fellowship relationship stronger than before. Right? Because it's tested and true.
If your brother sins, rebuke him. If he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you, oh, gracious now, Jesus, this is personal. This is not just someone sinning outside that I can see and say, that is just so horrible. This is somebody sinning against me.
If someone sins against you seven times a day, goodness gracious. That's a lot. Seven times a day? All of us are thinking right now, Jesus said Peter says, how many times do I have to forgive? He said, seven times?
He's already heard Jesus say that by that time. Do you know that? He heard Jesus say, if somebody sins against you seven times a day, Peter remembers this lesson kinda and says, how many times, Lord? He goes, not seven. Peter, 70 times seven.
So maybe seventy days in a row, and then you can stop 490 is it? No. Jesus is saying, if someone continually is sinning against you and they return to you seven times and say, I'm so sorry. I just have a big mouth and I keep on keep on gossiping about you. I'm so sorry.
I misrepresented what you taught in that sermon completely on purpose seven times. If they sin against you seven times and return to you seven times, saying, repent. It's kinda hard to believe it after three or four times. Is it not? Because a repent is turning from your sin.
And so if they come the first time and say, oh, I'll never do it again. And then they do it thirty minutes later, and then they come back and say, did it again. I'm so sorry. That that sounds ridiculous. Jesus is a great teacher, though.
Right? He's teaching them where they live. He's saying if somebody sins against you, it might be the most difficult person you know. If they come to you and say, I'm so sorry. I repent.
I I don't wanna I don't wanna keep doing this. I don't wanna keep doing this. It hurts me so bad. You shall forgive him. That's what it says.
Blanket, flat out, you shall forgive him. Don't wait until they have changed to forgive him. Oh, who does that sound like? He says, come unto me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. You know how he does that?
He takes the burden of your sin off of you by forgiving you. There's power in forgiveness. There's so much power in just letting them go. The word I'll find something. The word for forgiveness is release.
Release. Let go of it. Don't keep carrying it around. Don't carry it with you. Let it go.
You shall forgive him. Period. So on forgiveness, this is what it says. And some people see these as disjointed. Now false teaching and forgiveness to me go hand in hand.
Right? They take sin seriously. You would never want to entice someone into sin, but if they fall into sin, you want to make sure that they know that they have a clean slate and can go forward, trusting that God forgives. If you are confessing your sin, God is faithful and just to be forgiving your sin. First John one nine.
If you confess homo logeo, say the same thing. Homo, the same. Lokeo, speaking the same. If you are speaking the same as God about your sin, God forgive me. I just saw what you mean.
You're right. I did this. I shouldn't have. I'm sorry. Already forgiven, thrown in the sea of forgiveness, remember no more.
Oh, to be like God in that way, but we remember. Unforgiveness. To which there let me read this in context, and you see if they go together. If your brother sins, rebuke him. If he repents, forgive him.
If he should sin against you seven times a day and returns to you seven times, saying, I repent, then you shall forgive him. And the apostle said to the Lord, oh my goodness. Increase our faith because that's hard to do. I want to live out of what I believe, and I believe that that's true, but man, is that difficult. It is difficult.
And so they recognize, I don't have what you have, Lord. I want to have more of what you have because I want to forgive like you forgive, and I want to be able to seize the moment and instruct and guide people into the good old gospel way. And when they fall off of it, I don't want to shoot our wounded. Please, Lord, increase my faith. So Jesus responds to that.
The apostle said to the Lord, increase our faith. This is a new paragraph for most people. I think it flows perfectly. But the Lord said but the Lord said, if you had faith the size of a mustard seed that seems like not much proverbially proverbially, it is the smallest of the seeds. So if you had just a little faith, you could say to this mulberry tree, a black mulberry sycamore, is approximately 20 feet tall.
It has very deep roots, a little over 20 feet deep, and spread out more than 20 feet wide. The rabbinical literature from this time period says that the roots stay in the ground for six hundred years before they rot. That's pretty set, you think? So that is very much a rooted tree that's in place and there's no easy way to move it. If you're trying to dig that one out, it's gonna be a big old hole.
It's gonna take you a long time. He's using hyperbole again. If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, that one right over there, be uprooted and be planted into the sea. Big job. And it would obey you.
There's actually a weird grammatical construction right here that people fight over what it means. It is as if the mulberry tree wanted to already be there, and it was looking for the moment when it was released to do what it needed to do, and it obeys. It's just what it says. It obeys. It obeys as now did we see a lot of first century Christians digging up mulberry trees and throwing them to the sea?
No. He's using a ridiculous example. Camel through the eye of a needle is making a point. So is this. It's making a point.
He's saying, it's not the amount of faith that you have. It's where you place your faith. Are are you with me on that? So faith, the subjective thing that we have, faith, trust, belief, they're all ours to place wherever we decide or believe. Belief is about belief.
It's it's fundamental. It's all the at the bottom, but it's subjective. We can place our faith in whatever. But the objective faithfulness of God is what saves when our subjective faith is placed in it. Some of y'all heard me say this a couple weeks ago, a week and a half ago.
I I think that that's part of that weird construction. God has the power to do absolutely anything. What is impossible with man is possible with God. And so if I'm gonna say on faith, I agree with Leon Morris. His book's destroyed.
I didn't drop it. It is not so much great faith in God, needing more faith in God. It is that is required. It is faith in a great God. God is standing ready to do that which he wants us to do.
Now, he does command us to be walking out the steps that he puts in front of us. And when we place our faith in him, he puts solid ground underneath us. You may be stepping out into what seems like the ether, but it will have solid ground under it if you are walking in faith in that great God. It's not so much great faith or more faith in God that is required. It's faith in a great God.
Is God forgiving? Then be forgiving. You can do it because he did it. You can love because he first loved you. You can forgive because he's forgiven you.
He is merciful. Should we be merciful? Yes. He is gracious. Should we be gracious?
Yes. He is winsome. He's good. Should we be? Yes.
Okay. Last part. It's a longer portion, but I'm gonna run through it. Now which of you, having a slave plowing our tendons sheep, will say to him after he comes in from the field, come immediately and recline at the table to eat? On the contrary, will he not say to him, prepare something for me to eat and properly clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward then you may eat and drink.
He doesn't thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he? What has he just told us? He's told us be careful about false teaching inside of the church, outside in the community. When someone comes to you and says, but they say everybody else says this, and you say something different, be ready to defend the hope that is in you. Be ready to lovingly receive and say, it is a different way.
Christ has shown us a different way. He's also said, forgive them. He's also from there when he's speaking about this, it's it's the false teaching and forgiveness. And when he goes to faith, all of these things are part of the life of a disciple of Christ. Every single one of them.
And then he gives this example, which is on service. And he says, if there is a servant or slave in the new American standard, servant or slave, employee, we might say today, if which one of you, having a slave, plougher, his sheep, will say to him after he comes in from the field after working all day, come immediately now and recline at the table, and I'm gonna set before you your meal. No. On the contrary, he'll say to him, prepare something for me to eat. Properly clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink, afterward, you may eat and drink.
He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded him, does he? The things that were commanded us is be careful. Be on guard against false teaching and be forgiving and have faith in a great God. That's what he's commanded. That's not too much.
Does that make sense? You're probably not going to get an attaboy every time you turn around just doing what it is God's called you to do. So you too, when you do all the things which were commanded to you, and that's the exact same verbiage right there. That all the things which were commanded to you, that's the great commission. Go ye therefore.
We love go ye therefore. Right? Because authority's been given to me and I give it to you. Go. Let's go.
Alright. What are we gonna do when we get there? Teach them to obey all the things I've commanded you. Be careful about false teaching because there are a lot of ways to go wrong and there's just one. Christ is the way to go right.
So you too, when you do all the things which were commanded of you say, you know what? We're still unworthy slaves. We've only done that which we ought to have done. It's our reasonable service. On service, if God is directing you to do something, do it.
That's it. So on false teaching, forgiveness, faith, service, I tried to put these all together in one word. It's discipleship. It's not easy. It's not easy.
It's not human. It's not easy. Guarding yourselves against false teaching, be practicing loving, caring, rebuke, warning admonition, and what may even seem like reckless forgiveness, and start exercising faith in your great God. You don't have to ask for more faith. You know what to do.
Be doing it. And consider your acts of service absolutely reasonable with no expectation of earthly attaboys. The reward in heaven is great. But if he presents something to you to do here, it is amazing when you just do it, what he can do. If you had just a little bit because faith acts.
Right? Faith acts. So when Abraham believed God and he did what he told him to do, that's had amazing ramifications for the whole world. Blessing and cursing happens there. So consider your acts of service just like that.
If God says, leave the land which you know and go to a place I'll show you, be be be getting ready to do it. Alright. We have communion today. If you have ever placed your faith in Christ, I'm calling you back to absolute surrender to him. Alright?
Whatever he should direct. When he said this hard teaching that if you're going to be a part of what I do, I want for you to take it in. Right? Take it in. This is a symbol of his broken body and his shed blood.
Right? I'm going invite the ushers, the elders to come forward. Ushers, same ones that brought the plates can come if you want to. God Almighty, asking a blessing right now for anyone who's ever trusted in you, Lord, that they would take this representative, this remembrance of you. That we would take it in, and say, personally for me, I'm choosing to follow after.
I'm choosing to ignore false teaching. I'm choosing to live in forgiveness, and I'm choosing to live out my faith. Lord, show me your way, and I'll walk in it. That's what we're saying when we take it in. God almighty, I pray that you'd bless this little representation, this cracker that represents the body of Christ.
In Jesus' name, Lord. If anyone would accept this, Lord, I pray that you would strengthen them to do your will to walk it out just like you did. If there's anybody among us, Lord, who has not yet placed their faith in you, I pray that through the loving example of those around them who are partaking, that they would be drawn into a relationship with you. Amen. Jesus, name above all names.
Amen. On the same night Jesus was betrayed, he took bread after supper, and after he had given thanks for it, he said to his disciples that were present with him and still is saying to us here today, This is my body which is given for you voluntarily, given for you. Take and eat of it and do it in remembrance of me. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for open access to God Almighty. Through your surrender, through your shed blood, you showed us the way to live with your perfect example.
You did not need to die except that you did so for us. In the economy of God, it was necessary for all who would believe, Lord. In Jesus' name. Wow. Lord, thank you for your shed blood.
I ask you to bless this little representation, this grape juice in a plastic cup that represents the blood of Christ which was given as a ransom for many. Amen. Bless the Lord, oh my soul. I got a little overcome with that. One of my best friends died several years ago, and that's his on his headstone.
Lord God Almighty, I'm thankful to be standing here with breath in my lungs and able to keep on proclaiming the efficacy of your perfect life and your shed blood. Amen. He also took the cup after supper in the same way that he had the bread and he said to his disciples there and bringing forward to us today. He says, this is the new covenant in my blood. Take this and drink of it and do as often as you will in remembrance of me.
Amen. Amen. I'll invite the band to come back forward up to the to the platform. And I've got, words of a song too that that's what I went to go get. When the harvest has been gathered and the all my work is done, when the last mile's been traveled, and I've sung my final song, when I'm called to give an answer at heaven's judgment seat, it won't be.
Look at all this good stuff I did. Let the blood of Calvary speak for me. There may be some friends who'd witness and speak a word so kind, but their voice would seem so feeble at such an awesome time. But there is a voice that calls for mercy ringing through eternity. Just let the blood of Calvary speak for me.
May he write me down as righteous where no righteousness has been, shielding me from wrath and judgment as it covers all my sin. There's no work that I've accomplished, nor my goodness would I plead. Just let the blood of Calvary speak for me. Would you stand with us as we sing what it is we believe? Team thirty four and thirty five says this, a new command I give to you to love one another just as I have loved you.
High standard, impossible without God's love flowing through you towards one another. Just as I have loved you, so you must be loving one another. This by this, everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another. Amen.
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