Responsibility to Others
First B Jackson
2022-10-23

Automatically transcribed. Where this and the recording disagree, the recording is the record.

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Amen. Thank you, Judy. Appreciate that. Would y'all stand with me and we'll sing Redeemed How I Love to Proclaim It. Redeemed by the blood of the lamb.

There are hymnals up front if you want em but the words will be on the screen.

Redeem how I love to proclaim it. Redeem by the blood of the lamb. Redeem through his infinite mercy, his child, and forever I am. Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed by the blood of the lamb. Redeemed, redeemed, his child and forever I am.

Redeemed and so happy in Jesus. No language my rapture can tell. I know that the light of his presence presence with me doth continually dwell. Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed by the blood of the lamb. Redeemed, redeemed his child and forever I am.

I think of my blessed redeemer. I think of him all the day long. I sing for I cannot be silent. His love is the theme of my song. Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed by the blood of the lamb.

Redeemed. Redeemed. His child and forever I am. I know I shall see in his beauty, the king in whose mighty light, who lovingly guarded my footsteps and bringeth me songs in the night. Redeemed, redeemed, by the blood of the lamb.

Redeemed redeemed his child and forever I am.

What a beautiful thought. He lovingly guarded my footsteps. That actually had to circle that with a red pen right in the middle. Solid rock. Hymn number five twenty six.

My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. On Christ, the solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness seems to veil his face, I rest on his unchanging grace. In every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil. On Christ, the solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand.

His oath, his covenant, his blood. Support me in the whelming flood. When all around my soul gives way even is all my hope and stay. On Christ, the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand. When he shall come at trumpet sound, oh may I then and him be found, dressed in his righteous nest alone, all lest to stand before the throne.

On Christ, the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand,

Amen. Y'all can have a seat. Have a few announcements this morning. First off is Monday nights at first b. That happens tomorrow.

That's Monday night at First B at 06:00 in the evening. We get together down the hall. Carl is the preacher for that service, but he'll bring the message. But we will have a meal first, then a message, and then me sorry. Meal, then music, and then a message.

So meal, music, and a message every Monday night, 06:00 down the hall. It happens at the same time as Awana. Awana. Approved workmen are not ashamed. That's what AWANA stands for.

Right? It is a kids program that we pour scripture. Lots of volunteers. Takes 20 plus volunteers. And we pour scripture into the minds of the kids to reach their hearts.

And I think we'll see in the sermon that that comes back. That is something that pleases God to take care of the little ones. And so we're doing that Monday evenings. I start off in this room, round the game circle, and then they spread out all over the rest of the church. Monday nights down there, Iwana in here.

Sisters Saved by Grace is a ladies Bible studies led by Nancy Baxter on Thursday evenings. Down the hall, it's in the fellowship hall and they share a meal. That seems to be a theme. We have a lot of meals going on. So they have a meal together, and they study God's word together, and they pray for one another.

It's really, really good. So that's a Thursday night study. Oh, yes. Check the lost and found. Next to the gray sofa back there on this side of the church, the east side of the church, there is a little corner that has filled up with everything.

And this morning when you saw snow on the ground and thought, I wonder where my jacket is. You probably didn't think. Probably in the corner back there. I put in the coat rack. But that is a good place to start looking for it.

Check the lost and found. There's a huge pile back there. There's also, if you look on the western side of the vestibule, North X, for your out there, there's a bunch of boxes. We are collecting for 122. 122 is a new name for new as of like seven years ago, the Community Resource Center.

Community Resource Center was started by five of the big churches in town getting together, trying to provide for in one location the needs of the community. So one twenty two is the name of the organization. We're doing a food drive for them each week for the next four weeks. So if you would, take a look on the website or on the table out there. See what it is that we're collecting, bring in a few things, and we'll fill the food pantry we hope.

That was a baptism. I didn't have to go all the way under, but the rest of those did yesterday at the Swinging Bridge down in the Snake River. So that is Slade and Wyatt and Reagan Ross. All of them got baptized yesterday. I asked them if I could use the picture.

But It was nice. It was fun. That was a a good time. Is KC in this service? I don't see her right now.

But we have a short video about Operation Christmas Child. Most of y'all know and are diligent about gathering things and putting them together. We're having a packing party on Wednesday, November 16. But we if you are packing your own box, you can bring it in by November 19. And we'll play the video just so you kinda know what it is.

If you're not familiar with it, this fellow from Fiji will tell us a little more.

From the Fiji Islands. My childhood was different from what a typical kid would go through. There were no toys, no video games. We'll play with sticks and jack stones. Playing rugby, of course, there was no rugby ball.

We'd use a Coca Cola bottle. Sometimes it hits you in the face, but we'll just carry on. The day when I received my shoebox, my mom was volunteering to distribute the shoeboxes. She made me the last kid to receive a shoebox. So she said, you know, if we run out, sorry.

But thank God I got my shoebox. I opened it. I don't know how to say. There was no word for me to say because I I don't have this. I don't have these toys.

I don't have these school supplies that was coming out from the boxes. And in this shoebox was a yellow yo yo. Jaw dropping moment, of course. No more playing with rocks and sticks. I have a yo yo in those cars.

And one of the scripture that came to my mind is while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. We were all undeserving of the grace of God, but someone who was full of grace spent their resources, their money, their time. Somebody thought of me. God opened doors to my life and to my family. I moved to The United States.

I'm called into children's ministry. I took our church van, went down to a store, and buy shoe boxes. We packed 117 shoe boxes for my youth group and our church. I may not be face to face with someone around the globe, but with that shoe box, I'm evangelizing, multiplying, discipling someone to come to know Christ. Being part of that discipleship journey is very humbling.

The Raiders Journey discipleship program is a program that Operation Christmas Child includes for those that wants to know more about Christ. This is where my heart is. Evangelism, discipleship, and multiplication.

So a couple a few weeks ago, I invited Monique up, and we prayed for her as she was heading out. She's gonna pass around something she said to tell you it contains peanuts. It says it on the container, but if you're a peanut allergy person Yeah. I'll let you know. She's gonna share I was fairly vague with my prayer, and she may be a little bit vague with what she says today.

But if you wanna know more specifically, she'll hang around, and you can talk to her. Okay.

So last about a week ago today, I arrived back home. I was gone in Southeast Asia. Specifically, I can say now that I'm back in Indonesia serving just a global body of Christ. And so I was a lead teacher for three to five year olds. So these precious, precious little ones.

So I'm serving them and their parents and some field workers. So there was, yeah, just many, it was a gathering of many serving just around the world. And so, yeah, I just wanna share maybe what has stood out, most in coming back and just processing that. There's a lot of wonderful just God, God moments and stories along the whole trip. It was about two weeks with travel time.

It took about three days to get there. About, on the way there, it was forty hours of flying, not including layovers, and then, about thirty hours flying time, so about total seventy hours in a plane and then also layovers. But I love to travel and can sleep on planes, so that was great. Yeah. So there was a lot of wonderful highlights.

I'll just share one that was just a blessing from the Lord. On my way home, I was, flying through Japan and my phone had died so I didn't have any batteries so I couldn't capture a picture. But I was flying and I saw, Mount Fuji from the sky above the clouds and it was just God's, like, just gift to me. And I didn't document it, and I didn't post it or anything, but it was just God's gift. But I think what has really stood out from my time away that that I'm continuing to turn on and that, Jesus is continuing to invite me to really meditate and dwell on is the invitation to, follow him in servant leadership.

And so, in my roles there, I was serving, a couple different groups in a leadership position. And midweek, I had, just an experience with one of the people I was serving that, really challenged my attitude. And, you know, I think those of you in leadership positions, it could be a leadership position in your home. Right? If you're a mother, a grandmother, a father, a grandfather, if you own a business, if you serve in any capacity, you know, there's a thousand ways you serve that no one sees.

Right? And and so anyways, someone had, I had an interaction with someone that was really surprising to me, and I had served this person in many ways. And so I had an opportunity at that point to let them know all the ways I've served them already, but I didn't. By God's grace, he allowed me to respond just really graciously. And and that's that scripture that day was Mark six forty five that says, even the son of man didn't come to serve or to be served but to serve.

So I was hoping that she read that verse, but it was for me, you know, to really, an invitation. So I've been dwelling on that just as I've been back home and what servant leadership really looks like. It's an invitation to go lower, right, to be humble, to serve when no one sees, to, respond graciously even when, we're justified maybe. So so I just encourage you guys too in that testimony to yeah. Just that invitation, right, that Jesus gives us all.

So thanks.

Monique, there's a constant coming into this place and there's a constant flowing out of it, and I'm overjoyed. Thank you for your willingness to say yes and to keep double space notes is the way I put it. You keep double space notes because there's always something new that you can write in between. Right? The things that you're learning this week and this time.

So, as you went to serve and God blessed you with that. Would you stand with me and we're gonna sing just a closer walk with thee?

Jesus, keep me from all wrong. I'll be satisfied as long. As I walk, let me walk close to thee. Just a closer walk with thee. Grant it, daily walking close to thee till or let it be Amen.

How about surely the presence of the Lord is in this place?

Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place. I can feel his mighty power and his grace. I can hear the brush of angels wings. I see glory on each face. Surely, the presence of the Lord is in this

place. Let's sing that one again.

Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place. I can feel his mighty power and his grace. I can hear the brush of angels wings. I see glory on each face.

Y'all can have a seat and if you would pray with me, I'm gonna ask ushers to come forward. God, I just thank you for this glorious morning, Lord. What beauty is all around us, but Lord, there are more than two or three gathered right here in your name. Lord, we know that you're here in the midst. We know, Lord, that by your spirit, you will guide us and lead us into the truth.

So God, I pray that you'd use your word this morning, that you would illuminate to bring about transformation and change in our lives where it needs to happen, that you would reinforce the things that we know already and, may be doing okay at. God, I I ask that you would, use what is placed in these plates literally, but also metaphorically. Whatever is given to you, Lord, we pray that you'd use it, that you'd multiply it to do your kingdom's work. May Indonesia be blessed because of the work that Monique and the crew did there in the past month. God, I I pray that you would have your influence, Lord, through your willing, humble, and obedient servants.

Lord, that you would have your sway over this world on earth as it is in heaven, Lord. That's our prayer this morning. Would you show us your way and allow us the power and strength to walk in it. Amen. Beautiful, Judy.

Thank you. So this morning, this is the the text that we're gonna be using is primarily in Matthew. I will use a slide or two from Mark just as a cosigner, okay? He's on there with Matthew but we covered the last time that we were together or that I was here with y'all. Carl did last week but the week before, I talked about a lesson from Luke where the disciples, Jesus was teaching them and they kept on messing up.

Right? Do you remember that? They kept on missing the point or kept on messing up and they didn't understand and then at the end of the sermon, it says, Jesus set his face toward Jerusalem. That seems to be a real turning point in the gospel to where his determination about heading towards the cross became very, very evident. Now, the section in Luke ended with the repeated failure of the disciples to be able to understand or do anything well.

Can I get a witness? Do you feel like that sometimes? Like, I don't quite get this. And if I do get it, I'm either wrong or I don't act on what I know to be true. Love one another is not a hard concept to understand.

It's hard to do. So, anyway, that last section of Luke doing that, during that section, Matthew and Mark, I didn't do the same harmony of the gospels that I had been doing. I just let Luke talk with a little bit of help from Mark. But Matthew has a big section that coincides with this. So this is the section from Luke where I ended on.

Now an argument started among them as to which one of them might be the greatest. And Matthew has almost exactly that paragraph. This is what Jesus was teaching at the same time in the gospels of Matthew, and I'll use Mark a little bit. But it's mainly the whole gospel, the whole eighteenth chapter of the gospel of Matthew is what we're gonna cover. And if you view it all together, it works better than if you view each of these little pericopes separately.

Okay? Pericopes in the Bible is something, peri means around, and then cope is to cut. So cutting around something. Oftentimes in sermons, a pastor will cut around something and say, okay. This is the section right here.

And we're gonna study this section today because it's neat and it fits in a little package. Well, we're gonna study four of those today in a bigger package. But I think that if you consider that this is lessons on responsibility to others. Oftentimes, we'll use a pericope kind of as a band aid or as an antibiotic. But we won't use it, in the original context.

So here we go. I'm not downplaying. They can they're good for doctrine and reproof and training and correction and righteousness, no doubt. But this responsibility to others is the framework I wanna look through. So here's the same section in Matthew eighteen one through six is what we'll start with.

And you can see in white, it's almost verbatim what Luke says. At that time, the disciples came to Jesus and said, who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Luke says they were arguing over who was the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Mark also says they were arguing over. And Jesus says, so what were you all talking about?

Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? He called a child to himself and said to him among them and said, truly I say to you, unless you, my disciples, the ones who've been following me, unless y'all change and become like children, you'll not enter into the kingdom of heaven. This little insignificant one in that time had no rights whatsoever. Unless you become like this one who has no rights whatsoever, who has to trust others for their provision. Truly, say to you, unless you change and you become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

So whoever will humble himself like this child, he's the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one such child in my name like Awana, I love that. Like the combined youth group that we've started having on Thursday nights that's meeting at the tribe ministry center. It's nice. They're receiving children and teens in Jesus name for his kingdom purposes.

Whoever does that receives me. And then there's a strong hyperbolic warning from Jesus. But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin. Whoever would take one of these Awana kids and lead them off of the path. Whether it's into the legalistic ditch or into the licentious ditch.

Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it's better for him that a heavy millstone be hung around his neck and that he be drowned in the depths of the sea. That's that's heavy. That's strong words from Jesus. What he is saying is, these children are precious. They're precious to God.

And if they've put their faith in him, and now they're being drawn away. And it's possible to do that. These are the disciples he's speaking to. It's possible to do that as a disciple of Christ to lead people astray. He's saying, it would be better that heavy millstone be hung around his neck.

It's thrown in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world. Woe to the world for its stumbling blocks. The word in Greek for stumbling blocks is skandalon, which sounds like scandal or scandalous. That's where we get the word.

It's a stumbling point. Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks. It is inevitable that stumbling blocks will come. It just is. That's the way of this world.

In fact, John sixteen and thirty three, Jesus says, these things I've spoken to you so that in me you may have peace right here in this world. In the world, you will have tribulation. You have it. You know it. There's trouble here.

But take courage. I've overcome the world. That's a good lesson from Jesus. Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks. There are plenty of stumbling blocks outside of the church.

It's inevitable that those stumbling blocks will come. We're all in this world feels like we're groping around for something that is true and good. And there's a lot of scandal. But it goes on to say, but woe to the person through whom the stumbling block comes. He's talking to his disciples then, and he's talking to his disciples now.

He's saying, don't their stump troubles are gonna come. Don't let it be because of you. Do you get that? Don't let it be because of you. Don't be the one that is causing people.

If you feel extreme liberty in Christ and you can do just whatever, and you start telling kids that they can just do whatever willy nilly that what you do doesn't matter. It's only what you believe. If you start down that line or if you start down a legalistic line, you can cause a little one to stumble. He's saying, woe to the world because of stumble blocks. But that's inevitable.

But also, woe to the person through whom that stumbling block comes. Don't be that guy. Paul says in Romans, if it's possible, so far it depends on you. So far, in as much as it depends on you, be at peace with all people. That's a good one.

Immediately flows into this. Normally, that's the the end of a sermon section. But it carries through. If you're looking at it as responsibility to others and you see, woe to the person through whom the stumbling block comes. And if your hand, your hand, and if your foot is causing you to sin, then cut it off and throw it away from you.

That's extreme. That's hyperbolic language too. If it's your hand or your foot, whatever it is that's causing you to sin, get rid of it. Do something about it. If you recognize that that's the cause of it, get rid of it.

It's not, I don't think, being literally cut off your hand or your foot. But he's saying that whatever it is that's causing you to sin, get rid of it. Throw it away from you. It's better for you to enter life maimed or without a foot than to have two hands and two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. Strong language again for Jesus for his disciples.

He's saying, whatever it is that causes you to sin. He goes on. And if your eye is causing you to sin. Now, if you go back to Matthew five twenty nine and thirty, he mentions if your right hand causes you to sin or if your eye causes you to sin, then get rid of them. Gouge it out.

Throw it away. Cut it off. And that passage, there's no doubt about it, is about lust. This one seems to be more general. If your hand or your foot or your eye.

And so whatever it is. Now, when it gets to eye, this gets really personal. How many of y'all had something stuck in your eye? Oh my goodness. Isn't it terrible?

It's just the worst. And I was praying about this this week. And I've been praying about it all week this week. And knowing this was coming and thinking about it, and knowing that oftentimes, and and with good reason, especially since Matthew five, there's no doubt about it being about lust. When it talks about your hand and your eye.

And there is, in men's ministry, a lot of emphasis on this because pornography is a huge sin. It's a hard thing to get out of. And so it's extreme language from Jesus speaking to the guys. That's great. And I think that that's valid and worthwhile.

But it's less so in this case. And more generally, whatever it is that's causing you to sin, deal with it. Just deal with it. Friday night. I'm gonna a little personal story.

I'll step away from the script for just a second for just a second. We had a little issue in our Jeep. Blew an engine. Threw a rod. Threw the side of the block.

So I'm a mechanical type person. I enjoy doing that sort of stuff. I I I have a hard time paying anybody else to do it since I can do it. And so I have been taken out, I'm sure my neighbors love it, the engine out of this Jeep. So Friday night, I borrowed a crane truck and went over and snatched the engine out of this Jeep.

And I had on my safety glasses and whatnot, but I still got a little piece of rust up under, and I rubbed it into my eye. Oh, what a terrible feeling that is. It's there's nothing like it. Jesus actually says, the eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, the whole body's full of light.

Right? But if your eyes are bad, oh my goodness. Is there anything more painful than something stuck in your eye? Your whole body will be full of darkness. And then if then that light that is within you is darkness, how great is that darkness?

This passage is about, you know, not serving two masters and that sort of thing. But it's also about your perception. How your perception is altered by what your eyes are seeing. If your lenses are skewed, you're skewed. And having that chunk in my eye, I didn't know if I scratched it or what, but Friday night, I took Benadryl to try to force myself to sleep.

And I woke up every couple hours. Every time I'd go into rapid eye movement, it would agitate, and it'd wake me up. And I felt like throwing up, and it was just horrible. And I went through Saturday morning. I had a breakfast appointment with somebody, and I met them like this.

Yep. Everything's good. You know? And then I had a baptism. Actually, I showed you a picture of the baptism.

Well, the cold water of the Snake River produced some sort of adrenaline response. For about thirty minutes, I didn't feel my eye. But after it came back, it was more ferocious, and it was just terrible. And I contacted the doctor, and I said, I've either scratched my eye or I've got something in it, and I don't know what to do. Can you advise?

And they said, meet me at the office in twenty minutes. And thirty minutes later, I felt like there was no problem in my life whatsoever Because they have found the foreign body, removed that, got rid of the rust ring that had developed around it, put in drops that were numbing. Now this is this is something really good. I knew when I knew when I felt the relief it was gonna be a sermon illustration at some point. I did not know it would be today.

But I'm sitting there hurting worse than I ever have. I'm six five, two fifty and crying. And I look up and a couple of drops of numbing drops in my eye, and the pain went away completely. And it's a temporary effect, but what the doc said was this, these numbing drops will make you feel great, but it inhibits healing and you can't get better as long as you're numb. Isn't that great?

Oh, there are so many ways we try to self medicate. And you can't get better as long as you're numb. The pain is there for a reason. Go to the one that can do something about it. And I did not literally gouge my eye out, but the doc did actually gouge out the portion of my eye that was harmed.

And I feel so much better. I know some of y'all are ready to throw up right now. I have a clear contact, just a no prescription contact on. Has a band aid over it right now. So this morning, it's still affecting me when I got up to stand up on stage.

I tripped and almost fell because my balance is affected. But one quick back to the scripture here. If your eye is causing you to sin, I actually contemplated that and prayed over that and thought about it all week. Friday night, I have this rust in my eye. I go to bed.

Tanya comes in an hour and a half later with an innocuous question and said, Do you think you could fix the bunny's cage? The angle is too steep on this. And I said, And it surprised me. And I said, my eye is causing me to sin. I said, this is the most I've heard since I had a kidney stone fifteen, seventeen, eighteen years ago.

It's the most I've heard and I can't even remember when. And I just blasted her for asking a simple question. Anyway, all personal stuff aside, it's amazing to me how how the scripture speaks if you're paying attention. It's better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into a fiery hell. Mark says the same thing but he adds one more line where their worm does not die and the fire is not extinguished.

That's a reference to Isaiah 66. It's a pretty horrible view of hell. But Jesus is speaking to his disciples and saying, see that you do not look down on the insignificant ones, these little ones. Pay attention to the kids. Pay attention to the forgotten.

Pay attention to the poor. Pay attention to the hurting. See that you don't look down on one of these little ones. Honestly, when the doc said meet me there in twenty minutes, I have never received news that good. And it was relief.

And when I woke up this morning, I felt like a new man. See that you don't look down on one of these little ones for I say to you, listen disciples, that those little kids' angels, they're in heaven and continually see the face of my father who's in heaven. They have God's ear. They are messengers. They know when a child is hurting.

It does not escape God's notice when a child is hurting. Don't be the cause of a child hurting. Don't be a semblin block for them. Don't look down on them. Be looking to be an advocate for them.

What do you think? If any man has a 100 sheep, wouldn't when one of them goes astray, will he not leave the 99 on the mountains and go and search for the one that is lost? A good shepherd will take care of all of the sheep. The 99 are taking care of themselves in a flock, in a group, and doing alright. But when that shepherd counts up and there's one of them missing, he goes after it.

Right? A good shepherd does. And if it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoice over it more than over the 99 that didn't go astray. I think that's great too. So it is not the will of your father who's in heaven for even one of these little ones to perish.

He is looking out for the little ones, the insignificant ones. Taking care of them. And yes, we are called into this body. But if someone is straying, a good shepherd will go out looking for him. Now, if your brother sins, it carries on.

Usually, end of pericope. Let's tell this story because we got enough time for this. It goes straight from, so it is not the will of any of your father that any one of these little ones would perish. Now, if your brother sins, it looks like that sheep is going astray, doesn't it? If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private.

Let him save face. Take time. Do so lovingly. This is a sermon about responsibility to others as the body of Christ. He's speaking.

Now, if a brother sins. This does not say that you just stand on the street corner with a picket sign and say, they sin. They sin. They sin. This is if your brother, one who's a part of the family of God sins, go.

Show him his fault in private. Take care lovingly, humbly. Go to him. The goal is restoration, not condemnation. And if he listens to you, then you've gained your brother.

Isn't that good? If he listens to you, if you go humbly recognizing that, wow, this sheep is heading towards a cliff. This sheep is heading towards a pitfall. And God has allowed me the grace to see that. And it appears that I'm the one to help bring him back because I love him, because I care for him, because we have relationship.

Hey, brother. I noticed that this is happening. Are you okay? It seems like it's dangerous. Can I help you?

That would be a great way. And then you've gained your brother. Most often the time that I hear this sermon is right before, during, or after a church split. When we wanna justify our own position. I went to him by myself.

Then I took two or three back with me, and we are now moving on. But if he doesn't listen to you, because that's possible. No. I disagree. I don't believe that that's the case.

I believe I'm fine doing what I'm doing. I'm okay. If he doesn't listen to you, it's persistent. Then it says take one or two more folks with you, humbly in love, in responsibility, and care for the body of Christ. Take one or two more with you so that on the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be confirmed.

That's a familiar phrase. It comes up four or five times in the New Testament, and it comes up in Deuteronomy 19 right there. It says, a single witness shall not rise up against a person regarding any wrongdoing or any sin that he commits in order for it to be established. It's on the testimony of two or three witnesses that a matter shall be confirmed or that the fact shall be established or that in Greek at least it says, so that every rhema, word may be confirmed. So the two or three witnesses going in and pleading with a brother to bring him back from the precipice that is dangerous for them and for others.

Because if you go astray and you start calling out to others to come with you, then you're one of those that's causing your little ones to stumble. So it says, if if he refuses to listen to you and to them, then you tell it to the church. And so it's church discipline. But it starts off in private. It gets a small circle, and then it comes to the church.

And if he refuses to listen even to the church, he's to be to you as a Gentile or a tax collector. And so that for a lot of people, when you read that, you just go, okay. That means excommunication. We can be rid of this guy. He's a problem to us anyway.

He always has been and finally, we get to part companies like Paul and Barnabas. Oh, we'll split. We have a sharp disagreement and get rid of them. They're out the door like a Gentile or tax collector. Think about this.

This is Matthew, the tax collector. What did Jesus do with tax collectors? He loved them and invited them into his loving family. What he do with Gentiles? Loved them and invited them into his loving family.

So if he refuses to listen, yeah. They've broken fellowship. That's true. But at the same time, pray for them. Pray for them that God would restore them.

The passage is about restoration and our responsibility in restoration to others. Truly, I say to you that whatever y'all bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven. God has given to the church his spirit, the comforter, the consoler, the one who comes alongside in difficult circumstances, and God does not speak out of both sides of his mouth. If if two or three are gathered in his name humbly seeking to serve and restore, God will have his will on earth like it is in heaven. That's the way that this is.

Truly I say to you, whatever y'all bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven. Whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven. And again, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by my father who is in heaven. Is unity important to God? Unity in the body of Christ is extremely important, and yet we denominate.

Man. God, allow us to get over the hurdles. Allow us to get over the things that separate us. Bring us together. May we be one in you.

Responsibility to others. Again, say to you, if two of you agree on Earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by my father who's in heaven for where two or three are gathered together in my name. I'm there in the midst. Amen. And then Peter came up and said, Lord, how many times shall my brother sin against me and I still forgive him?

If a brother sins, Jesus says it prompts a question from Peter. So if my brother sins and he just keeps on doing it, how many times do I have to forgive him? He's trying to establish a limit to his forgiveness. Lord, how many times shall my brother sin against me and I still forgive him? Up to seven times and Jesus said to him, no.

I don't say seven times, but up to 77 times or 70 times seven. So whether it's seven seventy seven or four ninety, I think Jesus is being hyperbolic here too. Just keep on being ready. Stand ready to forgive. They may not accept it, but you be ready to forgive.

And for this reason, Jesus starts in on a parable. For this reason, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves. Pay attention to the story. There's a king and there are slaves so far. A master and servants we might say, depending on your translation.

Kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves. Time comes, payday someday. Right? And when he had begun to settle the accounts, one who owed him 10,000 talents was brought to him. 10,000 talents is a lot.

Well over 1,000,000. Not a chance that that servant was ever gonna be able to repay. We think, well, shame on the master for extending that line of credit. But he had, and it's time to settle accounts. So when he had begun to settle him, one who owed him 10,000, way more than he could ever pay was brought to him.

But since he did not have the means to pay, to repay, his master commanded that he be sold. Oh my goodness. He was gonna sell him off to help repay the debt along with his wife. Oh, this is horrible. And his children and all that he had.

And then repayment would be made. And honestly, it still wouldn't be enough costs for each of those. No way he could hope to repay the debt that he owed. And so that slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself, humbled himself before the master and said, have patience with me and I'll repay you everything. Have patience with me and I'll repay you everything.

Have you ever been in a situation like that where you're just absolutely destitute? You do not have the means. You're spent. There's nothing you can do. Have mercy on me.

Have patience with me. I'll repay you everything. And the master of that slave felt compassion. Oh, so good. The kingdom of heaven is like this.

When we humble ourselves before God and ask, it moves him deeply. Actually, this is the only Greek word I've included today in the slides. And compassion is splanchnistes. Splanchnistes. And the reason I use it is because it's it's a derivative from Carl's favorite word in Greek which is splanchnoi.

Splanchnoi means the inmost parts. To be moved in the inward parts, to feel compassion, feel compassion, have pity on, to be moved. It is from splotchnoi, the inward parts. That means heart, the lungs, the liver, the kidneys. The only other pain I've had that compared with the eye yesterday was a kidney stone.

Oh, so deep. A pain you can't put your hands on. So deep. It gradually comes to denote the seat of the affection. So where we might say heart, they say splanchnoi.

And this master was moved with compassion. And think about this, it was the master of that slave who felt the compassion. And he released him, and he forgave him the debt. The released there, he divorced that debt from him. He let it go.

That's a good that's a good word. Let it go. But, a strong disjunctive. But, that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves. This is about responsibility to others.

Particularly, responsibility to others within the body of Christ. But that slave, slave of a master, found another slave of the same master. He went out, found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a 100 denarii. That's something that could be repaid, know. Hundred days wages.

It's something that's well within the possibility of being repaid. The slave went out, found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a 100 denarii, and he seized him and began to choke him saying, pay back what you owe. So his fellow slave fell to the ground. Same exact verbiage. He began to plead with him.

Same exact verbiage. Have patience with me and I will repay you. Almost the same exact verbiage. Have patience with me and I will repay you everything, he had said to the big master. But that servant was unwilling, and he went and had the other guy thrown in prison until he would pay back what he was owed.

But until he'd pay back what was owed. I never have understood debtors prison. How are you gonna pay it off? You gotta be mighty persuasive to get other people outside of that prison to pay it off. He was unwilling, went and threw him in prison until he would pay back what was owed.

So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved. Do you imagine they were overjoyed when the first guy was forgiven the debt? I bet they were. But then when they saw what happened, they were deeply grieved. And they came and they reported to the master all that had happened.

And then summoning him, his master said to him, you wicked slave. I forgave you that debt because you pleaded with me. I felt it in my inmost parts and I released you. Should you not have also had mercy on your fellow slave, people who know that they've been forgiven are forgiving people. Should you not also have had the mercy on your fellow slave in the same way that I had mercy on you?

And his master moved with, not compassion this time, with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he would repay all that was owed him. Oh, how horrible. My heavenly father will also do the same to you if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart. In the Lord's prayer which we've covered together, it says, forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Right?

Let's forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Taking offense. We've offended God. If we have humbled ourselves before him and asked him to forgive us, he has done so. And therefore, just as God in Christ has forgiven us, we should be forgiven each other.

I've got one more weird story. There's a blank slide. And then there's one more weird story. This one is just preceding Matthew 18. It's the last section of Matthew 17 and this is it.

I'll read it all at one time. And it's a weird story. Okay. You only hear it every once in a while. Giotto, famous early Italian Renaissance painter, has a painting in of New Testament series that is of a fish that has a little yellow round thing in its mouth.

And it's from this little pericope. I I hope that this demonstrates responsibility to others Jesus style. Now when they came to Capernaum, those who collected the tudrakma tax came to Peter and said, does your teacher not pay the tudrakma tax? Now, tudrakma tax was for the temple of all things. It was not a Roman levied tax.

This is something that Jews would pay to upkeep the temple. Does your teacher not pay the tudrakma tax? He's a little outside the pharisees. He's a little outside the sadducees. He's a little bit outside of things.

Does he not do this requirement? And Peter, of course, always ready to defend Jesus says, yeah. Sure he does. What's it to you? Yes.

And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first and said, hey, what do you think, Simon? Oh, he didn't call him Peter right here. This is after you will be Peter upon this rock. Right? So what do you think, Simon?

From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or the poll tax? Do you think they collect it from their sons or do they collect it from strangers? The kings of the earth. And Peter said, well, from strangers. They get the money however they can, but it they probably make their family immune from it.

And Jesus said, so the sons then are exempt. Yes. The sons then are exempt. This is a temple tax. This is the house of God.

He is the son of God. It's a this is a this is a fairly radical claim that he's making and saying, yeah, I don't know that tax. That's my house. That's mine. Y'all upkeep it if you want to.

That's where dad dwells. That's where I live, you know. It's where he was taught to teachers when he was 12. That's the place where he keeps going back. It's where he's already cleared the temple once and he's gonna clear it again.

But he says, from strangers and he said, those sons are exempt. However, Jesus says, rightfully, I don't really need to pay that. However, so that we do not offend them. You go to the sea, fishermen, and throw in a hook. It's the only time in the New Testament we see them using a hook for a fish.

They always use nets. Right? He says, you head down to the Sea Of Galilee, throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up. And when you open its mouth, you're gonna find a stator. A stator is a coin that's equivalent to 4 drachmas.

So it's enough to pay two people's temple tax. And he says, take that stator and give it to them for you and for me. Ain't that weird? That's the weirdest one of the weirdest stories in the New Testament to me. You don't see anything other, no other example of it.

I think he's teaching several things. First of all, we we heard it. We hear it all the time that Jesus humbled himself Being found in the nature as though he was God. Found the humble nature of a man, walked it out perfectly, died a death willingly, voluntarily, even the death of a cross so that his name would be exalted. So that we would have an opportunity to be made right with God.

So all of that is one thing. It shows his humility because he didn't owe it but he was gonna pay it anyway. He also trusted God to provide not just for him but also for his disciples. Ain't that sweet? Peter, thank you for defending me.

You said I'd pay it. I don't really owe it, but I'll pay it anyway so as not to offend them. Could we be a little less offensive? Could we just work together to be a little less offensive and to trust that God will provide whatever will be needed to heal the relationships and bring people in to the kingdom of God. I think that that's it.

If I were gonna let anything set though, it would be that should we not also have had mercy on our fellow slaves? If God's forgiven us much, will we be forgiving much? Let's trust that God will give us whatever will be necessary for us to restore relationships and practice responsibility towards others. In Jesus name, amen. Would you stand with me?

We're gonna sing It Is Well With My Soul. The altar is always open but I like to remind you every once in a while. If you wanna come forward, I'll turn the microphone off if you wanna talk to me but if you just wanna pray, you're welcome to do that. This morning, I don't see em here right now but we I'll tell you after this song's over. So we're saying goodbye to some folks.

Imagine that. People moving away. It is well with my soul. Let's sing this together.

Me to say it is well. It is well with my soul. It is well but the whole was nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, oh my soul.

It is well. With my soul. It is well. It is well with my soul. And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight.

The clouds be rolled back as a scroll. The

Wow. Thank you, Judy. Before I get to the benediction, this morning, Mark and Lindsey. So Mark Shaver. When he got here, he's Marcus Shaver.

But Mark and Lindsey Shaver married couple. They're moving from here to Chattanooga, Tennessee this week. And so it's hard. This is a hard one. Nick got up and kinda did a goodbye for him, in the earlier service.

But I wanted to let you know they're heading out on Wednesday or Thursday this week. And this is a tough one, but it is also, it's also just fits so well. The responsibility of this church to other people. Y'all welcomed him in. Actually, six years ago, this Sunday was when his first Sunday here at First B and he's been a part of it since and we've seen him through single life and early married life and all kinds of ups and downs and vicissitudes throughout, the last six years.

But, his statement, to the church this morning was one that, as that y'all were loving to him in the way that Jesus was loving to his. Right? And so he wants to carry that forward. And I'm just asking that you'd be praying for Mark and Lindsay as they are, headed, southward heading out this week. So here we are.

John thirteen thirty four and thirty five. A new command Jesus says, give to you. Y'all be loving one another. Just as I have loved you, so you must be loving one another. By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples.

If you are loving one another, God, have your will and your way among us through us this morning. May you reflect your glory off of us onto a world that is without hope. Amen.