Communion Meditation No. 4: Be Reconciled To Your Brother Series

Compiled by: Herman Abrahams (Senior Pastor), Cornerstone Faith Ministries, P.O. Box 740, Westridge 7802, Rep. of South Africa.

E-Mail: Mentorship2003@yahoo.co.uk

Note to the reader:

If you have been blessed with this sermon compilation, I would be honoured to receive an e-mail from you simply stating where in the world you are based- I do not need any other information. This is merely so that I can have the pleasure of giving thanks to Almighty God that all over the globe, the ministry which he has entrusted to me, is blessing the body of Christ and helping to extend the Kingdom of God.

Thank you.

Herman Abrahams,

Cape Town, South Africa.

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‘Be Reconciled to Your Brother’

Matthew 5:23, 24

23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. (NIV)

How often do we hear the words, "I will never forgive you. You hurt me too much, I will never be able to forgive you. I hate you."

How often such words are spoken. Husbands say them to wives, wives to husbands, parents to children, friends to one another and yes, so often they are said by one Christian to another. We need to take encouragement from Psalms 133 and realise the blessing of living together in peace with brothers and sisters on the Lord:

1 How good and pleasant it is

when brothers live together in unity!

2 It is like precious oil poured on the head,

running down on the beard,

running down on Aaron’s beard,

down upon the collar of his robes.

3 It is as if the dew of Hermon

were falling on Mount Zion.

For there the LORD bestows his blessing,

even life forevermore.

ILLUSTRATION:

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God Values Our Gifts

God seeks and values the gifts we bring Him—gifts of praise, thanksgiving, service, and material offerings. In all such giving at the altar we enter into the highest experiences of fellowship. But the gift is acceptable to God in the measure to which the one who offers it is in fellowship with Him in character and conduct; and the test of this is in our relationships with our fellow men. We are thus charged to postpone giving to God until right relationships are established with others. Could the neglect of this be the explanation of the barrenness of our worship?

G. C. Morgan

[Galaxie Software. 2002; 2002. 10,000 Sermon Illustrations. Biblical Studies Press]

I once knew a man who had not been on speaking terms with his mother for twenty years because of something she had said to him. The Bible exhorts us in Ephesians 4:26-27:

“Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold.”

The way to prevent letting one’s anger lead us into sin is to “keep short accounts” by settling differences on a daily basis, seeking to be reconciled quickly and exercising forgiveness before the sun goes down. The devil however would like us to bear a grudge, build an offense and let a root of bitterness rise up within us, causing us to sin.

Hebrews 12:14 14 Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy;…

Have we forgotten what the Lord has gone through for us? Are we so accustomed to His grace that we fail to remember just how much He has forgiven us?

Luke 6:37-38 “… Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

As we partake of Communion today, our faith in Christ ought to be very practical. Yes, we do this in remembrance of Him. That remembrance ought to cause us to go and be reconciled with our brother and then come before the Lord to be reconciled to Him (Matthew 5:23, 24).

As we partake of the elements representing the body and blood of Jesus today, may we see that it is possible for us to forgive. It may be difficult and painful, but it is possible.

We dare not hold on to our own personal hurts and offenses; we lost the right to refuse to forgive at the foot of the cross.

Quote

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For the sake of each of us he laid down his life—worth no less than the universe. He demands of us in return our lives for the sake of each other. - St. Clement of Alexandria.

[Galaxie Software. 2002; 2002. 10,000 Sermon Illustrations. Biblical Studies Press]

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