July 8, 2007
Morning Worship
Text: Matthew 5:21-26
Subject: Forgiveness
Title: Restored Relationships
I’m still praying for revival. As I pray I continually ask the Lord, “What hinders revival? What keeps it from happening here?” One thing that I keep hearing is that the one thing that will keep us from moving forward to the future is our past. We remember things in the past and have a difficult time really letting go. I know that God has wonderful blessings that He is ready to pour out on this church body. But I also know that He will not pour blessings out on a vessel that is not properly prepared to receive them. So we have to stop and ask ourselves the question, “What relationships do we need to restore? What needs to take place in my personal life and in our attitude as a church to open the floodgates of pure revival that God wants to send here?
I want to talk to you today about forgiveness. At some point in our lives each of us has required forgiveness – from God, from others or from self. Lack of forgiveness destroys relationships.
A childhood accident caused poet Elizabeth Barrett to lead a life of semi-invalidism before she married Robert Browning in 1846. There’s more to the story. In her youth, Elizabeth had been watched over by her tyrannical father. When she and Robert were married, their wedding was held in secret because of her father’s disapproval. After the wedding the Brownings sailed for Italy, where they lived for the rest of their lives. But even though her parents had disowned her, Elizabeth never gave up on the relationship. Almost weekly she wrote them letters. Not once did they reply. After 10 years, she received a large box in the mail. Inside, Elizabeth found all of her letters; not one had been opened! Today those letters are among the most beautiful in classical English literature. Had her parents only read a few of them, their relationship with Elizabeth might have been restored.
Daily Walk, May 30, 1992.
I want to make three quick points today.
1. In order to deal with broken relationships we have to understand them.
2. In order to deal with broken relationships we have to remember them.
3. In order to deal with broken relationships we must be willing to mend them.
Listen to what the Word of God says today.
Matthew 5:21-26
I. UNDERSTANDING BROKEN RELATIONSHIPS (21-22) Notice how Matthew begins this section. YOU HAVE HEARD THAT IT WAS SAID… The people of Jesus’ time didn’t read the scriptures. First, they were too busy trying to make a living – they simply didn’t have time. Secondly, they couldn’t afford a Bible. Scrolls were quite expensive and only the wealthy could afford them. Thirdly, even if they wanted to, most were uneducated and couldn’t read. That is why they relied on the scribes and Pharisees to tell them what the scriptures said. You know how it is don’t you? If you hear something long enough it becomes truth, even if it isn’t true. The teaching of the scribes and Pharisees in this case was true - ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ The problem is, the teachers of the Law focused only on the law and the punishment while Jesus focuses on the attitudes of the heart. 22But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Broken relationships don’t come from the head where knowledge lives but from the heart where the spirit of a man lives. It ids what is in your heart that is important. Jesus said, Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Proverbs says that as a man thinks in his heart, so is he… So sometimes, without even realizing it, we have things that are passed down to us that hinder our relationships. As a teenager one of my best friends was African American. There was no way that I could ever invite him to my house though, because my mom and my step dad were racists. I don’t believe they ever consciously thought about what they were doing and made the decision to be racists, but it was what was handed down to them – it is what they thought in their hearts – and so they were. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca, is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. To say to someone “Raca” (which means empty) is an attack on someone’s intelligence and is an offense to and individual according to the Law. To call them a fool is an attack on their character. Jesus is differentiating between the Law and the Spirit. The Law was given in order for men to see their spiritual condition and turn to the Lord. It has never been able to save anyone. For us to understand broken relationships we must see that relationship from a spiritual perspective and not from the Law. The fact that Jesus sees these broken relationships as a spiritual problem is shown by the fact that He said, they will be in danger of the fire of hell.
II. REMEMBERING BROKEN RELATIONSHIPS (23-25a) It is so easy to forget about hurt feelings, unless you are the one who was hurt. How many times have you said, or heard someone say, “They’ll just have to get over it.”? But Jesus says we are supposed to remember because broken relationships stand between us and our worship. 23“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. I want you to notice who is responsible for initiating reconciliation. It is not the offended but the offender. your brother has something against you… It is so much easier to remember when someone has offended you but to remember that you offended someone shows a real desire to give our anger and hate to the Lord. Paul had this to say in Romans 12, 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. The pattern of this world says, “Get over it.” The renewed mind says, “I’m sorry. Let’s make things right.” Now I know what some of you are thinking. “How am I supposed to know if I offended someone if they don’t tell me?” It’s called walking in the Spirit. If you are walking in the continuous anointing of the Holy Spirit He will let you know. That goes back to what I have been talking a lot about lately – hearing the voice of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is gentle in His corrections and instruction. He is never condemning. Once you have gone to the offended one you have done your part to reconcile and you can worship without inhibition. In his book. Lee: The Last Years, Charles Bracelen Flood reports that after the Civil War, Robert E. Lee visited a Kentucky lady who took him to the remains of a grand old tree in front of her house. There she bitterly cried that its limbs and trunk had been destroyed by Federal artillery fire. She looked to Lee for a word condemning the North or at least sympathizing with her loss. After a brief silence, Lee said, "Cut it down, my dear Madam, and forget it." It is better to forgive the injustices of the past than to allow them to remain, let bitterness take root and poison the rest of our life. We can only hope that those we have harmed could forgive and move forward rather than allow bitterness to fester in their hearts.
III. MENDING BROKEN RELATIONSHIPS (25b-26) 25“Settle matters quickly… Why would Jesus instruct us to do that? 1) Settle quickly while it is still fresh in your mind. 2) Settle quickly while it is in your heart to do so. The longer you wait the more difficult it will be. 3) Settle quickly before you have a chance to make excuses or justify your actions. The word translated “quickly” can also mean “by surprise”. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. Don’t you know that problems are solved more easily before a third party becomes involved? That is consistent with the instruction Jesus gave in Matthew 18. 15“If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. The context of this passage is about church discipline and not interpersonal relationships but the dynamic is the same. Take care of reconciliation before a third party becomes involved. I want you to look at verses 25-26. 25“Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny. The church of Jesus Christ is not a church of broken relationships but of open relationships. Jesus was so transparent. He exemplified the attitudes that we all should model – What you see is what you get. That transparency is not an attempt to justify a haughty attitude. “What you see is what you get” is not the same as “This is the way I am – take it or leave it.” A one sided personal relationship within a church setting creates bondage that you cannot escape until the relationship is restored - until you have paid the last penny.
I want to talk to you as a body of believers now and I want to speak to you on a personal level. There is something in this church that is holding you back from the revival that God wants to pour out on you. I know this because I have spoken to you individually about this and I now recognize it as a definite hindrance to revival. There is a damaged relationship that needs to be restored once and for all. You may not think it’s a big deal but it is there. It is the relationship between this church and the Northern Missouri District of the Assemblies of God. Many of you have never gotten over the way the property transfer was handled when the church went from a General Council church to a District church. Oh you may try to down play the significance of it but I can hear it in your voices when you talk about it and I can see the anguish in your faces as you remember it. How I wish that biblical reconciliation had taken place quickly, but it didn’t. And now – some 8-10 years removed from the situation the hurt is still there. The offending parties have gone. The offended remain along with the pain. On August 19 we take what is the biggest step in the recent history of this church – the move back to General Council affiliation. And you may think that is going to make everything all right. But it won’t. It can’t be right until reconciliation takes place. I’m going to do something right now that until several months ago I was not qualified to do. As the presbyter of section 6 and an official representative of the Northern Missouri District I want to publicly apologize for the handling of the affairs of the past and I want to ask for your forgiveness. Now I have released the District and myself from the bondage of that brokenness and in asking for your forgiveness I am giving you the opportunity to break the chains of bondage in the life of this church by forgiving past discretions.
As a sign of your forgiveness here’s what I want to ask you to do. On the paper that our ushers are handing out to you I want you to think of how you feel about what took place years ago between this church and the district and then I want to ask you to write downs these words – I FORGIVE!
If there are personal relationships that need to be restored write that down as well.
Then I want you to get up with your paper and come forward and release your anger and resentment by running your paper through the shredder. Then find a place to make an altar and begin to thank God for restored relationships.
Let your thanks become worship!
