Sermon Central
-
The Profitable Servant Series
Contributed by Jeff Strite on Nov 28, 2017 (message contributor)
Summary: I want to be a good servant for Jesus, but in this passage Jesus says I can do all kind of great ministry and still be an "unprofitable servant." What two things does Jesus say can stop me from being the profitable servant for Chris that I want to be?
And it won’t make a bit of difference.
It won’t matter.
You will be unprofitable to Jesus if you do not forgive.
Because you’ll hurt His kingdom and damage His church.
This so serious that Jesus taught this principle in what we call the Lord’s Prayer.
Repeat it with me.
“Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.
Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread and
FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS AS WE FORGIVE OUR DEBTORS
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.”
Did you catch that part about God forgiving us as (in the same way as) we forgive others?
Jesus meant it.
In fact, right after He taught His disciples that prayer, He said this:
“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Matthew 6:14-15
Why?
Because Jesus’ kingdom is all about forgiveness.
When you became a Christian that’s what it was all about – God forgiving your sin.
When you believed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God; when you accepted the idea that you were a sinner and needed to change your life (repent); when you confessed Jesus as your Lord and Master; and when you allowed yourself to be buried in the waters of Christian baptism and risen up to a new life – your sins were all removed.
God removed them from you as far as the East is from the West.
He buried them in the very depths of the sea and promised He would not remember them ever again.
Jesus shed his blood so that our sins would be forgiven.
His blood covered ALL of my sins, and God remembered them no more.
Now, as servants of the most High God, God calls on us to do the same to those who have sinned against us. Ephesians 4:32 tells us to “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
Jesus even told a parable about this (found in Matthew 18:23ff)
He said there was once a man who owed a King the equivalent of several million dollars in debt. The king had him brought before him and proclaimed that the man would be thrown into prison until he’d pay the last dime of his debt.
The man fell to his knees before the king and pled for mercy. He promised if he was let go he’d pay everything back.
The King was moved to compassion and forgave the man’s entire debt and set him free.
The man went on his way rejoicing… but then he came upon a man who owed him the equivalent of a few thousand dollars of debt. The first man grabbed the 2nd by the throat and demanded he pay back his debt to him. But the 2nd man pled for mercy. He promised, if he was let go, he’d pay everything back.
But the 1st man refused to listen to these pleas and had him thrown into prison.
Word got back to the King and he was enraged. He called the 1st man back into his court and put the man’s entire debt back on him and had him thrown into prison.
That’s how Jesus views the value of our forgiving others.
