The Commands of Christ – Part 9:
Despise not little ones, go to offenders, beware of covetousness and forgive offenders
HOFC - Pastor Bruce A. Shields
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SERMON INTRODUCTION
Matthew 28:18-20
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19 Therefore 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 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
SERMON SERIES
Part 9 – Despise not little ones, go to offenders, beware of covetousness and forgive offenders
Part 10 – Honor marriage, be a servant, be a house of prayer and ask in faith
Part 11 – Bring in the poor, render to Caesar, love the Lord and love your neighbor
Part 12 – Await my return, take communion, be born again and keep my commands
Part 13 – Watch and pray, feed my sheep, baptize my disciples
Part 14 – Receive God’s power and make disciples
TODAY’S SERMON
Despise not little ones, go to offenders, beware of covetousness and forgive offenders
SCRIPTURE READING
Jesus is giving this command, to Preach, Baptize and Teach, to everyone who is a follower of Christ Jesus. Then to the disciples, and today to His disciples.
I. DESPISE NOT THESE LITTLE ONES
a. Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?
i. At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
2 He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. 3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.
6 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come!
10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. – Matthew 18:1-7; 10
b. So what is Jesus saying here?
i. Unless you change
1. Become like little children
2. Or you will never enter the kingdom of heaven
ii. Therefore (if you change) you take the humble position of a child
1. You will be considered the greatest in the kingdom of heaven!
c. You in essence become a CHILD of God
i. Whoever welcomes a child of God, welcomes Jesus
1. This works both ways!
ii. IF anyone causes one who believes in Jesus to stumble –
1. It would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and drowned in the depths of the sea
iii. Woe because stumbling will happen, but woe to the one who brings these things
II. GO TO OFFENDERS
a. If a brother or sister sins
i. 15 “If your brother or sister [believer in Christ] sins against you, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector. – Matthew 18:15-17
b. The rules here are clear
i. If a BELIEVER sins against you
1. We are NOT called to correct those outside of the church
2. Of course they will sin against you, they don’t know any better, don’t have Christ, or the Holy Spirit, and can’t keep from sinning!
ii. Go point out the sin between the two of you.
1. Not, run to pastor
2. Go tell others in the church
3. Gossip to others about this person’s sin
4. Go to them, just the two of you!
iii. If they will not listen, THEN take one or two from the church
iv. If they still wont listen THEN tell the elders or pastor
v. If they won’t listen to the elders and pastor, then they will be treated like a pagan (non-believer) or tax collector.
c. What does that mean?
i. You are not required to have a relationship with a pagan or tax-collector
ii. You can end your friendship, HOWEVER, you MAY NOT seek revenge
1. Pay back, get even, or any other childish thing, such as gossip or slander the person, be mean to or towards, or hateful to the person, regardless of their behavior.
2. You must look at them as un-saved, and treat them as you would any other lost soul
iii. A sinner who does not stop sinning must be cast out of the congregation. Paul makes it clear to expel the wicked from among you.
1. Not every sinner is “wicked”
2. Many people struggle with sin, that is all of us.
3. But the wicked KNOW what they do is sin, and instead of confronting it, and struggling to hand it over to God, they try to hide it, continue seeking it, living in it, like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a tare among the wheat, a servant of Satan.
4. THOSE are the ones who must be expelled, not the typical Christian who has faults they struggle with and try to correct.
III. BEWARE OF COVETOUSNESS
a. Be on guard
i. “he (Jesus) said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” – Luke 12:15
b. Guard yourselves against greed (all kinds)
i. One of the biggest issues I see with the younger kids today is KUWTJ syndrome (Keeping up with the jones’
ii. Always wanting the newest, fastest, biggest, strongest, coolest, brightest, tallest, etc..
iii. Also referred to as the “One-Uppers”, if you have 10, they must have 11
c. Their mind is set on worldly possessions
i. But Jesus says, “…life does not consist in an abundance of possessions”
ii. Sorry all of you prosperity preachers.
iii. We need to set our minds on heavenly things, for where our treasure lies, so also is our heart.
iv. There are people in third world countries at this very minute, who sleep on dirt floors and don’t even have windows in their mud houses, and they are living a happier life, more abundant and filled with peace and joy than some of you.
v. How can this be?
1. They have set their hearts on heavenly things, and on our Father through Jesus Christ, who gives the desires of our hearts!
2. Why do we always assume the desires of our hearts are worldly possessions and money?
3. For some of us it may be, remember we talked a few weeks ago about how our Father gives us what is good, not always what we think we want.
vi. You may think money would bring happiness, so you pray, but if your Father in heaven sees your prayer as a stone, he will send you bread.
vii. The real desires of our hearts, even if we don’t recognize it, is peace, love, contentment, and above all, a close relationship with our Father in heaven!
viii. Jesus wants that for us!
IV. FORGIVE OFFENDERS
a. How many times do we forgive?
i. Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. – Matthew 18:21-22
b. The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant
i. 23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’
30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.
32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” – Matthew 18:23-35
c. This is how
i. Unless you forgive your brother or sister (follower of Christ) from your heart, you will be considered WICKED, you will find yourself in jail, tortured to pay back the debt you owe that was paid for you!
ii. The ORDER of things;
iii. You owe a debt because of sin, the debt is eternal damnation
iv. You cried out to Christ and begged the debt be removed (Salvation)
v. Our Master forgave your debt
vi. If a believer asks you for forgiveness, you MUST grant it
vii. Or risk losing your forgiveness.
They key here is the “asking” part.
To ask for forgiveness means;
· They are acknowledging (confessing) they sinned
· They are repenting (you can’t ask forgiveness if you are still doing the sin)
· You MUST forgive from your heart as Christ forgave you!
Jesus is clear, the one who did not forgive when asked forgiveness was called “wicked”
He wasn’t struggling with a sin, he was disobeying a command of Christ, to forgive when asked.
CONCLUSION
Matthew 28:18-20
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore 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 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Jesus promises His us, while we are obeying His commands to preach, baptize and teaching others to obey His commands, He will be with us to the end of this age!
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