Mercy Defined

Sunday, Sept. 14, 2008

By Jeff McDowell

Series Title: “Life in the Church” (1^st of 3 in September)

Main Text: Matthew 18: 21-35

Secondary Text: Romans 14: 1-12

Theme: Forgiveness is given out of forgiveness received. We become merciful when mercy is extended to us by God.

Brief explanation of Scripture Passages: Jesus tells Peter more about forgiveness than he bargains for in Matthew 18. He has just explained about going directly to the person who has sinned against you, and how the church should handle grievances. But Peter’s persistence to know more elicits Jesus’ parable about a king and his servants. Key phrase is right at the end of verse 35: “. . . .forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

Summary of Message: This sermon will explore what it means to forgive from the heart, so you can practice the same mercy that has been given freely to you.

Felt Need this theme addresses: Un - forgiveness for past sins done to us.

Desired Outcome of message and entire service: For folks to get a handle on HOW to forgive from the heart, and how to see signs that we have done so.

Main Metaphor / Image: A Man in a prison cell (to show unforgiveness)

Ruth Stafford Peale tells A little story about Paderewski, the great Polish pianist:

It seems a mother took her young son, eight or nine years old, to a concert by Paderewski because she thought the child had some musical talent and might benefit from hearing a genius play. They sat close to the stage, where the curtain was up, revealing the grand piano. Paderewski was in the wings; it wasn't quite time to start.

The mother turned to speak to an acquaintance behind her. As she did, the little boy wriggled out of his seat, ran up the steps to the stage, sat down and began to play "Chopsticks" with all his might. The mother was appalled. The audience gasped as Paderewski himself strode onto the stage.

But instead of being angry the maestro smiled, sat down on the piano bench with the little boy, whispered to him to continue and then, putting both arms around the little figure began to improvise a soft but brilliant accompaniment to the childish music. He kept it up until the audience, charmed and fascinated, burst into applause.

Says Ruth: “I like to think that perhaps when we finally come into God's presence and try to explain our lives with all the faults and flaws, He will put His loving arms around us and turn our faltering notes into a triumphant song of redemption and fulfillment.”

Most of our sins, mistakes, blunders, and gaffes, are simply due to immaturity. Or, as one pastor said recently, “most people are just doing the best that they can with what they have to work with.” Not many people wake up in the morning, seeking ways to make your life miserable. But because of the flaw of original sin, magnified by generations, we live in an imperfect world. The firstborn son to man, Cain, killed his own brother and then lied about it! We are all part of living in an imperfect world. And those who demand perfection from others will soon find that they themselves are not able to live up to that standard.

Maybe this is what Jesus is getting at as the impetuous, well - meaning Peter asks how many times he needs to forgive his brother when he sins against him. I don’t know if Peter was looking for a loophole, or just trying to make sure he was following God’s ways.

²¹ “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” ²²Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.

   Jesus is giving Peter a number more like infinity than simply a mathematical formula. Seven (in Jewish thought, 7 is a perfect number; God created the world and rested on the 7^th. Jesus goes way beyond that in stating 70 times 7; in other words, an unlimited amount.