The New Normal – A People who Forgive
Pastor Phil Derstine 10-17-21
We are Risen with Christ
- A New way of thinking, A New way of living - A New Normal
- Colossians 3:1 “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above…”
- Galatians 5:22-23 (9 Fruit of the Spirit) – Love, Joy, Peace, Long-suffering, Gentleness, Goodness, Faith, Meekness, Temperance.
- Galatians 5:25 “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”
Offenses shall Come
- Matthew 18:1 “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” (Competition and comparison feed a critical spirit)
- Matthew 18:7 “Woe unto the world because of offences! For it must needs be that offences come, but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!”
- Matthew 24:10 “And then [in Last Days] shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.”
- Matthew 16:23 “But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.”
- Offense (Gr. – Skanlalon) – the part of trap that holds the bait and triggers the trap. (Jesus didn’t take the bait… “take offense”)
- Psalm 119:165 “Great peace have those who love Your law; nothing shall offend them or make them stumble.” (Peace; a fruit of the Spirit – a weapon of warfare, II Corinthians 10:4).
The Little Ones – those who are lost, hurting, vulnerable
- Matthew 18:10-14 Parable of the Lost Sheep
- “Your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.”
Biblical Pattern for restoring a brother – Matthew 18:15-19
1. Go and show him his fault (just between the two of you)
2. Go again and take 1 or 2 others along to witness
3. Go tell the church leadership (Pastor or Elder) for wisdom and counsel
4. If he still refuses to listen, treat him like an unbeliever (love, forgive him & pray for his salvation)
Parable of the Unforgiving Servant – Matthew 18:21-35
- “How often shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? (70 X 7 – per day!)
- Matthew 18:32 “Then the master called the servant in. You wicked servant, he said, I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t’ you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?”
- Matthew 18:35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”
- Proverbs 23:7 “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…”
- I John 3:18 (AMP) “Little children (believers, dear ones), let us not love [merely in theory] with word or with tongue [giving lip service to compassion], but in action and in truth [in practice and in sincerity, because practical acts of love are more than words]. (19) By this we will know [without any doubt] that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart and quiet our conscience before Him.”
- Micah 6:8 “He hath shown thee, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”
