Reconciliation -God Will Do It

 

September 6, 2020 Matthew 18:15-20 “Reconciliation— God Will Do It!” Pastor Jacqueline Hines

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It is the 23^rd week now of our worshipping outside of our sanctuary during the pandemic. We have not figured out all that God is doing. We are just reminded to trust God’s love and care for us and for the whole world. We are a world in need of reconciliation, a world in need of peace.  

Christians so appreciate the idea of reconciliation. We love it when we see two people who are estranged from one another shake hands or hug one another. Or, these days, it would be ok to only look at them with love and kindness. Our hearts melt when we see people in a broken relationship get back together again. 

These days, especially, we are longing for the fighting to stop and the reconciliation to happen in a hurry. We take our time getting into trouble, digging deep roots of pride and prejudice, and greed. There is no reason to think that we can get things right overnight.

Let’s hear what Jesus has to say about reconciliation in Matthew 18 verses 15-20

Matthew 18:15-20

15 ‘If another member of the church^* sins against you,^* go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one.^* 16But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. ¹⁷If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax-collector. ¹⁸Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. ¹⁹Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. ²⁰For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.’

 If we were to follow Jesus’ words in Matthew to the letter, he tells us that if a member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. First of all, what kinds of sins is Jesus talking about? Let’s recognize that sin includes breaking one of the Ten Commandments. Let’s also understand that sin is a violation, an offense, a betrayal – something foul we do in order to steal another’s peace of mind or to rob them of something we desperately want for ourselves!

What kind of sins have people committed against you? What kind of sins have you committed against someone else? Have they told you that you sinned, offended, stole from them or betrayed them? Have you ever told someone they sinned against you, offended you, or stole from you?

Jesus’ words suggest we are on speaking terms with the offender, that we are free to go to them and talk. That, of course is not always the case. Many times, Jesus knows when we tell someone they have sinned, sometimes they are grateful. Sometime they get angry.

I went to Panera this week with a ten dollar coupon, so my order was about $2. The cashier had on gloves. She gave me change. Then she went to the pastry plate, picked up my elephant ear with the same gloved hands she given me my change. I called her aside and asked in a whisper, whimsically, if she had pastry tissues because she touched my dessert with the same hands she gave me my dirty money. Even with a mask, I could tell this 21-year-old or so was not happy. On my way out, I tried to smile at her but she slowly turned her back, probably to avoid me. There seemed to be no room for me to reconcile.

Later, I thought I could have slowly approached her and gently let her know that I appreciated her giving me another dessert that was not touched with a dirty glove. I could have, but I did not. Maybe next time I will remember to slow down and pray about that.

Have you told someone, especially a Christian about a sin that they have committed against you? As Christians, when someone has offended us, we do well to ask ourselves, “Do they know how I feel and did I tell them that they offended me?” Often we are too hurt or too afraid or too proud to speak the truth in love. We may be hurt and shocked. We may be afraid that they or their friends would retaliate. We may even be afraid that we would lose control and say something nasty or rude. Learning to control ourselves enough to speak the truth in love means a lifetime of training for most of us.

Jesus instructs us to help each other by telling each other when we are offended, doing it privately, one-on-one. If that does not work, are we supposed to tell everyone who listens that they did us wrong? Are we supposed to coddle our hurt feelings and never speak to them again? Would Jesus approve of our going out of our way to avoid them? No, our next step is to get someone else to try and help them to see that they have been offensive.

There is a saying “God Loves Us Just As We Are—But Too Much To Let Us Stay That Way!” It is our job as Christians to help each other stay on track, because our blessings are in the path of right living.

Every time we offend someone we should be ready to hear what they have to say without being defensive. We want to be open to understanding each other and doing whatever we can to bring healing and peace. Sometime we have few words and we speak to each other in body language, like my interpretation of the young lady turning her back to me. Body language is a real language and we do well to learn to watch our body language and to learn each other’s body language.

Every time we get offended, we should listen to our own heart and listen to God’s love for us. God cares when people step on our toes. God knows when someone is mean to us. We often hear of women being abused year after year after year and then one day, they hear the good news that they are loved and held in high esteem. They begin to see the light shining on a path of forgiveness and freedom.

If the abuser does not repent, because he or she does not share our Christian values or because they are not, in that situation, acting like a good Christian, we treat them accordingly. We remove our God-Created selves out of the way from any assaults and insults. We no longer open our hearts or minds to any ideas and behaviors that are not of the highest and holiest standards.

We may do best to respectfully and politely avoid the Gentile as Jesus says in verse 1. A Gentile is not simply a non-Jew, but a symbol of a person who has no intention of submitting their life to God. We may do well to avoid mingling too long with a tax collector. Tax collectors are the symbols of crime and corruption, for they had a reputation for forcing as much extra as they could get out of people when they knew they could not fight back.

When people do not want to do right by us, there no reason for reconciliation because reconciliation presupposes good intentions. Reconciliation may mean establishing boundaries and providing protection for ourselves as well as others and avoiding trying to be close with those who mean us harm.

We want to be reconciled to ourselves, to God and to everyone else who has good intentions.

Psychologist Dr. Anita Philips and Pastor Christine Caine who rescues trafficked women had a conversation recently about reconciliation in which a good example was given. They affirmed the idea that we would not ask a victim of human trafficking to reconcile with her traffickers. God does not want every broken relationship to be reconciled. The harm and the offence may require a lifetime, even generations of healing. Reconciliation begins with repentance.

Repentance begins with prayer. Pastor Henry Blackaby said that there are 6 reasons to pray.

1.  Prayer is an essential leadership activity.

2.  Prayer brings the Spirit’s filling. 

3.  Prayer brings God’s wisdom.

4.  Prayer accesses God’s power.

5. Prayer relieves stress.

6.  Prayer reveals God’s agenda.  

Number four stands out for us today because we need God’s power to overcome the evil powers that threaten our lives.

Blackaby reminds us that "God is all-powerful. . . .God can do far more than even the most resourceful [leaders] of us. God's promise is open ended: 'Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock; and it will be opened to you' (Matt. 7:7 NIV). If someone is angry,…reconciliation might look impossible. But God can melt the hardest … God can change people's attitudes overnight. No matter how powerful a position we may have, we can still find ourselves powerless in certain situations.” The only thing left to do is pray! God is all about reconciliation and peace and repentance. God will make reconciliation and peace and repentance happen when we do our part. God will do it!

May take courage today and find a way to listen to each other’s hearts when we offend on another as Christians, to speak the truth in love so that we can be reconciled to ourselves, to God and to one another. Let us pray.

Lord, what you ask of us seems too hard. We know that we can do all things when you strengthen us. Still we hesitate to go forward. Stir up in us the will to trust your ways. We pray as you taught the disciples:  

We hope this message has been a blessing and has strengthened your resolve to grow closer to the one who loves you with an everlasting love, one who will never leave your or forsake you. I invite you to give your live to Jesus today.

Next week we will continue looking at Matthew 18 on the topic “Reconciliation – Forgiving Seventy Times Seven Times.”

If you would like to make your contribution to the great ministry and mission of Bethel, the website is Bethelumchurch.com

Or you can send it to 952 Bethel Church Road, Spring City, Pa. 19475.

God bless you!