Hope by Grace

well good morning everyone it's great to be with you again i encourage you to keep your

bibles open at matthew 18 and also if you go to the st paul's app you'll find an outline

for today's message as we kick off on our mission month right now a former american footballer

with the miami dolphins was interviewed a number of years ago now by newsweek media

asking him specifically one of one of the questions they asked him was what motivated him

to go to university and to study university and eventually took him down the line of

becoming a footballer he said and his answer was really interesting he says my father

and my uncle were human cannonballs in the carnivals and my father said to me one day son either go to

university or become a human cannonball and he said then one day while i was working out the

decision which way to go he said my uncle was shot out of the cannon missed the net hit the ferris wheel

and died he said at that point i decided to go to university now self-reservation in that moment

seems a really good reason a good motive uh um there are motive however is one of those strange things to

work out because often motives are mixed uh and even for the christian in fact probably and especially

for the christian for instance what has motivated you this morning to tune into uh this service

uh what motivates you as a christian to do uh spiritual disciplines why read your bible why pray

what motivates you to give of your resources what motivates you to serve other people what motivates you to

show mercy and as we launch out into this uh season of mission month and thinking about sharing the hope

that we have in jesus the very first place you want to start is what is our motive to do such things

and this is really really really important for us to wrestle with as we as christians and as a church

as we seek to love the vulnerable and the needy of our community we love and the compassion the mercy of

jesus christ what is the motive for us doing so so if you've got the st paul's app open right now

you'll see i've got three points i want to go through the motive for sharing mercy

uh receiving hope leads to sharing hope and awakening to a life of sharing hope so here it is in a nutshell

our motive is in a nutshell before we launch into the rest of the today uh god impoverished his son

jesus christ on a cross so that all of his riches and health and righteousness and life could be given

to us those who trust in him that's it in a nutshell 2 corinthians chapter 5 verse 21 in the new testament

2 Corinthians 5:21

reveals this mercy transaction so clearly it says god made him talking about jesus

god made him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him jesus we might become the righteousness

of god a couple of chapters later in 2 corinthians uh it's stated in pure economic terms for you know

the grace of our lord jesus christ that though he was rich yet for your sakes he became poor so that you

through his poverty might become rich the foundational core element of the christian faith

is that though poor all of humanity were being made rich through the mercy of god we were living in a

rubbish tip we by and by his grace god has clothed us with kingly robes and made us to sit down at his

royal banquet table god's grace has a powerful impact in every part of your life his grace

changes everything a person who knows that they have received mercy while an undeserving enemy of god

will have a heart of love and mercy and compassion for the most ungrateful and the difficult and the

unlovely of society this is in in absolute nutshell when a christian sees

alcoholics prisoners prostitutes drug addicts homeless refugees the broker the destitute of

society of society they know they're looking in a mirror

it is irrelevant if that particular christian has spent their entire life

as a respectable middle class person

they look at the broken and they say in the depths of their hearts

spiritually that's me i i i was that person even if physically and socially i've never been where they

are right now they are in desperate need of mercy and i spiritually was in desperate need of god's mercy to me

god gives mercy to the ungrateful and the wicked and that is what we were

and the powerful effect of his mercy and his grace in us is that we become

like the god of mercy and we show it to others so i want to unpack that that's in a nutshell i want to

unpack that as we launch into matthew 18 if you've got that bible that parable in front of you helps us to show

helps us see how a god's grace to us motivates a life of grace

now just before this in matthew 18 the parable there jesus been talking about how to handle things

when someone sins against you and so peter his apostle asks him a question lord how many times

shall i forgive my brother and sister who sins against me

he says and then he goes and answers his own question up to seven times

now the attitude of the rabbis uh jewish rabbis at that time

was that you would forgive your brother no more than three times

you know three strikes and then you're out

and so peter at this point is probably thinking well i'll go a bit further than that

uh and you know jesus should be pretty happy with that that response

but jesus gives a stunning response in verse 22

i tell you not seven times but 77 times

now some commentators say that he he means literally 77 times others say well actually in fact he meant seven

by 70 times he means 490 times the reality is either either alternative

really misses the point of what jesus says

because to try and calculate 77 or 590 is to go back to the pedantic calculation

of forgiveness and mercy that jesus is rejecting at this point

forgiveness and mercy is unlimited that's his point

that is what god's grace towards us is it is unlimited

and to make the point clear jesus then launches into this parable

there's a man here's a character there's a man who owes a king

10 000 bags of gold it was a debt that according to verse 25 of matthew 18

was not able to be paid now that's an understatement

the original language refers to a debt as 10 000 talents

now the talent was the highest unit of currency

and 10 000 was the highest greek numeral

so the idea here of this is that it's meant to convey the largest sum imaginable

something what we might say it's just like squillions of dollars or something like that

in fact the debt was a thousand times to get this

in the this is first century palestine

this particular debt was a thousand times

the annual revenue of galilee judea samaria and idumea combined

it's like taking all foreign debt globally

and lumping on the responsibility of one human being

to pay it back

totally beyond imagination

for those who first heard this

impossible to pay this debt back

and yet

even though this particular character is bankrupt

multiple multiple times over

this particular servant still has a sense of pride

he has not grasped the enormity of his bankruptcy

have a look at what he says in verse 26

at this the servant fell on his knees before him

be patient with me he begged

and i will pay you back everything

so he hadn't quite understood that there was no way he could pay it back

no amount of time no amount of patience on behalf of the king

would ever see this servant paying back this money

he is utterly bankrupt

he is powerless

he is helpless

no ability whatsoever to trade out of this situation

you see if you go back to luke 10

the other passage was read to us

law

an expert of the law comes up to jesus and says

so

what does it mean to love my neighbor

and the law expert in the parable of the good samaritan

failed to grasp this concept as well

he the law expert and both these men in this parable

are the man on the road to jericho

beaten helpless destitute

couldn't do a thing to save themselves

and both the law expert in luke 10

the two servants here

all in the same position

in need of mercy

they are as what the rest of the new testament would say

they are dead spiritually

ephesians 2 says of all of humanity

that we are dead in our transgressions and sins

and as we know dead people don't cut deals

they don't pay back loans

and that is the bible's view of our state before god

spiritually dead

bankrupt

multiple times over

no amount of trading on our behalf

will ever pay back what we owe god

now of course the king here who

in matthew 18 in this parable

the king who represents god

understood the plight of this servant

more than the servant did

have a look at verse 27

it says the servant's master took pity on him

cancelled his debt

let him go

see this ultimately this story is about

our god

and the way that he graciously treats us

we who are bankrupt

before god

with a debt of sin

that we could never be

that could never be repaid by us

have been forgiven

a debt

our sin against god

has been piling up

load of bad debt

hour

after hour

day

after day

week after week

month after month

year after year

our entire lives

but god

in his gracious action

in the lord jesus christ

has wiped it clean

wiped it clean

god has forgiven us a debt

that we could never pay back

and the words of this servant

this first servant

be patient with me

and i'll pay you back

everything

is so pitifully untrue

for us as well

no amount of good activity

not even good christian activity

no amount of pulling up our socks

and rolling up our sleeves

trying a little harder

will morally do it

our debt against god

is phenomenal

we are bankrupt

we don't have the ability

the power

to trade out of it

and god

and god comes along

and god comes along

in jesus christ

and as 2 corinthians 5 says

swap positions with us

he's cancelled the debt

he's taken our debt

upon himself

and he's given us

his righteousness

now i'm fully aware

that there are people

tuned in this morning

for you right now

this is the first time

you've heard this

can i encourage you

to receive

this

god's gracious gift

to you in the lord jesus

and have your debt

against god cancelled

if you want to know

a bit more about

adrian's already been up here

and talked about it

we're doing an investigating

christianity course

in the coming weeks

only a couple of weeks away

jump onto that

do not let this moment

pass for you

so what happens now

you see

having experienced

hope

receiving hope

leads to sharing hope

and that's the remarkable twist

that comes in this story

in matthew 18

when this servant

who has been forgiven

an incalculable debt

goes out

from that moment

and

just make sure

that another servant

of his

who owes him

a few dollars

pays him back

right down

to the very last cent

verse 28

have a look at it

it's just ridiculous

but when that servant

went out

he found one of his

fellow servants

who owed him

a hundred silver coins

he grabbed him

began to choke him

pay back me

what you owe

he demanded

and his fellow servant

fell on his knees

and he begged him

be patient with me

and I will pay you back

but he refused

instead

he went off

and had the man

thrown

into prison

until he could pay

back the debt

now

it's

just

unthinkable

the fact that

the second servant's

debt

is one

six hundred

thousandth

of the first

debt

emphasizes the

ludicrous nature

of the behavior

of that first

servant

whose servant

has been forgiven

everything

the point

here is

that any

limitation

on grace

on forgiveness

on mercy

on compassion

shows

that this

first servant

shows

is totally

inconceivable

the second servant

pleaded for mercy

he says to me

be patient

and I will pay

you back

which is exactly

what the first

servant asked

the difference is

this second servant

could have

but instead

the first servant

had him thrown

into prison

where he would

not be able

to work

and he could

not earn

the money

to pay

the debt

back

and therefore

it will

never be

cancelled

the one

who had

been shown

mercy

refused

to show

mercy

it is an

unthinkable

response

to God's

mercy to us

in Jesus

and yet

that's the way

a person

talks

whose

Christianity

is simply

a group

of ideas

and it's

not an

experience

of precious

mercy

of God

in the Lord

Jesus Christ

it's a person

whose Christianity

is all truth

no treasure

all choices

no cherishing

all logic

about Christ

and no love

for Christ

all decision

and no delight

and we see it

in Matthew 18

let's keep reading

verse 32

then the master

called the servant

in

this is the king

calling in the first

servant

you wicked

servant

I cancelled

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

and in anger

his master

handed him over

to the jailers

to be tortured

until he should

pay back

all he owed

and this is

how my heavenly

father will

treat each

of you

unless you

forgive your

brother and

sister

from your

heart

now Jesus

purpose

in telling

this parable

is to teach

the principle

of unconditional

forgiveness

forgiveness

the ministry

of mercy

compassion

grace

has the exact

same motivation

and the exact

same rationale

the grace

of God

to us

in the Lord

Jesus Christ

the grace

of God

is dynamic

and life

changing

God's grace

his compassion

his love

his mercy

his forgiveness

motivates

grace

compassion

love

mercy

forgiveness

sharing hope

in us

the only

true

and enduring

motivation

for the

Christian

to love

their neighbor

that is

all people

is an

experience

and the

grace

and the

mercy

of God

in Jesus

if we

know that

we are

sinners

saved

by grace

alone

we will be

both open

and generous

to the

outcast

and the

unlovely

now let me

just make a

point here

when secular

people say

that I don't

need your

Christian

faith

in order

to

practice

moral

behavior

that is

it's

possible

for me

to love

people

regardless

of your

faith

as a

secular

person

they are

right

they don't

need God

to love

someone

in many

ways

in fact

if you

look at

our

society

at the

moment

our

society

is more

committed

to things

like social

justice

universal

benevolence

and human

rights

than any

civilization

has ever

seen

things like

suffering

death

famine

flood

earthquakes

pestilence

war

can

waken up

in our

society

wide

movements

of sympathy

and practical

solidarity

in ways

that have

not been

known

before

people

but

right

actions

don't

always

come

from

right

motives

and

that's

why

we've

got to

constantly

check

our

motives

for

instance

right

actions

can come

from the

feeling

of superiority

to others

it can

pump up

our

fragile

egos

I feel

better

about

myself

when I

find

people

who

are

less

fortunate

than

me

this

applies

also

to

the

religious

person

who

believes

that

God

will

favour

them

because

of

their

morality

and

their

respectability

they

normally

have

contempt

people

like

this

religious

people

would

normally

have

contempt

for

the

outcast

and

the

unlovable

they

think

things

like

I've

worked

really

hard

to

get

where

I

am

to

get

what

I've

got

they

can

do

the

same

that's

the

language

of the

moralist

and the

legalist

another

motivation

to act

in mercy

is the

opposite

of the

big

brother

superiority

motive

it is

simple

anger

over

injustice

we can

be moved

with a

burning

indignation

against

racism

and oppression

and sexism

and this

inevitably

requires us

to demonise

one group

of people

in order

to help

another group

of people

one

neighbour

has to

become

my

enemy

in order

for another

neighbour

to experience

my love

and strangely

these acts

of benevolence

and mercy

are really

powered by

hatred

and contempt

for people

certain

groups of

people

what we

need

as

Christians

is to

be

awakened

to a

life

of

sharing

hope

a

Christian's

motive

for the

alleviation

of poverty

inequality

injustice

suffering

is the

extension

of the

radical

love

that we

have

received

from God

which is

unconditional

and for

all

people

it's the

realisation

that I

am

only

where I

am

by the

sheer

and

unmerited

mercy

of God

in Jesus

I am

completely

equal

with

every

other

human

being

that's

the

language

of the

person

who has

grasped

and experienced

the grace

and the

mercy

of God

in Jesus

God

God's

love

motivates

our love

by humbling

us

showing us

that we

are love

sinners

so that

spending

ourselves

for others

is not

to be

based on

a sense

of superiority

but on

having

been shown

our lack

of it

Christians

know that

all things

wrong

will be

put right

by Jesus

and it

is a

powerful

incentive

to love

even our

enemy

that's

what the

secularist

or the

moralist

or the

legalist

cannot

do

they

cannot

give

their

life

for

their

enemies

as

Jesus

has

given

his

life

for

his

so

Christians

not only

have a

deeper

motivation

to love

their

neighbor

but also

a much

stronger

hope

when they

do

according

to the

Bible

this

world

this

it's

in the

end

is going

to be

renewed

the

promise

of the

resurrection

of Jesus

is that

we

too

will be

raised

with him

with new

and perfect

bodies

forever

all

injustice

or suffering

or disease

and death

is going to be

wiped away

for all of

eternity

Jesus

and Isaiah

and James

and John

and Paul

use the

ministry of

mercy

as a way

to judge

between

true and

false

Christianity

a sensitive

social

conscience

conscience

and a

life

poured

out

in the

deeds

of

mercy

to

the

needy

is

the

inevitable

sign

of a

person

who

has

grasped

the

mercy

of

God

deep

in

their

heart

heart

for the

poor

and the

needy

lays

dormant

in

every

Christian

until

someone

comes

along

and

preaches

on

God's

mercy

in

connection

to the

ministry

of

mercy

and

hope

and

compassion

so if

you like

what it

does

is it

pushes

a button

deep

in the

soul

that

begins

the

process

of

waking

us

up

to

a

full

grasp

of

God's

grace

and

for

it

being

outworked

in

our

life

so if

this

has not

been

convincing

for you

this

morning

let me

try

someone

else

who's

done

it

I'll

give

you an

example

of this

kind

of

preaching

Scottish

minister

Robert

Murray

Mishane

preached

this

message

to

Scottish

Christians

in

Scottish

cities

in

1838

let me

just

quote

from

it

I

fear

that

there

are

some

Christians

among

you

to

whom

Christ

will

not

be

able

to

say

on

the

last

day

well

done

good

and

faithful

servant

referring

to

Matthew

25

your

hardy

dwelling

rises

amongst

the

thousands

who

are

scarcely

a fire

to

warn

themselves

at

and

have

but

little

clothing

to

keep

out

the

biting

frost

and

yet

you

don't

darken

their

door

you

heave

aside

perhaps

at a

distance

but

you

do

not

visit

them

my

friends

I'm

concerned

for

the

poor

but

I'm

actually

more

concerned

for

you

I

don't

know

that

Christ

will

say

to

you

on

that

great

day

I

don't

know

what

he

will

say

to

you

on

that

great

day

you

say

you

follow

Christ

but

you

don't

care

for

his

poor

I

fear

that

there

may

be

many

hearing

me

who

now

know

well

that

they

may

not

even

be

Christians

at all

because

they

don't

love

to

give

now

dear

friends

some

of you

pray

night

and day

to be

branches

of the

true

vine

you

pray

to be

made

all

over

in

the

image

of

Christ

if

so

you

must

be

like

him

in

giving

though

he

was

rich

yet

for

your

sakes

he

became

poor

some

object

to

this

my

money

is

my

own

my

answer

Christ

might

well

have

said

my

blood

is

my

own

my

life

is

my

own

another

objects

the

poor

are

undeserving

my

answer

Christ

might

have

said

they

are

wicked

rebels

shall

I

lay

down

my

life

for

these

no

he

left

the

99

and

came

after

the

lost

he

gave

his

blood

for

the

undeserving

yet

another

objects

the

poor

might

abuse

it

my

answer

Christ

might

have

said

the

same

yes

with

far

greater

truth

Christ

knew

that

thousands

would

trample

upon

his

blood

under

their

feet

that

they

would

despise

it

that

they

would

make

it

an

excuse

for

sinning

more

yet

he

gave

his

own

blood

oh

my

dear

Christians

if

you

would

be

like

Christ

give

much

give

often

give

freely

to

the

vile

and

the

poor

the

thankless

and

the

undeserving

Christ

is

glorious

and

happy

and

so

will

you

be

it

is

not

your

money

I

want

he

says

but

your

happiness

remember

his

own

words

it

is

more

blessed

to

give

than

to

receive

and

so

is

the

spirit

of

God

waking

you

up

from

a

deep

slumber

the

parable

of

the

good

Samaritan

just

a

little

bit

that

we

read

and

the

parable

of

the

unmerciful

servant

which

we

just

looked

at

are

the

pattern

of

God's

mercy

his

mercy

generates

a

life

of

sharing

hope

and

mercy

and

so

I

invite

you

I

urge

you

to

lay

aside

any

remnant

of

self

goodness

that

you

think

that

you

might

still

have

admit

your

total

spiritual

bankruptcy

drink

deeply

of

the

infinite

grace

of

the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

and

the

mercy

of

God

and

then

in

deep

awareness

and

appreciation

for

the

hope

that

you

now

have

that

you've

received

live

a

life

of

sharing

hope

what

that

looks

like

is

going

to be

unpacked

for

us

more

over

the

coming

weeks

including

some

of the

projects

that

we're

going

to

take

on

as

practical

steps

forward

but

let me

just

close

briefly

on a

note

of

thanksgiving

I am

grateful

that we

as a

church

have been

increasingly

moving

in this

direction

becoming

increasingly

generous

to

others

and

just

at the

end

of last

year

we

put

together

a

drought

appeal

to help

Narrabri

Anglican

Parish

going

through

difficult

times

because of

the

drought

and as

of

Friday

we're

going

to

continue

that

drought

appeal

as

of

Friday

I

spoke

to

the

vickery

there

at

Narrabri

and he

was

just

so

thankful

for

our

partnership

so let

me

just

end

with a

note

of

gratitude

and

thankfulness

as I

read to

you

the note

that he

sent

me

Steve

I

want

to

thank

you

both

for

the

conversation

this

morning

and

for

the

incredible

generosity

that

St.

Paul's

has

extended

towards

God's

mob

at

Narrabri

Anglican

Church

we are

preaching

on

Matthew

9

35

to

10

15

this

weekend

and

the

compassion

and

generosity

that

are

mentioned

there

stand

out

in

your

care

of

us

in

Narrabri

the

region

is

looking

marvellous

at the

moment

but

the

hold

of

the

drought

remains

firm

and

the

pressures

of

COVID-19

are

significant

as

you

and

we

try

to

navigate

our

way

through

constant

decisions

and

the

limitations

that

this

broken

world

is

placing

on

us

we

are

thankful

for

the

tangible

reminder

of

God's

provision

in

your

partnership

please

extend

our

thanks

to

God's

mob

that

meets

under

your

care

and

your

leadership

at

St.

Paul's

Chatswood

let's

continue

in that

ministry

of grace

and mercy

to others

in need

bless

il

to

y

ổi

is