Believers Fight Sin Aggressively
Amen.
Well, what size this chapter together, Matthew 18 is the reference to the phrase little ones. Jesus uses the phrase, little ones in verse 6, where he says, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to send, it would be better for him to have a great Millstone, fastened around his neck, and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. So, the one question is, will, is that a reference to Children, specifically. But Jesus is making the point that he's talking about more than children because he tells his disciples, what does it mean to be great in the Kingdom of Heaven, unless you turn and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. And so, he's using the phrase, little ones to essentially, refer to initially, to teach his disciples about humility, unless you become humble, like this child, who is insignificant in the world dies, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven, but then he extends that to such as these little ones one, such child verse five. And so you see little ones referred to in first 10 and an ulcer verse 14. And so Jesus, in this chapter is teaching his disciples. What are the qualities that his church is to have the people in his church, or to have what are they to be about? As part of this new community called The Church? Matthew chapter 16, where where Peter says you are the Christ, the son of the Living God. And Jesus says, yes, you are petrassi. You are Peter. And on this rock, I will build my church. After that confession, that that's the first time. The word church is used in The Book of Matthew. And so it's a, it's a important Time chapter 16 in the word, ekklesia for church is never used in the New Testament to refer to a physical place.
You don't hear that used in a building campaign for churches. Do you that the word church is never used to refer to a specific Place? It'll refer to the church in a town. But the church is essentially, the people of God, the people of God that he calls to be in relationship to himself until after Peter's confession the disciples, likely wondered what Jesus meant. And he said the, the I will build my church and the Gates of Hell will not Prevail against it. And then as if to remind the disciples, what kind of power Jesus has, he takes Peter, James and John up on the Mount of transfiguration. Enter chapter 16, actually gives us some great truths about the church which I will repackage for you from a talk. That was given a week ago at the southeast District conference from a professor, who is at Reformation Bible College. But here are three things about the church that we need to remember going into Matthew 18. Number one, the church is again, never used to refer to a particular place, but to a people who belong to Jesus, the church belongs to Jesus. The church is the bride of Christ. And so to love the church is to love the people whom Jesus loved. The very unlovable people, whom Jesus, loved, amen. I mean, all of us in our sinful state are unlovable from from the world's eyes perspective. And yet, the church does not belong to any one person government Nation or ethnic group. The church does not belong to any one person government Nation or ethnic group. I think that's what makes the Chinese Communist party. So nervous. Is that the church has a power that is beyond any power of any national government organization. Human human group, it has the power of Christ.
Second thing, Jesus build his church. So he is the Cornerstone of the church. The church is Jesus plan for the world. He builds the church on the quote, frail and feeble faith of his people. Isn't that amazing? Jesus said, I will build my church and the Gates of Hell will not Prevail against it.
And we wake up one morning, and we think should I go to church today?
He builds his church on partly on our frail and feeble safe faltering as it is in perfect. As it is we will never have perfect faith. I realized I was reading back in my journals. I had some of my personal journals in my office and I thought we probably should keep those at home but I had probably eight different journals that I wrote over. Of time. And and I realized how feeble my faith was at different points as I read through, you know and then you also realize I'm struggling with the same things that I struggle with 30 years ago. You know, you kind of hope that you're becoming more mature in certain areas, but we all have certain sins that are be setting to us. But it was amazing to think reading over all the way back to 1996. How frail and feeble my faith was at times, but how God was still working? And I had written prayer answers to prayer and and you know how God showed up and and provided at different times. No, Jesus could have sent Angels down to run the church and that would have been an option. He could have appointed specific, modern-day prophets or given divine revelation on how the church exactly is supposed to operate, right? But after the New Testament. He didn't. He builds his church as each generation by the spirit of God seeks to follow him and Proclaim his message. Amen. He builds his church as each generation that's us and Saint 78. Those children who are not yet. Born may come to know you as each generation seeks to follow him and Proclaim his message. Jesus build his church. It belongs to him, he's the one who builds it. And Jesus defends his church. The Gates of Hell cannot overpower the church. That is a comfort. Now, that doesn't give us an excuse to be lackadaisical about it of Jesus, says, the Gates of Hell will not Prevail against the church. He he builds his church. Okay. I don't have to worry about anything. Now, that's a reason for us to be vigilant. Jesus continually guards, his church against the attacks of Satan and what is more of the church actively invades enemy territory and rescues, people who are on the path to hell. I don't get creative ideas real often but one creative idea. I had when we were living in Florida, was we had a small trailer that the church would use for different events and things. And so I got the idea, the old Mash show, right M.A.S.H, which would do the m a s h stand for, in the, in the military. Do you remember?
Okay, see that's something. I didn't know. But I thought, well, how can I use this in a sermon? It was Masters Army, seeking the Hell Bound. We are part of the church. We are part of the Master's Army, seeking the Hell Bound. There's a spiritual war going on around us everyday, but the promise is, even though all the way back in the Book of Genesis, Jesus will crush the Serpent's head. Amen. So Jesus defends his church. All right, so now we're on the chapter 18. Who is the greatest, and Jesus gives his disciples instruction on how to operate as people in his family has children in God's family and to what ties chapter 18 together is the repeated references. Again, like I said, two little ones and so to prevent his disciples from becoming arrogant. He said, first, you have to be humble And also he says, you need to be humble in accepting your owning insignificant but also humble in terms of accepting other believers.
Whoever receives one, such child in my name, receives me. So, our lack of our acceptance or lack of acceptance of other believers puts them in danger of hell. I'm sorry puts us in danger of hell if our lack of acceptance of other believers,
whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to send, it would be better for him to have a great Millstone, fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. so, this is not This is not how to have a nice church and how to do things that make people feel comfortable. I mean welcoming people is part of helping them feel comfortable in that place, but this isn't a superficial teaching This isn't about, you know, the style or the or the the atmosphere that you have in church. This is about. Are you going to receive other believers in my name?
And so to reject another believer, to be an obstacle in that person's path to Jesus is essentially to reject Jesus. That's what he saying. And the word there is stumbling block, which he uses back. When Peter says no Lord, you you aren't going to suffer. This will never happen to you, and Jesus says, Get Behind Me. Satan, you are a stumbling block to me. So we pick up the text in verse 7. Now, Jesus talks more generally about the world being the world's value system that is opposed to God. So in 7, verse 7, through 9, woe to the world, for Temptations to send for it is necessary that Temptations come but woe to the one by whom the Temptation comes. And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame. Then, with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the Eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away, it is better for you to enter life with one. I've been with two eyes eyes be thrown into the hell of Fire.
So he brought us the focus he says, woe to the world. Temptation is inevitable. I think we can agree with that. Can't we buy our experience? It's odd that Jesus says for it is necessary that Temptations come because in the Lord's Prayer we say Lord, keep us from to do not lead us into temptation. What are you talkin about? Is just the fact that we live in a sinful world. We live in a fallen broken world. And sin is perilous and it puts us in more danger when we contribute to someone else's sin.
I think it's always convicting when we think about our own sin, and then we take a step back from that and we think we'll, how did my sin then affect my family or my coworkers. Did my sin cause them to send in any way? What's the solution just to avoid? Avoid avoid know the solution is the exact opposite of avoiding Or at least stepping back the solution, is this christ-followers, fight sin aggressively because they know the dangers of sin. That's the first point of verses 7 through 9. Christ-followers, if you are a follower of Jesus, you are called to fight sin. Because we know the dangers of sin.
The obvious question is, will do we take this literally is Jesus literally telling us to cut off hands or cut off feet. No, I think he's using a figure of speech. He's telling us, you need to take radical Decisive immediate measures to deal with sin because it's so dangerous for you and for others.
It's worth losing figuratively a part of your life here on Earth in order to ensure your eternal life.
Let me say that again. It is worth losing, figuratively a part of your life here on Earth in order to ensure your eternal life. That's that's the that's the weight of what Jesus is talking about here.
No, I don't think he's talking physically about cut off your hand or cut off your foot or gouge out your eye, because that gouging out your eye, doesn't prevent lost cutting off. Your hand doesn't prevent thoughts about stealing things from other people, or harming other people with your hands.
But then how do I fight sin? That's the question. If you were a Believer you have the Holy Spirit. And if you are a Believer, you have the Holy Spirit and you are fighting Sin from a position of Victory. Not from a position of defeat. Amen.
If you are a Christian and you are fighting sin, you are the boxer who gets up between the Fourteenth and Fifteenth round and goes out to the center of the ring. And even though you're beaten and bloodied, and you can't see straight, you are still ready to go. Round number 15. Why? Because Jesus has won the victory already. Amen. That doesn't mean getting up off the stool in the corner of the ring is easy. It doesn't mean that your legs aren't going to be wobbly. It doesn't mean that that things are going to go well in the 15th round. Your opponent might knock you down in the 15th round. But you're not counted out because Jesus has won the victory. Amen. We fights in from a position of Victory. So, how do we do that? Well, here's some practical things, recognize your weaknesses. How many of you played Tetris? The old game Tetris? Okay. Alright, how many of you played Tetris on a Macintosh? The first little McIntosh PC with the little square box video thing right? My roommate in college have one of those hours and hours and hours and hours playing Tetris. Now I've never been a huge video game person I met. We had what Frogger we had the little Frogger game and my neighbor had an Atari set and then the neighbor got a Nintendo set and it was like the Nintendo baseball was like awesome you know the guy swings and then it's like Pppppp a ball goes across the screen. But I realized quickly in college just seen people, you know, getting sucked into two things and, and now it's, it's, you know, it's so much more realistic. It's with a i it's is very in a perilous in certain ways. I was like the driving games, I don't know why but I would always crash, you know, Pole Position was the one that I liked Pole Position, remember that? Okay. Dating myself here.
But I made an intentional decision at some point that you don't, I don't want to spend hours and hours on video games.
So we have to realize what are our weaknesses what? Well, because my meticulous perfectionistic nature would be. I have to play again so I can try to win, right? Know your primary weaknesses. What sins are most prominent or most common in my life? Probably your family members know what those might be, but ask the Lord asked the Lord. What those are? What sins have had particularly devastating consequences. I mean, you avoid certain sins, you step back from certain sins, because, you know, that that's in has a particularly devastating consequence.
Or you can list out the false promises that Satan gives you when you're tempted to send. There's always a false promise, right? All the way back to the Garden of Eden know, the Lord knows that when you eat of it, you will be like God knowing good and evil. That wasn't a very good voice, but you can imagine a very tempting voice saying, no, God knows that you will be like him. There's always a false promise there that has never never met. So, make a specific plan of what to do when you face that temptation.
Make a specific plan. What are you going to do? You have to plan ahead of time? Don't think that all the sudden in the moment right before? Temptation, the holy spirit's going to come upon you and you're not going to be teleported out of that situation. You have to make a plan ahead of time because Temptations will come So the husband, maybe he travels for weeks at a time for work, he knows he may face Temptation staying in other locations. Perhaps his plan is to call his wife when he first gets the hotel and then call her again before he goes to sleep that night. I was listening to a message this week where the pastor talked about, he had gone to a conference that I think was a week and a half and he was on his on his phone with his wife outside the hotel, you know, standing in the driveway area where people pull up and drop off. And and he said there was a woman who walked by me and and I think I think his wife and he was on the phone with his wife but she had stopped to do something so there was kind of a pause in the conversation and you said there was another woman who walked by me, who kind of motion to me and said, are you staying here? Do you want to hang out?
Well, he's going to have a plan at that point. You don't have time to all the sudden think of a plan.
And he said no, no, thank you.
Write down the scripture verse which helps you when you are tempted. No temptation. Has seized you, except that, which is common to man and God is faithful. He will provide when you are tempted, he will provide a way out, a way of Escape so that you may bear up under it.
Pray that you wouldn't take the way of Escape. I remember this illustration of dealing with sin, I remember an athlete was talking about, you know, we all think we're going to be a Heisman Trophy running back when it comes to sin because we're going to run through the line, we're going to break five. Tackles we're going to pull off an amazing spin move. We're going to tiptoe down the sideline and we're going to facemask the last Defender at the goal line and we're going to score. He said the goal is not to get as close to 7 as possible and think that you're going to break five tackles The point is to honor Christ. The point is to go to Christ. The point is to follow Christ. It. So, his point was,
In order to put away sin, you have to be going another Direction. You can't be going right into the teeth of the defense and think I'm going to avoid send
So, when Temptation comes, you need to make a decisive choice to go the other way. Remind yourself, this. Help me, remind yourself. That following Christ is never short sighted. Never short-sighted following Christ decided to follow Christ. Step-by-step is never short-sighted because what do we have? When it comes to send? We have the fear of missing out that's going to be a pleasurable experience and if I don't take it now, I won't have it again or the or, you know, it's not going to matter that much. It'll just be a few moments of pleasure. I mean if if if overspending is your Temptation or online shopping or something like that, maybe you shouldn't have an Amazon Prime membership. Maybe you shouldn't go on Amazon on Amazon. What price? How many prime days do? They have now like 6? And there's like the prime day before the prime day and now there's the Black Friday sales a week before the Black Friday sale. I mean, it's not as if the advertising companies are geniuses, right? They just know our weaknesses, only look what you bought before you might enjoy this item. That's a Temptation for me to just spend hours and hours looking at things that I would like to have none of which are necessary to my life. Now,
We all need to think about that. Let the Lord, let the Lord speak to you. In his the holy spirit will speak to you about these things. Just ask him to speak to you to nudge you. Our goal here is not to to hammer down on any one. Thing that Jesus says it is necessary, that these Temptations come. That's the way the world is. So John Owen Puritan, Pastor wrote this, about Sin about fighting sin, he wrote a book called The mortification of sin, mini, how to kill sin. It's on the next slide. He said be killing sin or it will be killing you. Can we go to the next line there? Be killing sin or it will be killing you. That put that raises the stakes.
See our view of sin is so it's out there but it's like a puddle that's you do on the sidewalk that I can probably just walk by and not step into it.
No, sit. There are consequences. Sin is right there at the door and then he says this set face at work on Christ for the killing of Vice in. His blood is the great Sovereign remedy for sin. Six. Souls live in this and that will die a conqueror.
if you feel bloody to buy sin, it's not your own blood. That's going to marry it Victory. It's Christ blood. Amen. Set Faith at work on Christ, meaning set your hope and your your Focus On Christ in order to kill sin. Say Lord Your Grace is greater. Greater is he? That is in you than he that is in the world.
So then the next question, is a tougher question. Will then how it have you ever thought that your sin may cause someone else to stumble in the body of Christ? And I know it's noon already but will go quickly here. Have you ever thought that your sin may cause someone else to stumble? or wonder if you have may have caused someone else to send just by your own words, or just by the fact that you talked about Sin, Jesus wants us to take sin. Seriously, not only for ourselves, but for the sake of others. So that's where we get verses 10 through 14.
now you may recognize verses 10 through 14 as similar to the parable of the Father, the the shepherd going after the lost sheep,
And so, basically Jesus is telling us this christ-followers fights in aggressively because we are to imitate The Father's Heart for those who have gone astray. See, he's telling this to the disciples, it's not Luke 15 where he's telling the parable to the Pharisees and those who counted themselves righteous and look down on everybody else or that he was getting criticism for hanging out with tax collectors and sinners. The reason he tells that and Luke 15 to the Pharisees, specifically is look to the lengths that God will go to save people and bring them back to him even The Prodigal Son. But the reason he tells it here, I think is more for the edification of the disciples. The recognize that they are also to have the Father's Heart. For those who have gone astray. So let's not read over this and think oh, that's just a repeat of a nice comforting Parable. In Luke 15 that you know how much love the father has that. He goes after the one, that's a stray and he brings it back. Yes, that's true. but Jesus tells his disciples, the same thing in order to Spur them to have the same heart that the father has
The emphasis is not only on the rescue of the sheet but it is to get the disciples to think how the father wants them to look after their fill of sheep.
Now the tricky part is in heaven, they're always there. Angels, always see the face of my father. I don't think that's a reference to a personal guardian angel. I think it's a reference to either a group of angels, that over that are in heaven, looking upon a person's life or it's a reference to the Believers Spirit, after they die their spirit in heaven, looks upon the face of the father, but I don't think it's a specific reference to an individual garden. Guardian angel. But here's the point that I want to emphasize with this, it says the Sheep went astray that word. Their means to basically be deceived or diluted or or be led to wander off in the wrong direction.
It does not remove a person's responsibility, but it shows how evil can trick our minds or Cloud are thinking. None of us are immune to this. None of us are immune to this. We had a bonfire last night and are well, bonfires a little bit of a generous word. We had a little campfire in our yard last night. Muriel had some friends over from college. And I was happy because I stopped at a gas station, that sells extra firewood. And I was able to get 45 stumps that were about this tall and load them in the back of the car and use them as little seats around the campfire. You know, me, give it a kind of a natural, you know. Look. And I was all impressed that I did this. I was I was impressed with myself as what you want.
And I had a pile of sticks there by the fire and lit, the fire. Got it started and then I was walking back and forth, putting more sticks on logs on the fire and then it starts to get dark. And I think oh I want to burn a few more of these this brush pile up. I want to burn up as much as I can't do. It's dark out. I don't have a flashlight. I'm walking back and forth picking up sticks, taking them over to the fire pit. Clunk my shin hits, the hits. The the stump that I put in place around the fire ring. How many times did I do that?
At least 6, at least 6 before I was like, maybe I should move that stump off to the side. But see, that's how it is with sin, isn't it? It's always there and we think I do, I'll just I'll just walk around it next time. But we don't make the decisive choice in order to deal with sin. James 1:13 through 15 says this. Let no one say when he is being tempted, I am being tempted by God for God. Cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts, no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured away and enticed by his own desire. There's responsibility then desire when it has conceived, give birth to sin and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death So this is God's. God's not the one tempting you, but you have a sin nature, you have indwelling sin that still wants to send.
And so the reality is that all of us are deceived in one way or another. So that should give us, that reality should give us compassion for a fellow brothers and sisters that reality should give us caution. About the words that we speak to another believer, did I joke about a sin, which I know my brother or sister struggles with That can cause someone else to stumble. Did I hint at sin without calling it sin? You realize how sinful you are when you have kids because kids, you know, in the car, they start pointing out every road sign, right? And then they start learning, oh, you shouldn't turn right on red or the yellow light. Does mean stop or, you know, you weren't. You shouldn't come to a stop, you know, and pretty soon. It's from the back of the card ad that says, no, right turn Dad. That says no left turn.
Oh, well, everybody does it does it just one time? Did I? Referencing without calling, it's in. This reality that sin deceives, all of us should give us motivation to Spur faith in one another. Let me leave you with one thought. How can I how my God? Me leading me to enter another person's struggle with sin and speak forgiveness and Hope. God, just might use you. To help another believer, identify something that they've struggled with and perhaps they haven't identified it as a sin. Perhaps they haven't seen the depth of the sin. Perhaps, they haven't seen the negative consequences of that sin in their family. But God might just be using you to point that out to them in a gentle, Holy Spirit, truth in love way. To say, you know, you've talked about this a lot. Is that a sin that the Lord maybe is putting his finger on in your life?
And how can I how can I help you overcome that soon?
so here's the point, I want to leave you with the humble Christ followers, go to battle with sin for themselves and for one another, It is not. My father's, will that any of these little ones should perish? well, if we're serious about doing the will of God, then we need to have that heart for one another. Let's pray.
