harm good

Realizing that their father was dead, Joseph’s brothers said, “What if Joseph still bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong that we did to him?” So they approached Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this instruction before he died, ‘Say to Joseph: I beg you, forgive the crime of your brothers and the wrong they did in harming you.’ Now therefore please forgive the crime of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. Then his brothers also wept, fell down before him, and said, “We are here as your slaves.” But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid! Am I in the place of God? Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today. So have no fear; I myself will provide for you and your little ones.” In this way he reassured them, speaking kindly to them. (Genesis 50:15-21, NRSV)

Have no fear, for am I God?

What you intended for evil was used by God for the good of many nations.

For as Louie Giglio says, “God’s plans for your life far exceed the circumstances of your day.”

God can use our bad circumstances in His plan. What we are struggling with today maybe the thing that helps us later, or saves another.

So do not let what others do to you in harm be the end all of your life, but allow God to work in and through all things to bring about His good!

Bargain with God!

Then the Lord said, “How great is the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah and how very grave their sin! I must go down and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me; and if not, I will know.” So the men turned from there, and went toward Sodom, while Abraham remained standing before the Lord. Then Abraham came near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will you then sweep away the place and not forgive it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?”And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will forgive the whole place for their sake.” Abraham answered, “Let me take it upon myself to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes.Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” Again he spoke to him, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” Then he said, “Oh do not let the Lord be angry if I speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” He said, “Let me take it upon myself to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” Then he said, “Oh do not let the Lord be angry if I speak just once more. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place. (Genesis 18:20-33, NRSV)

Have you read this passage before? Did you know it was possible to bargain with God.

Abraham says, “if 50 righteous people are found…”

Ok, how about 45.

And what about 40

Ok, suppose only 10 can be found?

And God changed His mind. Abraham questioned God and God listened to Him.

God does not desire for any righteous person to be swept away and is slow to anger abounding in steadfast love, that is why He relented to Abraham.

Forgive

Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?”Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.“For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him; and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made. So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat, he said, ‘Pay what you owe.’ Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he would pay the debt. When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. Then his lord summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt. So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” (Matthew 18:21-35, NRSV)

How many times should I forgive? 7 times? 77 Times? 7 X 70 Times?

A better question is how many times do you want God to forgive you?

For Jesus said taught us to pray, “Forgive us our sins, AS WE HAVE FORGIVEN those who sin against us.”

So if we do not forgive, then God is not going to forgive us.

So how many times do we need to forgive?

Teach me, O Lord

Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes, and I will observe it to the end. Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart. Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it. Turn my heart to your decrees, and not to selfish gain. Turn my eyes from looking at vanities; give me life in your ways. Confirm to your servant your promise, which is for those who fear you. Turn away the disgrace that I dread, for your ordinances are good. See, I have longed for your precepts; in your righteousness give me life. (Psalm 119:33-40, NRSV)

Teach me your ways o Lord and help me to always walk in them.

Help me to focus my life on you.

To turn my eyes when they are not looking at you or your path.

To conform my life to the promises you have given me for it.

honestly

So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil. Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. (Ephesians 4:25-32, NRSV)

Always speak the truth.

Can you imagine if we were all honest with everyone all of the time?

We could say when we were angry and we could talk it out.

We would not take things that weren’t ours.

We would not have evil things in our thoughts and coming from our mouths.

We would all be tenderhearted and kind to one another. The world would be a better place.

And it has to start somewhere. I am willing to try, are you?

what do I wear?

As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. (Colossians 3:12-15, NRSV)

You’ve heard it said, “Dress for Sucess.” Or dress for the job you want, not the job you have…

But here the epistle writer to the Colossians says to clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.

Be compassionate to everyone.

Be kind to all people.

Be humble all the time.

Be meek in all of your dealings, and don’t be haughty.

In everything have patience.

Can you imagine if we all dressed this way?

tie one on…

Jesus said to his disciples, “Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to anyone by whom they come! It would be better for you if a millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea than for you to cause one of these little ones to stumble. Be on your guard! If another disciple sins, you must rebuke the offender, and if there is repentance, you must forgive. And if the same person sins against you seven times a day, and turns back to you seven times and says, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive.” (Luke 17:1-4, NRSV)

Have you ever thought about how big a millstone actually is?

If you were to tie one around your neck and throw yourself into the sea you would be dead.

And of course, that is Jesus’ point. It would be better for you to be dead than to lead someone astray from Him.

We will all stumble on our own, but if we cause another to stumble that is worse than stumbling.

You see our job is to make the path clear for others to see Jesus and to come to Him. Not by telling them what they have to do or how they have to live, but by showing them the love that Jesus gave to us.

So don’t tie one on, and don’t cause another to stumble.

Let Jesus love you and let the love spill over in your life.

fulfilled the law…

Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law. Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. (Romans 13:8-14, NRSV)

Have you ever wondered how you might fulfill the law?

Paul tells the Romans here how to do that and it is really simple.

Love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law! It is that simple. Then Paul goes on to explain the commandments and how by doing them you are really loving your neighbor. So if we can love each other, we will fulfill the law.

That is what Jesus came to show us. That we need to love as He loved us. Without exception and where we were.

So fulfill the law and love your neighbor!

Peace

“You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire. So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny. (Matthew 5:21-26, NRSV)

Interesting this text comes up for 9/11…

Peace. If you have something against your brother or sister leave your gift and go and make amends before you bring your gift to the altar. First, be reconciled and then come before God.

This is why in the Lutheran order of service the sharing of the peace is before communion. Because if there is something you need to handle or an issue you have with a brother or sister, you go and make peace, or share God’s peace before you come before the altar of God.

So give God’s peace as he gave it to you!

Communication!

“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. But 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. If 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. Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, 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. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” (Matthew 18:15-20, NRSV)

If someone has done you wrong then go and talk to them. If they won’t listen to you, then go back and take another congregation member with you. If they still won’t listen bring the whole congregation along.

This is the way we deal with sin in the church. This is the way we are supposed to deal with others who hurt us in the church.

We are to communicate with them. Tell them they hurt us and seek reconciliation.

Let us practice this sort of love and communication and see how the world might change!