Trinity Church of Benicia
Zach Preaching - On Earth As It Is In Heaven

      • Psalm 103:1–5ESV

      • Psalm 103:1–5ESV

  • Psalm 150 (Praise The Lord)
  • O Great God

      • Ephesians 4:17-18ESV

      • Ephesians 4:19-21ESV

      • Ephesians 4:22-24ESV

      • Ephesians 4:25-27ESV

      • Ephesians 4:28-29ESV

      • Ephesians 4:30-32ESV

  • Before The Throne Of God Above

  • TIMER Intro “On Earth as It Is in Heaven”

    A series based on the parables of Christ.
    “The Parable of the workers in the vineyard”
    Parables give us a picture of heavenly “kingdom” realities in earthly terms.
    I love parables because I’m a simple guy who appreciates a good illustration
    Often Shocking! (this is intended and we should not get used to it)
    To reveal the secrets of kingdom to those who will hear (Matt 13)
    Jesus has revealed his kingdom through the gospel but there are still those who do not hear.
    One commentator put it this way.
    To those that will hear the parables are 1st…
    Picture - Illustration.
    Mirror - Show us something of ourselves.
    Window - to the character of God.
    With this in mind turn with me to…
    Matthew 18:21–35 ESV
    Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

    Pray

    Context

    Church Discourse (Audience)
    Who is the greatest? (the humble)
    Warning against sin and points them to a life lived in radical obedience
    Lost Sheep
    What should we do if someone sins against us?
    This leads us into a conversation between Peter and Jesus
    Perfectly sensible question from Peter…
    If so how many times do we need to forgive?

    Intro (v. 21-23)

    Explanation
    Peter has learned Jesus is a merciful
    The forgiveness standard of the day was 3x (scribes)
    Peter feeling magnanimous more than doubles that
    Jesus surprises Peter with 77 or 70 x 7
    vengeance of Lamech in Gen 4:24 vs. the mercy of forgiveness
    Regardless…
    Unlimited forgiveness (SHOCKING)

    Illustration - Having kinds is expensive

    I wish someone would have prepared me for that…
    Jesus is preparing them for a big change
    Jesus does not just give him the outrageous number and let it go…
    For this reason… v. 23
    “may be compared to” is better put “has become like”
    Jesus is preparing them
    Because the kingdom of God has been inaugurated.
    Because Christ has come near
    SOMETHING HAS CHANGED
    there is a new law not written on tablets of stone but on their hearts
    Instead of a new law Jesus is teaching the disciples that…

    Big Idea: Forgiveness Must Come From the Heart.

    Why?
    Because…

    1. Forgiveness originates from the heart of the King (v. 24-27)TIMER

    Explanation

    King is settling accounts of is “servants”
    These were probably more like executive level servants
    10k talents
    1 talent = 20 years wages
    Silver = +$600 M
    Gold = +$26 B
    Probably the result of poorly stewarding an investment
    An investment banker who’s being held accountable for his own bad trades
    The value of the sale would not have made a dent in the debt
    He could not hope to make this back in many lifetimes
    “Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything”
    My girls often make a very different request of me…

    Illustration - Girls asking for something

    Can you buy me this because…
    I’m not swayed by her case I’m pre-disposed to bless my children regardless of what they’ve done
    Sometimes I Heather reminds me of their recent disobedience
    I make these decisions with my heart and not with my head
    this is were the decision of the king comes from.
    ESV “Pity”
    NASB “Compassion”
    The king is moved in his guts the depth of his heart
    He’s not swayed by the offer of a payment plan
    He is not doing the math
    He’s not being swayed by a logical argument
    He erases the debt! (SHOCKING)

    Implication

    Jesus is showing us a picture of the heart of His Father for sinners who are overwhelmed by the debt their sin has created
    God is just and sin must be punished
    We can not erase sin with “good works”
    Sin is a debt he could never hope to repay
    Colossians 2:13–14 ESV
    And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
    This is why Christ died!
    1 Peter 3:18 ESV
    For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God…
    This is the greatest sign of God’s love, mercy, and compassion for us!
    Christ died for our sins
    That’s why he said “it is finished”
    He’s not putting together a payment plan
    He’s not saying pay what you can when you can.
    It’s gone
    This is not something new this was the plan all along!
    Psalm 103:1–14 ESV
    Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.

    Application

    Non-Christian
    Is this what you think of when you think about God?
    This is the Good news of the gospel!
    Christian
    This is why we stand on Sunday and Sing!
    This is why we will sing together for eternity
    Bless the LORD, O my Soul!
    Transition
    The parable doesn’t end here… there is more
    Next we see that
    Forgiveness Must Come From the heart because…

    2. Forgiveness comes from a heart that has recieved mercy (v. 28-33)TIMER

    Explanation

    Notice there is no expression of gratitude from the servant
    Seems like he leaves this moment intent on finding this guy
    Denarii = 1 days labor
    The key is the juxtaposition of the 100 denarii to the 10k talents
    The fellow servant responds the same way he did but over a much smaller debt
    The servant doesn’t respond the same way the King responded to him
    Thrown in jail (SHOCKING)
    The servants who observe this report back to the King
    The king is once moved with compassion is moved with righteous anger calls the servant in
    Rhetorical question
    “Should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?”

    Implication

    the heart that has recieved mercy flows with mercy
    This guy didn’t thank the king and he went to re-coup the money so he could start his own payment plan.
    He was given mercy by the King but he had not accepted it!
    He was trying to earn it.
    The gospel doesn’t clear the slate so that we can earn acceptance.
    Obedience is the natural response of the heart of people who have recieved mercy from God.
    the temptation to try to earn our expectance
    When we hold other people to this same standard we get angry when they sin agains us
    They not only need to earn God’s acceptance but ours as well.

    Application

    Christian -
    Are we slow to forgive?
    Wife
    Children
    Family
    For the hundredth time…
    Have we forgotten the mercy you’ve recieved?
    Remember what God has done for you and me!
    If God has moved in someone’s heart to repent we should be the quickest to forgive.
    Our debt was greater!
    We recieved mercy!
    Mercy begets mercy!
    Transition
    If we don’t receive the mercy of God in Christ
    If we don’t extend that mercy to others
    There is an eternal consequence
    because…

    3. Forgiveness is at the heart of the gospel. (v. 34-35)TIMER

    Explanation

    Seeing that the servant has scorned his mercy he responds in anger
    Revoking the forgiveness of his debt
    turns him over to the “Jailer” or “torturer”
    Until he could pay = never
    The king has condemned the servant to eternal torture (SHOCKING)
    Jesus ends the story with this warning
    Matthew 18:35 “So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.””

    Implication

    Here’s the warning for you this morning…
    If you have a hard unforgiving heart you might not have the true gospel.
    Galatians 5:1–6 ESV
    For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.
    If we choose to live by the law and hold other people to the law
    and If we withhold forgiveness we will be held to the consequences of not upholding the law
    God’s eternal judgment
    This is precisely why hell is so severe.
    Hell is ultimately for people who have chosen to scorn God’s mercy in Christ
    If we choose to live by the law and reject God’s mercy Christ is of no advantage to us.
    It is possible to know the gospel but believe in our own righteousness

    Illustration - the umbrella

    If we believe it we will live it
    Don’t let your heart get hard
    Don’t scorn the love of God in Christ
    Rejoice in it!
    Remember it daily!
    Celebrate it by extending it to others!

    Application

    Christian - DANGER! Don’t be hard hearted!
    Don’t put your confidence in obedience
    It is possible to sit in church and not receive Gods mercy…
    Non- Christian - Don’t scorn the mercy of God Don’t ignore it, Don’t wait.
    Transition
    As Jesus had alluded to in v. 23, this parable was pointing to an new kingdom reality…

    Outro

    Something has changed
    It’s more surprising than the cost of Childcare in California…
    We have a…
    new covenant
    new heart that is compelled by love and not obligation
    Looking forward to Christ Ezekiel wrote this…
    Ezekiel 36:24–29 ESV
    I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. And I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you.
    This is the promise of the gospel
    This was the reason Christ came
    True forgiveness can not come from a new law
    For this reason…
    True forgiveness can only come from a new heart

    Pray

    Communion

    1 Corinthians 11:23–26 “For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”

      • Matthew 18:21–35ESV

      • Colossians 2:13–14ESV

      • 1 Peter 3:18ESV

      • Psalm 103:1–14ESV

      • Galatians 5:1–6ESV

      • Ezekiel 36:24–29ESV

  • Yet Not I But Through Christ In Me
  • Be Thou My Vision

      • Romans 15:13ESV

Trinity Church of Benicia
info@trinitybenicia.com
http://www.trinitybenicia.com
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