Seventy times Seven... the Wayfarer 6/12/13

6/12/13

Seventy Times Seven

“Then came Peter to him, and said Lord how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times?

Jesus saith unto him I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.”

(Matthew 18:21)

Today, we find Jesus teaching his disciples in the 18^th chapter of Matthew. As usual they were arguing about who would be the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.

“At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,

And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 

Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 

And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.”

(Matthew 18:1-5)

Jesus is telling them, and us, that unless we are able to come before God during the Judgment with the same innocence as a small child, we cannot enter into His kingdom. 

Those who accept Christ as Savior must be converted from their sin, understand how truly small they are in the sight of God, and believe in Christ with the same innocence that children have, when totally dependent on adults around them.

“But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. 

Woe unto the world because of offenses! For it must needs be that offenses come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh. 

Wherefore if thy hand or foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.

 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. 

Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.”

(Matthew 18:6-10)

We must learn to love, as a child loves, with a purity of heart that cannot exist unless we are “converted’, and become as they are. 

Children hold a special place in God’s heart, and He is constantly watching over them. Any abuse or mistreatment is seen and will be taken into the judgment with the offender.  The time to teach these little ones aboutt Christ's and God’s love for them is while they are small. 

We are to receive them in His name!

Too many parents rely on others to do their job for them, schools to teach, day care to occupy their time, anything to escape the responsibility that comes with being a parent. The result is that the children are taught, often by those whose morals, and character is not of a fit nature. Their beliefs are then developed not by parents, but by people who have their own agenda, quite contrary to the teachings of Christ!

“For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. 

How think ye? if a man have a hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, , and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? 

And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.

Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.

Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.

But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY WORD MAY BE ESTABLISHED.

  And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican.”

(Matthew18:11-17)

Jesus is once more teaching the disciples that His mission is not to convert the truly righteous, but to save the lost sheep, those who have gone astray. 

This is a lesson often forgotten by both Church and believer today.

The ones who are most in need of Christ’s love and salvation are usually not to be found in the pews of our churches, but on the streets of our ghettoes, in the bars and other gathering places that “sinners” go.

It is those lost sheep that need to be found, witnessed to and brought back into the fold!

 I don’t think Jesus would hesitate to walk into a bar or strip club, or even a house of ill repute and bring his message of forgiveness and love to those inside! He was often criticized for doing exactly those things by the so called righteous of his day!

 He goes on to tell us that if we have a problem between ourselves, and our brothers, we are to go to that brother in private and try to work it out.

 Too often we find churches splitting because they fail to observe this simple teaching. 

Instead of reaching out to our brother, we often try to disown him, and to destroy his reputation without just cause.

 He tells us that if we can’t work it out between the two of us, then we take witnesses and see if he will listen to them and us, if not, then and only then, do we take it to the church. Finally, if he will not listen to the church as a body, then and only then are we to disassociate from them.

“Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. 

For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

(Matthew 18:18-20)

What a beautiful promise is made here, and it is as true today as it was then! The power of Prayer is shown to be the power that we need to seek in these few verses.

 Too often we seek the  power of authority , the power of wealth, the power of self-righteousness, or other perceived power available to us on this earth. The power we need, and need to seek is the power of the will of God in our lives and the lives of those around us!

 The promise that wherever believers gather, He is there, shows us that He constantly is there for us to guide and bless us, if we only will believe and allow it!

I realize that we are covering a great deal of territory today, but to keep this message in context, it is necessary to finish the chapter. The lessons that we need to take from this dissertation of Christ’s has more to it than what we have so far covered.

“Then came Peter to him, and said Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times?

Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, until seventy times seven.

 Therefore is the Kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. 

And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. 

But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.

The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 

Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.

But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow servants, which owed him a hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. 

And his fellow servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.

 So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.

Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredest me: 

Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on they fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee? 

And his lord was wroth and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.

So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother his trespasses.”

(Matthew 18:21-35)

Jesus stresses to Peter, and to us, once again, that forgiveness is contingent upon our also being forgiving.

 It would be hypocritical of us to ask God for patience in dealing with us, if we refuse to have that same patience with our fellow man.

The contrast in the two debts that were owed is no accident!

 We owe a debt to God for all our sin, it is an immeasurable debt! When we feel that we have been wronged by one of our fellow men, that debt is only one tiny portion of what we ourselves owe not only to God, but to others as well.

 Jesus paid off that debt for us, with His OWN BLOOD  with the simple provision that we accept him as Savior and Intercessor, and be likewise forgiving of our fellow man, and allow HIS LOVE to guide us rather than our petulant petty differences. 

 I urge you to purge yourself of anger and hatred, and find the love of God through Christ Jesus for all around you, to include those you may consider to be enemies. It is only through this forgiveness that you yourself will find peace and a way to live the life intended for you by God, only His enemies will remain YOUR enemies.

I conclude here with the same love of a simple sinner, saved by the grace of God through Christ Jesus and implore you to make him your own personal intercessor with the Father by accepting his sacrificed blood that was given for you as well as me, an unworthy soldier in His service.

In His glorious name, that of Jesus, I salute each of you,  in prayer you find the forgiveness , not only for yourselves, but for others as well.

2 Timothy 1:12
 ¹²For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

Amen and Amen
the Wayfarer