What To Do When Someone is Mad at You - Matthew 5:23-24
Introduction
"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift." (Matthew 5:23-24)
- Jewish practice of offering gifts
- As someone has said, "An offense against your neighbor builds a fence between you and God."
Review
- Every Conflict is an Opportunity. When we're faced with friction, look for ways to glorify God, seek the good of the other, and then get ready to grow.
- Judging the Right Way. (Ptr. Jong) We can't judge someone's heart or motives because we all have sin. But we can judge correctly based on God's standard. (2nd Sunday)
Additional Comments
- Anger can hinder our worship.
- Peacemaking is very personal.
- Friction in the family must be dealt with.
- Internal attitude is more important than external offering.
I. Setting for Peace
- Make it right when God reminds you.
- Initiate reconciliation whether it's your fault or not.
II. Steps to Peace
(Outline from Brian Bill)
1. Leave...even when it's inconvenient. "...leave your gift there in front of the altar..."
The Principle: Gifts derive their value from the heart of the giver.
2. Go...even when you don't want to initiate. "...First go..."
The Principle: Reconciliation is always my responsibility.
Here's why this is such a big deal to God: He cares about you and the person you're in conflict with and wants to use you to lift the load of hatred from your brother or sister.
3. Be...even when you feel innocent. "...and be reconciled to your brother..."
"The Seven A's" (www.peacemaker.net):
- Address everyone involved (All those whom you affected).
- Avoid if, but, and maybe (Do not try to excuse your wrongs).
- Admit specifically (Both attitudes and actions).
- Acknowledge the hurt (Express sorrow for hurting someone).
- Accept the consequences (Such as making restitution).
- Alter your behavior (Change your attitudes and actions).
- Ask for forgiveness (Request release from the debt).
4. Come...even when it's an interruption. "...then come and offer your gift"
The Principle: A right relationship with God depends on our willingness to maintain a right relationship with one another.
| "True worship is enhanced by better relationships... worship may be improved by our staying away from church until we have made things right with those with whom we know our relationship is strained or broken." (MacArthur) |
III. Action Steps
1. Assess yourself. Give yourself a grade of 1 to 10 in each area.
- I forgive others when their actions harm me.
- I admit my wrongs in relationships and humbly seek forgiveness.
- I seek to be in harmony with other members of my family.
- I place the interests of others above my self-interest.
- I am gentle and kind in my interactions with others.
2. Resolve conflict quickly.
- "Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way..." (Matthew 5:25)
- The time for reconciliation is always today.
- "Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry." (Ephesians 4:26)
- Loose ends make for tight knots. Who do you need to see today?
3. Make harmony during times of reflection. e.g. communion, prayer and fasting, revival times, etc.
4. Do your part to improve worship. - Ptr. Lito Sese
How to Have a Personal Relationship with God
Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going?
Have you come to a point in your life where do you know for sure where you are going after you die?
If God would ask you, "Why will I let you enter heaven?" What would you say?
These questions are beyond man's capacity and can only be answered by going back to God and having a personal relationship with Him.
As Blaise Pascal, a great mathematician, physicist and philosopher, once said, "In every heart of a man, there is a God-shaped vacuum which no created being could feel except God the Creator made known through Christ Jesus."
How to Have a Personal Relationship with God
The following principles will help us discover how to know God personally and His plan of for our life.
1 GOD LOVES YOU AND HAS A WONDERFUL PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE.
God loves us and offers us eternal life.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
God’s plan is for us to have an abundant (meaningful) life.
"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" (John 10:10b).
2 MAN IS SINFUL AND SEPARATED FROM GOD.
All of us are sinful while God is holy.
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).
3 MAN'S SIN LEADS TO DEATH.
The penalty for our sin is death.
"For the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23a).
4 MAN CANNOT REACH GOD AND THE ABUNDANT LIFE THROUGH HIS OWN EFFORT.
We cannot save ourselves through our own effort.
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).
5 GOD REACHED OUT FOR MAN BY SENDING HIS SON, JESUS CHRIST, TO DIE FOR OUR SINS.
...Through Him we can know God personally and His plan for our life.
Christ died for our sins to save us.
"For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God." (1 Peter 3:18).
Christ conquered death by rising from the dead.
"For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures." (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)
Christ is our only way to God.
"Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6).
6 YOU MUST RECEIVE JESUS CHRIST AS YOUR LORD AND SAVIOR.
...Then we can know God personally and His plan for our life.
We must receive Christ.
"Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God" (John 1:12).
We receive Christ through faith.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
We receive Christ by repenting from our sins.
"Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord." (Acts 3:19)
We receive Christ by personal invitation.
"Here I am [Jesus Christ]! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20).
You can invite Christ right now to be the Lord and Savior of your life.
The following is a suggested prayer of commitment:
"Lord Jesus, I need You. I admit that I am a sinner and I cannot save my self. You died on the cross for my sins. With your help, I turn away from my sins. I put my faith in You, and receive You into my life as my Lord and Savior. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Amen."
Now that you received Christ, God has done wonderful things in your life.
God has given you eternal life.
"And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life" (1 John 5:11-13).
You need to grow in your abundant life in Christ.
- Talk to God in prayer (Philippians 4:6).
- Read the Bible daily (1 Peter 2:2).
- Fellowship with other believers (Hebrews 10:25).
- Witness for Christ by your life and words (Matthew 5:16).
If you want to know more about your new life in Christ, contact us (See Contact and Reach Us).
Who Is Jesus?
Who is this Jesus Christ, whose name, as one writer put it, is not so much written but plowed into the history of the world? Remove Him from history and it would be a totally different story. Jesus Christ is the most unique person who ever lived.
His coming was unique. Hundreds of years before Jesus' birth, the prophets of the Old Testament of the Bible predicted His coming. The Old Testament, written by many people over a period of 1,500 years, contains more than 300 prophecies describing His coming and appearance. Jesus fulfilled them all!
His birth was unique. The Bible tells us that He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin. Jesus as the Son of God, who existed before the beginning of space and time, entered into human history to become like one of us.
His life was unique. His life was characterized by the supernatural. He lived a holy life and performed great miracles that only God can do.
His message was unique. He offers love, forgiveness, salvation and new life to all who receive Him as Savior and Lord. Jesus’ message produced great changes in the lives of individuals and societies: women's rights and voice in society acknowledged, marriages preserved, schools and institutions of learning established, laws to protect children made, slavery abolished, the sanctity of life upheld, and a multitude of other changes accomplished for the good of humanity. Wherever his message has gone, it gave people new hope, new meaning and new purpose for living.
His death was unique. God sent His One and Only Son to die for the salvation of the world. The Bible said, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) Jesus died not because He was a victim of circumstances. He died on the cross for you and me to pay for our sins.
His resurrection was unique. Three days after His death, the most amazing event in history took place: Jesus rose from the dead! Unlike other human beings and religious teachers, He has conquered death. Because He now lives, He offers eternal life to all who come to Him: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies.” (John 11:25)
The names of the proud leaders and statesmen have come and gone. The names of the past scientists, philosophers, and theologians have come and gone. But the name of Jesus abounds more and more. One writer described His influence this way: “Nineteen wide centuries have come and gone and today He is the centerpiece of the human race and the leader of the column of progress. I am far within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched and all the navies that ever were built, and all the parliaments that ever have sat, and all the kings that ever reigned put together have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as has that one solitary life, Jesus of Nazareth.”
However, Jesus is not just the greatest person who ever lived in history. His coming, birth, life, message, death and resurrection all prove that He is who He claimed to be: the Son of God, the Savior of the world. He said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) “I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30) “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9) This same Jesus who lived two thousand years ago is alive today and wants to come into your life and be your Savior and Lord. He offers forgiveness, salvation, hope, and the power to live a new kind of life. He said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10) “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
His coming was unique. Hundreds of years before Jesus' birth, the prophets of the Old Testament of the Bible predicted His coming. The Old Testament, written by many people over a period of 1,500 years, contains more than 300 prophecies describing His coming and appearance. Jesus fulfilled them all!
His birth was unique. The Bible tells us that He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin. Jesus as the Son of God, who existed before the beginning of space and time, entered into human history to become like one of us.
His life was unique. His life was characterized by the supernatural. He lived a holy life and performed great miracles that only God can do.
His message was unique. He offers love, forgiveness, salvation and new life to all who receive Him as Savior and Lord. Jesus’ message produced great changes in the lives of individuals and societies: women's rights and voice in society acknowledged, marriages preserved, schools and institutions of learning established, laws to protect children made, slavery abolished, the sanctity of life upheld, and a multitude of other changes accomplished for the good of humanity. Wherever his message has gone, it gave people new hope, new meaning and new purpose for living.
His death was unique. God sent His One and Only Son to die for the salvation of the world. The Bible said, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) Jesus died not because He was a victim of circumstances. He died on the cross for you and me to pay for our sins.
His resurrection was unique. Three days after His death, the most amazing event in history took place: Jesus rose from the dead! Unlike other human beings and religious teachers, He has conquered death. Because He now lives, He offers eternal life to all who come to Him: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies.” (John 11:25)
The names of the proud leaders and statesmen have come and gone. The names of the past scientists, philosophers, and theologians have come and gone. But the name of Jesus abounds more and more. One writer described His influence this way: “Nineteen wide centuries have come and gone and today He is the centerpiece of the human race and the leader of the column of progress. I am far within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched and all the navies that ever were built, and all the parliaments that ever have sat, and all the kings that ever reigned put together have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as has that one solitary life, Jesus of Nazareth.”
However, Jesus is not just the greatest person who ever lived in history. His coming, birth, life, message, death and resurrection all prove that He is who He claimed to be: the Son of God, the Savior of the world. He said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) “I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30) “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9) This same Jesus who lived two thousand years ago is alive today and wants to come into your life and be your Savior and Lord. He offers forgiveness, salvation, hope, and the power to live a new kind of life. He said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10) “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
Links
Ministry Resources
Grace Bible Church
Grace Bible Church
3041 Nagtahan St., San Miguel, 1005 Manila
Tel. Nos. (02) 715-0983 & 85
email gracebiblechurch3041@yahoo.com
3041 Nagtahan St., San Miguel, 1005 Manila
Tel. Nos. (02) 715-0983 & 85
email gracebiblechurch3041@yahoo.com