Good morning again and thankful for the opportunity
to be here with you all this morning. Open your Bibles with me to Ephesians
chapter 4. Ephesians chapter four. Verse 32 will serve as our text,
but let's begin with verse 31. Paul writes, let all bitterness
and wrath and anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away
from you with all malice, and be ye kind one to another,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's
sake, hath forgiven you. Be ye kind, not harsh, not bitter, but kind, gracious, pleasant,
one to another. Be tenderhearted. That word means
to be compassionate. to be sympathetic to others,
forgiving one another as God. And listen to these three
words, for Christ's sake, for Christ's sake. I know we often hear these three
words Not in reverence, not in praise,
but in blasphemy. At work, when people are upset. But listen to these three words
in light of God's word. Forgiving one another. as God,
for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you. How has he forgiven his people? Think about that. How has he
forgiven his people? He's forgiven us freely. By his grace, he has forgiven
His people. He has forgiven us fully, completely. Forgiven us of our trespasses
and sins. He's forgiven us forever. Forever. That's typically not
how we forgive people, is it? We forgive them until they wrong
us again, or maybe sometimes it doesn't even take that long,
right? Scripture says this, their sins and their iniquities will
I remember no more. They've been put away. He has forgiven us for Christ's
sake. Not for man's works. Our best
works are filthy rags in the sight of Almighty God. Not for man's righteousness.
That's easy. We don't have any. There's none righteous. No, not one. He has forgiven us, his sheep, his elect, for Christ's
sake. For the sake of another. He loved us and gave himself
for us. we're saved. God's people are
saved. Our sins put away. He has forgiven
us. Think about the significance
of that. Our sins have been put away by
His blood, by His righteousness, by His grace. And we are instructed in this
passage of scripture to be kind. It goes against our nature, doesn't
it? To be tenderhearted, to forgive one another. for Christ's sake, as God for
Christ's sake has forgiven us. That's pretty specific, isn't
it? He said, as God for Christ's
sake has forgiven you. This thought has crossed my mind
on a number of times. I've wondered, does a person
truly deserve forgiveness unless they ask for it? I typically look at that in the
sense of me. If someone has offended me, should
I forgive them unless they ask for it? You know, if that was the case,
it would make forgiveness conditional. One of the old writers said this.
He said, to forgive and forget the offense and not bring it
up hereafter. To forgive them before they repent
and without asking. Why? How? For Christ's sake. Consider what
our Lord endured on the cross. He was scourged and beaten. Beyond recognition. Beyond recognition. False witnesses spoke against
him. They made up things to say about
the Lord Jesus Christ. He was mocked. He was spat upon. I can't think of anything more
disgusting than to be spit upon. A crown of thorns was thrust
on his head. They made that crown and they
shoved it down on his head. He was nailed, nailed to the cross. Those spikes
driven, driven through his hands. He was crucified. And men said
things like this, if he be the Christ. They questioned who he
was. They said, let his blood be upon
us and on our children. Crucify him. That's what they
cried out. And listen, that's what we would
have cried out as well, probably louder than anyone in attendance. Did any of them ask for forgiveness? Yet our Lord, in the midst of
all of this, in the midst of being crucified, in the midst
of his suffering, As those men were casting lots and gambling
over who would get his garment, he spake these words to his father. What did he say? Forgive them. Forgive them, for they know not
what they do. In Matthew chapter 18, turn there
with me, Matthew chapter 18. Look at verse 21 of Matthew 18. Then came Peter to him, and he
said, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I
forgive him? Till seven times? Is that enough? Would I be kind if I forgave
him seven times? Is that enough? At what point
can I say, that's it? Seven times, that seems like
plenty, doesn't it? And our Lord answered him and
he said, I say not unto thee until seven times, but until 70. times seven. What if the Lord looked at us and he said after seven times,
that's it. We wouldn't make it through this
service, would we? David wrote this in the Psalms.
He said, Lord, if thou shouldst mark iniquities, what's the rest
of that? Who shall stand? Our text, be ye kind, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven
you." Isn't that a good reminder for us to be forgiving? Listen to the
words of our Lord. He said in Matthew 5, turn there
with me, Matthew chapter 5 verse 43. Our Lord speaking, again, Matthew
5, verse 43, he said, you've heard that it has been said,
thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy. I say unto you, listen, this
is the Lord speaking. I say unto you, love your enemies. Bless them that curse you. Do
good to them that hate you and pray for them that despitefully
use you and persecute you. He did that ye may be the children of
your father which is in heaven for he maketh his son to rise
on the evil and the good and sendeth rain on the just and
the unjust. Four, if you love them which
love you, what reward have you? It's easy
to love people that love us. If you love them which love you,
what reward have you? Do not even the publicans do
the same? Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, hath
forgiven you. I'll ask you a silly question.
Has God, has God forgiven us? Has God forgiven his people for
Christ's sake? Scripture says he has. Yeah,
I was trying to think of an illustration of this, how someone could be
forgiven, how someone could be shown mercy for the sake of another. And I believe one of the best
illustrations of this, again, is in God's Word. Back in 2 Samuel chapter 9, 2
Samuel 9. Here we read in this passage
of scripture of King David showing mercy. because a man deserved it? No. Showing mercy for the sake of
another. Jonathan, whom David loved, he
had a son that was lame on his feet. He was crippled, and he
was likely hiding from David. There was a new king. There he
was in hiding, no doubt fearing that if King David found him,
he would kill him. You know, it was common for a
new king to kill all the rivals, not have to worry about someone
taking the enemy's place in a few years. He wanted to avoid maybe anyone
from ever challenging the throne. Look at verse 3. Again, of 2 Samuel 9, the king said, this is one speaking
in authority, and he said this, is there any of the house of
Saul? I'm going to show him the kindness
of God. I'm going to show mercy. Again, look at verse 3. Ziba said unto the king, Jonathan
hath yet a son which is lame on his feet. A poor, crippled
man. And if you read the history of
it, you'll see that he was lame as the result of a fall. That's us. That's us. Lame as the result of a fall. Look at verse 5. King David sent and fetched him out of the house
of Maker, the son of Amiel, from Lodabar. David sent and fetched him for this purpose, to show mercy. He sent his servant to fetch
him, to bring him back, and that servant
called him and brought him to King David. Can you imagine at any point
of that him saying, I don't think I want
to go, or let me think about this, let me make a decision,
or I don't think I'm going to let you show mercy. No, the king
has sent his servant to fetch this man and to bring him back
to himself. Nothing's going to stop that
from happening. Verse 7, as you can imagine, Mephibosheth
had to be fearful. He's being brought before the
king. And listen to these words, David
said unto him, fear not. Don't be afraid. Fear not, for I will surely show
thee kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake. Mephibosheth is brought into
the presence of the king himself knowing he's an enemy. He's an
enemy of the king. And he fell on his face, no doubt,
and did reverence to the king. Do we know anything of God's
holiness? God is absolutely holy. Do we know anything of our sin?
the sin that's in us, our nature, and what God's law and justice
demands. Every reason to fear. Every reason
to fear. Scripture says this, the soul
that sinneth, it shall surely die. God's going to punish sin. Yet he speaks, fear not. Can you imagine the relief that
had to fill Mephibosheth, like every part of his being? How
scary that journey must have been to be brought before the
king, and now he hears these two words. Fear not. Fear not. Verse seven. How is it? How is it I, an enemy
of the king, can fear not? I will surely show thee kindness
for Jonathan's sake. Mercy for the sake of another. Mercy for Jonathan thy father's
sake. Jonathan, Mephibosheth, Jonathan,
your father, whom I love, David loved Jonathan, before Mephibosheth was ever
born. Before he was ever born. David made that covenant with
Jonathan, promising to show mercy to him and his son. Why? For any good thing in Mephibosheth? Oh, for the great love that he
had for Jonathan. The mercy and kindness of God
shown to his people, shown to sinners. Why? Is it anything good in us? No. No. His love for his son. It's for Christ's sake. Colossians 1.14 says, in whom
we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of
sin. And what happened? What happened
to Mephibosheth? We know that story, don't we?
He ate continually at the king's table. not as a servant, not as a guest. How? As a son. Turn with me to one more passage
of Scripture. Psalm 106. Psalm 106. Look at verse 8. Now listen, we're to forgive others
as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven us. We are forgiven. God's people
are forgiven for the sake of another, just like Mephibosheth. We are forgiven for his namesake. Do you have Psalm 106 verse 8? Nevertheless, he saved them for his namesake, that he might make his mighty
power to be known. Now look back at verse 7 of Psalm 106. Our fathers understood
not thy wonders in Egypt. They remembered not the multitude
of thy mercies, but provoked him at the Red Sea. Even at the Red Sea, nevertheless,
he saved them for His namesake, that He might make His mighty
power to be known. For His namesake. For Christ's
sake. You know, verse 7 gives us a
pretty good picture of us. They remembered not His mercies, The children of Israel, they
provoked Him. They provoked God at the sea. Even at the Red Sea. Consider what a miraculous deliverance
that was. Almighty God parted the Red Sea. It was a wall of water on both
sides. They walked through on dry ground. He delivered them out of Egypt
with a mighty hand. Yet they provoked him at the
Red Sea. What a foolish people. What a forgetful people. What a provoking people. Even
in the midst of Almighty God's deliverance. Yet, these are the people of God. I tell you, that just kind of
like punches you. Because that's us and gives me
great reassurance at the same time. The God of all grace saves his
people. They said this, they said, were
there not enough graves in Egypt that you brought us out here
to kill us? you've taken us out of Egypt
and you're going to let us die in the wilderness." They murmured
and complained as they were walking through the Red Sea in the midst
of, again, the midst of God's deliverance. In Hebrews this reads this, even
in the Red Sea. I don't know that there was a
time in which the children of Israel weren't murmuring and
complaining against Almighty God. They were seeing something that
had never been seen before and still found reason to complain,
still found reason to murmur, continued to rebel Yet, for all this, Almighty God still
delivered them. Now be honest. Would you forgive
them? Would you have delivered them?
We just let the waves, if they're not going to be more grateful
than this, those waves just crash in on them. Aren't you thankful? Aren't we
thankful that his thoughts aren't our thoughts? His ways aren't
our ways. Be ye kind one to another. tenderhearted, forgiving one
another as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you. Despite all their sin and all
their rebellion, he saved them. Why? Certainly wasn't for their
good works, was it? Certainly wasn't for their commitment
to do better. Certainly wasn't for anything
other than this, because it's spelled out there, for his namesake. We were driving down yesterday, looking at this, thinking about
this. Both our boys, Abby and I, both
of our boys, are named after men in our family. Men that were very dear to us. Brady, his middle name is Truman. That was my grandpa's middle
name. And I probably loved my grandpa
more than just about anybody. That name, it means something. And we've told him that from
the time he understood it. That name means something. Isaac, our oldest one, his middle
name is Dale. Abby's dad. And we love, admire. These names mean something. the believer. Our namesake. Called Christians. Christ. Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ. That means something. That means
everything. When God could find no other
reason to show mercy to a wicked generation. He found it in his own glory. Israel did not deserve to be
saved, yet the Lord saved them. For his namesake. For his own
namesake. And listen, he delivered Israel
and he completely destroyed the enemy. Why? For Christ's sake. For Christ's
sake. I pray he would give me, and
I know I need this, I needed to have a forgiving spirit. I pray he'd give me a thankful
spirit. Why? Because he saved me for
his name's sake. just as he saved everyone of
his lost sheep. Consider this. Do you need wonders, Ron? His name, what is his name? His name is wonderful. His name
is wonderful. I heard a lady say here a while
back, Doris was her Sunday school teacher, and she said, I cannot
use the name Wonderful to describe anything. She said, I just can't. Because
his name, his name is Wonderful. Do you need counsel and direction? What's his name? He's the counselor. Do you have mighty enemies? What's his name? The mighty God. Do you need a father's pity? His name is the everlasting Father. And as a father pitieth his children,
so the Lord pitieth them that fear him." Do you need peace? External peace? Internal peace? Eternal peace? His name is the
Prince of Peace. His name is Jehovah Rofi, the Lord that heals. He's the Lord, our righteousness. Oh, that we would seek him for
his namesake. Do you need defense and protection? Jehovah Nissi, the Lord, our
banner. Seek him. Seek the Lord for his
namesake. Are you in want, in need of provision? What's his name? Jehovah Jireh. The Lord will provide. Do you need his presence? Oh,
we need his presence, don't we? Continually. Jehovah Shaman. The Lord is there. He said, I'll never leave nor
forsake thee. His name is Immanuel. What's
that name mean? God with us. Do you need strength? The Lord, he is the strength
of Israel. Do you need shelter? He's the
city of refuge. Whatever we need, he has a name to satisfy. Wisdom to guide, power to keep,
mercy to pity, truth to shield, holiness to sanctify, righteousness
to justify, Grace to adorn you and glory to crown you. Trust in Him. Trust in Him who
saves for His name's sake. Be ye kind, tenderhearted, forgiving
one another. as God, for Christ's sake, hath
forgiven you.