Living a life of Sacrifice...or is it Mercy???
My brother was fortunate enough to meet a man by the name of Col. Robert L. Howard. Does anyone know who he is? By far, he is the most decorated soldier of the Vietnam War. My brother met and visited with this man while in Afghanistan a few years ago. Col. Howard was on tour meeting soldiers because of this commendation which I will now read:
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Our military is full of stories just like this. Yet none are household names. Col. Howard isn't even a household name. Yet, all are heroes for what they do. No, many times, stories of bravery never make it out of combat because the people to tell them never make it back. In Honor of the Men and Women of the Armed Services who either are serving or did serve, I want to thank you for the sacrifice you’ve made. This weekend we honor those who gave their lives so that we could freely worship God in this wonderful country of ours. If you know someone in the military, thank them. They deserve every bit of appreciation you can give. Today’s sermon appropriately talks about the life of sacrifice…but as we’ll see in our text today, Christ specifically calls for a life of mercy above all. Sacrifice, however, is an important part of our Christian lives, but if we don’t have things in the correct place, the sacrifice we make is irrelevant.
The text for today is Matthew 9:9-13. It’s short, but loaded with little goodies.
First, the Matthew talked about in the verse here, also called Levi in the gospels of Mark and Luke, is the one and same author of the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew here is a tax collector for the Romans. More specifically, Matthew is the tax collector at Capernaum. Tax collectors, as a rule, were not trustworthy, honest, or well liked among the Jews because the taxes they collected were for the Roman occupants. Tax collectors were notorious for collecting more than they were supposed to; which in turn earned tax collectors the reputation of being hated among the Jews.
Another interesting point is that Jesus walked up to Matthew in his booth and gave the instruction to “Follow”. Without questioning, Matthew got up and followed Jesus. There was no fight about saying goodbye to the family, how long it would take, what was involved or even give notice to the job he was working at. No…not a word was spoken by Matthew. A dinner was organized for Jesus…probably as a way of introducing Matthew’s friends to Jesus.
When the Holy Spirit calls us to discipleship of Jesus Christ, we are called to do just this…we are called to discipleship. Discipleship is the primary, most important job that we can be called to, no matter what our physical work might be. Before being called to the ministry, well, before I finally submitted to God’s will, I was by trade a Chef. I worked in an environment that was heavily dominated by drugs, alcohol and broken families. For a long time, I was a part of that scene until we started going back to church. I started to see that it was my duty and call by Christ to let him be seen even in the worst of circumstances. Many situations came up where the employees and people I ran across in the Hotel in St. Louis and the Sunset Country Club where people needed to grab a hold of Christ. At the Country Club, I was affectionately known as Rev…partially because anytime anyone had a problem, I was the one everyone sought out for advice. At first, I didn’t like it, but as I was reminded, this is what we are called to do in our workplaces. I had to be reminded of this by Carl, who was my minister at the time. We are all sinners and we have to minister to each other in our time of need.
The term ‘sinner’ is used here twice, once in verse 10, and once in verse 11. However, this term is not being used in the sense we know it. The term “sinners” was used by the Pharisees to describe people who were not followers of the law. They failed to see the fact that they were indeed sinners as well and needed salvation as much everyone else.
You see, the Pharisees thought they were already holy. They absolutely did not see the fact that they indeed needed help…salvation, a savior. They were very self-righteous, they did not see themselves as sinners. They were strict followers of the rites and ceremonies of the written Law. They believed their ways to be perfect. They sacrificed as they should, kept their oral traditions, and therefore did not recognize themselves as sinners. That was reserved for these people…such as Matthew, the tax collectors and the group he invited to have dinner with the Lord Jesus. The Pharisees saw this as almost as sinful in and of itself. They were probably thinking, what in the world is this JEW doing associating himself with people who are unclean…sinners.
We know however, in verse 13 that Christ says directly, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ Wow…ok…aren’t we told that we are supposed to sacrifice things? Well, yes: tithes, dying to self and living for God instead, living IN the world and not being FROM the world, using our gifts from God for the advancement of the kingdom. The three T’s; Time, Talent and Treasure, are the big sacrifices that we as Christians should make. BUT, is this the primary reason for existing???? No says Christ. We are to live a life of Mercy.
So, what does a life of mercy entail? We are to have mercy on those we meet. As Christians we are all too quick to pass judgment on those who are not Christians…on those who belong to the world. Many ailments of the world, adultery, drugs, alcoholism, worldly religions such as Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Naturalism and others of the sort and dare I say homosexuality (which is a choice not a condition), people who fall prey to these and MANY other sins of the world need to hear the good news of Christ. Even those who are “saved” battle this within the “Old Self” of the past day in and day out. They deserve our support and prayers. Maybe one of these things doesn’t necessarily apply to you, but there ARE things that we battle…sins that we can’t seem to shake. If the blood of Christ can cover our ailments, then it surely can cover theirs.
All this comes to a point. In verse 12, Jesus says one of my favorite quotations of the Bible, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” How true IS that?!
When I was 12, my dad had cancer. On Friday, December 13, 1991, He went in the operating room early in the morning. It was only supposed to take 8 hours. Instead it took 12. Grueling, long, walks around the hospital campus with Grandpa, trips to the cafeteria…it was probably the hardest day of my life. Hospitals are places where only the sick go…unless you are a family member visiting a loved one, a pastor, friend or are just visiting someone there. Healthy people do not just go to a hospital to just check in for a night like a hotel room. Hospitals are where sick people go to get better.
I want to submit for your consideration that Churches are the same way. We as Christians, need a place to go to get better. Christ provides the transfusion…the blood necessary to wipe away our ailments. God is the surgeon who performs the heart transplant and the Holy Spirit is the nurse who is with us and provides nourishment to us until we’re either called home to Heaven, or until Jesus comes again.
No one, not one person on the face of the Earth is healthy, spiritually. Churches are full of sick people, the difference is, we are able to come and go from the church unlike sick people in the hospital. What is necessary is for us to lead that life of Mercy that Christ calls for us. God did not have to have mercy on us by sending his son, but he did…so we could spend an eternity with him in Heaven. We don’t have to show others mercy, but the one who saved us called us to do this…as we talked about earlier, being called is not just something that we read about. We ARE called to a life better than the one we left at confession and baptism. We are not to question, argue, or even make requests upon being called, we are to simply, obey. The a life dominated by Mercy is what is stated in the text today. This is what we should do then.
So what about Sacrifice? Well, mercy is before sacrifice. That does not mean that a life of sacrifice is supposed to be eliminated altogether. Sacrifice is VITAL to the Christian life, however, it does not take priority over mercy. We cannot make a sacrifice of talents to God if we do not first have mercy on our co-worker and realize that they, like us, are in need of salvation (or mercy) first, then by extending a listening ear and carefully in time guiding them to Christ can we make a sacrifice to God. Having mercy initiates the whole process.
You see, Col. Howard sacrificed everything for his men. However, if it wasn't for his mercy (compassion) to serve in the first place, he would have never done what he did. Our military is full of men and women like this.
God initiated a sacrifice for humankind on the cross by first having the mercy or compassion on us that we DO NOT deserve. God had compassion, then sent his sacrifice to atone for the sins of the world.
Our church is a hospital designed to help fix that which was broken. Let’s help initiate that process by having a deep compassion for those lost in the world. Only by having mercy on those who need it can our sacrifice we make, make a difference. Christ desires mercy…can you give it?
Read citation
Our military is full of stories just like this. Yet none are household names. Col. Howard isn't even a household name. Yet, all are heroes for what they do. No, many times, stories of bravery never make it out of combat because the people to tell them never make it back. In Honor of the Men and Women of the Armed Services who either are serving or did serve, I want to thank you for the sacrifice you’ve made. This weekend we honor those who gave their lives so that we could freely worship God in this wonderful country of ours. If you know someone in the military, thank them. They deserve every bit of appreciation you can give. Today’s sermon appropriately talks about the life of sacrifice…but as we’ll see in our text today, Christ specifically calls for a life of mercy above all. Sacrifice, however, is an important part of our Christian lives, but if we don’t have things in the correct place, the sacrifice we make is irrelevant.
The text for today is Matthew 9:9-13. It’s short, but loaded with little goodies.
First, the Matthew talked about in the verse here, also called Levi in the gospels of Mark and Luke, is the one and same author of the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew here is a tax collector for the Romans. More specifically, Matthew is the tax collector at Capernaum. Tax collectors, as a rule, were not trustworthy, honest, or well liked among the Jews because the taxes they collected were for the Roman occupants. Tax collectors were notorious for collecting more than they were supposed to; which in turn earned tax collectors the reputation of being hated among the Jews.
Another interesting point is that Jesus walked up to Matthew in his booth and gave the instruction to “Follow”. Without questioning, Matthew got up and followed Jesus. There was no fight about saying goodbye to the family, how long it would take, what was involved or even give notice to the job he was working at. No…not a word was spoken by Matthew. A dinner was organized for Jesus…probably as a way of introducing Matthew’s friends to Jesus.
When the Holy Spirit calls us to discipleship of Jesus Christ, we are called to do just this…we are called to discipleship. Discipleship is the primary, most important job that we can be called to, no matter what our physical work might be. Before being called to the ministry, well, before I finally submitted to God’s will, I was by trade a Chef. I worked in an environment that was heavily dominated by drugs, alcohol and broken families. For a long time, I was a part of that scene until we started going back to church. I started to see that it was my duty and call by Christ to let him be seen even in the worst of circumstances. Many situations came up where the employees and people I ran across in the Hotel in St. Louis and the Sunset Country Club where people needed to grab a hold of Christ. At the Country Club, I was affectionately known as Rev…partially because anytime anyone had a problem, I was the one everyone sought out for advice. At first, I didn’t like it, but as I was reminded, this is what we are called to do in our workplaces. I had to be reminded of this by Carl, who was my minister at the time. We are all sinners and we have to minister to each other in our time of need.
The term ‘sinner’ is used here twice, once in verse 10, and once in verse 11. However, this term is not being used in the sense we know it. The term “sinners” was used by the Pharisees to describe people who were not followers of the law. They failed to see the fact that they were indeed sinners as well and needed salvation as much everyone else.
You see, the Pharisees thought they were already holy. They absolutely did not see the fact that they indeed needed help…salvation, a savior. They were very self-righteous, they did not see themselves as sinners. They were strict followers of the rites and ceremonies of the written Law. They believed their ways to be perfect. They sacrificed as they should, kept their oral traditions, and therefore did not recognize themselves as sinners. That was reserved for these people…such as Matthew, the tax collectors and the group he invited to have dinner with the Lord Jesus. The Pharisees saw this as almost as sinful in and of itself. They were probably thinking, what in the world is this JEW doing associating himself with people who are unclean…sinners.
We know however, in verse 13 that Christ says directly, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ Wow…ok…aren’t we told that we are supposed to sacrifice things? Well, yes: tithes, dying to self and living for God instead, living IN the world and not being FROM the world, using our gifts from God for the advancement of the kingdom. The three T’s; Time, Talent and Treasure, are the big sacrifices that we as Christians should make. BUT, is this the primary reason for existing???? No says Christ. We are to live a life of Mercy.
So, what does a life of mercy entail? We are to have mercy on those we meet. As Christians we are all too quick to pass judgment on those who are not Christians…on those who belong to the world. Many ailments of the world, adultery, drugs, alcoholism, worldly religions such as Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Naturalism and others of the sort and dare I say homosexuality (which is a choice not a condition), people who fall prey to these and MANY other sins of the world need to hear the good news of Christ. Even those who are “saved” battle this within the “Old Self” of the past day in and day out. They deserve our support and prayers. Maybe one of these things doesn’t necessarily apply to you, but there ARE things that we battle…sins that we can’t seem to shake. If the blood of Christ can cover our ailments, then it surely can cover theirs.
All this comes to a point. In verse 12, Jesus says one of my favorite quotations of the Bible, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” How true IS that?!
When I was 12, my dad had cancer. On Friday, December 13, 1991, He went in the operating room early in the morning. It was only supposed to take 8 hours. Instead it took 12. Grueling, long, walks around the hospital campus with Grandpa, trips to the cafeteria…it was probably the hardest day of my life. Hospitals are places where only the sick go…unless you are a family member visiting a loved one, a pastor, friend or are just visiting someone there. Healthy people do not just go to a hospital to just check in for a night like a hotel room. Hospitals are where sick people go to get better.
I want to submit for your consideration that Churches are the same way. We as Christians, need a place to go to get better. Christ provides the transfusion…the blood necessary to wipe away our ailments. God is the surgeon who performs the heart transplant and the Holy Spirit is the nurse who is with us and provides nourishment to us until we’re either called home to Heaven, or until Jesus comes again.
No one, not one person on the face of the Earth is healthy, spiritually. Churches are full of sick people, the difference is, we are able to come and go from the church unlike sick people in the hospital. What is necessary is for us to lead that life of Mercy that Christ calls for us. God did not have to have mercy on us by sending his son, but he did…so we could spend an eternity with him in Heaven. We don’t have to show others mercy, but the one who saved us called us to do this…as we talked about earlier, being called is not just something that we read about. We ARE called to a life better than the one we left at confession and baptism. We are not to question, argue, or even make requests upon being called, we are to simply, obey. The a life dominated by Mercy is what is stated in the text today. This is what we should do then.
So what about Sacrifice? Well, mercy is before sacrifice. That does not mean that a life of sacrifice is supposed to be eliminated altogether. Sacrifice is VITAL to the Christian life, however, it does not take priority over mercy. We cannot make a sacrifice of talents to God if we do not first have mercy on our co-worker and realize that they, like us, are in need of salvation (or mercy) first, then by extending a listening ear and carefully in time guiding them to Christ can we make a sacrifice to God. Having mercy initiates the whole process.
You see, Col. Howard sacrificed everything for his men. However, if it wasn't for his mercy (compassion) to serve in the first place, he would have never done what he did. Our military is full of men and women like this.
God initiated a sacrifice for humankind on the cross by first having the mercy or compassion on us that we DO NOT deserve. God had compassion, then sent his sacrifice to atone for the sins of the world.
Our church is a hospital designed to help fix that which was broken. Let’s help initiate that process by having a deep compassion for those lost in the world. Only by having mercy on those who need it can our sacrifice we make, make a difference. Christ desires mercy…can you give it?
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