October 6, 2024
Between Me and the Chickens
- Matt Nickoson
Sermon Notes
When is it ok to slap someone silly for something they said?
“… let two stout monks, in the name of God, explain the matter to him.”
How do I know when to challenge someone and when to let it go?
Step 1: Surrender to God and you will be equipped to discern His will.
Romans 12:1-2 NIV
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Step 2: Decide up front never to owe a debt other than love.
Romans 13:8-10 NIV
Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
Try asking yourself this question: What is the most loving thing I can do?
Ephesians 4:15-16 NIV
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Step 3: Confront every issue that matters eternally.
Romans 14:1 NIV
Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters.
Romans 14:2-3 NIV
One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them.
Romans 14:4 NIV
Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.
Romans 14:5 NIV
One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind.
Romans 14:7-8 NIV
For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; and in all things love.
Romans 14:10-11 NIV
You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written:
“ ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
‘every knee will bow before me;
every tongue will acknowledge God.’ ”
Imagine Judgment Day.
What issues do your loved ones need confronted about now so that they may have a clean conscience on that day?
Romans 14:12 NIV
So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.
Romans 14:13 NIV
Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.
The principle from Paul is that the stronger Christian accommodates the weaker one!
Romans 14:19 NIV
Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.
Romans 14:20-21 NIV
Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.
Romans 14:22-23 NIV
So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.
What would it look like in this season for me to keep my opinions only to me and the chickens?
Ephesians 4:29-31 NIV
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.