Surviving Conflict On Your Team Series

Surviving Conflict Series (Part 1 of 3)

(Sermon concept & some content from Rick Stacy)

Surviving Conflict on Your Team

Matt. 5:22-26

Sept. 17, 2006 FBC, Chester Mike Fogerson, Pastor

Introduction:

A Opening Illustration

B "But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ’You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ’You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. 23 "Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering. 25 "Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26 "Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent. Matt 5:22-26 (NASB)

1 Jesus taught His listeners to get things right between each other before they got right with God (essence of the text in a sentence).

a If we’re going to be at peace with God, we must be at peace with one another (essence of the sermon in a sentence).

b I pray you’ll give your best shot at reconciling a relationship that is in conflict (objective).

2 What do you need to be reconciled with someone you’re in conflict with? (Probing question)

a Let’s make two acknowledgments about anger that can help you give your best shot at reconciling a relationship that is in conflict.

b Pray

I Our first acknowledgment is the seriousness that anger has on our relationships.

A Jesus didn’t say that our anger leads to murder, He said that it is murder. "You have heard that the ancients were told, ’YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER’ and ’Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ 22 "But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court... Matt 5:21-22 (NASB)

1 The ancients (v. 21: rabbis, scribes) were of the mind that "You shall not commit murder" was an entirely physical action, but it wasn’t to God.

a These religious people thought they were doing good because they hadn’t maliciously murdered another person...Jesus said, "You don’t get it."

b He’s telling them that hating someone with your heart is murder, too!

aa Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. 1 John 3:15 (NASB)

2 If we murder someone, there’s a real possibility our relationship with them is over.

a "Pastor, if being angry/hating is the same as murder, go ahead & kill ‘em, right?

b WRONG! Sinful feelings are not an excuse for sinful deeds.

aa We don’t get locked up as murderers because we hate someone.

bb However, more than one person has become a murderer because he/she couldn’t control their anger.

cc It’s possible for a person who has never been involved in so much as a fist fight to have more of a murderous spirit than an incarcerated killer.

c Sinful anger seriously robs us of relationships with other people.

B Hatred also seriously breaches the relationship between people and God. "But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ’You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ’You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. 23 "Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.

1 In v. 22, Jesus taught that there were consequences to anger.

a It’s hard to find two commentaries/scholars who agree on what v. 22 means.

aa Nursed hate, angry, raca, fool (moros)...court, supreme court, hell.

bb Anger/hatred of any kind never gets overlooked by God.

b "Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering. Jesus told them not to come to the temple if they were in conflict with a brother (stay home).

aa As long as their hearts were full of sin, their outward acts of worship were not acceptable to God.