The Platinum Rule Sunday, June 12, 2016 All scriptures taken from the English Standard Version unless otherwise indicated

Transcription

1 The Platinum Rule Sunday, June 12, 2016 All scriptures taken from the English Standard Version unless otherwise indicated Intro: I don t think there is anyone in this room today who would not be familiar with the term The Golden Rule. Just about every society and religion on the planet has some form of it. The Golden Rule reads something like, Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. We have a number of scriptures which bring us to the conclusion that The Golden Rule is both scriptural and wise (see Matthew 7:12, Luke 6:31). But I am going to suggest today that we can actually take this one step higher and one step closer to God s heart. We, the church of the Lord Jesus, need to live by something I call The Platinum Rule! Text: The platinum rule is from Ephesians 4:32. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. And as we begin today, you don t have to be a sermon writing genius to see a really nice outline in this text. For the faithful note takers the outline is this: I. Be kind II. Be tenderhearted III. Be forgiving It would be an obvious thing to say that we are all in a season these days that is the beginning of something new. It is a new season for the Burns family, for PPT and for all of those who would have been influenced by the dynamics of us all being together for this season in our lives. The dynamics and synergies will never be the same ever again, they will be different. In these final few Sundays that we have together, we need to celebrate what has gone right and there is much to celebrate! This verse brings us to the end of the former season and the beginning of the new one and it is an important truth to grasp. We are at the end of Ephesians 4. We have carefully studied the first four chapters and recently have looked at messages about maturity, unity, purity, authority and fidelity. Each of these topics is so important to church life. I wish I could preach them again! This journey brings us to The Platinum Rule. Proposition: The Platinum Rule is this: We are not to treat each other as we want to be treated. We are to treat each other as we want Jesus to treat us! As imitators of Christ this is it!

2 I. Be Kind 1. God is kind All three of our points today begin with our understanding of God s nature and how that nature reflects back to us. The old time Pentecostals used to sing a chorus, Thy loving kindness We know this is true of God towards us, but He is so kind that Luke says this is true of God s kindness, even towards the evil! (See Matthew 5:45) The Greek language gives us an understanding of what Paul meant when he used the word kind. The Greeks understood that to be kind meant that a kind person would have a mindset of thinking about a neighbour s well-being as much as we think about our own. I don t know about you but as I pondered this I found myself coming up a little bit short in the kindness department. Certainly I do and we do kind things, but if you are like me, me can be at the centre of my universe. The challenge is to be outward thinking people! 2. You are kind To be a kind people with an outward thinking mindset calls us to some pretty high levels of living and thinking. 1 Timothy 2:1 tells us that kind people are thankful for people! Romans 12:15 speaks of the notion that we must rise above envy and jealousy and rejoice with those that rejoice. Colossians 3:12 says that we are to clothe ourselves in this kindness way of life. Today is a day I want to praise the church! You are a kind people. PPT is characterized in my heart as a people that are outward looking. You genuinely care about others. There is much that is manifested of this kindness and that is the next point - being tenderhearted. II. Be Tenderhearted In these beatitudes of Ephesians 4, we are challenged to be, commanded to be tenderhearted. Bishop TD Jakes in his Ephesians series commentary says that a mother is our best role model for tenderhearted acts.

3 We have enough of that going on around here that you should pay close attention. Babies have come along here at an unbelievable rate. There must be something in the water in Pembroke. I was beginning to wonder if the younger generation around here stopped watching TV! Watch the moms. They love, they caress, they protect.they do anything to take care of the object of their love, the baby! And then nothing changes as they get older! The kids aren t necessarily as deserving of the mother s goodness and tenderheartedness, but that is not the point. She doesn t act tenderhearted - she is tenderhearted. God is a tenderhearted God. You only need to read the scriptures with this in mind, beginning early in the Old Testament and all throughout the new. He wants us to understand and reflect that. Being and doing tenderheartedness is going to be reconciled at both judgments. To be tenderhearted means to act out of the mindset of kindness. Tenderheartedness is in us to give. I borrowed that slogan from the Red Cross. It is in us to give because it is the Holy Spirit in us, having crucified the old us and energized the new, He gives us the ability to say yes to tenderheartedness when it is within our power to do good. Tenderhearted Christians visit the sick, comfort the dying, bring food for the hungry, provide shelter for the wanderer, make meals for the recovering and knit blankets for the elderly. People have been asking me about my best and worst times here. As an outgoing leader, I will only speak about the good times. I realized that it was never the public things or professional things that brought me joy. It was the people things, caring for the sick and dying and their families. It was coaching and encouraging people one-on-one to a better life. There is a sense when we are being kind (not always feeling kind) when we just know that we are pleasing the Holy Spirit. This passage from the final judgment reveals just how important kindness and tenderheartedness is as evidence of the Holy Spirit at work in the life of a true believer. When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, Lord, when did we see

4 you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you? 40 And the King will answer them, Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me. 41 Then he will say to those on his left, Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me. 44 Then they also will answer, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you? 45 Then he will answer them, saying, Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me. 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. (Matthew 25:31-46) Tenderhearted Christians do these things quietly, simply and generously. Tenderhearted Christians reflect tenderheartedness to the ends of the earth. It doesn t respect boundaries of nationhood, nationality or race or religion. My proudest moments here were the times when I witnessed your kindness and your giving. I think the point is made! And lastly - what about the third beatitude of Ephesians 4? III. Be Forgiving Oh, pastor, do we really have to go there today? Yes, because it is in the Book, in my heart and on my mind. This one is at the heart of The Platinum Rule. You are not called to give what you expect to get back from other mortals. You are called to give what you expect back from God himself. as God in Christ forgave you. (Verse 32) We understand a few things about forgiveness already: 1. Forgiveness is at the heart of God s plan for us. We didn t merit it, but it is at the very heart of God s plan for mankind. He is a forgiving God. 2. Forgiveness gets activated by prayer. Jesus taught us to pray, Forgive us our debts, as we forgive (Matthew 6:12 KJV). I am so thankful for forgiveness. I don t leave home without it!

5 3. It is made real in repentance. Your health in the Christian life is rooted in this truth. We are forgiven because He was forsaken. And no matter what the sin, we need only confess that sin to God, who is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9) 4. Forgiveness is unconditional Perhaps the word is better put impartial. 5. Forgiveness is conditional Sound like a contradiction? It is not. It is unconditional as long as you give it away (See the parable of the unmerciful servant in Matthew 18). Conclusion: So it is clear that if we don t give it at all we don t get it. If we don t get it then we are still dead in our trespasses and sins. If we don t give it freely, we spend years in the wilderness, praying like the heavens are brass. You don t feel God s presence and you cut of the flow of what he wants to do in your life because you won t release people from this debt to you. If we don t give it freely we don t set them free to seek God for the forgiveness that really matters - His! It may be your dad, your son your whoever needs to be free of debt to you so they can see how easy it will be to go and receive this from God. My kids know this to be true - they will always get a sermon, but they will always get forgiveness. The prodigal son had to battle the big brother spirit. I wonder if that factored into his slave mindset. I know it does for the modern day prodigals. If this unforgiveness thing is inherent in your family line, it is time to teach your kids a new way of living; it is time to reverse the curse. If I have ever hurt you, please forgive me. If you have hurt me, know that you are forgiven. I love you all, even the ones I don t like! I will let you in on a secret. Because I have forgiven, I like you all, too!

6 The Platinum Rule Sunday, June 12, 2016 All scriptures taken from the English Standard Version unless otherwise indicated Intro: I don t think there is anyone in this room today who would not be familiar with the term The Golden Rule. Just about every society and religion on the planet has some form of it. The Golden Rule reads something like, Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. We have a number of scriptures which bring us to the conclusion that The Golden Rule is both scriptural and wise (see Matthew 7:12, Luke 6:31). But I am going to suggest today that we can actually take this one step higher and one step closer to God s heart. We, the church of the Lord Jesus, need to live by something I call The Platinum Rule! Text: The platinum rule is from Ephesians 4:32. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. And as we begin today, you don t have to be a sermon writing genius to see a really nice outline in this text. For the faithful note takers the outline is this: I. Be kind II. Be tenderhearted III. Be forgiving It would be an obvious thing to say that we are all in a season these days that is the beginning of something new. It is a new season for the Burns family, for PPT and for all of those who would have been influenced by the dynamics of us all being together for this season in our lives. The dynamics and synergies will never be the same ever again, they will be different. In these final few Sundays that we have together, we need to celebrate what has gone right and there is much to celebrate! This verse brings us to the end of the former season and the beginning of the new one and it is an important truth to grasp. We are at the end of Ephesians 4. We have carefully studied the first four chapters and recently have looked at messages about maturity, unity, purity, authority and fidelity. Each of these topics is so important to church life. I wish I could preach them again! This journey brings us to The Platinum Rule. Proposition: The Platinum Rule is this: We are not to treat each other as we want to be treated. We are to treat each other as we want Jesus to treat us! As imitators of Christ this is it!

7 I. Be Kind 1. God is kind All three of our points today begin with our understanding of God s nature and how that nature reflects back to us. The old time Pentecostals used to sing a chorus, Thy loving kindness We know this is true of God towards us, but He is so kind that Luke says this is true of God s kindness, even towards the evil! (See Matthew 5:45) The Greek language gives us an understanding of what Paul meant when he used the word kind. The Greeks understood that to be kind meant that a kind person would have a mindset of thinking about a neighbour s well-being as much as we think about our own. I don t know about you but as I pondered this I found myself coming up a little bit short in the kindness department. Certainly I do and we do kind things, but if you are like me, me can be at the centre of my universe. The challenge is to be outward thinking people! 2. You are kind To be a kind people with an outward thinking mindset calls us to some pretty high levels of living and thinking. 1 Timothy 2:1 tells us that kind people are thankful for people! Romans 12:15 speaks of the notion that we must rise above envy and jealousy and rejoice with those that rejoice. Colossians 3:12 says that we are to clothe ourselves in this kindness way of life. Today is a day I want to praise the church! You are a kind people. PPT is characterized in my heart as a people that are outward looking. You genuinely care about others. There is much that is manifested of this kindness and that is the next point - being tenderhearted. II. Be Tenderhearted In these beatitudes of Ephesians 4, we are challenged to be, commanded to be tenderhearted. Bishop TD Jakes in his Ephesians series commentary says that a mother is our best role model for tenderhearted acts.

8 We have enough of that going on around here that you should pay close attention. Babies have come along here at an unbelievable rate. There must be something in the water in Pembroke. I was beginning to wonder if the younger generation around here stopped watching TV! Watch the moms. They love, they caress, they protect.they do anything to take care of the object of their love, the baby! And then nothing changes as they get older! The kids aren t necessarily as deserving of the mother s goodness and tenderheartedness, but that is not the point. She doesn t act tenderhearted - she is tenderhearted. God is a tenderhearted God. You only need to read the scriptures with this in mind, beginning early in the Old Testament and all throughout the new. He wants us to understand and reflect that. Being and doing tenderheartedness is going to be reconciled at both judgments. To be tenderhearted means to act out of the mindset of kindness. Tenderheartedness is in us to give. I borrowed that slogan from the Red Cross. It is in us to give because it is the Holy Spirit in us, having crucified the old us and energized the new, He gives us the ability to say yes to tenderheartedness when it is within our power to do good. Tenderhearted Christians visit the sick, comfort the dying, bring food for the hungry, provide shelter for the wanderer, make meals for the recovering and knit blankets for the elderly. People have been asking me about my best and worst times here. As an outgoing leader, I will only speak about the good times. I realized that it was never the public things or professional things that brought me joy. It was the people things, caring for the sick and dying and their families. It was coaching and encouraging people one-on-one to a better life. There is a sense when we are being kind (not always feeling kind) when we just know that we are pleasing the Holy Spirit. This passage from the final judgment reveals just how important kindness and tenderheartedness is as evidence of the Holy Spirit at work in the life of a true believer. When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, Lord, when did we see

9 you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you? 40 And the King will answer them, Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me. 41 Then he will say to those on his left, Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me. 44 Then they also will answer, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you? 45 Then he will answer them, saying, Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me. 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. (Matthew 25:31-46) Tenderhearted Christians do these things quietly, simply and generously. Tenderhearted Christians reflect tenderheartedness to the ends of the earth. It doesn t respect boundaries of nationhood, nationality or race or religion. My proudest moments here were the times when I witnessed your kindness and your giving. I think the point is made! And lastly - what about the third beatitude of Ephesians 4? III. Be Forgiving Oh, pastor, do we really have to go there today? Yes, because it is in the Book, in my heart and on my mind. This one is at the heart of The Platinum Rule. You are not called to give what you expect to get back from other mortals. You are called to give what you expect back from God himself. as God in Christ forgave you. (Verse 32) We understand a few things about forgiveness already: 1. Forgiveness is at the heart of God s plan for us. We didn t merit it, but it is at the very heart of God s plan for mankind. He is a forgiving God. 2. Forgiveness gets activated by prayer. Jesus taught us to pray, Forgive us our debts, as we forgive (Matthew 6:12 KJV). I am so thankful for forgiveness. I don t leave home without it!

10 3. It is made real in repentance. Your health in the Christian life is rooted in this truth. We are forgiven because He was forsaken. And no matter what the sin, we need only confess that sin to God, who is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9) 4. Forgiveness is unconditional Perhaps the word is better put impartial. 5. Forgiveness is conditional Sound like a contradiction? It is not. It is unconditional as long as you give it away (See the parable of the unmerciful servant in Matthew 18). Conclusion: So it is clear that if we don t give it at all we don t get it. If we don t get it then we are still dead in our trespasses and sins. If we don t give it freely, we spend years in the wilderness, praying like the heavens are brass. You don t feel God s presence and you cut of the flow of what he wants to do in your life because you won t release people from this debt to you. If we don t give it freely we don t set them free to seek God for the forgiveness that really matters - His! It may be your dad, your son your whoever needs to be free of debt to you so they can see how easy it will be to go and receive this from God. My kids know this to be true - they will always get a sermon, but they will always get forgiveness. The prodigal son had to battle the big brother spirit. I wonder if that factored into his slave mindset. I know it does for the modern day prodigals. If this unforgiveness thing is inherent in your family line, it is time to teach your kids a new way of living; it is time to reverse the curse. If I have ever hurt you, please forgive me. If you have hurt me, know that you are forgiven. I love you all, even the ones I don t like! I will let you in on a secret. Because I have forgiven, I like you all, too!

11 The Platinum Rule Sunday, June 12, 2016 All scriptures taken from the English Standard Version unless otherwise indicated Intro: I don t think there is anyone in this room today who would not be familiar with the term The Golden Rule. Just about every society and religion on the planet has some form of it. The Golden Rule reads something like, Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. We have a number of scriptures which bring us to the conclusion that The Golden Rule is both scriptural and wise (see Matthew 7:12, Luke 6:31). But I am going to suggest today that we can actually take this one step higher and one step closer to God s heart. We, the church of the Lord Jesus, need to live by something I call The Platinum Rule! Text: The platinum rule is from Ephesians 4:32. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. And as we begin today, you don t have to be a sermon writing genius to see a really nice outline in this text. For the faithful note takers the outline is this: I. Be kind II. Be tenderhearted III. Be forgiving It would be an obvious thing to say that we are all in a season these days that is the beginning of something new. It is a new season for the Burns family, for PPT and for all of those who would have been influenced by the dynamics of us all being together for this season in our lives. The dynamics and synergies will never be the same ever again, they will be different. In these final few Sundays that we have together, we need to celebrate what has gone right and there is much to celebrate! This verse brings us to the end of the former season and the beginning of the new one and it is an important truth to grasp. We are at the end of Ephesians 4. We have carefully studied the first four chapters and recently have looked at messages about maturity, unity, purity, authority and fidelity. Each of these topics is so important to church life. I wish I could preach them again! This journey brings us to The Platinum Rule. Proposition: The Platinum Rule is this: We are not to treat each other as we want to be treated. We are to treat each other as we want Jesus to treat us! As imitators of Christ this is it!

12 I. Be Kind 1. God is kind All three of our points today begin with our understanding of God s nature and how that nature reflects back to us. The old time Pentecostals used to sing a chorus, Thy loving kindness We know this is true of God towards us, but He is so kind that Luke says this is true of God s kindness, even towards the evil! (See Matthew 5:45) The Greek language gives us an understanding of what Paul meant when he used the word kind. The Greeks understood that to be kind meant that a kind person would have a mindset of thinking about a neighbour s well-being as much as we think about our own. I don t know about you but as I pondered this I found myself coming up a little bit short in the kindness department. Certainly I do and we do kind things, but if you are like me, me can be at the centre of my universe. The challenge is to be outward thinking people! 2. You are kind To be a kind people with an outward thinking mindset calls us to some pretty high levels of living and thinking. 1 Timothy 2:1 tells us that kind people are thankful for people! Romans 12:15 speaks of the notion that we must rise above envy and jealousy and rejoice with those that rejoice. Colossians 3:12 says that we are to clothe ourselves in this kindness way of life. Today is a day I want to praise the church! You are a kind people. PPT is characterized in my heart as a people that are outward looking. You genuinely care about others. There is much that is manifested of this kindness and that is the next point - being tenderhearted. II. Be Tenderhearted In these beatitudes of Ephesians 4, we are challenged to be, commanded to be tenderhearted. Bishop TD Jakes in his Ephesians series commentary says that a mother is our best role model for tenderhearted acts.

13 We have enough of that going on around here that you should pay close attention. Babies have come along here at an unbelievable rate. There must be something in the water in Pembroke. I was beginning to wonder if the younger generation around here stopped watching TV! Watch the moms. They love, they caress, they protect.they do anything to take care of the object of their love, the baby! And then nothing changes as they get older! The kids aren t necessarily as deserving of the mother s goodness and tenderheartedness, but that is not the point. She doesn t act tenderhearted - she is tenderhearted. God is a tenderhearted God. You only need to read the scriptures with this in mind, beginning early in the Old Testament and all throughout the new. He wants us to understand and reflect that. Being and doing tenderheartedness is going to be reconciled at both judgments. To be tenderhearted means to act out of the mindset of kindness. Tenderheartedness is in us to give. I borrowed that slogan from the Red Cross. It is in us to give because it is the Holy Spirit in us, having crucified the old us and energized the new, He gives us the ability to say yes to tenderheartedness when it is within our power to do good. Tenderhearted Christians visit the sick, comfort the dying, bring food for the hungry, provide shelter for the wanderer, make meals for the recovering and knit blankets for the elderly. People have been asking me about my best and worst times here. As an outgoing leader, I will only speak about the good times. I realized that it was never the public things or professional things that brought me joy. It was the people things, caring for the sick and dying and their families. It was coaching and encouraging people one-on-one to a better life. There is a sense when we are being kind (not always feeling kind) when we just know that we are pleasing the Holy Spirit. This passage from the final judgment reveals just how important kindness and tenderheartedness is as evidence of the Holy Spirit at work in the life of a true believer. When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, Lord, when did we see

14 you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you? 40 And the King will answer them, Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me. 41 Then he will say to those on his left, Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me. 44 Then they also will answer, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you? 45 Then he will answer them, saying, Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me. 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. (Matthew 25:31-46) Tenderhearted Christians do these things quietly, simply and generously. Tenderhearted Christians reflect tenderheartedness to the ends of the earth. It doesn t respect boundaries of nationhood, nationality or race or religion. My proudest moments here were the times when I witnessed your kindness and your giving. I think the point is made! And lastly - what about the third beatitude of Ephesians 4? III. Be Forgiving Oh, pastor, do we really have to go there today? Yes, because it is in the Book, in my heart and on my mind. This one is at the heart of The Platinum Rule. You are not called to give what you expect to get back from other mortals. You are called to give what you expect back from God himself. as God in Christ forgave you. (Verse 32) We understand a few things about forgiveness already: 1. Forgiveness is at the heart of God s plan for us. We didn t merit it, but it is at the very heart of God s plan for mankind. He is a forgiving God. 2. Forgiveness gets activated by prayer. Jesus taught us to pray, Forgive us our debts, as we forgive (Matthew 6:12 KJV). I am so thankful for forgiveness. I don t leave home without it!

15 3. It is made real in repentance. Your health in the Christian life is rooted in this truth. We are forgiven because He was forsaken. And no matter what the sin, we need only confess that sin to God, who is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9) 4. Forgiveness is unconditional Perhaps the word is better put impartial. 5. Forgiveness is conditional Sound like a contradiction? It is not. It is unconditional as long as you give it away (See the parable of the unmerciful servant in Matthew 18). Conclusion: So it is clear that if we don t give it at all we don t get it. If we don t get it then we are still dead in our trespasses and sins. If we don t give it freely, we spend years in the wilderness, praying like the heavens are brass. You don t feel God s presence and you cut of the flow of what he wants to do in your life because you won t release people from this debt to you. If we don t give it freely we don t set them free to seek God for the forgiveness that really matters - His! It may be your dad, your son your whoever needs to be free of debt to you so they can see how easy it will be to go and receive this from God. My kids know this to be true - they will always get a sermon, but they will always get forgiveness. The prodigal son had to battle the big brother spirit. I wonder if that factored into his slave mindset. I know it does for the modern day prodigals. If this unforgiveness thing is inherent in your family line, it is time to teach your kids a new way of living; it is time to reverse the curse. If I have ever hurt you, please forgive me. If you have hurt me, know that you are forgiven. I love you all, even the ones I don t like! I will let you in on a secret. Because I have forgiven, I like you all, too!

16 The Platinum Rule Sunday, June 12, 2016 All scriptures taken from the English Standard Version unless otherwise indicated Intro: I don t think there is anyone in this room today who would not be familiar with the term The Golden Rule. Just about every society and religion on the planet has some form of it. The Golden Rule reads something like, Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. We have a number of scriptures which bring us to the conclusion that The Golden Rule is both scriptural and wise (see Matthew 7:12, Luke 6:31). But I am going to suggest today that we can actually take this one step higher and one step closer to God s heart. We, the church of the Lord Jesus, need to live by something I call The Platinum Rule! Text: The platinum rule is from Ephesians 4:32. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. And as we begin today, you don t have to be a sermon writing genius to see a really nice outline in this text. For the faithful note takers the outline is this: I. Be kind II. Be tenderhearted III. Be forgiving It would be an obvious thing to say that we are all in a season these days that is the beginning of something new. It is a new season for the Burns family, for PPT and for all of those who would have been influenced by the dynamics of us all being together for this season in our lives. The dynamics and synergies will never be the same ever again, they will be different. In these final few Sundays that we have together, we need to celebrate what has gone right and there is much to celebrate! This verse brings us to the end of the former season and the beginning of the new one and it is an important truth to grasp. We are at the end of Ephesians 4. We have carefully studied the first four chapters and recently have looked at messages about maturity, unity, purity, authority and fidelity. Each of these topics is so important to church life. I wish I could preach them again! This journey brings us to The Platinum Rule. Proposition: The Platinum Rule is this: We are not to treat each other as we want to be treated. We are to treat each other as we want Jesus to treat us! As imitators of Christ this is it!

17 I. Be Kind 1. God is kind All three of our points today begin with our understanding of God s nature and how that nature reflects back to us. The old time Pentecostals used to sing a chorus, Thy loving kindness We know this is true of God towards us, but He is so kind that Luke says this is true of God s kindness, even towards the evil! (See Matthew 5:45) The Greek language gives us an understanding of what Paul meant when he used the word kind. The Greeks understood that to be kind meant that a kind person would have a mindset of thinking about a neighbour s well-being as much as we think about our own. I don t know about you but as I pondered this I found myself coming up a little bit short in the kindness department. Certainly I do and we do kind things, but if you are like me, me can be at the centre of my universe. The challenge is to be outward thinking people! 2. You are kind To be a kind people with an outward thinking mindset calls us to some pretty high levels of living and thinking. 1 Timothy 2:1 tells us that kind people are thankful for people! Romans 12:15 speaks of the notion that we must rise above envy and jealousy and rejoice with those that rejoice. Colossians 3:12 says that we are to clothe ourselves in this kindness way of life. Today is a day I want to praise the church! You are a kind people. PPT is characterized in my heart as a people that are outward looking. You genuinely care about others. There is much that is manifested of this kindness and that is the next point - being tenderhearted. II. Be Tenderhearted In these beatitudes of Ephesians 4, we are challenged to be, commanded to be tenderhearted. Bishop TD Jakes in his Ephesians series commentary says that a mother is our best role model for tenderhearted acts.

18 We have enough of that going on around here that you should pay close attention. Babies have come along here at an unbelievable rate. There must be something in the water in Pembroke. I was beginning to wonder if the younger generation around here stopped watching TV! Watch the moms. They love, they caress, they protect.they do anything to take care of the object of their love, the baby! And then nothing changes as they get older! The kids aren t necessarily as deserving of the mother s goodness and tenderheartedness, but that is not the point. She doesn t act tenderhearted - she is tenderhearted. God is a tenderhearted God. You only need to read the scriptures with this in mind, beginning early in the Old Testament and all throughout the new. He wants us to understand and reflect that. Being and doing tenderheartedness is going to be reconciled at both judgments. To be tenderhearted means to act out of the mindset of kindness. Tenderheartedness is in us to give. I borrowed that slogan from the Red Cross. It is in us to give because it is the Holy Spirit in us, having crucified the old us and energized the new, He gives us the ability to say yes to tenderheartedness when it is within our power to do good. Tenderhearted Christians visit the sick, comfort the dying, bring food for the hungry, provide shelter for the wanderer, make meals for the recovering and knit blankets for the elderly. People have been asking me about my best and worst times here. As an outgoing leader, I will only speak about the good times. I realized that it was never the public things or professional things that brought me joy. It was the people things, caring for the sick and dying and their families. It was coaching and encouraging people one-on-one to a better life. There is a sense when we are being kind (not always feeling kind) when we just know that we are pleasing the Holy Spirit. This passage from the final judgment reveals just how important kindness and tenderheartedness is as evidence of the Holy Spirit at work in the life of a true believer. When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, Lord, when did we see

19 you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you? 40 And the King will answer them, Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me. 41 Then he will say to those on his left, Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me. 44 Then they also will answer, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you? 45 Then he will answer them, saying, Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me. 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. (Matthew 25:31-46) Tenderhearted Christians do these things quietly, simply and generously. Tenderhearted Christians reflect tenderheartedness to the ends of the earth. It doesn t respect boundaries of nationhood, nationality or race or religion. My proudest moments here were the times when I witnessed your kindness and your giving. I think the point is made! And lastly - what about the third beatitude of Ephesians 4? III. Be Forgiving Oh, pastor, do we really have to go there today? Yes, because it is in the Book, in my heart and on my mind. This one is at the heart of The Platinum Rule. You are not called to give what you expect to get back from other mortals. You are called to give what you expect back from God himself. as God in Christ forgave you. (Verse 32) We understand a few things about forgiveness already: 1. Forgiveness is at the heart of God s plan for us. We didn t merit it, but it is at the very heart of God s plan for mankind. He is a forgiving God. 2. Forgiveness gets activated by prayer. Jesus taught us to pray, Forgive us our debts, as we forgive (Matthew 6:12 KJV). I am so thankful for forgiveness. I don t leave home without it!

20 3. It is made real in repentance. Your health in the Christian life is rooted in this truth. We are forgiven because He was forsaken. And no matter what the sin, we need only confess that sin to God, who is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9) 4. Forgiveness is unconditional Perhaps the word is better put impartial. 5. Forgiveness is conditional Sound like a contradiction? It is not. It is unconditional as long as you give it away (See the parable of the unmerciful servant in Matthew 18). Conclusion: So it is clear that if we don t give it at all we don t get it. If we don t get it then we are still dead in our trespasses and sins. If we don t give it freely, we spend years in the wilderness, praying like the heavens are brass. You don t feel God s presence and you cut of the flow of what he wants to do in your life because you won t release people from this debt to you. If we don t give it freely we don t set them free to seek God for the forgiveness that really matters - His! It may be your dad, your son your whoever needs to be free of debt to you so they can see how easy it will be to go and receive this from God. My kids know this to be true - they will always get a sermon, but they will always get forgiveness. The prodigal son had to battle the big brother spirit. I wonder if that factored into his slave mindset. I know it does for the modern day prodigals. If this unforgiveness thing is inherent in your family line, it is time to teach your kids a new way of living; it is time to reverse the curse. If I have ever hurt you, please forgive me. If you have hurt me, know that you are forgiven. I love you all, even the ones I don t like! I will let you in on a secret. Because I have forgiven, I like you all, too!

21 The Platinum Rule Sunday, June 12, 2016 All scriptures taken from the English Standard Version unless otherwise indicated Intro: I don t think there is anyone in this room today who would not be familiar with the term The Golden Rule. Just about every society and religion on the planet has some form of it. The Golden Rule reads something like, Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. We have a number of scriptures which bring us to the conclusion that The Golden Rule is both scriptural and wise (see Matthew 7:12, Luke 6:31). But I am going to suggest today that we can actually take this one step higher and one step closer to God s heart. We, the church of the Lord Jesus, need to live by something I call The Platinum Rule! Text: The platinum rule is from Ephesians 4:32. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. And as we begin today, you don t have to be a sermon writing genius to see a really nice outline in this text. For the faithful note takers the outline is this: I. Be kind II. Be tenderhearted III. Be forgiving It would be an obvious thing to say that we are all in a season these days that is the beginning of something new. It is a new season for the Burns family, for PPT and for all of those who would have been influenced by the dynamics of us all being together for this season in our lives. The dynamics and synergies will never be the same ever again, they will be different. In these final few Sundays that we have together, we need to celebrate what has gone right and there is much to celebrate! This verse brings us to the end of the former season and the beginning of the new one and it is an important truth to grasp. We are at the end of Ephesians 4. We have carefully studied the first four chapters and recently have looked at messages about maturity, unity, purity, authority and fidelity. Each of these topics is so important to church life. I wish I could preach them again! This journey brings us to The Platinum Rule. Proposition: The Platinum Rule is this: We are not to treat each other as we want to be treated. We are to treat each other as we want Jesus to treat us! As imitators of Christ this is it!

22 I. Be Kind 1. God is kind All three of our points today begin with our understanding of God s nature and how that nature reflects back to us. The old time Pentecostals used to sing a chorus, Thy loving kindness We know this is true of God towards us, but He is so kind that Luke says this is true of God s kindness, even towards the evil! (See Matthew 5:45) The Greek language gives us an understanding of what Paul meant when he used the word kind. The Greeks understood that to be kind meant that a kind person would have a mindset of thinking about a neighbour s well-being as much as we think about our own. I don t know about you but as I pondered this I found myself coming up a little bit short in the kindness department. Certainly I do and we do kind things, but if you are like me, me can be at the centre of my universe. The challenge is to be outward thinking people! 2. You are kind To be a kind people with an outward thinking mindset calls us to some pretty high levels of living and thinking. 1 Timothy 2:1 tells us that kind people are thankful for people! Romans 12:15 speaks of the notion that we must rise above envy and jealousy and rejoice with those that rejoice. Colossians 3:12 says that we are to clothe ourselves in this kindness way of life. Today is a day I want to praise the church! You are a kind people. PPT is characterized in my heart as a people that are outward looking. You genuinely care about others. There is much that is manifested of this kindness and that is the next point - being tenderhearted. II. Be Tenderhearted In these beatitudes of Ephesians 4, we are challenged to be, commanded to be tenderhearted. Bishop TD Jakes in his Ephesians series commentary says that a mother is our best role model for tenderhearted acts.

23 We have enough of that going on around here that you should pay close attention. Babies have come along here at an unbelievable rate. There must be something in the water in Pembroke. I was beginning to wonder if the younger generation around here stopped watching TV! Watch the moms. They love, they caress, they protect.they do anything to take care of the object of their love, the baby! And then nothing changes as they get older! The kids aren t necessarily as deserving of the mother s goodness and tenderheartedness, but that is not the point. She doesn t act tenderhearted - she is tenderhearted. God is a tenderhearted God. You only need to read the scriptures with this in mind, beginning early in the Old Testament and all throughout the new. He wants us to understand and reflect that. Being and doing tenderheartedness is going to be reconciled at both judgments. To be tenderhearted means to act out of the mindset of kindness. Tenderheartedness is in us to give. I borrowed that slogan from the Red Cross. It is in us to give because it is the Holy Spirit in us, having crucified the old us and energized the new, He gives us the ability to say yes to tenderheartedness when it is within our power to do good. Tenderhearted Christians visit the sick, comfort the dying, bring food for the hungry, provide shelter for the wanderer, make meals for the recovering and knit blankets for the elderly. People have been asking me about my best and worst times here. As an outgoing leader, I will only speak about the good times. I realized that it was never the public things or professional things that brought me joy. It was the people things, caring for the sick and dying and their families. It was coaching and encouraging people one-on-one to a better life. There is a sense when we are being kind (not always feeling kind) when we just know that we are pleasing the Holy Spirit. This passage from the final judgment reveals just how important kindness and tenderheartedness is as evidence of the Holy Spirit at work in the life of a true believer. When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, Lord, when did we see