My First Sermon: What actually came out of my mouth

So, I recorded my first sermon.  To spare you listening to my singing, and since most of you probably don't speak Kinyarwanda or Amahavu well enough to make the translation worthwhile, I've typed up a transcript of my English during the sermon.  I haven't doctored what I said, as much as I might like to.  This is really what came out of my mouth:

There is Good News!  Our faith brings good news.  Jesus Christ is God.  He came to earth.  He lived among us to teach us who God is.  He sacrificed Himself for us and died.  He was raised from the dead. He ascended to Heaven, and He reigns over us as our King.  I didn’t always believe this.  I was 32 years old when I accepted this truth.  I am a sinful person, filled with sin.  I lived for myself.  I am selfish.  I am greedy.  I am lazy; I do not like to work when I should.  The bible teaches us that there is only one kind of person; a person filled with sin.

But I have faith in Christ as my savior and He has redeemed me.  Paul teaches in Ephesians Chapter 2, verses 4 and 5 and again in verses 8-10, “But God being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved -- … For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Faith in Jesus saves us.  But just as we heard this morning from the book of Deuteronomy, God promises blessings if we follow His commands.  If we accept Jesus as our King, the Holy Spirit comes and dwells in our hearts.  The Holy Spirit guides us so that we can show the fruit of our redemption.  Just as Paul trusted the Holy Spirit when he got aboard the ship as we heard about in Acts 27 this morning.  Today I want to teach about one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit.  The fruit of mercy.

Before Jesus came to earth to show us who God is, there were men who spoke for God called “prophets.” One prophet who spoke for God about 700 years before Jesus came was named Hosea. In Chapter 6 verse 6 of the book of Hosea, Hosea tells us that God gave us a message.  God said, “For I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.”  Jesus used these words from the prophet Hosea to teach men around Him, where He lived.  Matthew in his gospel, records Jesus talking to men called Pharisees.  The Pharisees thought they were doing the right things for God.  They made many personal sacrifices.  They made sure they always dressed the right way.  They made sure they always talked the right way.  They made sure they always gave the right things at the Temple.  They thought they were doing what God wanted them to with these sacrifices.

But Jesus used the words of Hosea to teach them something different.  Twice in the gospel of Matthew, Jesus uses Hosea’s words talking to the Pharisees.  In Ch 9 v 13 and again in Ch 12 v 7, Jesus uses Hosea’s words.  Jesus tells these men making sacrifices, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”  Jesus was telling them that they had been deceived by Satan.  That God does not want sacrifices; God wants mercy.  Jesus tells us to follow two rules.  To love God, and to love our neighbors.  A man once asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”  Jesus’ answer is a story.  It is a story about selfishness.  It is a story about sacrifice.  But more importantly, it is a story about mercy.  I’ll read from the Word. 

The gospel of Luke, Chapter 10 vv. 30-37:

Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?”  He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

The priest and the Levite were following God's law of purity.  If the man by the side of the road was actually dead, and they touched him, they would be impure and would not be able to worship in the Temple.  Following the law of purity, they neglected the command for mercy.  God says in Leviticus 19:18, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."  These men would not have wanted to be left for dead.  They were not being neighbors to the man who was hurt.

The Samaritan, when he came by, did not know if the robbers had left or if they were still close by.  He sacrificed his safety to care for the man.  He had a long journey to complete.  He sacrificed his time to care for the man.  When he got to the inn, the innkeeper required money.  He sacrificed his money to care for the man.  But Jesus doesn’t tell us that the Samaritan was a neighbor because of his sacrifice.  Jesus tells us that the Samaritan was a neighbor because the things he did came from a heart of mercy.

How can we show our heart of mercy?  What if you know someone whose loved family member has died?  How can you show mercy to them?  You might prepare food for them. You could help them with their work, something that might be hard while they are in mourning.  What if someone has lost an animal?  You can help them find it.  If a boat is damaged you can help repair it.  If a child needs money for school fees, or clothes for school you can give them money.  All of these things are sacrifices.  You are sacrificing your time.  You are sacrificing your strength.  You are sacrificing your food or your money.  But Paul tells us that if we do these things to feel good about ourselves or puff ourselves up, we are not showing mercy.  We do these things because from the Holy Spirit in our hearts, we can show love for our neighbor.

This is not an easy thing.  I am selfish.  I do not want to love others as I love me.  It takes time to change.  But if you have Jesus as your King, the Holy Spirit is within you and he will help you.  Ask Him for help.  Pray to Him for help.  It can be hardest to show mercy and love to our neighbors who have harmed us.  But Jesus’ story of the Samaritan can tell us something of this as well.  Samaritans were not accepted among the Jews.  Their tribe was considered inferior.  The Jews did many evil things to the Samaritans.  And yet the Samaritan showed mercy to a Jew who was injured.

But the best example I have seen of showing mercy, I have seen right here.  The best example of loving your neighbor, I learned in this church.  The savings and credit groups that come together as neighbors and share among themselves are showing love for their neighbors.  What they do comes from a heart of wanting to help each other.  This is very good.  

God reached out to us with mercy.  God showed Grace for us when He sent His son to die for our sins.  We do not always do what God wants to do, but He shows us grace and mercy. Imana ishimwe (Praise God).  He has shown us Grace.  He has given us His Holy Spirit to help us.  Let us go and show our love to our neighbors.  Amen.