Let s stand in honor of God and His Word. I read today from Matthew. Last week, my good friend Zak Ellison shared with us an amazing

Transcription

1 A Model of Forgiveness A Sermon Text Let s stand in honor of God and His Word. I read today from Matthew 18, verses Read Matthew 18: Prayer Last week, my good friend Zak Ellison shared with us an amazing messing called Failure is an Option. In his message we learned that not only are we not perfect, but that it s in our imperfection, our failure, that we meet God, find our true identity as His children, and see Him do His greatest work. But as we talk about failure, isn t it true that there s another word that starts with F that we need to talk about? That s right, forgiveness. True and honest failures forgive others. But let s be honest, forgiveness can be easy to talk about but so hard to actually do. Why is that? Is it a lack of understanding? Is it fear? Maybe its because forgiveness nearly always follows pain and the act of forgiveness prolongs hurt. Or is it possible that, in some cases,

2 forgiveness is impossible? For many of us, having been taught to get even, to hold grudges, and to strike back, we ve learned to respond to pain and hurt like the cartoon character Popeye. You remember Popeye he d tolerate torment from Brutus for a little while, then hit that point I ve had all I can stands and I can t stands no more! Eating that can of spinach, he d proceed to whallup his enemies, getting even and giving them what they deserved. And it felt good good to watch, and good to follow. We all know how good it can feel to get even. And yet we all know how painful it can be to harbor bitterness. Bitterness is like a cancer of the soul it slowly eats away at us bringing more pain, more hurt with each passing day. The choice to not forgive is the choice to accept bitterness and, if you re like me, you ve found that bitterness stinks. It reaks of evil, bringing both emotional and even physical torment. Sleepless nights, upset stomachs, broken relationships, and awkward moments. We hate it,

3 we want to flee from it and yet without forgiveness, it forever haunts. Set me free Lord is our cry. Thus we turn to understanding forgiveness. The key to freedom from bitterness and broken hearts, we must understand it. But this topic of forgiveness is no child s talk, no casual conversation with little relevance to everyday life. It is at the core of both our relationship with God and our relationships with each other. With that, let s turn to our passage of study and see if we can t find some answers. Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times? Jesus answered, I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. Matthew 18:21-22 Peter, one of Jesus closest followers and friends, has the courage to ask the question that all of us ask at one point or another. How

4 many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Personally, I love the fact that Peter asks this question. If Peter, one of Jesus disciples, one of the men who lived and walked with Jesus, who witnessed His miracles, and who heard His sermons has to ask the question, then I don t feel so bad when I ask it myself. God how many times do I have to forgive someone before I have your permission to whallup them? When can I take my spinach? I had a roommate in college that brought this passage to life. We were great friends before we became roommates. Shortly after the semester began it became blatantly obvious that we were two people who had little in common. Our interests clashed, our hobbies varied, and our personalities fit like oil and water. I played guitar, and he played piano. I liked Star Wars, he liked the Sound of Music. I played golf, he played tennis you see my problem. Worst of all I was a morning person and he was a night person. If you ve ever attempted to live with someone having different sleep patterns you know its tough. And worst of all, you can be pretty nasty when

5 you re sleepy! Just try to have fun with a night person in the morning. It isn t possible! There were many times during that year that I found myself asking Peter s question, How many times? There are moments I ask that same question yet today. Consider for a moment the people in your life that are causing you to ask this question. In your bulletin notes is a place that I d like to invite you to write down names. People that you re struggling to forgive and you re wondering, God, how long? The names you write could be of many sorts friends, family, people groups. We all have them if we re honest. A friend or co-worker that continues to pester or annoy. A child that consistently disobeys or goes against your wishes. A parent who puts you down, accuses, or demoralizes you. A people group against whom you harbor ill feelings, even hatred. How long, Lord, must I put up with this? How many times must I forgive? Is there an end in site? Pass the can of spinach cause I ve had enough!

6 We are all a lot like Peter. We want answers. We want justification for our desire to get even, to draw a line and say GO BOAT! enough. To all of us, Jesus gives a curious answer. I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. Could you be a little more specific Jesus? I can see it now a group of us carrying around forgiveness log books, keeping track of each wrong they forgive. 75, 76, 77 now you re gonna get it! Obviously, that isn t what Jesus is talking about. In fact, when Peter said seven, he though he was being generous with his limits. Jesus' response was to say there are no limits. And He offers a parable to make His point. "Therefore," Jesus said, "the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. Matthew 18:23-25

7 Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a king settling his debts. As usual, the king is meant to represent God, and the servant represents us. In this case, there is no way to question the immense debt owed by this man. Ten thousand talents, in modern financial terms, equals millions of dollars. In other words, this person owes his king a tremendous debt and it is time to pay up. Unfortunately for him and his family, he can t. And so the king decides that it is time to hold him accountable and he orders that the entire family be sold into slavery so that the debt can be repaid. Not at all a good situation for the servant and knowing that this is a representative for each of us, not good for us either. We read on The servant fell on his knees before him. "Be patient with me," he begged, "and I will pay back everything." The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt, and let him go. Matthew 18:26-27

8 Picture with me for a moment what Jesus is painting. A king, justified in his actions, decides it is time to bring his servant to account. Discovering that it is impossible for his servant to pay his debt, punishment is in order. He will get what he deserves. But the servant, he's desperate. He falls on his knees and begs for patience. He doesn t ask for the debt to be cancelled he simply asks for a little more time to pay it back. The king sees and hears his request. He knows he cannot pay back the debt now and probably never will. And so he takes pity, cancels the debt, and lets him go. He forgives his servant. Here I believe we find that Jesus gives us a definition of forgiveness, and it is rooted in the very person of God. Forgiveness is, as we see through the actions of this king, the conscious and informed decision on the part of one to demonstrate mercy and offer to cancel the debt owed by another. This is precisely what God has done for each one of us. You see, God has offered us forgiveness, showing His

9 willingness to cancel our debt. Yes, it is true we owe a tremendous debt to God. Our sin, our tendency to disobey God and do life our way, it has built up a tremendous debt on our behalf. We have wronged God, and we owe Him more than any of us could ever pay. Not satisfied to leave it at that, however, God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Rom. 5:8). God has shown us mercy. He has offered us forgiveness. Just like this king, He has willingly offered to assume our debt, placing responsibility for payment upon His Son, Jesus Himself, and we have the opportunity to be forgiven. When Romans 10:9 states, That if you confess with you mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved this salvation it speaks of is salvation from the debt of sin. God has offered us forgiveness. 2 Corinthians 5 says that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men s sins against them (v. 19) and God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of

10 God. (v. 21) He has offered to assume our debt, accept its GO BOAT! consequences, and welcome us back into relationship with Him. We can be saved. This is forgiveness. As hard as it is to accept it or believe it, this is the definition and role model Jesus offers us. Assuming the debt owed us, accepting its consequences (even if it means enduring a personal cost), and welcoming us back into relationship. This is what it means to forgive. And this is what God has offered to each one of us. This is at the core of the message we communicate to kids through Young Life. Each week during the school year, our leaders pass this incredible message of God s forgiveness in Christ on to kids. And they, like us, need to hear it. We all carry baggage, we all carry guilt. It binds us and burdens us in ways we dare not mention. We ve allowed ourselves to be sold into slavery in a vain attempt to pay back what we owe and we come up short. Yet God, hearing our cries, offers mercy. He offers forgiveness. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all

11 unrighteousness (1 Jo 1:9). Have you accepted God s forgiveness today? He offers it willingly. It is not free it cost Him greatly, but He desires to give it. Accept it. Whether for the first time or for the thousandth time, accept it. In doing so you ll find relationship with God and the strength to go and do likewise with yourself and with others. Having made this point, Jesus continues with His parable. The story is not over. Let s read on But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. "Pay back what you owe me!" he demanded. His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, "Be patient with me, and I will pay you back." But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison, until he could pay the debt. When the

12 other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. Matthew 18:28-31 If you re anything like me, reading this passage is tough. It sounds too familiar. Having been forgiven a tremendous debt, the servant goes and finds a fellow servant who owes him. Jesus comparison is extreme on purpose. While the forgiven servant owed his king millions of dollars, he finds a fellow servant who owes him the equivalent of a few bucks and offers no mercy. Rather than follow his king s example of forgiveness, he calls his fellow servant to account and offers nothing but wrath and hatred. His fellow servants witness the events and report them to the king. Understandably, the king is not pleased. Then the master called the servant in. "You wicked servant," he said, "I canceled all that debt of yours because

13 you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?" In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. Matthew 18:32-34 The king can barely contain himself. Having shown such great mercy, he s shocked to discover that this servant could not show even the slightest amount of mercy to his fellow servant. Effectively spitting on the mercy shown him, he refuses to forgive his fellow slave. Can you imagine anything more offensive, more horrific, more outrageous than this? Evidently the king cannot and thus his act of forgiveness is revoked and the original debt is reinstated. Then Jesus has these powerful closing words for Peter, and for us. This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart. Matthew 18:35

14 Wow. I guess what He s saying is forgiveness is not an option. We do not have the option of not forgiving. We must follow God s example and forgive. To help drive this home to our reality, I d like to show you a video clip. It s a tough one, but it also shows the impact of bitterness and the potential of forgiveness. Let s watch Video The Unmerciful Servant - The invitation this morning is two-fold. Be forgiven, and forgive. As Jesus teaches us to pray, Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. (Matthew 6:12) I could go on this morning, but instead I want to leave you with a few resources that may help you going forward. If you d like a manuscript of this message, if you heard something and you d like to read it again, or want a link to this video, a written version is available online. I ve also tried to anticipate the questions you might ask as you seek to experience and practice

15 forgiveness. These are written on the back of your notes (hold up or read) and you can find my answers for consideration also online. Go to forgiveness.younglifemerced.com. Close in prayer.