FORGIVE IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING AGAINST ANYONE Mark 11:25-26 "And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. 26 But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses." NKJV This is not a suggestion. It is a commandment from our Lord Jesus Christ. When Jesus taught on prayer, He stressed forgiveness. Prayer only works when we have forgiven others. We must remember how much Jesus has forgiven us and extend the same grace to everyone else. Today we will remind ourselves what Jesus taught about forgiving others. 1. How often shall we forgive? Matt 18:21-22 Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. NKJV (490 times in one day!) This parallel passage in Luke is helpful to see also. Luke 17:3-4 3 Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. 4 And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him." NKJV After Jesus told Peter to forgive seven times seventy in one day, He gave him this illustration.
Matt 18:23-35 The Parable of The Unjust Steward It s not that surprising that the unjust steward was rotten and unforgiving after just being forgiven. We ve seen people act this way before. But what we must pay attention to is how serious is the punishment! Matt 18:34 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. 35 "So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses." God is serious about forgiveness! Here s what I do: Even while I m still hurt or angry, I choose to forgive. I speak out forgiveness and continue to speak it out. Soon my feelings change. Christians don t go by their feelings. They do what God s word tells them to do. There is joy and peace in obedience to God! 2. Unforgiveness Blocks Our Prayers Matt 6:8-15 8 "Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. 9 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. 13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. 14 "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. NKJV When Jesus taught the Lord s Prayer, He made it very clear that staying clear with God in heaven means staying clear in our relationships on earth. Many times we keep a little bit of unforgiveness with us. My friend taught me that keeping a grudge is like carrying a dead rat around in your pocket. People who keep grudges are like people that get a rat out of their pocket and pet it. But God says NO!!!! Get rid of those nasty feelings! It s evil. Forgive! 3. Mountain Moving Prayer Depends On Forgiveness! Mark 11:22-26 22 So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God. 23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
"And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. 26 But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses." NKJV Over and over Jesus reminded His disciples how important forgiveness is when we re praying or seeking God s help. God has forgiven us a tremendous debt and we must keep that same attitude toward everyone around us. When we first started our church, the City Manager sent us a letter and told us to stop immediately and revoked our lease on the park building we were using. We ended up getting another month at this facility before we moved, but it really made me mad. I had to drive by this man s house every day. Anger would come up every day. And every day I would say loudly, I forgive that man! By the time I got to the end of the block I wasn t angry anymore. Soon that man was fired from his job and left town. Vengeance belongs to God. Forgiveness is God s command to us! 4. We Need His Forgiveness 1 John 1:9 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. NKJV God will forgive you just like Jesus taught Peter, 490 times in one day. We serve a merciful God! But the Lord s Prayer teaches that to receive forgiveness, we must be forgivers.
So please say this with me, I forgive anyone and everyone of anything and everything I know some things are hard to forgive. But Jesus forgave the very people that were crucifying Him. Then He forgave the thief on the cross next to Him. Speak out forgiveness. Your feelings will change and soon you will be completely free from those thoughts. You need a clear relationship with God even if the other person never apologizes. As we do that, our marriages are better. Our relationships are better and our mountain moving prayers get answered! MEMORY VERSE Mark 11:25-26 "And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. 26 But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses." NKJV DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1. Have you ever had to forgive something that was very difficult? How did you do it? 2. Read Psalm 103:12 As far as the east is from the west is how far God has removed our sin from us. a. Does God forgive and forget? b. Should we forgive and forget? 3. How do you know when you have completely forgiven someone? 4. What does God promise us when we have forgiven others?