November 7, 2021
Morning Service

Along our journey with Jesus, a turning point came when Jesus asked us “Who do you say that I am?”  Peter with great confidence answered “You are the Christ the Son of the living God!”  It is this statement, or call it fact, that the church is built upon (16:18) and guaranteed to prevail.  This is the foundation of our faith and everything else is built upon it.  With that established, from that time forward Jesus began teaching in a much more transparent manner.  He revealed to us that His journey would lead Him to Jerusalem where He would suffer many things, be killed and be raised from the dead.  He then openly revealed the cost that was required to faithfully follow Him.

Mat 16:24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”

            Jesus is now teaching what “denying yourself and carrying your cross” looks like in our daily lives.  In that past few weeks He has taught us about faith, taxes, humility, and how to handle offences that will come our way.  It is up to us to not only hear these instructions from our Lord, but to apply them to our life.  James explains it very well in his letter.

 

Jas 1:22-25 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.  (23)  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; (24) for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.  (25)  But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

            The Word should be like a spiritual mirror we look into to see how we look in God’s eyes.  We can see things that we are doing right, and the things that we need to work on.  The application of that knowledge is where we need to focus our energy.  When we see our hair is out of place, we naturally fix it, but when we see our attitude is messed up we may tend to ignore that and move on because it is takes a little more than a comb or hair gel to fix that.  Jesus is preparing us for the biggest battle we will have in following Him and that is a battle within ourselves.  “Denying myself” is not easy and goes against all that my flesh cries out to do, but we must build our faith in order to fully yield our will to His.  One of the areas that many struggle with is forgiveness.  Jesus has just instructed us how to deal with someone who has sinned against us in verses15-20 which lays out a process we are to go through.  He now goes into a teaching on forgiveness, brought on by a question from Peter.

 

Mat 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?"  (22)  Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

            Peter suggests forgiving someone seven times and thought he was being very generous as the Jewish Rabbis taught to forgive someone, but only three times.  He doubled that and even added one for good measure, but he fell far short of what Jesus requires from us.  Jesus’ answer was not meant to give a certain number of times, but it implies that there is to be no limit to our forgiveness.  We are not to “keep score” on how often someone has offended us, but be willing to forgive every time someone comes to us in true repentance.  He makes His point very clear with an easy to understand story.

 

Mat 18:23-35Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.  (24)  And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.  (25)  But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made.  (26)  The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, 'Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'  (27)  Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.  (28)  "But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, 'Pay me what you owe!'  (29)  So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'  (30)  And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt.  (31)  So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done.  (32)  Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.  (33)  Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?'  (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."

            Now isn’t that crystal clear of what we are to do?  To be unforgiving to anyone is a very selfish act from us that is revealed very well in this story.  We all know what things we have done, sins committed, that Jesus has forgiven us for and I would bet it is more than 70 x 7 times!  With that perspective, how can we not forgive others?  Jesus has forgiven us, and now we are commanded to forgive others; the forgiven must forgive.  This can be a huge mountain for some to overcome as many among us have been hurt deeply to the point that forgiveness seems impossible.  Those who were abused as children, lost a loved one to a drunk driver, or betrayed by a spouse being unfaithful to their marriage vows can find it next to impossible to forgive those who wounded us so deeply.  Many of us here today are holding a grudge against someone who did far less than these things, but still find it hard to forgive.  When wronged our flesh cries out to develop this attitude of; “I don’t get mad, I get even!”  Even in our marriages when someone falls short of perfection, we make them earn their forgiveness by being passive aggressive and giving them the “cold shoulder.”  We say we forgive, but seem to always bring the fault back up at opportune times when we can use it; this is not forgiveness.  We are not called to punish others, but to love and forgive them moving forward not revisiting the past.  The Roman letter goes another step further and explains it like this:

 

Romans 12:19-21 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY," says the Lord.  (20)  Therefore "IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM; IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK; FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP COALS OF FIRE ON HIS HEAD."  (21)  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

            By handing the situation over to the Lord we are not only able to forgive, but to go the extra step to show love and kindness to those who have wronged you.  God’s ways are above our ways; Jesus is calling us to a life that is different than everyone else.  When the world hates, we are to love.  When the world takes, we are to give.  When the world seeks revenge, we are to forgive.  I encourage you to look honestly into your spiritual mirror this morning and examine how you are dealing with those who need forgiving for things they have done to you.  It may be a deep wound that has not healed in years and it might seem impossible to even contemplate forgiveness.  Jesus is a doer of impossible.

 

Php. 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

            Do you believe this?  Then put it into action!  If you need to forgive someone do it with the power and strength the Holy Spirit enables you with not your own.  Forgiveness frees us from carrying a heavy burden that can lead to our entire life being miserable.  Deny yourself, carry your cross and forgive your brother and follow Jesus.  It is not an easy road, but one with great rewards.

 

Heavenly Father, allow our eyes to see who we really are in our spiritual mirrors and give us the courage and faith to make the adjustments needed to be found pleasing in Your sight.