Pumped About Forgiveness

  

Then Peter came and said to Him, '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. For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. But since he did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made.'

-Matthew 18:21-25

So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, 'Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.'

-Matthew 18:26

And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt.

-Matthew 18:27

God is the King!

We are the servant!

Only one “faith system” moves you away from the economy of debt into the economy of grace.

Jesus says: “You owe. I’ll pay!”

He seized him and began to choke him, saying, 'Pay back what you owe.' So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, 'Have patience with me and I will repay you.' But he was unwilling and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed.

-Matthew 18:28b-30

So my heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.

-Matthew 18:35

When someone truly gets the Gospel, they begin to live with a spirit of grace, mercy, and forgiveness.

Is it not true that no matter how many of these stories I tell you, forgiving someone who has deeply wounded you is difficult—if not impossible?

Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

-Matthew 18:32-34

If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

-Matthew 18:15-17

There is an inextricable relationship between:

  

1. Repentance

2. Forgiveness

3. Reconciliation

Does God forgive you without humility and repentance? No.

Can you forgive someone without humility and repentance? No.

Getting another person to change his or her actions, behavior or words isn’t the point of forgiveness. Think of forgiveness more about how it can change your life----by bringing peace, happiness, and emotional and spiritual healing. Forgiveness can take away the power the other person continues to wield in your life.

-Mayo Clinic

But what forgiveness really is, is God’s provision to help the hurting heart heal and when hurt sits too long inside of the human heart it turns into versions of hate. So, it’s good if I just stick a stake in the ground and I say it’s time for me... I deserve to stop suffering because of what this other person has done to me. And so I unhitch my ability to heal. I don’t have to wait for them to say they're sorry. I don’t have to wait for them to suddenly become, you know, owning their issues and become super remorseful. No. I do not attach my ability to heal to the choices of another person. It’s my choice and I get to heal.

-Lisa Terkeurst

One: If you have no desire to forgive, you don’t know Jesus.

Two: If you have been forgiven your debts, you will provide a way to forgive your debtors.

  

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

-Romans 5:8

One: Live with a posture and hope for forgiveness.

Two: Love your enemies even when reconciliation has not occurred, and the debt is outstanding.

  

You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

-Matthew 5:43-48

Three: True forgiveness often requires the supernatural.

  

I tried to smile, I struggled to raise my hand. I could not. I felt nothing, not the slightest spark of warmth or charity. And so again I breathed a silent prayer. Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give me your forgiveness. As I took his hand the most incredible thing happened. From my shoulder along my arm and through my hand a current seemed to pass from me to him, while into my heart sprang a love for this stranger that almost overwhelmed me. And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than our own goodness that the world’s healing hinges, but on His. When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives, along with the command, the love itself.

-Corrie Ten Boom

Until what Jesus did for you becomes more real than what someone else did to you, you will not want to forgive and you will not be able to “let it go.”

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