Forgiveness Matthew 6: 9-15
Most of us, if not all of us, are here today because of God’s forgiveness!
Rom. 3:23 For ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God
All of us have transgressed God’s laws.
All of us were on our way to eternal punishment, deserving our just reward…
BUT thanks be unto God, that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us!!!
Paul said… 1 Cor. 6: 9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
Listen, when the Prodigal son finally came home… the father RAN to meet him. The son repented.
The father forgave….
HE put a robe on his shoulders. I’m glad Jesus clothed me with HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS!!!
NOW I can live right because HE PUT on me and
Within me RIGHT Living, and Right desires.
He put a ring on his finger identifying him again as his son! I’m glad Jesus has led me into HIS Holiness, with identifying marks to let the whole world know I belong to HIM!!!
He put shoes on his feet for he would no longer be poor but would be rich in the father’s house! I have a story to tell you this morning. It’s the story of a boy who went from rags to riches! I had nothing until I found Jesus!
I was a poor wretched sinner, but now I’m a child of the King. His royal blood now flows through my veins.
AND why??? Because of God’s forgiveness.
Vs. 12 said.. “And forgive us our debts”
Sin is represented here under the notion of a debt, and as our sins are many, they are called here debts.
God made man that he might live to his glory, and gave him a law to walk by; and when he does any thing that tends not to glorify God, he contracts a debt with Divine Justice
Forgiveness, therefore, must come from the free mercy of God in Christ:
How strange is it we cannot have the old debt canceled, without contracting a new one!
The DEBT is then transferred from Justice to Mercy.
While sinners we are in debt to infinite Justice; when pardoned, they are in debt to endless Mercy
Rom. 8:12 12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
You know why God does it this way?
It keeps us eternally dependent on our Creator!
Because Christ CANCELLED our DEBTS for a reason!
IT was to restore fellowship between man and God!
So our debts were not just cancelled and pardoned so we could do just anything we want to… but they were cancelled so we would SERVE THE LORD
AND to be a SON of God, you must be led by the Spirit of God… cannot just do your own thing!
So we serve the Lord With GRATITUDE for what HE has done for us
THANK GOD FOR HIS FORGIVENESS!!!
And IF you are here this tonight and have not experienced God’s forgiveness, there’s room at the cross for you!!!
AND… God not only forgives you…. But HE CASTS away your sins NEVER to REMEMBER them again.
Isaiah 43:25 I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.
Psalms 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
So glad that God not ONLY FORGIVES, but also FORGETS!!!!!
BUT I want to take this a step further today…
After the Lord’s prayer was finished, Jesus went on to say:
VS. 14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
LISTEN! God’s cancellation of your debts is contingent on (dependent on, subject to) how you forgive those who trespass against you!!!
I was talking to a pastor in a certain area and had mentioned another pastor’s name in the same area he pastored. He non-chalantly said, I don’t have any fellowship with him because of what he did years ago to me. I stopped him there by saying, Listen, I don’t need to know what happened. That’s between you and him.
But while I was praying, that conversation kept returning to me and the Lord began dealing with me about the need of this very subject being preached…
NOT just because of one pastor, but there are many within our churches that have been saved, set free, and trying to live for God…
HOWEVER… I have seen many Christians get bitter and develop unforgiving spirits towards those who have done them wrong through the years.
So if there is someone here tonight dealing with unforgiveness, I hope to help you.
I read to you what God has to say about it… IF you cannot forgive your brother or sister, God will not forgive you!!!
Let me say further… the scripture did not isolate this to just church folks, but to any man or woman, whether saved or not, who does you wrong!
OH yes!!! Easier said than done!!! But if we are going to go to heaven, our trip there will be contingent upon our willingness to FORGIVE!!!.
We love Heb. 12:14 Follow peace with all men and holiness, without which, no man shall see the Lord.
We love the latter part of that verse and preach it strong and hard, but hardly dwell on the first part!
God has directed us to “follow peace with all men”
And to do so, we must learn to FORGIVE those who trespass against us!!!
I was preaching one time at a church and felt the Lord moving in the altar call about someone needing to forgive someone else…. God showed me who it was. I went over to her and said in her ear…
You must forgive him. You’ll never get anywhere with God until you do! You’re just gonna have to do it! She began to sob almost uncontrollably… she prayed real good, but came short of what she needed to do.
I didn’t know it at the time, but she came home one day early to catch her husband on the internet looking at pornography.
According to the pastor, he had prayed through and was trying his best to do right, but his wife was having a very hard time forgiving him.
NO ONE ever said that it would be an easy thing to do!
When TRUST has been violated, it’s a very difficult thing to FORGIVE!!!
AND there have been many couples who’ve had a spouse to cheat on them, and have ended up in divorce.
YOU may think you are hurting so much that you’ll never find it in your heart to forgive, but if you’ll turn it over to God, he’ll give you the GRACE to do it!!!
I know it’s a hard pill to swallow, but it must be done in order to make Heaven our home!!!
BUT preacher… They keep hurting me over and over again…
So how often are we to forgive????
Matt 18: 21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
And then Jesus went on here to tell the parable of the King who had a servant who owed him 10,000 talents.
After the servant fell down and begged time to pay the loan, the King had compassion on him and forgave him his debt that he owed.
However, that same servant then went out and found a man who owed him 100 pence and took him by the throat demanding payment… and when that man begged for time to pay the debt, this servant threw him into prison!
When the King heard of this…
Matt 18:32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:
33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.
LET me also say this:
WE SAY WE FORGIVE… but many do not FORGET!!! We must do both!!!
Do you remember when Peter denied knowing Jesus?
When the rooster crowed out, Peter sold out!
BUT aren’t you glad that when Peter got prayed through that Jesus didn’t hold him at ARM’S distance and REMEMBER what he had done to him before…
BUT no… he filled him with the Holy Ghost, and Peter became a great preacher on the day of Pentecost!!!
Come on now… if that had of been done to us… if someone had of left us high and dry when we needed them the most, we would have marked them off for life and not given them a second chance!!! But not so with God!
He’s the God of the 2nd Chance!!!
If KING DAVID had not been given a 2nd chance, we would never have had many of the great Psalms which have been comfort to our souls through the ages!
JONAH ….. Many in Ninevah would have never had a chance to pray through and would have ended up in a devil’s hell!
The DISCIPLES who forsook Christ during his Crucifixion … we would not have some of the great books of the New Testament!!!
Therefore… WE must also be willing to give those who hurt us.. .those who offend us… those who trespass against us, not only forgiveness, but also another chance!!!!
The Prodigal’s Father didn’t stop his son at the gate and say… that’s far enough… but opened his arms wide for him to come back home!!!
FELLOWSHIP WAS RESTORED!!!!!!!
And WE need to learn to not only Forgive, but also to
RESTORE broken relationships!!!
For God did not do us that way… forgave us, but stood afar off with skepticism… NO… he reconciled us back to HIMSELF through his Son, Jesus Christ!
So listen Church… Forgiveness is not just forgiving and then … “you stay on your side of the church and I’ll stay on mine”. …. But it’s also RECONCILIATION!!!!
MATT 5: 23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;
24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
We love 2Cor. 5:17
17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
BUT check out Vs. 18
18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
So how are we supposed to RECONCILE???
Matt. 18: 15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.
Understand… NOT everyone will want to be reconciled, but you MUST do your part!!!
There will be some that you will have to mark off. BUT before you do… make sure you have done everything Biblically to restore that Fellowship!!!
The Temperance Reformation
This story took place in the years when social drinking was a common thing even among many of the churches. However, many men of God were beginning to speak out against drinking and taking a stand against it from their pulpits.
One Sunday, the pastor, who was a supporter of the drink, announced that there would be town meeting the following night… the topic: The evils of intemperance in the use of alcoholic liquors.
Many showed up to see what would be said. Two men also came whom were strangers. One looked to be as a member of the clergy while the other was a tall broad chested man, white headed, with a face full of wrinkles. His eyes were black and restless.
One arm had been severed above his elbow and there was a wide scar above his right eye.
The clergy speaker made his appeal and when finished, the local pastor stood and attacked the position of this visitor stating they were nothing but meddlesome fanatics who wished to break up the time-honored usages of good society and injure the business of respectable men.
As the pastor took his seat, the large visiting man rose, and after a few awkward moments, proceeded to speak with a depth in his voice that riveted every one in that meeting with peculiar interest.
One man in particular had his attention fixed intently on this visitor moreso than any other in the building.
Than elder man began to speak:
I am an old man standing alone at the end of life’s journey. There is a deep sorrow in my heart and tears in my eyes. I am without friends, home or family, but it used to not be so.
I once had a loving mother who’s now in the grave that took special care to raise me the best she could…
I once had a loving wife, and precious little boy and baby girl with a beautiful home.
But that women’s bright blue eyes were dimmed, and that precious family was torn apart and crushed by the demon of the bottle.
I was a drunkard. I drug my family down with me into degradation and poverty. The family often went without food for days at a time as I followed that cursed life of strong drink.
One New Year night, I returned late to our wretched delapitated home where my wife was still up shivering over the few hot coals. I demanded food, but she burst into tears stating that there had not been food for a few days. Suddenly the baby girl burst forth in a wail for she was hungry. I could not take the noise and the saddened look of my wife, so I hit her to the earth. The furies of hell boiled inside me. Then taking her by the hair, I drug her to the door throwing her outside in the deep snow. I grabbed that baby girl and also threw her outside. But that wasn’t enough. I then turned to the little bed where lie my sleeping boy and snatched him from his covers also throwing him outside.
In an agony of fear, he called me by a name I am no longer fit to bear and locked his little fingers in my side pocket. I could not pull his hand free, so like the devil, I shut the door upon his arm and with my pocket knife severed the wrist.
The speaker paused for a moment and buried his face in his hand, his chest heaving like a fierce storm.
He then resumed his story. It was morning when I awoke. I first secured a drink of water and then looked for my wife. At first I could not understand where she had gone, but then like a murderous nightmare, my mind began to remember the happenings of the night before. I rushed to the door, opening it with shuddering dread. As the door opened, and show blew in, something else also fell in, striking the floor with a hard sharp sound. My blood shot like red-hot arrows through my viens… I had to turn away as the sight was too horrible to bear. It was my wife holding and cuddling my little baby girl, both frozen to death. I know not what happened to my little son.
Again, the old man bowed his head and wept, and all in the meeting wept with him.
He went on: I was arrested, and sentenced to prison for 10 years, but that confinement was nothing compared to the anguish I went through day after day, night after night.
Friends, I’m here tonight, no not as a fanatic, but to warn others to not enter into the path which has been so dark and fearful to me. Oh that I could see my wife and children again.
With that, he sat down. The other visitor then asked all those present to sign a pledge to never drink again. The one man in the crowd who had shown special attention to these two visitors and the old man in particular, jumped to his feet and raced over to grab the pen to sign the pledge.
The older man looked up and almost shouted… Sign it young man, sign it! Angels would sign it. I would write my name ten thousand times in blood if I could bring my loved ones back.
The man wrote his name: Mortimer Hudson.
The old man looked, wiped his tears and looked again catching his breath.
Pardon me young man, but… that is the name of my own brave boy.
The young man trembled and then held up his arm to show there was no hand.
The old man gasped.
My own injured boy
The young man cried
My father.
They fell upon each other till it seemed that their souls would grow and mingle into one.
There was much weeping in that place as two souls sought forgiveness and were reconciled back together.
Another story:
On a cold winter evening a man suffered a heart attack and after being admitted to the hospital, asked the nurse to call his daughter. He explained, "You see, I live alone and she is the only family I have." The nurse went to phone the daughter. The daughter was quite upset and shouted, "You must not let him die! You see, Dad and I had a terrible argument almost a year ago. I haven’t seen him since. All these months I’ve wanted to go to him for forgiveness. The last thing I said to him was ’I hate you."’ The daughter cried and then said, "I’m coming now. I’ll be there in thirty minutes."
The patient went into cardiac arrest, and code 99 was alerted. The nurse prayed, "O God, his daughter is coming. Don’t let it end this way." The efforts of the medical team to revive the patient were fruitless. The nurse observed one of the doctors talking to the daughter outside the room. She could see the pathetic hurt in her face. The nurse took the daughter aside and said, "I’m sorry." The daughter responded, "I never hated him, you know. I loved him, And now I want to go see him." The nurse took her to the room, and the daughter went to the bed and buried her face in the sheets as she said good-bye to her deceased father. The nurse, as she tried not to look at this sad good-bye, noticed a scrap of paper on the bed table. She. picked it up and read: "My dearest Janie, I forgive you. I pray you will also forgive me. I know that you love me. I love you, too. Daddy."
Don’t wait until it’s too late!!! Forgive now!
After all… think about all you’ve done to God, and yet, HE STILL FORGAVE YOU!!!
Cannot you forgive??? Cannot you forget???
Matt. 6: 14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
