MATTHEW 6:14-15 “I CHOOSE TO FORGIVE – PART 4”
A) We are the followers of Christ, and our Lord has commanded us to stay busy
in this matter of forgiveness.
* Look at a quick review of Jesus’ teaching on the subject – Jesus on Forgiveness .......
* Mark 11:25 ....... Luke 6:37 ....... Matt. 6:12 .......
B) Are you ready for that? – Those are some pretty tough, important statements.
* Let me do this one last time ... Think about the ways that you’ve failed God.
* Have you thought of them? ... Now I want to ask you a question – But I want to tell
you what the word fail means before you answer the question.
C) In Luke 22, Jesus and His disciples were celebrating Passover.
* Jesus knew that He was going to be tortured and then crucified on a cross and die.
* He goes through the Passover with them comparing the bread and cup to His body
and blood – And then He talks about His betrayal. (Please get that)
D) When you read about this event, please notice the selfishness of the disciples.
* Look at what they were discussing – Luke 22:24 “And there was also a strife .......”
* Then Jesus explains to them who would be the greatest, and then He tells them of
their place in the future kingdom.
* Then look what happens next ... Luke 22:31-34 .......
E) Here’s what that word “fail” means ... The Greek word is “ekleipo” (ek-li’-po),
and it means, “to omit,”
* Webster: “to fall short, to disappoint the expectations or trust of.”
* Now the question – How many of us will admit that we have failed God?
* Now pray this, “God, I want You to forgive me the way that I forgive other people.”
F) Where would you be if the Lord chose to forgive you as you forgive others?
* Somehow God is keeping track of the way that we forgive and the degree to which
we forgive, and He is measuring His forgiveness back to us in the same portion.
* Go back to our text – Matthew 6 .......
G) Note the word “but” (de) in v.15 ... It means, “on the contrary, unless.”
* Church, this is not something that Jesus is suggesting – He commands it.
* Because I’m forgiven, I choose to forgive ... And remember, forgiveness is a decision
to release a person from the obligation that resulted when they injured you.
I CHOOSE FORGIVENESS BECAUSE FORGIVENESS HAS NO LIMITS
A) Peter was trying to put a limit to forgiveness – Turn over to Matthew 18.
* Peter (You got to love him) put a limit to forgive to 7 times (v.21)
* And he thought he would blow the Lord’s mind if he offered forgiveness to the person
that sinned against him over and over to 7 times – But Jesus said in v.22 .......
B) Maybe we limit forgiveness like Peter did on how many times we’ll forgive.
* But you cannot put a limit on forgiveness, not according to the Bible.
* In fact, Jesus wanted to make sure they got this that He goes into this amazing parable
here starting in Matthew 18:23 .......
* A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning – Let me illustrate .......
C) 10,000 talents – Here’s how much that is – 1 talent was 20 years wages.
* Let’s say that an experienced laborer makes 50K a year – So 20 years of income
@ 50K a year is how much money? – 1 Million dollars.
* If 1 talent is 1 million dollars, 10,000 talents is 10 billion dollars. (How much?)
D) What Jesus is saying is that this is an unpayable amount – You could never
earn that much or get that much ... It’s a number that you could never get to.
* So you could see that it would be insane that the guy comes in – He owes 10,000
talents, and since he could not pay – Look at v.25 .......
E) Not that he’d ever make payment, but he’d pay what he could.
* He would be a slave for the rest of his life – v.26 .......
* Which was an outrageous assertion because there was no possibility whatsoever
that he could do that – v.27 .......
F) Do you understand that that’s you? – Do you get it?
* Who’s the King in this parable? ... God is ... We’re the one with the debt that cannot
be paid – Please understand that about yourself.
* You understand that before a holy God, you owe a debt that could never be paid.
G) It is only by the grace of God that keeps you from falling into hell this moment.
* You can’t earn God’s favor – You can’t pay off your debt – You can’t work to change
it, and this all revolves around seeing yourself clearly .......
* That I have nothing in which to commend myself to God.
H) I don’t deserve God’s grace – I don’t deserve His forgiveness – I can’t earn it.
* My only chance is – He’s gonna be like, “Never mind.” ... But God will not clear the
guilty or lightly dismiss our sin.
* The good news of the gospel is that Christ came into the world and paid a debt that
He did not owe because we owed a debt we could not pay.
I) It’s mind-blowing that Jesus took upon Himself the penalty for our sins .......
* That He would love us enough to provide for the forgiveness of our sins through the
punishment of His own Son.
J) I got what I did not deserve, and 10,000 years from today I will be singing the
praises of the righteousness of God .......
* Who loved me enough to give Christ in my place for my forgiveness.
THIS IS LIFE CHANGING – THIS IS SOMETHING THAT ALTERS YOUR LIFE
A) This is not a Band-Aid on an “I feel guilty” sore.
* And one of the things it alters about you is, you cannot see other fallen people the
same way – And you don’t get it all at once, and you don’t get it perfectly.
* But Eph. 4:31-32 says “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour,
and evil speaking, be put away from .... And be ye kind one to .......”
B) I can’t change my past, so I choose to forgive – Because forgiveness has no limits.
* It can conquer anything that’s happened to me.
* Because I’m forgiven – I choose to forgive – I’m forgiven to forgive – And now this:
I CHOOSE TO FORGIVE BECAUSE UNFORGIVENESS DESTROYS OTHER PEOPLE
A) You understand how unforgiveness is so destructive.
* It’s a devastating choice to be an unforgiving person.
* Notice in Matthew 18 as the parable continues – v.28a .......
B) Pence or denari ... 100 denari was 100 days wages.
* If 50K were a year’s wage, then 2/5 of that would be about 20K, so it was not a small
amount – Read v.28 again .......
C) Not a lot of conversation – No, “Hey, how’s it going, when am I gonna get my 20K?”
* The first move was to grab him ... The next move, hard to do unless you’re on top of him,
was to choke him ... Now the speech begins, “Pay me what you owe.” ... Get the picture?
D) It’s a staggering thing – The guy just got forgiven 10,000 talents – 10B dollars.
* And now he’s out choking this guy for 100 days wages.
* He should’ve been like, “Hey, I remember that thing – I can’t believe what just
happened to me in there – I so forgive that .......”
* “You don’t owe me – I don’t want it – Let it go.”
E) And that’s what we should be like if we’re really altered by the forgiveness of God,
not just selfishly claiming it so I can go to heaven .......
* But really altered in my soul by what God has done for me.
NOTICE THE DEVASTATION THAT UNFORGIVENESS LEAVES IN ITS WAKE
A) First: A Shattered Relationship With A Fellowservant. (Coworker)
* How many would agree that when he got through choking the guy, that relationship was
pretty much over ... I kind of doubt they were at a BBQ the next Friday, and he was like,
* “Hey dude, sorry about that choking thing – I just lost my head for a minute there.”
* How many people would agree that didn’t happen? – I mean, it was over ... Unforgiveness
can destroy a relationship – It’s destroyed because of unforgiveness.
B) Notice Secondly: The Tubed Relationship With His Coworkers.
* v.29 – The guy falls down at his feet and begs for forgiveness, but v.30 says the guy
wouldn’t even listen, but goes and throws him in prison till he pay the debt.
* He rejected the cry for mercy and refused to forgive.
C) But notice v.31, They go tell the king, “Hey king, it’s not right what’s going on,
I don’t know if you’ve noticed or not, but .......”
* Now he loses all of his credibility, all of his integrity with all of his fellowservants.
* They probably had a good thing going, but now, unforgiveness shattered the relationship,
and the relationship went “down the tubes” with his coworkers.
D) Notice when he gets before the king, he’s just humiliated.
* This guy was pretty chatty the last time he was with the king, but this time the king
says in v.32-33 .......
* And the guy doesn’t say a single word – He doesn’t know what to say – He’s silent.
* I mean, he could’ve have a great relationship with the king – Illustrate .......
E) Now the king’s like, “You wicked servant – I did all of that for you, and you .......”
* The relationship was trashed – It could’ve been awesome, but it became so awful
because he didn’t extend what was extended to him.
THEN NOTICE THE MENTAL BREAKDOWN
A) He puts the guy in prison – Now how bad a plan was that?
* You owe me so much money that you’re going to prison till you pay.
* Uh, that’s not gonna be helping me pay because I don’t know if you know how much
money you make in prison, but it’s not enough.
B) Here’s what happens ... Unforgiveness gets you off the issue and gets you on
vengeance.
* He says, “I don’t care if he ever pays me, I want him to pay, that’s all I want.”
* It’s just so destructive is what I’m trying to say – Unforgiveness is so destructive.
C) It’s destructive to other people.
* How many people in your life are suffering because of unforgiveness in your life that
has absolutely nothing to do with them?
* But it plays into the tone of all of your conversations ... It plays into your impatience,
and your rashness – Your shortness .......
* And people that you love that have done nothing wrong are suffering because of the
unforgiveness that you are holding over someone else.
D) I went to BCBI for 7 years ... One of the things that I was never taught was on
the importance of forgiveness.
* I’ve learned more about forgiveness in the last month or so than I have in my whole
time as pastor.
E) I have laid some names at the cross in my backyard and said, “God, I’m letting
this go – I forgive, even those who are still trying to hurt me and the church.”
* “I’m writing it off – I’m leaving it behind ... I’m releasing them from the obligation
that resulted when they injured me.”
FORGIVENESS IS A LIFE CHANGING EXPERIENCE FOR ME
A) I admit that I have failed at times in the process and had to return to the crisis,
and had to go back to my cross in my back yard.
* Oh, I still think of them, but there’ll be a day when they just won’t be painful anymore.
* I ask this church to forgive me for having an unforgiving spirit.
* And get this last part as I bring this message to a close .......
BECAUSE UNFORGIVENESS DESTROYS ME
A) Nothing will cut into your soul like unforgiveness.
* It is the absolute opposite of what God calls us to ... You got to let it go.
* You don’t have to prove you’re right – You don’t have to demonstrate the superiority
of anything – You got to let it go.
* But notice the text – v.34 ....... Tormentors is translated torturers – He was tortured.
B) Bible scholars believe that this describes not just this life, but in the life to come.
* That’s what birthed what Jesus said in Matt. 6:15 “But if ye forgive not .......”
C) Rom. 12:19 “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”
* 2 Thess. 1:6 “Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense .......”
* That will do this to you ... Then He closes out with v.35 .......
D) Through several different studies, I’m told that it’s a proven fact that forgiveness
makes you healthier, happier, and maybe even slimmer.
* The Creator of our bodies knew that we were not designed to hold grudges – We don’t
have the capacity to do this.
* Holding a grudge is letting someone live rent free in your head – Look at Col. 3:13 .......
E) Unforgiveness is sin – It’s a cancer in your soul ... And it will eat away at your
being, and it will destroy you .......
* Until you choose the crisis and commit to the process, until God sets you free.
F) When you choose to forgive those who hurt you, you take away their power.
* Who’s in charge of your life? ....... I choose to forgive ... The choice lies before you right
now ... Say, “I choose to forgive,” – Name the person – Name the offense .......
* “Lord, I choose to forgive my mom for ... My dad for ... My brother for ... Sister ...”
* I CHOOSE TO FORGIVE – There is freedom in forgiveness.
