WEBVTT 00:00:01.409 --> 00:00:03.990 Hello, you are listening to Second City Sermons, 00:00:04.389 --> 00:00:06.910 a ministry of Second City Church in Midtown Harrisburg. 00:00:07.769 --> 00:00:09.869 This fall we're studying the book of Second Corinthians. 00:00:10.769 --> 00:00:13.070 Second Corinthians is a heartfelt and practical 00:00:13.070 --> 00:00:16.050 book calling us back to the life of the cross. 00:00:17.050 --> 00:00:19.730 We, like the Corinthians, so often pursue glory, 00:00:19.949 --> 00:00:23.269 admire eloquence, shun suffering, hide hurt, 00:00:23.809 --> 00:00:26.750 and hoard our goods. And yet the gospel of Jesus 00:00:26.750 --> 00:00:29.910 tells us that resurrection comes after a cross. 00:00:30.500 --> 00:00:34.039 that comfort comes after being crushed, that 00:00:34.039 --> 00:00:36.520 the way up is the way down, that the way to glory 00:00:36.520 --> 00:00:39.920 is through suffering, that his strength is made 00:00:39.920 --> 00:00:44.619 perfect in our weakness. We'd love to meet you 00:00:44.619 --> 00:00:46.259 and we hope you'll consider coming and joining 00:00:46.259 --> 00:00:48.640 with us each Sunday morning at 10 a .m. in the 00:00:48.640 --> 00:00:51.140 heart of Midtown Harrisburg. You can find us 00:00:51.140 --> 00:00:53.859 online at secondcitychurch .org and on Facebook, 00:00:54.159 --> 00:00:57.100 Instagram, and YouTube. We hope you enjoy this 00:00:57.100 --> 00:01:02.630 sermon. God bless. Lord, this morning as we turn 00:01:02.630 --> 00:01:06.909 to this second chapter of 2nd Corinthians and 00:01:06.909 --> 00:01:11.090 come to the great subject of forgiveness and 00:01:11.090 --> 00:01:15.489 as we hear, as we just heard this powerful parable 00:01:15.489 --> 00:01:20.329 from your mouth, Lord Jesus, I pray that we might 00:01:20.329 --> 00:01:22.390 live into the reality of what you have done for 00:01:22.390 --> 00:01:26.209 us and that we might image you in our life with 00:01:26.209 --> 00:01:32.260 others. Write these holy words on our hearts, 00:01:32.519 --> 00:01:38.340 and would they shape our lives? Amen. Some of 00:01:38.340 --> 00:01:41.980 you, maybe many of you know the remarkable story 00:01:41.980 --> 00:01:46.159 of Corrie Ten Boon. She was born in Amsterdam 00:01:46.159 --> 00:01:51.239 in 1892. She was born to a devout Christian family. 00:01:51.459 --> 00:01:53.680 Her parents raised her in the knowledge of the 00:01:53.680 --> 00:01:56.769 Lord. At least we have a sense of early on in 00:01:56.769 --> 00:01:59.049 her life, around the age of five. Some of you 00:01:59.049 --> 00:02:02.109 are close to that age. She had a living and active 00:02:02.109 --> 00:02:06.689 faith in Jesus. Well, her dad actually inherited 00:02:06.689 --> 00:02:09.710 the family watch shop in Harlem and they moved 00:02:09.710 --> 00:02:12.530 there, which is, you may know, nearby to Amsterdam. 00:02:13.349 --> 00:02:17.370 And remarkably, at the age of 20, she became 00:02:17.370 --> 00:02:20.169 not only the first woman who was licensed as 00:02:20.169 --> 00:02:23.050 a watchmaker, but also the youngest one at 20 00:02:23.050 --> 00:02:25.979 years old. working there alongside her dad in 00:02:25.979 --> 00:02:29.159 their watch shop. She had two older siblings 00:02:29.159 --> 00:02:31.719 who were married. She and her sister, Betsy, 00:02:31.719 --> 00:02:34.680 they never married. They lived their life with 00:02:34.680 --> 00:02:38.180 their parents and they were very active in evangelism 00:02:38.180 --> 00:02:40.560 and in caring for those in need. They actually 00:02:40.560 --> 00:02:44.159 started a club for younger folk with different 00:02:44.159 --> 00:02:47.780 disabilities, sharing the good news of Jesus 00:02:47.780 --> 00:02:49.360 with them and giving them fellowship with one 00:02:49.360 --> 00:02:51.979 another and enjoying their life. And a remarkable, 00:02:51.979 --> 00:02:55.830 remarkable woman When the Nazis invaded the Netherlands 00:02:55.830 --> 00:03:01.069 in 1940, she began cycling around as they do 00:03:01.069 --> 00:03:02.590 over there. My sister is actually a missionary 00:03:02.590 --> 00:03:04.669 in the Netherlands. They ride their bikes all 00:03:04.669 --> 00:03:08.150 over the place. And she would cycle to these 00:03:08.150 --> 00:03:11.550 different resistance meetings. And she actually 00:03:11.550 --> 00:03:14.629 gathered ration books during the war specifically 00:03:14.629 --> 00:03:17.150 for the Jews that were not given ration books 00:03:17.150 --> 00:03:21.530 for their food. She helped organize long -term 00:03:21.530 --> 00:03:24.469 places of hiding for those Jews who were seeking 00:03:24.469 --> 00:03:26.550 refuge. And you may know the story, but there 00:03:26.550 --> 00:03:29.909 was actually a hiding place for these Jews right 00:03:29.909 --> 00:03:35.349 off of her own room, her own small bedroom. Well, 00:03:35.610 --> 00:03:42.650 on the 28th of February in 1944, this Dutch resistance 00:03:42.650 --> 00:03:46.020 movement that was hiding Jews was betrayed. And 00:03:46.020 --> 00:03:48.539 Kori Tenbun was actually not feeling well and 00:03:48.539 --> 00:03:50.699 was sort of caught off guard when Jews rushed 00:03:50.699 --> 00:03:53.819 into her room and into the hiding place. And 00:03:53.819 --> 00:03:56.240 she and her entire family and the Jews there 00:03:56.240 --> 00:04:00.500 with her were arrested and caught. And she was 00:04:00.500 --> 00:04:02.319 taken to prison. Actually, interestingly, she 00:04:02.319 --> 00:04:05.219 was put in confinement because it was believed 00:04:05.219 --> 00:04:07.639 that she was one of the great underground resistance 00:04:07.639 --> 00:04:13.039 leaders. she later confessed and expressed just 00:04:13.039 --> 00:04:15.639 how unbelievably difficult solitary confinement 00:04:15.639 --> 00:04:20.060 was, but she was reunited with her sister Betsy 00:04:20.060 --> 00:04:22.740 and they were taken off to Ravensbrook, which 00:04:22.740 --> 00:04:24.759 was the concentration camp where so many women 00:04:24.759 --> 00:04:28.300 went. It actually read, it's estimated that 35 00:04:28.300 --> 00:04:34.019 ,000 women would be at that camp at any given 00:04:34.019 --> 00:04:37.360 time. 35 ,000. They were brought there, they 00:04:37.360 --> 00:04:40.720 were stripped naked, they were placed in housing 00:04:40.720 --> 00:04:42.879 situations where there were hundreds and hundreds 00:04:42.879 --> 00:04:46.660 in a little barracks housing. Lice infected the 00:04:46.660 --> 00:04:48.860 mattresses which they shared with one another. 00:04:49.860 --> 00:04:54.740 It was an awful, awful situation. They would 00:04:54.740 --> 00:04:57.439 rise for roll call at 4 a .m. They were forced 00:04:57.439 --> 00:05:01.420 to work long days. They were watched over, they 00:05:01.420 --> 00:05:03.579 were berated, they were beaten by the guards. 00:05:04.079 --> 00:05:08.319 And of course the smell of dead bodies permeated 00:05:08.319 --> 00:05:11.920 those concentration camps. Betsy, her sister 00:05:11.920 --> 00:05:15.399 died there at Ravensbrook on the 16th of December. 00:05:16.819 --> 00:05:19.480 And Corey was released actually on the 31st of 00:05:19.480 --> 00:05:21.920 December, just a few weeks after her sister's 00:05:21.920 --> 00:05:24.120 passing. But it was determined that it was a 00:05:24.120 --> 00:05:26.379 clerical error, because just a few weeks later 00:05:26.379 --> 00:05:30.079 every woman her age was killed in that camp. 00:05:30.959 --> 00:05:34.209 Remarkably, her life was spared. But I read this, 00:05:34.250 --> 00:05:36.550 that just before her sister Betsy died, she told 00:05:36.550 --> 00:05:39.750 Corey, when we are set free from this terrible 00:05:39.750 --> 00:05:42.149 place, and we will be freed, Corey, before the 00:05:42.149 --> 00:05:46.350 New Year, we must go over the world and tell 00:05:46.350 --> 00:05:49.470 everyone who will listen what we have proved 00:05:49.470 --> 00:05:52.829 to be true in this terrible place, that the love 00:05:52.829 --> 00:05:56.490 of God is stronger than the deepest darkness. 00:05:57.490 --> 00:06:01.930 I wonder if you believe that? That in a place 00:06:01.930 --> 00:06:05.769 like that, We have been so incredibly sinned 00:06:05.769 --> 00:06:12.430 against. The love of God is deeper, stronger 00:06:12.430 --> 00:06:16.649 than the deepest darkness. Here's something that's 00:06:16.649 --> 00:06:21.129 true. Some of you have been hurt unbelievably 00:06:21.129 --> 00:06:28.310 deeply beyond what you ever imagined. Never thought 00:06:28.310 --> 00:06:29.970 you could be hurt this much. Some of you have 00:06:29.970 --> 00:06:32.949 been betrayed. Others of you have been abused. 00:06:33.490 --> 00:06:36.689 Some of you have been mocked. Others of you have 00:06:36.689 --> 00:06:39.209 probably experienced the pain of adultery and 00:06:39.209 --> 00:06:42.850 betrayal. And the fact is that every single one 00:06:42.850 --> 00:06:45.730 of you have been sinned against. We are sinners. 00:06:45.790 --> 00:06:48.389 We confess this. This is true. And yet every 00:06:48.389 --> 00:06:53.649 single one of us have been sinned against. And 00:06:53.649 --> 00:06:58.410 Jesus tells us that if we do not forgive others, 00:06:58.410 --> 00:07:04.709 we will not be forgiven. how we have to believe 00:07:04.709 --> 00:07:07.050 that the love of God is even stronger than the 00:07:07.050 --> 00:07:12.370 deepest darkness. I said last week that at the 00:07:12.370 --> 00:07:16.009 heart of 2 Corinthians is the truth that power 00:07:16.009 --> 00:07:21.250 is made perfect in weakness. And I think that 00:07:21.250 --> 00:07:25.250 one of the places in our lives where this truth 00:07:25.250 --> 00:07:30.209 is most known or can be most powerful because 00:07:30.209 --> 00:07:33.819 it is so hard is in our acts of forgiveness. 00:07:37.899 --> 00:07:41.879 The things that we have to forgive. So I want 00:07:41.879 --> 00:07:43.839 you to open up your Bible, okay? If you do not 00:07:43.839 --> 00:07:45.339 have a Bible open, I want you to open it up to 00:07:45.339 --> 00:07:47.860 2 Corinthians chapter two. We're starting there 00:07:47.860 --> 00:07:50.300 in verse five. We went through verse four last 00:07:50.300 --> 00:07:55.800 week. We're going to finish this chapter. And 00:07:55.800 --> 00:07:57.040 what we're going to do is we're going to look 00:07:57.040 --> 00:07:58.800 at a few things. We're going to see a number 00:07:58.800 --> 00:08:01.910 of important things that come up when we come 00:08:01.910 --> 00:08:07.569 to the subject of forgiveness, okay? Looking 00:08:07.569 --> 00:08:10.569 at the idea of forgiveness, 2 Corinthians chapter 00:08:10.569 --> 00:08:16.069 two, verse five. We look at that first paragraph, 00:08:16.170 --> 00:08:18.470 there's a few things that you see sort of immediately. 00:08:19.129 --> 00:08:21.350 And one of the things that I want you to see 00:08:21.350 --> 00:08:22.850 first is sort of what I've just said, is that 00:08:22.850 --> 00:08:27.110 there is a command to forgive. The command to 00:08:27.110 --> 00:08:31.199 forgive, verse seven says, Rather turn to forgive 00:08:31.199 --> 00:08:33.600 and comfort him. Verse eight says, so I beg you 00:08:33.600 --> 00:08:36.059 to reaffirm your love for him by this act of 00:08:36.059 --> 00:08:38.659 forgiveness. Verse nine says, this is why I wrote 00:08:38.659 --> 00:08:40.779 you that I might test you and know whether you 00:08:40.779 --> 00:08:43.019 are obedient and everything, which is in the 00:08:43.019 --> 00:08:45.899 context of forgiveness. Are you hearing what 00:08:45.899 --> 00:08:49.919 I'm saying? Do you understand the command to 00:08:49.919 --> 00:08:53.399 forgive? Certainly this paragraph is speaking 00:08:53.399 --> 00:08:55.879 of this command to forgive. And that command 00:08:55.879 --> 00:08:57.580 can be seen all throughout the Bible, but actually 00:08:57.580 --> 00:09:00.179 there is no one who says it more clearly and 00:09:00.179 --> 00:09:03.799 more starkly and maybe even more sort of stronger 00:09:03.799 --> 00:09:09.559 than we want than our Lord Jesus himself. Matthew 00:09:09.559 --> 00:09:14.139 chapter six, verses 14 and 15. For if you forgive 00:09:14.139 --> 00:09:16.200 others their trespasses, your heavenly Father 00:09:16.200 --> 00:09:18.340 will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive 00:09:18.340 --> 00:09:21.659 others their trespasses, neither will your Father 00:09:21.659 --> 00:09:27.960 forgive your trespasses." The unbelievably strong 00:09:27.960 --> 00:09:31.620 command of our Lord Jesus to move towards forgiveness. 00:09:33.980 --> 00:09:38.679 Think of the parable that was just read for us 00:09:38.679 --> 00:09:41.940 from Matthew chapter 18. the great parable of 00:09:41.940 --> 00:09:44.980 the unforgiving servant. He was forgiven so much 00:09:44.980 --> 00:09:48.259 and he came out from that being just forgiven 00:09:48.259 --> 00:09:51.980 so much and he demanded somebody else pay him 00:09:51.980 --> 00:09:55.860 back. And I want you to hear again how Jesus 00:09:55.860 --> 00:09:59.100 ends that parable. Then his master summoned him 00:09:59.100 --> 00:10:02.700 and said to him, you wicked servant, I forgave 00:10:02.700 --> 00:10:05.179 you all that debt because you pleaded with me 00:10:05.179 --> 00:10:08.500 and should not you have had mercy on your fellow 00:10:08.500 --> 00:10:11.980 servants as I had mercy on you. and in anger 00:10:11.980 --> 00:10:14.299 his master delivered him to the jailers until 00:10:14.299 --> 00:10:17.379 he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly 00:10:17.379 --> 00:10:19.940 father will do to every one of you if you do 00:10:19.940 --> 00:10:23.340 not forgive your brother." It doesn't just say 00:10:23.340 --> 00:10:31.879 with your words, it's from your heart. Difficult 00:10:31.879 --> 00:10:35.299 thing, but it is very clear in our passage in 00:10:35.299 --> 00:10:37.120 2 Corinthians, it's very clear from the words 00:10:37.120 --> 00:10:39.870 of our Lord Himself, the mouth of our Lord. that 00:10:39.870 --> 00:10:43.590 there is a command to forgive. The command is 00:10:43.590 --> 00:10:48.110 clear. But one of the reasons why maybe right 00:10:48.110 --> 00:10:52.450 now for you this is sitting a little hard is 00:10:52.450 --> 00:10:56.029 because we also know forgiveness is an unbelievable 00:10:56.029 --> 00:11:02.610 challenge. Forgiveness is not easy. And this 00:11:02.610 --> 00:11:05.169 is also brought up in this paragraph actually. 00:11:07.399 --> 00:11:10.059 It's a challenge, first of all, because actually, 00:11:10.779 --> 00:11:13.080 if you are actually going to forgive, you have 00:11:13.080 --> 00:11:16.460 to acknowledge how deeply you were hurt. You 00:11:16.460 --> 00:11:20.120 actually have to face the pain of the sin that 00:11:20.120 --> 00:11:24.200 was done against you. We can be hurt so deeply. 00:11:24.259 --> 00:11:28.940 We've been sinned against so intensely. It affects 00:11:28.940 --> 00:11:33.460 us so incredibly. It affects all of us. Verse 00:11:33.460 --> 00:11:37.769 five, Paul says that the pain that one has caused 00:11:37.769 --> 00:11:40.309 wasn't just to him, but it was to the community 00:11:40.309 --> 00:11:43.549 at large, right? It wasn't just against him. 00:11:44.090 --> 00:11:47.850 It's affecting everybody. Which is to say, your 00:11:47.850 --> 00:11:49.570 sin, the ways that you've been sinned against, 00:11:49.649 --> 00:11:51.169 isn't actually just something that touches you, 00:11:51.169 --> 00:11:53.409 but it touches your community. That's one of 00:11:53.409 --> 00:11:56.110 the reasons why forgiveness is so deeply hard. 00:12:02.410 --> 00:12:04.330 Here's another thing, though, on the flip side 00:12:04.330 --> 00:12:07.549 and away, your faithfulness to our Lord also 00:12:07.549 --> 00:12:10.669 doesn't just affect you, but it affects those 00:12:10.669 --> 00:12:14.330 around you. We should say that the Bible assumes 00:12:14.330 --> 00:12:17.690 a communal life that is so much deeper and so 00:12:17.690 --> 00:12:22.029 much richer than we imagine, than we have minds 00:12:22.029 --> 00:12:27.129 to comprehend. It assumes that our lives are 00:12:27.129 --> 00:12:30.080 intertwined that when one is sinned against, 00:12:30.100 --> 00:12:32.960 the whole community is affected. When one forgives, 00:12:33.779 --> 00:12:40.299 the whole community finds life. Brothers and 00:12:40.299 --> 00:12:44.740 sisters, when you hurt another, you hurt us all. 00:12:45.779 --> 00:12:48.980 When you harbor bitterness against another, we 00:12:48.980 --> 00:12:54.340 are all a little worse off because of it. All 00:12:54.340 --> 00:12:58.240 sin separates, it distances, it breaks. And when 00:12:58.240 --> 00:13:04.279 one of us is distant because of sin, sure, there's 00:13:04.279 --> 00:13:05.899 like practical things like, oh, you're not present 00:13:05.899 --> 00:13:08.080 in worship or in small groups or jumping into 00:13:08.080 --> 00:13:09.679 volunteer in different ways like English language 00:13:09.679 --> 00:13:12.899 classes, stuff like that. But when you are withdrawn, 00:13:12.960 --> 00:13:14.379 when you're emotionally withdrawn, when you're 00:13:14.379 --> 00:13:17.600 distant, it actually affects the entire body. 00:13:18.360 --> 00:13:21.200 That's what the Bible tells us. All of us are 00:13:21.200 --> 00:13:25.980 affected by sin. All of us are affected by unforgiveness. 00:13:28.240 --> 00:13:31.700 We are not what and who we should be as individuals 00:13:31.700 --> 00:13:34.980 and as a community When we are sinned against 00:13:34.980 --> 00:13:38.159 and we are not what and who we should be as a 00:13:38.159 --> 00:13:42.440 community when we harbor unforgiveness Part of 00:13:42.440 --> 00:13:46.620 why forgiveness is such a challenge is Because 00:13:46.620 --> 00:13:50.039 sin is so real and the effects of it are so deep 00:13:50.039 --> 00:13:54.080 Did you notice I read this in my first point 00:13:54.080 --> 00:13:57.740 there of the command but Paul has to beg them 00:13:57.899 --> 00:14:02.440 to forgive. He assumes that it's a challenge. 00:14:02.639 --> 00:14:07.879 He assumes this is not an easy thing to do. But 00:14:07.879 --> 00:14:12.159 he also says he has to beg them and he acknowledges 00:14:12.159 --> 00:14:17.299 that Satan wants to outwit them. It's a challenge 00:14:17.299 --> 00:14:19.320 because it's hard to do, but also because Satan 00:14:19.320 --> 00:14:22.279 actually doesn't want you to do it. That's one 00:14:22.279 --> 00:14:23.519 of the things that he's acknowledging there. 00:14:23.919 --> 00:14:26.220 What he's saying is that forgiveness is a great 00:14:26.220 --> 00:14:28.240 challenge. It's command, but it's not some easy 00:14:28.240 --> 00:14:29.639 thing that we should sort of brush off. Yeah, 00:14:29.639 --> 00:14:32.419 I forgive you. You actually have to look at the 00:14:32.419 --> 00:14:35.500 pain of what happened to you to enter into that. 00:14:36.139 --> 00:14:38.039 And you have to acknowledge there has to be a 00:14:38.039 --> 00:14:44.080 death of my power grabbing, of my saying, I must 00:14:44.080 --> 00:14:49.559 be right and you must pay. Forgiveness is a great 00:14:49.559 --> 00:14:56.940 challenge. Paul demonstrates here that forgiveness 00:14:56.940 --> 00:15:00.559 can be incredibly liberating. Maybe you notice 00:15:00.559 --> 00:15:03.879 this in verse 10. It's kind of wild. He says, 00:15:04.059 --> 00:15:07.200 anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, 00:15:07.600 --> 00:15:09.580 what I have forgiven, if I forgive in anything, 00:15:10.240 --> 00:15:12.799 has been for your sake. Commentators say, Paul 00:15:12.799 --> 00:15:15.200 is actually demonstrating that there is the possibility 00:15:15.200 --> 00:15:18.090 of genuinely forgiving and forgetting. Paul's 00:15:18.090 --> 00:15:20.090 like, I'm not even sure I completely remember 00:15:20.090 --> 00:15:23.070 everything, if I've forgiven everything. Meaning 00:15:23.070 --> 00:15:26.370 that he's been so liberated from grabbing on. 00:15:27.690 --> 00:15:31.690 He's demonstrating that forgiveness is deeply 00:15:31.690 --> 00:15:35.070 liberating, but he is not ever denying that it 00:15:35.070 --> 00:15:39.409 is not challenging. He's calling us to something. 00:15:39.490 --> 00:15:42.210 It's the great command of our Lord, but he is 00:15:42.210 --> 00:15:47.720 admitting the difficulty of it. And CS Lewis 00:15:47.720 --> 00:15:51.539 was a little boy. He was nine years old the age 00:15:51.539 --> 00:15:56.539 of my son James nine years old that was the year 00:15:56.539 --> 00:16:00.080 when his mother died and maybe some of you know 00:16:00.080 --> 00:16:02.539 this he was sent off to a boarding school in 00:16:02.539 --> 00:16:06.179 England and He writes about this quite a bit 00:16:06.179 --> 00:16:08.440 But the the headmaster of that boarding school 00:16:08.440 --> 00:16:11.480 was actually a pretty sadistic kind of guy and 00:16:11.480 --> 00:16:15.190 it seemed as though he loved to cane The little 00:16:15.190 --> 00:16:17.929 boys there at the school to punish them severely 00:16:17.929 --> 00:16:22.909 He was a very evil man Meaning he would whip, 00:16:22.929 --> 00:16:25.330 you know whip the boys with a cane when they 00:16:25.330 --> 00:16:30.389 were in trouble Warren he went by warning see 00:16:30.389 --> 00:16:33.509 us. This is brother He went to the same school 00:16:33.509 --> 00:16:37.370 and he wrote this I have seen Him this headmaster 00:16:37.370 --> 00:16:41.289 lift a boy of 12 or so from from the floor by 00:16:41.289 --> 00:16:44.679 the back of his collar and holding him at arm's 00:16:44.679 --> 00:16:48.500 length as one might a dog apply his canes to 00:16:48.500 --> 00:16:53.720 his calf. I mean, the ways that we have been 00:16:53.720 --> 00:16:58.919 sinned against are so deep. You might not have 00:16:58.919 --> 00:17:01.159 that story, but I guarantee you have a story. 00:17:02.860 --> 00:17:06.980 We live in a world that is infected by sin. And 00:17:06.980 --> 00:17:09.319 we can share our stories of how unbelievably 00:17:09.319 --> 00:17:14.359 difficult it is to offer forgiveness. This was 00:17:14.359 --> 00:17:16.839 a miserable school. Like I said, Lewis writes 00:17:16.839 --> 00:17:21.380 about a number of times. And it was a time that 00:17:21.380 --> 00:17:23.519 sort of marked his life as one of the worst times 00:17:23.519 --> 00:17:26.519 of his life. He'd already suffered the loss of 00:17:26.519 --> 00:17:28.599 his mother. He's sent off by his father to this 00:17:28.599 --> 00:17:31.720 horrible, horrible place. And it was only shortly 00:17:31.720 --> 00:17:36.339 before his death in 1963, a half a century later, 00:17:37.279 --> 00:17:39.759 that Lewis could write that he had finally been 00:17:39.759 --> 00:17:43.000 able to forgive that man. of the scars that he 00:17:43.000 --> 00:17:49.359 had put in his life. Forgiveness is a command 00:17:49.359 --> 00:17:52.480 of our Lord, but it is also deeply, deeply challenging. 00:17:53.619 --> 00:17:57.640 It's a clear command, but it is a hard one. Here's 00:17:57.640 --> 00:17:59.900 the thing, okay, so second Corinthians... to 00:17:59.900 --> 00:18:03.319 hear, almost everybody that you read believes 00:18:03.319 --> 00:18:05.640 that what he's addressing is actually one of 00:18:05.640 --> 00:18:07.759 the sins that was being addressed in 1 Corinthians, 00:18:08.200 --> 00:18:10.980 specifically in 1 Corinthians chapter 5, where 00:18:10.980 --> 00:18:13.339 there was a man who was having inappropriate 00:18:13.339 --> 00:18:17.319 relationships with his father's wife. And what 00:18:17.319 --> 00:18:19.420 happens in that context in 1 Corinthians chapter 00:18:19.420 --> 00:18:21.539 5, if you know it, Paul says, have nothing to 00:18:21.539 --> 00:18:24.380 do with him. Discipline him in such a way that 00:18:24.380 --> 00:18:27.579 you sent him out from the community. Paul is 00:18:27.579 --> 00:18:30.279 so adamant that sin can actually affect the life 00:18:30.279 --> 00:18:32.500 of the community that you must deal with it. 00:18:32.599 --> 00:18:34.200 It's got to be dealt with. And there are some 00:18:34.200 --> 00:18:36.319 sins where you say, if you are persistent in 00:18:36.319 --> 00:18:39.740 this, you must actually be, well, the term is 00:18:39.740 --> 00:18:41.640 excommunicated, but you have to be actually shunned 00:18:41.640 --> 00:18:43.960 from the community. And almost everybody believes 00:18:43.960 --> 00:18:47.500 that's what Paul is addressing here in this paragraph. 00:18:48.579 --> 00:18:51.599 This man who has sinned so grievously and it's 00:18:51.599 --> 00:18:54.319 infecting the life of the community so intensely 00:18:54.319 --> 00:18:57.619 that this man actually must be taken out from 00:18:57.619 --> 00:19:01.680 the community. One of the things that we're seeing 00:19:01.680 --> 00:19:05.079 here though, is that this discipline, this severe 00:19:05.079 --> 00:19:08.920 discipline for sin has actually been met with 00:19:08.920 --> 00:19:11.640 a tender heart and a receptivity very likely 00:19:11.640 --> 00:19:15.859 from this man. And Paul says, as much as you 00:19:15.859 --> 00:19:19.440 might want to continue to shun him, that is not 00:19:19.440 --> 00:19:23.200 the way of the Christian. You must actually receive 00:19:23.200 --> 00:19:29.640 him back. You must actually embrace him. because, 00:19:29.640 --> 00:19:33.279 again, the community's life is bound up together. 00:19:33.319 --> 00:19:37.400 What happens to one affects the rest. If one 00:19:37.400 --> 00:19:41.700 is sorrowful, a blight is cast on the whole community. 00:19:42.359 --> 00:19:45.579 If one lives in constant sin, it does affect 00:19:45.579 --> 00:19:51.579 the rest. And yet, it seems as though, like I 00:19:51.579 --> 00:19:53.799 said, this discipline works. And so Paul now 00:19:53.799 --> 00:19:58.150 says, if you don't forgive, It affects the whole 00:19:58.150 --> 00:20:03.650 body. Part of the reason, again, why forgiveness 00:20:03.650 --> 00:20:05.890 is such a challenge in the Bible is because sin 00:20:05.890 --> 00:20:12.069 is taken so seriously. Not brushed aside as nothing, 00:20:13.849 --> 00:20:15.910 but it's taken so seriously that Paul says, actually, 00:20:15.930 --> 00:20:17.890 this person must be outside of the community. 00:20:18.509 --> 00:20:21.190 That's why freedom is so hard. It's such a challenge 00:20:21.190 --> 00:20:24.769 because it's such a serious thing. It affects 00:20:24.769 --> 00:20:28.190 us so much. Forgiveness is a command. Forgiveness 00:20:28.190 --> 00:20:31.710 is a challenge. I'll say this though, thirdly, 00:20:31.910 --> 00:20:36.549 that forgiveness is a comfort. And here's another 00:20:36.549 --> 00:20:42.130 truth. In the absence of forgiveness and love, 00:20:42.450 --> 00:20:47.210 in the absence of those things, there is always 00:20:47.210 --> 00:20:53.930 bitterness and division. You do not grow in godliness. 00:20:54.440 --> 00:21:00.000 when you harbor unforgiveness. Unforgiveness 00:21:00.000 --> 00:21:04.660 always invites bitterness and division. As another 00:21:04.660 --> 00:21:08.440 said, unforgiveness is the poison we drink, hoping 00:21:08.440 --> 00:21:12.819 another will die. NT Wright says, forgiveness 00:21:12.819 --> 00:21:15.700 is a two -way street. By releasing the other 00:21:15.700 --> 00:21:18.259 person from guilt, you release yourself from 00:21:18.259 --> 00:21:25.359 being crippled by their actions. As a command, 00:21:25.559 --> 00:21:27.880 as a challenge, it's also actually a great comfort. 00:21:30.720 --> 00:21:32.579 We actually get a little glimpse into this. This 00:21:32.579 --> 00:21:34.559 is kind of interesting. If you look down in your 00:21:34.559 --> 00:21:37.019 Bibles to the next little paragraph that begins 00:21:37.019 --> 00:21:41.319 in verse 12 then, there, just verse 12 and 13. 00:21:42.759 --> 00:21:44.920 He says, when I came to Troas to preach the gospel 00:21:44.920 --> 00:21:46.839 of Christ, even though a door was opened for 00:21:46.839 --> 00:21:49.839 me in the Lord, my spirit was not at rest because 00:21:49.839 --> 00:21:52.960 I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took 00:21:52.960 --> 00:21:58.839 leave of him and went on to Macedonia. He's there 00:21:58.839 --> 00:22:02.960 in Troas, and Troas is, it's sort of the upper 00:22:02.960 --> 00:22:06.059 eastern side of the Aegean Sea, or if you can 00:22:06.059 --> 00:22:07.740 think of modern day Turkey, it'd be like the 00:22:07.740 --> 00:22:10.299 very northwest. It'd be like looking at a map 00:22:10.299 --> 00:22:11.900 of the U .S. to be in the Pacific Northwest, 00:22:12.539 --> 00:22:15.980 but a map of Turkey. Well, it was a great city, 00:22:16.000 --> 00:22:19.160 a great port city. So you would often take a 00:22:19.160 --> 00:22:21.160 boat from there, a ship from there, and you would 00:22:21.160 --> 00:22:23.000 sail to other places. And one of the places where 00:22:23.000 --> 00:22:25.900 it would go would be the city of Corinth. And 00:22:25.900 --> 00:22:30.180 so Paul goes to this city of Troas because he'd 00:22:30.180 --> 00:22:32.380 heard a door was open for him in the gospel, 00:22:32.740 --> 00:22:35.579 which is sort of every missionary's dream, every 00:22:35.579 --> 00:22:38.099 pastor's dream. Oh, people that are receptive, 00:22:38.720 --> 00:22:41.200 they want to hear, they want to repent, they 00:22:41.200 --> 00:22:43.480 want to trust in Jesus. The door is wide open. 00:22:45.400 --> 00:22:48.559 Sort of exactly what he probably longed for and 00:22:48.559 --> 00:22:53.019 yet What does he say there? My spirit was not 00:22:53.019 --> 00:22:58.599 at rest My spirit was not at rest Because Titus 00:22:58.599 --> 00:23:01.740 wasn't there and what why does that matter? Well, 00:23:01.740 --> 00:23:04.259 we'll actually we'll get to this later to Titus 00:23:04.259 --> 00:23:06.019 was supposed to bring the news from the Church 00:23:06.019 --> 00:23:09.509 of Corinth Had they lived into the reality of 00:23:09.509 --> 00:23:12.309 just how awful sin is, how it infects us, how 00:23:12.309 --> 00:23:14.190 it must be dealt with, and have they actually 00:23:14.190 --> 00:23:17.710 embraced the reality of forgiveness? What did 00:23:17.710 --> 00:23:20.069 the Corinthian church do? Can they hold these 00:23:20.069 --> 00:23:23.990 things together? And Paul can't, he can't stay 00:23:23.990 --> 00:23:25.769 at Troas even though the door's wide open because 00:23:25.769 --> 00:23:31.910 he is not, he's not at rest. Brothers and sisters, 00:23:32.089 --> 00:23:35.769 forgiveness heals. Forgiveness brings comfort. 00:23:36.269 --> 00:23:39.190 It brings comfort to the offended and to the 00:23:39.190 --> 00:23:42.769 offender. And it brings comfort to the communities 00:23:42.769 --> 00:23:52.710 that touch them. Parents. Parents. So many of 00:23:52.710 --> 00:23:56.349 you are parents. One of the greatest gifts you 00:23:56.349 --> 00:24:00.990 can give your children, I promise you, is living 00:24:00.990 --> 00:24:03.670 a life of repentance and forgiveness before them. 00:24:03.750 --> 00:24:08.559 With one another, with them. It is the fertile 00:24:08.559 --> 00:24:11.859 soil of life in your families. And it's the fertile 00:24:11.859 --> 00:24:13.519 soil for all of us. It's not a parental thing. 00:24:13.619 --> 00:24:18.279 This is the way the world works. You harbor unforgiveness. 00:24:18.440 --> 00:24:22.380 It will be bitterness and divisiveness that fester, 00:24:22.480 --> 00:24:29.720 live. Bitterness brings comfort. In the absence 00:24:29.720 --> 00:24:32.400 of love and forgiveness, the bitterness and division 00:24:32.400 --> 00:24:36.829 thrive. It's true here. For Paul and the Corinthian 00:24:36.829 --> 00:24:40.569 community, for Titus, it's true for you and it's 00:24:40.569 --> 00:24:43.289 true for me, it is. This is the way the world 00:24:43.289 --> 00:24:47.170 works. So, forgiveness is a command, it's a challenge, 00:24:47.269 --> 00:24:51.829 it's a comfort. But here's what I want to say. 00:24:51.970 --> 00:24:55.210 It's precisely because it is this command and 00:24:55.210 --> 00:25:00.089 it's this challenge and it's this comfort that 00:25:00.089 --> 00:25:04.700 it is also the aroma of Christ. that it's the 00:25:04.700 --> 00:25:08.160 fragrance of the good news. You know, forgiveness 00:25:08.160 --> 00:25:11.960 is this thing that can be smelled and lovely 00:25:11.960 --> 00:25:15.839 that you wonder how in the world, how in the 00:25:15.839 --> 00:25:19.700 world could somebody forgive? How could C .S. 00:25:19.720 --> 00:25:21.839 Lewis come to the end of his life and say, I've 00:25:21.839 --> 00:25:24.000 forgiven? How can you forgive somebody that treats 00:25:24.000 --> 00:25:29.619 somebody that way? So if you look with me down 00:25:29.619 --> 00:25:31.700 at the next paragraph, the one that begins in 00:25:31.700 --> 00:25:39.380 14, What you'll see is that in that verse, as 00:25:39.380 --> 00:25:42.400 we spread the fragrance of the knowledge, let 00:25:42.400 --> 00:25:44.420 me read it, but thanks be to God who in Christ 00:25:44.420 --> 00:25:47.460 always leads us in triumphal procession and through 00:25:47.460 --> 00:25:50.000 us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of 00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:52.480 Him everywhere. The next verse grabs onto this 00:25:52.480 --> 00:25:54.519 idea of the scent of the good news also, verse 00:25:54.519 --> 00:25:59.480 15, for we are the aroma of Christ to God among 00:25:59.480 --> 00:26:02.500 those who are being saved and among those who 00:26:02.500 --> 00:26:08.200 are perishing. the fragrance, the aroma. And 00:26:08.200 --> 00:26:10.460 here's an interesting thing is that most commentators 00:26:10.460 --> 00:26:13.099 point out that there's sort of like two references 00:26:13.099 --> 00:26:16.680 that are being made in these words of smell, 00:26:17.180 --> 00:26:23.660 smelling words. And I wanna say that in a way 00:26:23.660 --> 00:26:28.940 these two references point to the cross and to 00:26:28.940 --> 00:26:32.500 the resurrection. Christ's victory and His atonement. 00:26:32.619 --> 00:26:35.099 But first, the resurrection, okay? So verse 14 00:26:35.099 --> 00:26:38.240 tells us that, it says this, okay, but thanks 00:26:38.240 --> 00:26:40.380 be to God who in Christ always leads us in triumphal 00:26:40.380 --> 00:26:42.940 procession and through us spreads the fragrance 00:26:42.940 --> 00:26:45.720 of the knowledge of Him everywhere. The ancient 00:26:45.720 --> 00:26:48.240 world would have been so familiar with this image. 00:26:48.660 --> 00:26:50.839 It's sort of lost on us a little bit, but it 00:26:50.839 --> 00:26:54.700 was a common practice in the ancient world to 00:26:54.700 --> 00:26:57.019 have a victory procession. This was very common 00:26:57.019 --> 00:26:59.440 in the Roman world, particularly in Corinth was 00:26:59.440 --> 00:27:05.349 a Roman sort of colonial hub. So a military leader 00:27:05.349 --> 00:27:07.049 would come back from a battle and if they were 00:27:07.049 --> 00:27:10.089 victorious they would parade through the streets 00:27:10.089 --> 00:27:13.450 and actually oftentimes they would lead their 00:27:13.450 --> 00:27:17.589 captives behind them. But they would parade through 00:27:17.589 --> 00:27:20.470 the streets and as they did this what would often 00:27:20.470 --> 00:27:22.609 happen is throughout the city and throughout 00:27:22.609 --> 00:27:25.869 the streets incense would be burnt. And so even 00:27:25.869 --> 00:27:28.309 if you weren't at the parade itself you would 00:27:28.309 --> 00:27:32.099 smell it. You'd say, oh, we were victorious. 00:27:32.799 --> 00:27:36.640 They conquered. There's a fragrance. The greatest 00:27:36.640 --> 00:27:39.720 actually parade that we sort of have recorded, 00:27:40.200 --> 00:27:42.180 Josephus records this and other ancient historians, 00:27:42.460 --> 00:27:45.500 was actually the Emperor Titus, not the Titus 00:27:45.500 --> 00:27:47.259 that's mentioned here, the missionary, but Emperor 00:27:47.259 --> 00:27:51.500 Titus in 71, in AD 71, when he actually took 00:27:51.500 --> 00:27:55.140 over Jerusalem. And the great Titus arch, which 00:27:55.140 --> 00:27:56.980 still stands in Rome, that was considered the 00:27:56.980 --> 00:27:59.740 greatest victory procession in the Roman world. 00:28:00.559 --> 00:28:03.859 But what marked these processions was the sweet 00:28:03.859 --> 00:28:10.279 smell of victory. And the Corinthian church, 00:28:11.240 --> 00:28:14.440 we're going to get into this later on in other 00:28:14.440 --> 00:28:16.440 sermons, but the Corinthian church was inclined 00:28:16.440 --> 00:28:20.259 to this kind of triumphalism, this sort of ease. 00:28:20.509 --> 00:28:22.890 They wanted to have their ears tickled by the 00:28:22.890 --> 00:28:27.109 peddlers of the Word of God. But they often shunned 00:28:27.109 --> 00:28:30.170 humility. They shunned giving up of oneself, 00:28:30.529 --> 00:28:34.829 giving up our means, our finances, getting low, 00:28:35.549 --> 00:28:38.809 living into weakness. And something that's very 00:28:38.809 --> 00:28:42.049 true is that to forgive, you actually have to 00:28:42.049 --> 00:28:47.650 go down. And the Corinthians shunned that dynamic. 00:28:48.460 --> 00:28:49.940 So one of the things that we're getting from 00:28:49.940 --> 00:28:52.779 this fragrance is that Christ conquers. He's 00:28:52.779 --> 00:28:55.339 leading us in victory. It's a resurrection kind 00:28:55.339 --> 00:29:00.200 of idea. And it's precisely because of the resurrection 00:29:00.200 --> 00:29:03.539 that you all have both forgiveness and the power 00:29:03.539 --> 00:29:06.680 to forgive. As you know, that going down is not 00:29:06.680 --> 00:29:09.200 the end of the story. Lift it up when you're 00:29:09.200 --> 00:29:15.690 humble. But that kind of victory That kind of 00:29:15.690 --> 00:29:20.869 fragrance is empty without the cross. Okay? And 00:29:20.869 --> 00:29:23.650 so you first have this triumphal procession with 00:29:23.650 --> 00:29:26.430 this fragrance mentioned, and then verse 15 says, 00:29:26.730 --> 00:29:29.589 for we are the aroma of Christ. We're the aroma 00:29:29.589 --> 00:29:33.730 of Christ. And that word is a word that's used 00:29:33.730 --> 00:29:37.299 a lot in the Greek Old Testament. And almost 00:29:37.299 --> 00:29:40.339 always it is used, as it is actually, you just 00:29:40.339 --> 00:29:42.200 heard that one verse from Numbers chapter 6, 00:29:42.200 --> 00:29:44.359 but it's used throughout Numbers in that chapter, 00:29:44.779 --> 00:29:48.799 as the sweet aroma of the sacrifices that God's 00:29:48.799 --> 00:29:52.299 people offered in worship that would ascend up 00:29:52.299 --> 00:29:56.000 to the Lord. He says it's a sweet aroma. Sacrifices 00:29:56.000 --> 00:30:03.079 are a sweet aroma. Which is to say, we are the 00:30:03.079 --> 00:30:08.059 aroma of the sacrifice of Christ. in our living 00:30:08.059 --> 00:30:13.880 into what Christ has done in forgiving us. What 00:30:13.880 --> 00:30:17.259 he's done on the cross was to accomplish the 00:30:17.259 --> 00:30:21.519 great sacrifice for the atonement of sin. What 00:30:21.519 --> 00:30:25.099 he's done in that act of offering himself up 00:30:25.099 --> 00:30:29.240 as the sweet aroma of the sacrifice is forgive 00:30:29.240 --> 00:30:36.390 us. So, This act on the cross was a necessity, 00:30:37.490 --> 00:30:39.789 which is to say it was a command by the Father, 00:30:39.910 --> 00:30:45.049 right? The Father commands the Son. Jesus says, 00:30:45.269 --> 00:30:48.869 not my will, but yours be done. This act on the 00:30:48.869 --> 00:30:54.710 cross was a challenge. Paying for sin and forgiveness 00:30:54.710 --> 00:30:57.710 is not an easy thing ever. It demands the very 00:30:57.710 --> 00:31:01.079 death of the Son of God. for us to be forgiven. 00:31:01.619 --> 00:31:04.160 And this act on the cross brought comfort and 00:31:04.160 --> 00:31:07.180 peace to our bitter and our divided world. You 00:31:07.180 --> 00:31:09.599 see, these sweet smelling aromas are actually 00:31:09.599 --> 00:31:11.900 connecting us to this idea that it is the command, 00:31:11.940 --> 00:31:17.779 it is the challenge, and it brings comfort. Forgiveness 00:31:17.779 --> 00:31:22.640 is never easy. What these words of fragrance 00:31:22.640 --> 00:31:24.680 and aroma say is that they demand, forgiveness 00:31:24.680 --> 00:31:28.759 always demands death. But forgiveness always 00:31:28.759 --> 00:31:32.519 brings life out of death. This is the way of 00:31:32.519 --> 00:31:34.660 the gospel. This is how we live into the gospel. 00:31:34.680 --> 00:31:36.579 This is why Jesus can actually say, if you do 00:31:36.579 --> 00:31:39.099 not forgive your brother, you will not be forgiven. 00:31:40.500 --> 00:31:43.779 Because if you taste the forgiveness of God, 00:31:44.960 --> 00:31:47.259 you know how difficult it was for our Lord to 00:31:47.259 --> 00:31:50.220 forgive us, demand His very life, but how willingly 00:31:50.220 --> 00:31:53.819 He does so. We've got to live out of this reality 00:31:53.819 --> 00:31:57.849 of being forgiven. Let me end with a portion 00:31:57.849 --> 00:32:00.130 of Corey Ten Boone's wonderful book, The Hiding 00:32:00.130 --> 00:32:25.160 Place. I will end with this. She says this, the 00:32:25.160 --> 00:32:28.700 room full of mocking men, the heaps of clothing, 00:32:29.599 --> 00:32:34.779 Betsy's blanched face. He came up to me as the 00:32:34.779 --> 00:32:38.400 church was emptying, beaming and bowing. How 00:32:38.400 --> 00:32:41.539 grateful I am for your message, Frowline, he 00:32:41.539 --> 00:32:45.460 said. To think that, as you say, he has washed 00:32:45.460 --> 00:32:51.940 away my sin. His hand was thrust out to shake 00:32:51.940 --> 00:32:55.559 mine. And I, who had preached so often to the 00:32:55.559 --> 00:32:59.680 people of Blomondal the need to forgive, kept 00:32:59.680 --> 00:33:04.680 my hand at my side. Even as the angry, vengeful 00:33:04.680 --> 00:33:09.920 thoughts built through me, I saw the sin of them. 00:33:11.380 --> 00:33:15.799 Jesus Christ had died for this man. Was I going 00:33:15.799 --> 00:33:19.819 to ask for more? Lord Jesus, I prayed, forgive 00:33:19.819 --> 00:33:22.960 me. and helped me to forgive him. I tried to 00:33:22.960 --> 00:33:26.539 smile. I struggled to raise my hand and I could 00:33:26.539 --> 00:33:31.039 not. My guess is that you know that experience. 00:33:32.759 --> 00:33:36.640 I felt nothing, not the slightest spark of warmth 00:33:36.640 --> 00:33:41.039 or charity. And so again, I breathe the silent 00:33:41.039 --> 00:33:45.259 prayer, Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give me 00:33:45.259 --> 00:33:51.259 your forgiveness. As I took his hand, The most 00:33:51.259 --> 00:33:55.160 incredible thing happened. From my shoulder, 00:33:55.339 --> 00:33:58.000 along my arm, and through my hand, a current 00:33:58.000 --> 00:34:02.460 seemed to pass from me to him, while into my 00:34:02.460 --> 00:34:07.339 heart sprang a love for this stranger that almost 00:34:07.339 --> 00:34:14.000 overwhelmed me." Brothers and sisters, I guarantee 00:34:14.000 --> 00:34:20.170 you that you hear the command of our Lord that 00:34:20.170 --> 00:34:23.289 you must forgive or you will not be forgiven. 00:34:24.449 --> 00:34:27.309 And you have ways that you have been so deeply 00:34:27.309 --> 00:34:32.190 sinned against that that challenge is way too 00:34:32.190 --> 00:34:37.250 much for you to bear. But our Lord is with you 00:34:37.250 --> 00:34:40.909 in it and He promises you to bring comfort in 00:34:40.909 --> 00:34:45.170 the midst of it. And our Lord Jesus knows the 00:34:45.170 --> 00:34:50.050 challenge of forgiveness. He died. It's a man 00:34:50.050 --> 00:34:56.150 acquainted with grief, familiar with pain, because 00:34:56.150 --> 00:35:01.630 he was sinned against by you and me. Yet he offers 00:35:01.630 --> 00:35:05.130 you his forgiveness, and he calls you to live 00:35:05.130 --> 00:35:08.610 that life for others. It is the way of life and 00:35:08.610 --> 00:35:10.550 peace. It is the only way of life and peace. 00:35:11.570 --> 00:35:15.369 Without it, bitterness and division will grow 00:35:15.369 --> 00:35:21.289 and fester. and with it, life and peace. Let 00:35:21.289 --> 00:35:26.989 me pray. Lord, I pray that we would not be those 00:35:26.989 --> 00:35:32.230 who make light of sin. Brush it aside, that's 00:35:32.230 --> 00:35:38.170 nothing. And yet, Lord, I pray that we would 00:35:38.170 --> 00:35:43.289 be those who are eager to be like Paul here, 00:35:43.289 --> 00:35:45.369 who almost can't even remember what he forgave 00:35:45.369 --> 00:35:50.940 somebody for. though we know how much He was 00:35:50.940 --> 00:35:54.980 sinned against. How we think of how you tell 00:35:54.980 --> 00:35:58.539 us, it's as far as the East is from the West 00:35:58.539 --> 00:36:01.400 that you have removed our sins from us. You've 00:36:01.400 --> 00:36:04.940 forgiven us. Though they meant your very death 00:36:04.940 --> 00:36:10.019 on the cross, it's as though they are utterly 00:36:10.019 --> 00:36:13.639 and completely, it's as though they never happened. 00:36:18.059 --> 00:36:19.579 And I pray that we would be a community that 00:36:19.579 --> 00:36:31.980 can hold these truths. Brush aside pain. Brush 00:36:31.980 --> 00:36:38.460 aside the evil of the world. Brush aside the 00:36:38.460 --> 00:36:45.880 ways that we have been hurt, cut deep. And yet, 00:36:45.880 --> 00:36:51.710 Lord, Would we be a community that is running 00:36:51.710 --> 00:37:00.949 to forgiveness? Because running to forgiveness 00:37:00.949 --> 00:37:04.929 is running to the cross and to the empty tomb. 00:37:07.110 --> 00:37:13.190 Holy Spirit, give us this strength. As Paul himself 00:37:13.190 --> 00:37:18.949 says, Who is sufficient for these things? Amen 00:37:18.949 --> 00:37:23.570 Thank you for listening to second city sermons 00:37:23.570 --> 00:37:26.329 podcast We hope this sermon has encouraged you 00:37:26.329 --> 00:37:28.530 to worship God and to celebrate the gospel of 00:37:28.530 --> 00:37:31.570 Jesus Please consider subscribing to this podcast 00:37:31.570 --> 00:37:34.309 and joining us in person each Sunday at 10 a 00:37:34.309 --> 00:37:37.230 .m You can find us online at second city church 00:37:37.230 --> 00:37:40.829 org and on Instagram Facebook and YouTube Thanks 00:37:40.829 --> 00:37:42.710 again for listening. God bless