WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.500 So let's pray. Let's ask God for help as we dig 00:00:02.500 --> 00:00:06.540 into His Word now. Heavenly Father, we thank 00:00:06.540 --> 00:00:09.359 you that you speak to us. We thank you that you 00:00:09.359 --> 00:00:13.960 love us. We thank you that you forgive us. Please 00:00:13.960 --> 00:00:18.100 help us, Father, to know the magnitude of your 00:00:18.100 --> 00:00:21.800 forgiveness, to rejoice in it, to celebrate it, 00:00:22.079 --> 00:00:25.660 to marvel at it. And please, as we do, Father, 00:00:26.019 --> 00:00:29.469 would you make us forgiving people. who forgive 00:00:29.469 --> 00:00:32.750 those who sin against us. And we ask this in 00:00:32.750 --> 00:00:37.990 Jesus' name. Amen. Well, before coming to Northern 00:00:37.990 --> 00:00:43.770 Hope, I worked at five other churches. And two 00:00:43.770 --> 00:00:46.609 out of the five churches I worked in, I actually 00:00:46.609 --> 00:00:49.890 ended up working for narcissistic, spiritually 00:00:49.890 --> 00:00:54.289 abusive pastors. Two out of five. I think that's 00:00:54.289 --> 00:00:56.270 a pretty good track record, isn't it? Certainly 00:00:56.270 --> 00:00:59.810 can pick them. You know, for a while there, I 00:00:59.810 --> 00:01:01.869 had to work through a bunch of things. I had 00:01:01.869 --> 00:01:05.189 to work through a fear of cafes because I constantly 00:01:05.189 --> 00:01:09.409 got brought into cafes by these pastors and just 00:01:09.409 --> 00:01:12.209 told the most horrific, horrible things. I had 00:01:12.209 --> 00:01:14.409 to get over a whole bunch of gaslighting. I had 00:01:14.409 --> 00:01:17.650 to get over misreadings of scripture that they 00:01:17.650 --> 00:01:19.629 had taught me and use scripture in a wrong way. 00:01:19.969 --> 00:01:22.370 There was a whole bunch of things that it left 00:01:22.370 --> 00:01:26.370 me hurting. It left me confused. It was horrible. 00:01:27.929 --> 00:01:31.209 And I know it wasn't just me. I know there are 00:01:31.209 --> 00:01:34.170 other people who'd been hurt by these two separate 00:01:34.170 --> 00:01:39.090 men. And sadly, I know some in this room have 00:01:39.090 --> 00:01:43.109 been hurt by people like that. It's a horrible, 00:01:43.170 --> 00:01:47.769 horrible thing. But such stories as these raise 00:01:47.769 --> 00:01:52.430 an important question. And it may not be the 00:01:52.430 --> 00:01:57.020 question you think. Here's the question. When 00:01:57.020 --> 00:02:02.439 someone sins against someone else, who's in spiritual 00:02:02.439 --> 00:02:07.079 danger? When someone sins against someone else, 00:02:07.439 --> 00:02:10.400 who's in spiritual danger? Especially, you know, 00:02:10.439 --> 00:02:13.280 when it's serious sin, you know, if you, you 00:02:13.280 --> 00:02:15.680 know, put sugar in someone's coffee rather than, 00:02:15.780 --> 00:02:17.939 salt rather than sugar, you know, you can get 00:02:17.939 --> 00:02:20.099 over that one. But when you've been really hurt 00:02:20.099 --> 00:02:26.090 by someone, who's in spiritual danger? And I'd 00:02:26.090 --> 00:02:27.810 want to say it's actually the abuser and the 00:02:27.810 --> 00:02:33.110 victim. Both are in spiritual danger. See, the 00:02:33.110 --> 00:02:36.629 abuser can have a conscience that becomes rock 00:02:36.629 --> 00:02:40.229 hard. Their heart's far from God. This is how 00:02:40.229 --> 00:02:43.669 the conscience works. No, it's not there. Okay. 00:02:43.969 --> 00:02:46.169 Don't worry. Oh, there it is. Cool. Here's how 00:02:46.169 --> 00:02:48.430 the conscience works. No, it's back to that one. 00:02:48.689 --> 00:02:52.090 All right. We're a well -oiled machine. This 00:02:52.090 --> 00:02:55.319 is how your conscience works. Your conscience 00:02:55.319 --> 00:02:58.120 is like a circle with a triangle in it. And every 00:02:58.120 --> 00:03:02.280 time you sin, you go, ow! Like, can you see how 00:03:02.280 --> 00:03:04.699 that triangle would be pointy and jarring? And 00:03:04.699 --> 00:03:07.039 if it moves, every time you sin, it moves and 00:03:07.039 --> 00:03:10.560 you go, oh, that hurts. But what happens when 00:03:10.560 --> 00:03:13.560 you sin again and again and again and again and 00:03:13.560 --> 00:03:17.000 you never repent and you never... It smooths 00:03:17.000 --> 00:03:21.360 out and you don't feel it anymore. That's what 00:03:21.360 --> 00:03:24.870 happens. when you consistently sin again and 00:03:24.870 --> 00:03:29.250 again and again. It means your heart ends up 00:03:29.250 --> 00:03:32.349 far from God, your conscience becomes calloused 00:03:32.349 --> 00:03:36.590 and rock hard. We don't feel our guilt anymore. 00:03:38.289 --> 00:03:41.650 There's a huge spiritual danger when we keep 00:03:41.650 --> 00:03:45.129 sinning and abusing people. But there's a huge 00:03:45.129 --> 00:03:47.930 danger when you're the victim. Because what happens 00:03:47.930 --> 00:03:50.469 when you're the victim? Especially if you've 00:03:50.469 --> 00:03:53.050 been hurt by other Christians, It's easy to give 00:03:53.050 --> 00:03:55.210 up on God. It's easy to give up on Christianity. 00:03:55.889 --> 00:03:58.969 It's easy to become bitter and unforgiving, isn't 00:03:58.969 --> 00:04:04.689 it? See, that's the power of sin. It can make 00:04:04.689 --> 00:04:09.009 your conscience calloused. It can make you feel 00:04:09.009 --> 00:04:13.509 guilty. As the writer Plutarch says, guilt is 00:04:13.509 --> 00:04:15.969 an ulcer in the flesh, a remorse that never ceases 00:04:15.969 --> 00:04:18.750 to wound. I mean, that's a horrible thing to 00:04:18.750 --> 00:04:21.939 go through as well. but also it can leave you 00:04:21.939 --> 00:04:26.899 to an unforgiving heart, a bitter spiritual decay 00:04:26.899 --> 00:04:30.779 within. See, whether you've got a callous conscience, 00:04:30.879 --> 00:04:32.839 whether you struggle with guilt for the things 00:04:32.839 --> 00:04:35.779 you've done, whether you're unforgiving, these 00:04:35.779 --> 00:04:37.560 are all different traps, they're all different 00:04:37.560 --> 00:04:40.740 types of spiritual danger. And they can make 00:04:40.740 --> 00:04:44.800 our lives miserable, but if unchecked, they can 00:04:44.800 --> 00:04:48.459 actually erode our faith in a horrible and serious 00:04:48.459 --> 00:04:54.319 way. So how do we escape these traps? Well, that's 00:04:54.319 --> 00:04:56.480 what I hope to show you as we look at this parable 00:04:56.480 --> 00:05:00.199 and at forgive us our debts as we forgive those 00:05:00.199 --> 00:05:03.779 who indebted to us. And the big thing we're going 00:05:03.779 --> 00:05:08.300 to see today is this. Pray for God's pardon so 00:05:08.300 --> 00:05:12.720 that sin won't ensnare your heart. It's one thing 00:05:12.720 --> 00:05:15.519 you take away from today. Pray for God's pardon. 00:05:15.759 --> 00:05:18.139 so that sin won't ensnare your heart. Whether 00:05:18.139 --> 00:05:20.319 it's through hard -heartedness, whether it's 00:05:20.319 --> 00:05:22.100 through guilt, whether it's through bitterness, 00:05:22.199 --> 00:05:26.160 we don't want our hearts to be ensnared. And 00:05:26.160 --> 00:05:29.100 as we look at this parable, we're going to see 00:05:29.100 --> 00:05:32.220 three things which help us, guard us against 00:05:32.220 --> 00:05:36.660 the traps of sin. Three things. We have a massive 00:05:36.660 --> 00:05:43.060 debt, God cancelled our debt, and we must forgive 00:05:43.060 --> 00:05:47.259 debts. We have a massive debt. God cancelled 00:05:47.259 --> 00:05:50.800 our debt. We must forgive debts. So let's have 00:05:50.800 --> 00:05:54.500 a look at the first one. We have a massive debt. 00:05:55.120 --> 00:05:58.579 Now, often this is hard for us to see. And the 00:05:58.579 --> 00:06:02.420 Lord's Prayer helps open our eyes to it. It assumes 00:06:02.420 --> 00:06:06.920 that we have a debt. And Matthew 18, 21 to 25 00:06:06.920 --> 00:06:11.860 makes it explicit. We've got this guy, he's got... 00:06:13.370 --> 00:06:15.949 Well, let me just read it. Matthew 18, 21 to 00:06:15.949 --> 00:06:18.170 25. Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, Lord, 00:06:18.230 --> 00:06:20.110 how many times shall I forgive my brother or 00:06:20.110 --> 00:06:23.170 sister who sins against me? Up to seven times? 00:06:23.410 --> 00:06:26.310 Jesus answered, I tell you not seven times, but 00:06:26.310 --> 00:06:30.750 77 times. This is a callback to Genesis 4 and 00:06:30.750 --> 00:06:33.269 Lamech there, because he wants to seek vengeance 00:06:33.269 --> 00:06:37.079 77 times. And then he says, therefore the king 00:06:37.079 --> 00:06:39.680 of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle 00:06:39.680 --> 00:06:42.319 accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, 00:06:42.480 --> 00:06:46.120 a man who owed him 10 ,000 bags of gold was brought 00:06:46.120 --> 00:06:48.560 to him. And since he was not able to pay, the 00:06:48.560 --> 00:06:50.779 master ordered that he and his wife and his children 00:06:50.779 --> 00:06:54.660 and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. 00:06:55.660 --> 00:06:59.220 I mean, what this guy owes is phenomenal. If 00:06:59.220 --> 00:07:02.439 you were to do rough calculations, it would be 00:07:02.439 --> 00:07:07.100 $10 billion in our money today. This is a massive 00:07:07.100 --> 00:07:11.620 debt, a debt he could never pay back. And in 00:07:11.620 --> 00:07:14.100 the world of the parable, this is borrowed money. 00:07:14.139 --> 00:07:16.600 He's borrowed it, he's invested it poorly. He 00:07:16.600 --> 00:07:19.459 now has this debt that he can't get out of. He's 00:07:19.459 --> 00:07:23.920 dug himself into a massive hole. And we know 00:07:23.920 --> 00:07:26.540 in the context here that this debt is a metaphor 00:07:26.540 --> 00:07:31.399 for sin. We've taken from God and we can't pay 00:07:31.399 --> 00:07:37.480 him back. My grandad used to be the state accountant 00:07:37.480 --> 00:07:40.600 at Coles back in New South Wales and he told 00:07:40.600 --> 00:07:44.360 me once about a guy who crashed his car into 00:07:44.360 --> 00:07:47.699 one of the Coles stores. And he crashed the car 00:07:47.699 --> 00:07:50.300 and it hit some pillars and it actually made 00:07:50.300 --> 00:07:53.680 like a big chunk of the store collapse and all 00:07:53.680 --> 00:07:58.399 the stock, the store was hugely damaged. And 00:07:58.399 --> 00:08:04.310 this guy had no insurance. He had a debt so massive 00:08:04.310 --> 00:08:08.029 that he could never repay it. He had his wages 00:08:08.029 --> 00:08:11.029 garnished just a little bit each week to try 00:08:11.029 --> 00:08:13.230 and pay this debt that he was never going to 00:08:13.230 --> 00:08:18.730 pay off. It was crippling for his life. Now, 00:08:18.730 --> 00:08:21.850 it's more serious for us, isn't it? If we don't 00:08:21.850 --> 00:08:26.350 pay God our debt back, well, we're facing his 00:08:26.350 --> 00:08:30.569 judgment forever. This is a debt we need to clear. 00:08:31.850 --> 00:08:34.710 But you might be thinking, oh yeah, but we can 00:08:34.710 --> 00:08:38.789 do that, can't we? Well, if you think that, just 00:08:38.789 --> 00:08:42.529 go through this exercise. I want you to calculate 00:08:42.529 --> 00:08:47.429 all the wrongs that you did last year. It might 00:08:47.429 --> 00:08:50.669 take a while. Just think, all the sins, all the 00:08:50.669 --> 00:08:53.409 wrongs you did, the lies, the lusts, the selfishness, 00:08:53.669 --> 00:08:58.190 all the things. If doing good deeds could make 00:08:58.190 --> 00:09:01.490 up for it, and I'm not saying that they can, 00:09:01.820 --> 00:09:05.460 But if they could, how long would you need to 00:09:05.460 --> 00:09:10.019 cover just last year? Pretty long time, wouldn't 00:09:10.019 --> 00:09:14.779 you? And here's the problem. Every time we're 00:09:14.779 --> 00:09:17.919 trying to pay that debt off, if that's even possible, 00:09:18.980 --> 00:09:21.259 we're actually adding to the debt, aren't we? 00:09:23.379 --> 00:09:26.220 I mean, just the last year, I think, yeah, I 00:09:26.220 --> 00:09:28.159 probably sinned more than I did good things. 00:09:28.519 --> 00:09:30.740 Like, I'm actually, my debt's growing, not shrinking. 00:09:32.090 --> 00:09:34.809 The longer I live, I'm just making it worse. 00:09:37.509 --> 00:09:42.389 Can you see how serious things are? You and I 00:09:42.389 --> 00:09:46.769 have sinned so much, it's an unimaginable debt 00:09:46.769 --> 00:09:50.629 that we have before God. A debt that is literally 00:09:50.629 --> 00:09:55.590 gonna ruin us. It's dire and there is nothing 00:09:55.590 --> 00:10:01.190 we can do. We're just making it worse. And if 00:10:01.190 --> 00:10:04.269 you're a Christian, it's important to stop and 00:10:04.269 --> 00:10:09.350 regularly feel the weight of that debt. When 00:10:09.350 --> 00:10:14.950 does grace stop becoming so amazing? It's when 00:10:14.950 --> 00:10:20.570 we lose sight of how great our debt is. So it's 00:10:20.570 --> 00:10:25.230 good to search your heart. When you sin, to not 00:10:25.230 --> 00:10:28.610 just avoid it or ignore it or to numb your conscience 00:10:28.610 --> 00:10:31.330 over it, but to feel the weight of it, that is 00:10:31.330 --> 00:10:36.850 a good thing to do. But if you're here and your 00:10:36.850 --> 00:10:41.529 sin feels small and insignificant, that is danger 00:10:41.529 --> 00:10:43.990 science. Perhaps your conscience is actually 00:10:43.990 --> 00:10:48.190 getting calloused. Maybe it needs recalibration. 00:10:50.309 --> 00:10:54.309 I mean... We're in serious spiritual danger if 00:10:54.309 --> 00:10:56.289 we're so used to sinning that it doesn't bother 00:10:56.289 --> 00:11:00.250 us anymore. See, our conscience is meant to be 00:11:00.250 --> 00:11:07.570 like a fire alarm. It warns of danger. It's bad 00:11:07.570 --> 00:11:10.850 if it's not working. It's bad if it does it all 00:11:10.850 --> 00:11:12.870 the time, and we need to recalibrate it then 00:11:12.870 --> 00:11:16.549 too, but it's bad if it's not working at all. 00:11:18.319 --> 00:11:21.100 So pray for God to open your eyes if you've got 00:11:21.100 --> 00:11:24.279 a conscience that's not working. Because it's 00:11:24.279 --> 00:11:26.700 there warning you. It's giving you a little bit 00:11:26.700 --> 00:11:28.919 of pain to warn you about the future pain that 00:11:28.919 --> 00:11:32.639 you'll face if you are cut off from God for eternity. 00:11:35.659 --> 00:11:38.519 So that's what our consciences do. We have a 00:11:38.519 --> 00:11:40.740 massive debt. But what do we do about it? If 00:11:40.740 --> 00:11:42.580 we're just adding to it, what are we meant to 00:11:42.580 --> 00:11:46.600 do with this? Well, thankfully there is an escape. 00:11:47.879 --> 00:11:52.399 God is willing to forgive our sin debt. Here's 00:11:52.399 --> 00:11:56.820 the next thing we see. God cancelled our debt. 00:11:58.340 --> 00:12:03.120 Look with me at verses 26 to 27. At this, the 00:12:03.120 --> 00:12:06.320 servant fell on his knees before him. Oh, be 00:12:06.320 --> 00:12:09.200 patient with me, he begged, and I'll pay back 00:12:09.200 --> 00:12:13.639 everything. Yeah, right. $10 billion worth? Keep 00:12:13.639 --> 00:12:18.320 dreaming. The servant's master, took pity on 00:12:18.320 --> 00:12:24.480 him, cancelled the debt and let him go. What 00:12:24.480 --> 00:12:30.139 an amazing thing to do. He just forgives it. 00:12:30.679 --> 00:12:36.960 He cancels that enormous debt. Think back to 00:12:36.960 --> 00:12:40.539 that guy my grandpa told me about. Imagine the 00:12:40.539 --> 00:12:43.080 CEO of Coles ringing up that guy and saying, 00:12:43.500 --> 00:12:45.980 hey mate, I know you've got this huge debt, you 00:12:45.980 --> 00:12:48.019 know, it's... I think it was over half a million 00:12:48.019 --> 00:12:52.559 dollars. I just wanted to say we've decided to 00:12:52.559 --> 00:12:57.919 write it off. It's all forgiven. Don't you reckon 00:12:57.919 --> 00:13:01.940 that fella would have a spring in his step? He'd 00:13:01.940 --> 00:13:04.000 probably use the money to go buy some insurance. 00:13:04.080 --> 00:13:08.519 I don't know. But he'd be stoked, wouldn't he? 00:13:09.740 --> 00:13:14.179 That's what God does for me. That's what God 00:13:14.179 --> 00:13:18.639 does for you if you trust the Lord Jesus All 00:13:18.639 --> 00:13:23.279 your sin has been completely eradicated and cleared 00:13:23.279 --> 00:13:28.240 Now in the parable, it's pretty easy the King 00:13:28.240 --> 00:13:32.379 just says yeah, no worries mate It's cancelled. 00:13:32.539 --> 00:13:34.580 He just speaks. I mean, yeah, he's got to wear 00:13:34.580 --> 00:13:39.159 the debt, but he just speaks and it's done But 00:13:39.159 --> 00:13:43.580 for God In our world, it's different, isn't it? 00:13:44.440 --> 00:13:46.960 He's just and good. He can't just sweep the debt 00:13:46.960 --> 00:13:50.379 under the rug, can he? When it's a sin debt, 00:13:50.639 --> 00:13:54.279 it's different. It must be paid. And if not by 00:13:54.279 --> 00:13:59.539 us, then it will be paid by him. That's how he 00:13:59.539 --> 00:14:02.659 cancels it. He has to wear the cost of that debt. 00:14:04.659 --> 00:14:09.679 How is our debt paid for by God? It's cancelled 00:14:09.679 --> 00:14:13.960 by the cross. That's what we see at the cross. 00:14:14.580 --> 00:14:18.559 The full judgment of God rains down on Jesus. 00:14:19.960 --> 00:14:23.759 And he experiences the loss, the pain of our 00:14:23.759 --> 00:14:30.600 debt so that we don't have to. Reminds me of 00:14:30.600 --> 00:14:35.320 a story about Nicholas II. He was the last Tsar, 00:14:35.320 --> 00:14:39.580 the last King of Russia. in the early 1900s. 00:14:40.340 --> 00:14:42.259 And Nicholas used to do the whole undercover 00:14:42.259 --> 00:14:46.220 boss thing. He'd wander into the military barracks 00:14:46.220 --> 00:14:48.620 dressed as an officer but not dressed as the 00:14:48.620 --> 00:14:53.700 King of Russia. And one night he saw the light 00:14:53.700 --> 00:14:58.460 on in the paymaster's tent. And he found the 00:14:58.460 --> 00:15:02.639 paymaster fast asleep. And he came over to wake 00:15:02.639 --> 00:15:07.840 him and there he saw a revolver a small pile 00:15:07.840 --> 00:15:11.779 of money and some papers. And he looked closely 00:15:11.779 --> 00:15:15.220 at the papers and he saw a list of gambling debts 00:15:15.220 --> 00:15:22.000 and a suicide note. The debt was massive, totalling 00:15:22.000 --> 00:15:26.379 thousands of ruples. The paymaster had racked 00:15:26.379 --> 00:15:31.240 up a huge gambling debt and then used the army 00:15:31.240 --> 00:15:35.590 funds to pay the debt. And he spent the night 00:15:35.590 --> 00:15:39.769 trying to find a way to pay the army back. But 00:15:39.769 --> 00:15:42.289 it was nowhere near enough, and on one of the 00:15:42.289 --> 00:15:46.549 papers he'd written, who can pay so great a debt? 00:15:48.429 --> 00:15:51.970 And do you know what Nicholas did? He did something 00:15:51.970 --> 00:15:56.870 remarkable. Under the question, who can pay so 00:15:56.870 --> 00:16:02.730 great a debt? He signed his name. Nicholas, Tsar 00:16:02.730 --> 00:16:07.360 of Russia. The paymaster woke up, saw the signature, 00:16:07.620 --> 00:16:09.740 compared it with other ones he had and went, 00:16:09.860 --> 00:16:14.159 oh, it actually really is his. And he could rest 00:16:14.159 --> 00:16:18.419 easy because the King of Russia had paid his 00:16:18.419 --> 00:16:22.080 debt for him. And it wasn't just some prank, 00:16:22.220 --> 00:16:28.080 it actually came through the next day. That's 00:16:28.080 --> 00:16:33.700 like what Jesus did for us. He bore our debt. 00:16:33.759 --> 00:16:37.360 He paid it himself. That's the objective truth 00:16:37.360 --> 00:16:43.620 of every Christian. And subjectively, it is such 00:16:43.620 --> 00:16:47.200 a comfort, especially if you're haunted by a 00:16:47.200 --> 00:16:52.539 guilty conscience. The trick is to feel what's 00:16:52.539 --> 00:16:57.299 real, to apply the truths of the cross to our 00:16:57.299 --> 00:17:02.679 heart. How do you do that, Brendan? It's learning 00:17:02.679 --> 00:17:08.220 to say, I'll take God at His word. You know, 00:17:08.220 --> 00:17:12.279 there are times where we go, oh, I mean, I've 00:17:12.279 --> 00:17:15.220 sinned so badly and I said I wouldn't anymore 00:17:15.220 --> 00:17:17.099 and I've done it again and I've done it worse 00:17:17.099 --> 00:17:20.180 this time. And if, oh, there's no way God's gonna 00:17:20.180 --> 00:17:23.480 forgive me. I mean, like, do you know how bad 00:17:23.480 --> 00:17:28.440 I am? And in those moments, we need to remind 00:17:28.440 --> 00:17:33.480 ourselves. I need to take God at his word. He 00:17:33.480 --> 00:17:39.940 says, my debt is forgiven. It's forgiven. My 00:17:39.940 --> 00:17:45.539 debt is paid in full. My guilt is gone. Every 00:17:45.539 --> 00:17:49.819 time guilt rears its ugly head, we need to reapply 00:17:49.819 --> 00:17:55.000 the balm of the gospel to our hearts. And if 00:17:55.000 --> 00:17:57.380 you do that, not only will the guilt go away, 00:17:58.410 --> 00:18:01.910 But it's so liberating and freeing, you end up 00:18:01.910 --> 00:18:05.670 filled with joy. You're conscious of how forgiven 00:18:05.670 --> 00:18:07.950 and loved and cleansed you are. It makes all 00:18:07.950 --> 00:18:10.809 your other problems feel smaller and changes 00:18:10.809 --> 00:18:12.869 your perspective, because hey, eternal ruin has 00:18:12.869 --> 00:18:17.369 been taken out of my life. I think I'll be okay 00:18:17.369 --> 00:18:21.250 with all the other stuff. You go from feeling 00:18:21.250 --> 00:18:24.089 eaten alive inside to walking on cloud nine. 00:18:24.130 --> 00:18:27.490 It changes everything when you feel forgiven 00:18:27.490 --> 00:18:33.789 like that So if you're a Christian keep reapplying 00:18:33.789 --> 00:18:37.210 the balm of the gospel every day to your heart 00:18:37.210 --> 00:18:41.569 That's what we do when we pray when we confess 00:18:41.569 --> 00:18:46.210 our sins to God We're confessing the things we've 00:18:46.210 --> 00:18:48.289 done wrong. We're feeling the weight of our massive 00:18:48.289 --> 00:18:52.400 debt But we're reminding ourselves that God has 00:18:52.400 --> 00:18:58.680 cancelled it completely through the cross. And 00:18:58.680 --> 00:19:02.099 if you're not a Christian, can I encourage you, 00:19:02.119 --> 00:19:06.299 ask Jesus for forgiveness? Why wouldn't you want 00:19:06.299 --> 00:19:10.680 what I've just talked about in your life? Nothing 00:19:10.680 --> 00:19:15.839 else frees people from guilt. Why would Jesus 00:19:15.839 --> 00:19:18.240 die if there were some other way? No, this is 00:19:18.240 --> 00:19:23.440 the only way. Come to him, ask for forgiveness. 00:19:27.680 --> 00:19:29.579 But God's forgiveness doesn't just deal with 00:19:29.579 --> 00:19:32.279 our sin debt and our guilt and make us more joyful. 00:19:33.740 --> 00:19:36.400 It actually moves us to be more forgiving as 00:19:36.400 --> 00:19:39.799 well. Here's the third thing we see. We must 00:19:39.799 --> 00:19:45.690 forgive debts. We must forgive debts. Forgiven 00:19:45.690 --> 00:19:52.089 people become forgiving people. Look at verses 00:19:52.089 --> 00:19:57.869 28 to 35. But when that servant went out, he 00:19:57.869 --> 00:20:00.130 found one of his fellow servants who owed him 00:20:00.130 --> 00:20:03.349 a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began 00:20:03.349 --> 00:20:07.450 to choke him. Pay back what you owe me, he demanded. 00:20:08.890 --> 00:20:11.289 His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged 00:20:11.289 --> 00:20:15.000 him. Be patient with me and I'll pay it back." 00:20:15.000 --> 00:20:18.680 But he refused. Instead, he went off and had 00:20:18.680 --> 00:20:20.839 the man thrown into prison and tell he could 00:20:20.839 --> 00:20:24.140 pay the debt. When the other servants saw that 00:20:24.140 --> 00:20:26.640 what had happened, they were outraged and went 00:20:26.640 --> 00:20:29.079 and told their master everything that had happened. 00:20:29.960 --> 00:20:32.000 Then the master called the servant in. You wicked 00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:34.619 servant, he said. I cancelled all that debt of 00:20:34.619 --> 00:20:37.779 yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you 00:20:37.779 --> 00:20:40.019 have had mercy on your fellow servant just as 00:20:40.019 --> 00:20:43.460 I had on you? In anger his master handed him 00:20:43.460 --> 00:20:46.500 over to the jailers to be tortured until he should 00:20:46.500 --> 00:20:50.920 pay back all he owed. And this is how my heavenly 00:20:50.920 --> 00:20:53.720 father will treat each of you unless you forgive 00:20:53.720 --> 00:20:59.839 your brother or sister from your heart. Now we've 00:20:59.839 --> 00:21:02.759 got to remember here that this 100 denarii is 00:21:02.759 --> 00:21:06.980 not nothing. The other guy owed 10 billion but 00:21:06.980 --> 00:21:09.180 this is not nothing. This is three months wages. 00:21:09.240 --> 00:21:16.089 This is $20 ,000 in our terms. But compared with 00:21:16.089 --> 00:21:23.430 the massive debt, it's nothing, isn't it? Receiving 00:21:23.430 --> 00:21:26.490 such compassion from the King should have made 00:21:26.490 --> 00:21:33.089 this guy compassionate. If you're a Les Miserables 00:21:33.089 --> 00:21:36.789 fan, it's pronounced Les Miserables, but if you're 00:21:36.789 --> 00:21:38.509 a Les Miserables fan, you know what I'm talking 00:21:38.509 --> 00:21:44.819 about, Jean Valjean, the guy who, he stole a 00:21:44.819 --> 00:21:47.319 loaf of bread, he was put in prison, he had a 00:21:47.319 --> 00:21:49.039 horrible life for years and years and years, 00:21:49.480 --> 00:21:52.119 and then he finally gets out, he goes, no one 00:21:52.119 --> 00:21:54.180 will give him work, he goes to a bishop's house 00:21:54.180 --> 00:21:57.680 and he steals the candlestick holders, the silver 00:21:57.680 --> 00:22:01.079 candlestick holders of the bishop. He's caught 00:22:01.079 --> 00:22:04.119 up with by the police. And do you know what the 00:22:04.119 --> 00:22:06.420 police, they grab him, they bring him back to 00:22:06.420 --> 00:22:12.220 the bishop and say, He's stolen from you. And 00:22:12.220 --> 00:22:14.700 actually the bishop says, no, these were a gift. 00:22:15.900 --> 00:22:17.200 Actually, I think he stole something else and 00:22:17.200 --> 00:22:19.319 then the bishop said, you know, the candlestick 00:22:19.319 --> 00:22:21.299 holders, these are a gift as well. Anyway, the 00:22:21.299 --> 00:22:25.099 bishop was a really good guy and he was so compassionate 00:22:25.099 --> 00:22:28.740 to Jean Valjean. And when that happened, it changed 00:22:28.740 --> 00:22:33.920 Jean Valjean's life. He became a compassionate 00:22:33.920 --> 00:22:39.009 person. That's what compassion does when we receive 00:22:39.009 --> 00:22:44.450 it properly. See, what's so wicked here is that 00:22:44.450 --> 00:22:47.930 this guy wouldn't show mercy after being given 00:22:47.930 --> 00:22:53.789 such immense mercy. It's not that the king is 00:22:53.789 --> 00:22:57.509 unforgiving. The king withdraws his forgiveness 00:22:57.509 --> 00:23:00.710 because he's going, this guy hasn't understood 00:23:00.710 --> 00:23:03.009 my forgiveness. It hasn't gripped his heart. 00:23:03.029 --> 00:23:06.880 It hasn't changed him. This is not a tit for 00:23:06.880 --> 00:23:10.299 tat quid pro quo kind of thing. And it's not 00:23:10.299 --> 00:23:12.700 like that with us. God, you know, God only forgives 00:23:12.700 --> 00:23:16.000 us if we forgive others. As if somehow we're 00:23:16.000 --> 00:23:18.420 earning our forgiveness by forgiving others. 00:23:19.460 --> 00:23:25.920 No. This is saying that God's forgiveness takes 00:23:25.920 --> 00:23:29.720 root in someone's heart, in their life, when 00:23:29.720 --> 00:23:34.680 they become more forgiving of others. If you 00:23:34.680 --> 00:23:39.119 believe and receive God's forgiveness, it will 00:23:39.119 --> 00:23:44.180 produce fruit in your life. Actually, you can 00:23:44.180 --> 00:23:46.539 do the most amazing things when you experience 00:23:46.539 --> 00:23:53.640 God's forgiveness. Corrie Tanboon, her family 00:23:53.640 --> 00:23:57.740 hid from the Nazis. She was Jewish and her family 00:23:57.740 --> 00:23:59.640 was Jewish. They hid from the Nazis during World 00:23:59.640 --> 00:24:06.059 War II. Sadly, her family got ratted out and 00:24:06.059 --> 00:24:08.720 the ones who survived were put in concentration 00:24:08.720 --> 00:24:15.740 camps. They were tortured and abused there. Eventually, 00:24:16.059 --> 00:24:22.940 Corey's sister died. But Corey survived. She 00:24:22.940 --> 00:24:25.859 went around Europe after World War II preaching 00:24:25.859 --> 00:24:30.730 about God's forgiveness and her experience. Until 00:24:30.730 --> 00:24:32.829 one meeting she spoke at, she was approached 00:24:32.829 --> 00:24:38.190 by a man. He was one of the guards at the concentration 00:24:38.190 --> 00:24:42.529 camp where she was imprisoned. He didn't remember 00:24:42.529 --> 00:24:47.650 her, but she remembered him. And he came up to 00:24:47.650 --> 00:24:52.789 her and said, I've become a Christian. I know 00:24:52.789 --> 00:24:54.750 that God has forgiven me for the cruel things 00:24:54.750 --> 00:24:59.319 I did there in that concentration camp. But I'd 00:24:59.319 --> 00:25:02.700 like to hear it from your lips as well. Will 00:25:02.700 --> 00:25:08.359 you forgive me? Here's what Corey Tamboon says. 00:25:10.259 --> 00:25:13.220 I stood there, I whose sins had again and again 00:25:13.220 --> 00:25:17.480 been forgiven, and I could not forgive. Betsy, 00:25:17.519 --> 00:25:20.440 that's her sister, had died in that place. Could 00:25:20.440 --> 00:25:23.720 he erase her slow, terrible death simply for 00:25:23.720 --> 00:25:28.349 the asking? And still I stood there with the 00:25:28.349 --> 00:25:32.470 coldness clutching my heart. But forgiveness 00:25:32.470 --> 00:25:35.549 is not an emotion. I knew that too. Forgiveness 00:25:35.549 --> 00:25:39.609 is an act of the will. And the will can function 00:25:39.609 --> 00:25:42.789 regardless of the temperature of the heart. Help! 00:25:43.470 --> 00:25:48.369 I prayed silently. And then this healing warmth 00:25:48.369 --> 00:25:51.970 seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears 00:25:51.970 --> 00:25:58.329 to my eyes. I forgive you brother, I cried, with 00:25:58.329 --> 00:26:06.089 all my heart. Had she not known God's forgiveness, 00:26:07.829 --> 00:26:13.529 she never would have done that. Now going from 00:26:13.529 --> 00:26:17.089 bitterness to forgiveness, like any form of sanctification 00:26:17.089 --> 00:26:20.569 of holiness, it's a process. We're not going 00:26:20.569 --> 00:26:26.460 to be perfect at it straight away. But we keep 00:26:26.460 --> 00:26:31.039 working at it. We keep growing it. Especially 00:26:31.039 --> 00:26:35.440 if the wounds of hurt are deep. And if we have 00:26:35.440 --> 00:26:38.119 received God's forgiveness, we will grow at it. 00:26:38.319 --> 00:26:40.539 We'll get better at extending forgiveness to 00:26:40.539 --> 00:26:43.359 others, and it will be clear that we're radically 00:26:43.359 --> 00:26:50.220 different in that. But if we don't, it's a warning. 00:26:52.029 --> 00:26:54.710 Maybe God's forgiveness hasn't taken root in 00:26:54.710 --> 00:27:00.250 your heart. I'm not trying to victim shame. Let 00:27:00.250 --> 00:27:04.930 me be clear. Bitterness is a real spiritual danger. 00:27:06.670 --> 00:27:09.650 When someone hurts you badly, here's what happens. 00:27:10.529 --> 00:27:14.750 The massive debt you owe before God looks smaller 00:27:14.750 --> 00:27:18.880 and smaller. and the wrongs that that other person 00:27:18.880 --> 00:27:24.500 has done to you look bigger and bigger. And the 00:27:24.500 --> 00:27:30.799 only antidote is to look to the cross so that 00:27:30.799 --> 00:27:35.259 we flip it back the right way up, so that we 00:27:35.259 --> 00:27:37.940 see again how massive our debt was, so that we 00:27:37.940 --> 00:27:44.019 see again how wonderful God's grace is. Even 00:27:44.019 --> 00:27:46.519 as we look at the cross, we see Jesus' immense 00:27:46.519 --> 00:27:49.259 forgiveness as He's being crucified. Forgive 00:27:49.259 --> 00:27:50.960 them, Father, for they don't know what they're 00:27:50.960 --> 00:28:00.680 doing. The cross is so powerful at warming a 00:28:00.680 --> 00:28:06.599 cold and bitter heart. All right, well, let's 00:28:06.599 --> 00:28:10.599 draw some threads together. We started by talking 00:28:10.599 --> 00:28:13.680 about the dangers of sin, that sin... can trap 00:28:13.680 --> 00:28:17.660 us, it can give us a callous conscience, it can 00:28:17.660 --> 00:28:20.579 leave us just feeling miserable with a guilty 00:28:20.579 --> 00:28:23.000 conscience, and it can leave us with a bitter 00:28:23.000 --> 00:28:28.259 heart when people sin against us. But God's forgiveness 00:28:28.259 --> 00:28:33.299 at the cross destroys sin's power. See we have 00:28:33.299 --> 00:28:37.779 a massive debt, but at the cross it shows that 00:28:37.779 --> 00:28:39.920 we do have a debt, that it needs to be paid. 00:28:40.590 --> 00:28:43.309 God cancelled our debt and at the cross it says 00:28:43.309 --> 00:28:47.869 we see that the debt has been paid and we must 00:28:47.869 --> 00:28:51.930 forgive debts. At the cross we see the example 00:28:51.930 --> 00:28:54.750 that Jesus shows us of what a forgiving heart 00:28:54.750 --> 00:28:59.430 looks like. But what's this got to do with the 00:28:59.430 --> 00:29:01.609 Lord's Prayer? Well that line of the Lord's Prayer 00:29:01.609 --> 00:29:05.829 brings these truths to bear in our lives. These 00:29:05.829 --> 00:29:08.089 aren't just truths to be understood cognitively, 00:29:08.089 --> 00:29:10.740 these are Truths that we need to feel, these 00:29:10.740 --> 00:29:13.099 are truths that we need to pray again and again 00:29:13.099 --> 00:29:16.819 and again. And that's why our big idea is this, 00:29:16.980 --> 00:29:20.680 pray for God's pardon so that sin won't ensnare 00:29:20.680 --> 00:29:24.680 your heart. Or as the Lord's Prayer shows us, 00:29:24.839 --> 00:29:28.420 there's two aspects to it. Ask for God to forgive 00:29:28.420 --> 00:29:33.140 you and ask for God's help to forgive. That's 00:29:33.140 --> 00:29:37.440 what we need to do. Now, if you're a Christian, 00:29:38.730 --> 00:29:40.829 Here's what it means for us. There's always a 00:29:40.829 --> 00:29:44.730 possibility that we might become hard -hearted 00:29:44.730 --> 00:29:47.970 or hurtful or abusive, that we just keep sinning 00:29:47.970 --> 00:29:51.849 and we don't recognise it. What helps you guard 00:29:51.849 --> 00:29:56.890 against that? Because it's a real danger. Self 00:29:56.890 --> 00:30:02.349 -reflection and confessing your sins. Spending 00:30:02.349 --> 00:30:04.470 time And that's what you have to do when you 00:30:04.470 --> 00:30:06.650 confess your sins. You don't just generically 00:30:06.650 --> 00:30:10.210 do it. Lord, forgive us our sins. Amen. No, you 00:30:10.210 --> 00:30:13.829 want to think, OK, what did I do yesterday? What 00:30:13.829 --> 00:30:17.430 did I do today? Yeah, oh, gee, that was horrible. 00:30:17.529 --> 00:30:21.210 I really shouldn't have done that. And spending 00:30:21.210 --> 00:30:24.589 that time, doing that hard work, prevents our 00:30:24.589 --> 00:30:28.230 hearts from becoming calloused. Do it in the 00:30:28.230 --> 00:30:31.819 morning. Do it at night. How do I sin today? 00:30:31.920 --> 00:30:34.859 I'm looking back on the day I had. Father, I'm 00:30:34.859 --> 00:30:37.619 sorry for, you know, I did this and I did that, 00:30:38.420 --> 00:30:40.819 and thank you for your mercy. Thank you for Jesus' 00:30:41.220 --> 00:30:42.960 death on the cross. Thank you that it cleans 00:30:42.960 --> 00:30:48.279 all my sins away. Thank you. Doing that will 00:30:48.279 --> 00:30:52.599 keep your heart soft. And if you're a Christian 00:30:52.599 --> 00:30:56.480 who's wracked with guilt, you can lie awake at 00:30:56.480 --> 00:31:01.420 night, thinking, God can't love me. If that's 00:31:01.420 --> 00:31:05.160 you, bring your shame and your guilt to God. 00:31:06.019 --> 00:31:08.980 It's the same thing, confession. Confessing your 00:31:08.980 --> 00:31:12.240 sins to God reminds you that you can't out -sin 00:31:12.240 --> 00:31:18.630 the Saviour. It helps you feel it. You pray something 00:31:18.630 --> 00:31:20.809 like this, Father, I did it again, I'm sorry. 00:31:21.769 --> 00:31:24.609 You know it was worse this time, whether it was 00:31:24.609 --> 00:31:26.609 porn, whether it was lying, whether it was being 00:31:26.609 --> 00:31:31.029 judgmental, whatever it was. But you say, help 00:31:31.029 --> 00:31:35.190 me to see the wonderful forgiveness in Jesus. 00:31:35.269 --> 00:31:38.150 I love that verse that was on the front of our 00:31:38.150 --> 00:31:41.289 bulletin. It's to see that the blood of the lamb, 00:31:41.329 --> 00:31:43.809 the blood of Jesus is like spiritual bleach. 00:31:44.880 --> 00:31:48.759 It washes us completely clean in God's eyes. 00:31:49.900 --> 00:31:55.200 Help me to see that, Lord. And if you're a Christian 00:31:55.200 --> 00:31:57.500 and you've been hurt by others, it's easy to 00:31:57.500 --> 00:32:01.500 throw in the towel and give up on Jesus. I mean, 00:32:01.579 --> 00:32:03.220 there's been times where that's been tempting 00:32:03.220 --> 00:32:07.559 for me, I'll admit. How do you guard your heart 00:32:07.559 --> 00:32:13.069 in those times? Well, it's praying those things 00:32:13.069 --> 00:32:15.730 that we just said it's you got to have an understanding 00:32:15.730 --> 00:32:18.910 of how big your Debt is and how much God's done 00:32:18.910 --> 00:32:21.230 for you, but it's also praying something like 00:32:21.230 --> 00:32:27.829 this Help me forgive them Genuinely from the 00:32:27.829 --> 00:32:32.970 heart Lord Give me a forgiving heart protect 00:32:32.970 --> 00:32:37.130 me from bitterness Please Lord, you know the 00:32:37.130 --> 00:32:41.000 wrongs they did help them repent because I want 00:32:41.000 --> 00:32:46.039 to see them saved too. If you're a Christian 00:32:46.039 --> 00:32:51.140 and you make it a habit to pray like that, it 00:32:51.140 --> 00:32:54.319 will help your heart be in a spiritually good 00:32:54.319 --> 00:32:59.119 and safe place. Now, don't get me wrong. This 00:32:59.119 --> 00:33:01.539 doesn't mean we tolerate more abuse. You know, 00:33:01.559 --> 00:33:04.000 oh, I'm just going to let them keep hurting me 00:33:04.000 --> 00:33:07.390 and... No, put up boundaries. Reconciliation, 00:33:08.009 --> 00:33:10.769 it doesn't happen unless there's repentance and 00:33:10.769 --> 00:33:14.950 forgiveness. We need to have both or otherwise 00:33:14.950 --> 00:33:22.170 the relationship will remain broken. But even 00:33:22.170 --> 00:33:24.490 if they won't repent, we need to be ready and 00:33:24.490 --> 00:33:32.150 willing and extending forgiveness. Let me ask, 00:33:32.150 --> 00:33:38.279 who is it you need to forgive? I wonder here, 00:33:38.380 --> 00:33:41.059 are there folk at the Good Shepherd Church, perhaps, 00:33:41.539 --> 00:33:45.160 that maybe some of us need to forgive? Maybe 00:33:45.160 --> 00:33:46.819 if you've been hurt by another church, maybe 00:33:46.819 --> 00:33:51.740 it's people there. Maybe it's an ex, maybe it's 00:33:51.740 --> 00:33:54.039 an employer, maybe it's your spouse. I don't 00:33:54.039 --> 00:33:57.900 know. Don't hold onto bitterness, though. Don't 00:33:57.900 --> 00:34:00.640 get bogged down in resentment. Don't put yourself 00:34:00.640 --> 00:34:05.500 in spiritual danger. See the size of your debt. 00:34:06.879 --> 00:34:12.619 See the wonder of God's grace and ask him to 00:34:12.619 --> 00:34:18.320 help you forgive. And if you're here today and 00:34:18.320 --> 00:34:21.519 you're not yet a Christian, I've got something 00:34:21.519 --> 00:34:25.639 for you too. I hope you've seen that you too 00:34:25.639 --> 00:34:29.920 need God's forgiveness. Jesus is offering it 00:34:29.920 --> 00:34:35.940 to you free today as well. What else can make 00:34:35.940 --> 00:34:39.760 you face your failures with honesty and recalibrate 00:34:39.760 --> 00:34:43.099 your conscience? What else can make you free 00:34:43.099 --> 00:34:45.699 from guilt and fill you with hope and joy? What 00:34:45.699 --> 00:34:48.320 else can transform you into someone who's radically 00:34:48.320 --> 00:34:56.139 compassionate like Jesus? Nothing else can. If 00:34:56.139 --> 00:35:00.019 you want to experience that forgiveness, it starts 00:35:00.019 --> 00:35:09.210 with a prayer. Here's the prayer. Dear God, my 00:35:09.210 --> 00:35:14.530 sin debt is massive. I can't pay it off. Please 00:35:14.530 --> 00:35:19.090 forgive my debt. Thank you that Jesus paid my 00:35:19.090 --> 00:35:23.469 debt in full by his death. Please let your forgiveness 00:35:23.469 --> 00:35:29.510 change me and my heart. Now if you want to become 00:35:29.510 --> 00:35:30.869 a Christian, I mean these aren't magic words, 00:35:30.909 --> 00:35:33.170 these are just the ideas that you need to be 00:35:33.170 --> 00:35:34.789 praying about if you want to become a Christian. 00:35:35.130 --> 00:35:37.289 And if you already are a Christian, this is the 00:35:37.289 --> 00:35:39.530 same sort of stuff we pray about too, isn't it? 00:35:40.389 --> 00:35:43.469 So everyone today, if you're a Christian, I encourage 00:35:43.469 --> 00:35:46.690 you to pray that with me now, just silently in 00:35:46.690 --> 00:35:49.130 your own heart. But if you want to become a Christian, 00:35:50.429 --> 00:35:53.110 pray that too, just quietly in your own heart. 00:35:54.469 --> 00:35:57.309 I'll pray it, and I'll give you some time to 00:35:57.309 --> 00:36:00.110 pray it after me quietly in your own heart, and 00:36:00.110 --> 00:36:11.409 then we'll close. Let's pray. Dear God, my sin 00:36:11.409 --> 00:36:23.030 debt is massive. I can't pay it off. Please forgive 00:36:23.030 --> 00:36:29.650 my debt. Thank you that Jesus paid my debt in 00:36:29.650 --> 00:36:37.250 full by his death. Please let your forgiveness 00:36:37.250 --> 00:36:48.909 change me and my heart. Amen. Now if you've prayed 00:36:48.909 --> 00:36:53.429 that for the first time, God is at work in you. 00:36:54.230 --> 00:36:57.969 You have been forgiven. Please come and have 00:36:57.969 --> 00:37:00.869 a chat with me. We'd love to help you on the 00:37:00.869 --> 00:37:03.289 way as you now follow him.