1 00:00:00,840 --> 00:00:03,600 Well, the last few weeks we've been in the Lord's Prayer 2 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:05,340 and we're actually now coming to the end 3 00:00:05,340 --> 00:00:07,400 of our time in the Lord's Prayer 4 00:00:07,400 --> 00:00:09,560 and wrapping up our time in Matthew for now 5 00:00:09,560 --> 00:00:13,100 and we'll move into our Advent season starting next week. 6 00:00:13,100 --> 00:00:15,120 So if you get excited about Christmas, 7 00:00:15,120 --> 00:00:16,360 Christmas is coming. 8 00:00:16,360 --> 00:00:17,520 For some of you, it already came, 9 00:00:17,520 --> 00:00:20,400 you already decorated and you know, ugh. 10 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:22,940 How many of you guys decorate before Thanksgiving? 11 00:00:22,940 --> 00:00:24,480 Anyone? 12 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:26,940 Oh, fewer people than I thought, okay. 13 00:00:26,940 --> 00:00:29,060 We got a few here. 14 00:00:29,060 --> 00:00:31,620 Yeah, okay, there's one right there. 15 00:00:32,620 --> 00:00:34,720 I was over their house and I was like, 16 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:37,440 that's a Christmas tree right there, ugh. 17 00:00:37,440 --> 00:00:39,640 Thanksgiving hasn't happened yet. 18 00:00:39,640 --> 00:00:43,920 I think one year my wife might have used Halloween 19 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:46,600 as her like, okay, time for Christmas 20 00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:48,280 and throw that thing up on Halloween. 21 00:00:48,280 --> 00:00:49,860 That was way too early. 22 00:00:52,460 --> 00:00:54,680 But next week here at the church, 23 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:57,640 things will be transformed, we'll be in our Christmas spirit 24 00:00:57,640 --> 00:01:00,320 and we're gonna launch into our Advent series. 25 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:02,040 We're gonna talk about the, 26 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:04,400 the series will be called The Name Out of Isaiah, 27 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:07,000 chapter nine, that he is wonderful counselor, 28 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:10,040 almighty God, everlasting father and prince of peace. 29 00:01:10,040 --> 00:01:13,280 And so, love for you to join us in our Advent March 30 00:01:13,280 --> 00:01:17,720 to Christmas each Sunday coming up in December. 31 00:01:17,720 --> 00:01:19,360 But right now we're wrapping up Matthew 32 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:20,320 and as we've done every week, 33 00:01:20,320 --> 00:01:22,720 we recite the Lord's Prayer together, 34 00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:24,000 reading off to the board. 35 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:26,820 And so if you'll join me in saying the Lord's Prayer, 36 00:01:26,820 --> 00:01:29,280 but also we're gonna add two verses to it, 37 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:31,320 which are the two verses we'll be focusing on today. 38 00:01:31,320 --> 00:01:33,960 So join me in saying this. 39 00:01:33,960 --> 00:01:38,960 Our Father in heaven, your name be honored as holy. 40 00:01:39,100 --> 00:01:42,320 Your kingdom come, your will be done 41 00:01:42,320 --> 00:01:45,320 on earth as it is in heaven. 42 00:01:45,320 --> 00:01:50,320 Give us today our daily bread and forgive us our debts 43 00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:53,680 as we also have forgiven our debtors. 44 00:01:53,680 --> 00:01:56,600 And do not bring us into temptation, 45 00:01:56,600 --> 00:01:59,960 but deliver us from the evil one. 46 00:01:59,960 --> 00:02:03,440 For if you forgive others their offenses, 47 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:07,280 your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. 48 00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:09,720 But if you don't forgive others, 49 00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:13,820 your Father will not forgive your offenses. 50 00:02:13,820 --> 00:02:15,600 This is God's word. 51 00:02:18,120 --> 00:02:19,560 So we've been looking at the Lord's Prayer 52 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:21,360 the last few weeks and we've been looking at it 53 00:02:21,360 --> 00:02:24,820 as a model or a pattern of the kinds of prayers 54 00:02:24,820 --> 00:02:29,020 that we as kingdom citizens adopted into the family of God 55 00:02:29,020 --> 00:02:31,880 as children of God, Christ honoring disciples 56 00:02:31,880 --> 00:02:35,200 ought to pray to Father God. 57 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:37,800 And not only is it a pattern, 58 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:40,000 not only is the Lord's Prayer a pattern for us, 59 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:43,000 but it is the reality of what it means 60 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:44,880 to be the people of God, 61 00:02:44,880 --> 00:02:49,040 buried in each of those stances of the Lord's Prayer. 62 00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:53,560 As NT Wright says, as we pray it's the Lord's Prayer, 63 00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:56,280 we learn to be shaped by it. 64 00:02:56,280 --> 00:02:58,720 We pray the prayer, we understand the prayer, 65 00:02:58,720 --> 00:03:02,240 and then the prayer shapes us into the kind of people 66 00:03:02,240 --> 00:03:03,760 that God intended. 67 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:06,160 The prayer itself and the principles and pattern 68 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:09,620 behind the prayer is itself a discipling mechanism, 69 00:03:09,620 --> 00:03:11,820 a tool in our lives to shape us. 70 00:03:12,920 --> 00:03:15,120 This prayer is both doxological, 71 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:17,400 and that's a big word that just basically means 72 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:18,700 praise or worship of God, 73 00:03:18,700 --> 00:03:20,840 an act of praise or worship of God. 74 00:03:20,840 --> 00:03:23,860 So it's doxological, but it's also theological, 75 00:03:23,860 --> 00:03:27,080 meaning it tells us something about God and who he is, 76 00:03:27,080 --> 00:03:29,240 and who we are in relation to him, 77 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:31,280 what he wants for us. 78 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:34,640 And so it is full of both praise as well as instruction, 79 00:03:34,640 --> 00:03:38,600 and it teaches us and shapes and molds us. 80 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:41,360 The reformer John Calvin said, 81 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:45,400 the Lord's Prayer is the summary of all prayers. 82 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:48,940 It contains everything that is worthy of desire, 83 00:03:48,940 --> 00:03:52,000 everything that is necessary for the soul. 84 00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:54,600 It's a pretty big statement there 85 00:03:54,600 --> 00:03:56,540 for that one little prayer, right? 86 00:03:56,540 --> 00:03:59,300 But as we've seen and as we've dissected each line, 87 00:03:59,300 --> 00:04:03,000 each line was full of so much meaning and depth 88 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:07,660 and drawing us back to what is true as we pray. 89 00:04:07,660 --> 00:04:10,920 The late theologian J.I. Packer wrote a book 90 00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:13,380 called Praying the Lord's Prayer. 91 00:04:13,380 --> 00:04:16,960 In his closing chapter, he looked back over the prayer 92 00:04:16,960 --> 00:04:18,980 and gave it a summary of meaning 93 00:04:18,980 --> 00:04:21,240 that I believe will be helpful for us today. 94 00:04:21,240 --> 00:04:22,320 We're gonna go ahead and look at that. 95 00:04:22,320 --> 00:04:26,200 He outlines the pattern of the prayer like this. 96 00:04:26,200 --> 00:04:30,800 Our Father, which is praise for our adoption, 97 00:04:30,800 --> 00:04:34,040 praise for who we are as children of God, 98 00:04:34,040 --> 00:04:36,040 that we've been brought into a family 99 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:40,920 once we were not God's people, now we are God's people. 100 00:04:40,920 --> 00:04:44,120 When we say our Father, it is an act of praise 101 00:04:44,120 --> 00:04:46,800 and acknowledgement that God has adopted us 102 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:49,080 to be in to his spiritual family. 103 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:50,340 Praise God, amen? 104 00:04:50,340 --> 00:04:51,180 Amen. 105 00:04:53,840 --> 00:04:57,840 In heaven, adoration for a God who is transcendent 106 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:04,320 in his greatness, that God has a much bigger view than us, 107 00:05:04,320 --> 00:05:07,720 that God sees the circumstances of our life in situation. 108 00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:10,840 He looks across all time and he's got a view 109 00:05:10,840 --> 00:05:12,280 that is so much greater than us 110 00:05:12,280 --> 00:05:14,320 that he is worthy to be praised 111 00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:15,880 for his knowledge and his wisdom 112 00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:19,740 from what he can see and he sees all and knows all. 113 00:05:19,740 --> 00:05:22,760 And so we pray in our prayers, 114 00:05:22,760 --> 00:05:26,040 our prayers are to be shaped and molded by the reality 115 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:29,680 that he is our Father and we are his children, 116 00:05:29,680 --> 00:05:33,760 that he is in heaven and he is transcendent and great. 117 00:05:34,840 --> 00:05:38,280 And then we pray, your name be honored as holy. 118 00:05:38,280 --> 00:05:42,560 And J.I. Packer says, this is zeal for God's glory, 119 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:47,400 zeal for God's name, zeal that God would have what he wants 120 00:05:47,400 --> 00:05:49,960 because God is good and if God gets what he wants, 121 00:05:49,960 --> 00:05:51,360 it's good for everything. 122 00:05:52,320 --> 00:05:55,760 And so I am zealous for his glory and his name. 123 00:05:57,280 --> 00:06:00,000 And then we pray, your kingdom come, 124 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:02,560 which is a longing for his triumph, 125 00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:05,400 a longing that the kingdom of God would break 126 00:06:05,400 --> 00:06:10,080 into our lives, that the kingdom of God would break 127 00:06:10,080 --> 00:06:14,560 into our lives in a way that shapes us, 128 00:06:14,560 --> 00:06:16,400 molds us, shapes us. 129 00:06:21,440 --> 00:06:22,600 Your will be done. 130 00:06:24,720 --> 00:06:27,600 This is a self-dedication of us to him. 131 00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:30,520 Lord, you have your will done in this world 132 00:06:30,520 --> 00:06:32,620 and begin in me. 133 00:06:32,620 --> 00:06:33,460 Start here. 134 00:06:34,520 --> 00:06:35,900 And then from this first section, 135 00:06:35,900 --> 00:06:39,220 we move to the last section of the prayer, 136 00:06:39,220 --> 00:06:41,880 which says, give us today our daily bread. 137 00:06:42,760 --> 00:06:46,240 We pray for a reliance on God for our material needs 138 00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:48,840 that he will provide for us what we need. 139 00:06:48,840 --> 00:06:51,600 Give us our necessary bread, our daily bread, 140 00:06:51,600 --> 00:06:52,960 that which we need. 141 00:06:52,960 --> 00:06:54,320 You define what we need. 142 00:06:54,320 --> 00:06:57,480 You know what we need before we even ask. 143 00:06:57,480 --> 00:06:59,400 You guys know that we have a lot of wants, right? 144 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:01,360 A lot of desires. 145 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:04,360 And sometimes we mistaken those for needs. 146 00:07:04,360 --> 00:07:08,340 But God, who is transcendent and great, he knows our need. 147 00:07:08,340 --> 00:07:10,560 And so we ask him to meet our daily needs, 148 00:07:10,560 --> 00:07:13,480 whatever those are, and forgive us, 149 00:07:13,480 --> 00:07:16,380 repentance over failures in faithfulness 150 00:07:16,380 --> 00:07:21,080 and our renouncing of mercilessness as a way of life. 151 00:07:21,080 --> 00:07:24,200 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us. 152 00:07:24,200 --> 00:07:26,700 This prayer is our sense of our weakness 153 00:07:26,700 --> 00:07:28,240 in the face of the foes, 154 00:07:29,200 --> 00:07:32,080 the face of the forces of our spiritual foes. 155 00:07:32,080 --> 00:07:34,740 And that's what we looked at last week. 156 00:07:34,740 --> 00:07:37,020 My prayer is that as we have examined the model 157 00:07:37,020 --> 00:07:38,700 and the pattern of prayer, 158 00:07:38,700 --> 00:07:41,180 that we have begun to pray the pattern in our own lives. 159 00:07:41,180 --> 00:07:43,580 I don't know about you over the last few weeks, 160 00:07:43,580 --> 00:07:46,720 but I know I catch myself almost daily 161 00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:49,580 jumping into a prayer and leading off 162 00:07:49,580 --> 00:07:51,420 with my needs or my requests. 163 00:07:52,620 --> 00:07:55,140 And as I've done that, as we've studied this, 164 00:07:55,140 --> 00:07:58,100 I've been reset, I've been brought back to the idea 165 00:07:58,100 --> 00:08:01,180 that this pattern reminds me to remember first, 166 00:08:01,180 --> 00:08:02,700 God, my Father. 167 00:08:02,700 --> 00:08:05,060 To remember my adoption as his son 168 00:08:05,060 --> 00:08:07,020 and to thank him for it, to not forget it 169 00:08:07,020 --> 00:08:09,660 and hold it before me ever when I pray. 170 00:08:10,540 --> 00:08:12,900 To remind myself of his transcendent view 171 00:08:12,900 --> 00:08:15,540 of my life and my circumstances. 172 00:08:15,540 --> 00:08:18,140 And to pray that, pray that I remember that 173 00:08:18,140 --> 00:08:19,500 and say that out loud. 174 00:08:19,500 --> 00:08:21,500 God, you see what I don't see. 175 00:08:21,500 --> 00:08:23,340 You know what I don't know. 176 00:08:23,340 --> 00:08:25,060 I'm gonna ask you for some things, 177 00:08:25,060 --> 00:08:26,780 but they may not be best for me. 178 00:08:26,780 --> 00:08:29,060 And so you do what you will do 179 00:08:29,060 --> 00:08:31,220 according to your goodness in my life. 180 00:08:31,220 --> 00:08:33,500 According to your goodness in my life. 181 00:08:35,820 --> 00:08:37,700 And while I pray, will you stir up zeal 182 00:08:37,700 --> 00:08:39,340 for your glory and your name? 183 00:08:42,300 --> 00:08:44,260 I believe I understood and used properly 184 00:08:44,260 --> 00:08:47,760 this prayer and this pattern of prayer 185 00:08:47,760 --> 00:08:50,340 will transform your attitudes and your desires 186 00:08:50,340 --> 00:08:54,060 and will help to align you with what is of greatest worth 187 00:08:54,060 --> 00:08:56,300 and will reshape not only your prayer life, 188 00:08:56,300 --> 00:08:57,940 but your life itself. 189 00:08:57,940 --> 00:09:00,940 But then we find right there after the prayer, 190 00:09:00,940 --> 00:09:03,020 there were two more verses we added in today, 191 00:09:03,020 --> 00:09:05,140 verse 14 and 15. 192 00:09:05,140 --> 00:09:08,140 And they read, for if you forgive others their offenses, 193 00:09:08,140 --> 00:09:11,140 your heavenly father will forgive you as well. 194 00:09:11,140 --> 00:09:12,580 But if you don't forgive others, 195 00:09:12,580 --> 00:09:16,340 your father will not forgive your offenses. 196 00:09:17,620 --> 00:09:19,620 And what you have here in verse 14 and 15, 197 00:09:19,620 --> 00:09:21,420 you have is a commentary. 198 00:09:23,340 --> 00:09:26,340 Matthew has inserted Jesus's words as a commentary 199 00:09:26,340 --> 00:09:28,660 on the prayer, the Lord's Prayer. 200 00:09:28,660 --> 00:09:30,820 And what's interesting is of all the lines 201 00:09:30,820 --> 00:09:32,980 of the Lord's Prayer that he could have chosen 202 00:09:32,980 --> 00:09:36,220 to comment on, he chose the one to say 203 00:09:36,220 --> 00:09:38,580 the lines about forgiving, forgiving our debts 204 00:09:38,580 --> 00:09:39,980 as we forgive others. 205 00:09:40,900 --> 00:09:43,780 And he goes into verse 14 and 15 to say, 206 00:09:43,780 --> 00:09:45,820 for if you forgive others their offenses, 207 00:09:45,820 --> 00:09:47,940 your heavenly father will forgive yours. 208 00:09:47,940 --> 00:09:49,620 But if you don't forgive others, 209 00:09:49,620 --> 00:09:51,460 your father will not forgive your offenses. 210 00:09:51,460 --> 00:09:53,540 So today we're gonna dig in a little bit. 211 00:09:53,540 --> 00:09:55,340 We're gonna do that under three verses. 212 00:09:55,340 --> 00:09:56,660 We're gonna do that under three points. 213 00:09:56,660 --> 00:09:57,500 If you're taking notes, 214 00:09:57,500 --> 00:09:59,460 the first point I'll have you write down 215 00:09:59,460 --> 00:10:01,660 is the principle of forgiveness. 216 00:10:02,660 --> 00:10:04,420 The principle of forgiveness. 217 00:10:06,820 --> 00:10:09,140 The Lord's Prayer emphasizes our dependence 218 00:10:09,140 --> 00:10:11,020 on God's forgiveness. 219 00:10:11,020 --> 00:10:12,900 Forgive us our debts. 220 00:10:13,820 --> 00:10:16,380 However, Jesus ties receiving forgiveness 221 00:10:16,380 --> 00:10:18,300 to the act of forgiving others. 222 00:10:18,300 --> 00:10:19,700 And he highlights that there's some sort 223 00:10:19,700 --> 00:10:22,740 of reciprocal relationship between the two. 224 00:10:22,740 --> 00:10:24,940 These verses reinforce that forgiving others 225 00:10:24,940 --> 00:10:28,140 is not optional in the Christian life. 226 00:10:28,140 --> 00:10:30,380 Forgiving others is not an option. 227 00:10:31,500 --> 00:10:34,020 It's a crucial aspect of living as one 228 00:10:34,020 --> 00:10:36,380 who has received God's mercy. 229 00:10:38,380 --> 00:10:41,980 It is the natural fruit of our sincerity of repentance 230 00:10:41,980 --> 00:10:43,500 and our relationship with God. 231 00:10:43,500 --> 00:10:45,260 This is what comes out. 232 00:10:45,260 --> 00:10:47,700 The entire scripture and message of the scripture 233 00:10:47,700 --> 00:10:50,660 centers on reconciliation and particularly 234 00:10:50,660 --> 00:10:55,660 reconciliation with God through for his forgiveness of us. 235 00:10:56,820 --> 00:10:57,700 This is the center. 236 00:10:57,700 --> 00:11:01,340 This is the center of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 237 00:11:04,180 --> 00:11:05,860 Just a couple of verses that I'll highlight 238 00:11:05,860 --> 00:11:07,900 or pull out of the Old Testament Psalm, 239 00:11:07,900 --> 00:11:11,460 chapter 103, verse 12 says, 240 00:11:11,460 --> 00:11:14,460 as far as the east is from the west, 241 00:11:14,460 --> 00:11:18,900 so far has he removed our transgressions from us. 242 00:11:18,900 --> 00:11:21,380 God is a forgiving God who removes them 243 00:11:21,380 --> 00:11:23,580 as far as the east is from the west. 244 00:11:25,620 --> 00:11:29,260 In Micah chapter seven, verse 18 through 19 says, 245 00:11:29,260 --> 00:11:33,140 who is a God like you, forgiving iniquity 246 00:11:33,140 --> 00:11:34,660 and passing over rebellion 247 00:11:34,660 --> 00:11:36,700 for the remnant of his inheritance? 248 00:11:36,700 --> 00:11:39,740 He does not hold on to his anger forever, 249 00:11:39,740 --> 00:11:42,980 but he delights in faithful love. 250 00:11:44,540 --> 00:11:46,460 Forgiving our iniquities. 251 00:11:46,460 --> 00:11:48,820 By emphasizing forgiveness in the comments 252 00:11:48,820 --> 00:11:51,020 on the Lord's Prayer, what Jesus is doing 253 00:11:51,020 --> 00:11:53,140 is he's highlighting it as the important, 254 00:11:53,140 --> 00:11:55,740 it is so important to our relationship with God 255 00:11:55,740 --> 00:11:58,580 and our relationship to others. 256 00:11:58,580 --> 00:12:01,380 Forgiveness is paramount, fundamental, 257 00:12:01,380 --> 00:12:04,220 foundational to those things. 258 00:12:05,180 --> 00:12:07,500 Romans chapter five, verse 10 says, 259 00:12:07,500 --> 00:12:10,260 for if while we were enemies, 260 00:12:10,260 --> 00:12:13,260 while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God 261 00:12:13,260 --> 00:12:14,940 through the death of his son, 262 00:12:14,940 --> 00:12:17,380 then how much more having been reconciled 263 00:12:17,380 --> 00:12:20,340 will we be saved by his life? 264 00:12:23,100 --> 00:12:26,140 Forgiveness embodies the essence of grace, 265 00:12:26,140 --> 00:12:29,860 mercy and restoration, which are central themes 266 00:12:29,860 --> 00:12:32,180 to God's kingdom come. 267 00:12:34,860 --> 00:12:37,460 See, Jesus repeatedly taught that the kingdom of God 268 00:12:37,460 --> 00:12:40,580 operates on principles that are contrary to the world. 269 00:12:40,580 --> 00:12:42,380 How many of you guys know or have ever heard 270 00:12:42,380 --> 00:12:45,500 that the kingdom of God is an upside down kingdom? 271 00:12:45,500 --> 00:12:48,940 It doesn't play by the rules of this kingdom. 272 00:12:48,940 --> 00:12:50,820 It doesn't have the values or principles 273 00:12:50,820 --> 00:12:52,340 of the kingdom of this world. 274 00:12:52,340 --> 00:12:53,980 It is an upside down kingdom 275 00:12:53,980 --> 00:12:57,900 because it's nothing like we would naturally see around us. 276 00:12:57,900 --> 00:13:01,420 Instead, it's a kingdom of mercy, a kingdom of humility, 277 00:13:01,420 --> 00:13:02,900 a kingdom of love. 278 00:13:04,020 --> 00:13:05,820 And what we find is that forgiveness 279 00:13:05,820 --> 00:13:07,860 is a tangible demonstration 280 00:13:07,860 --> 00:13:09,940 of the principles of the kingdom of God. 281 00:13:09,940 --> 00:13:13,260 Forgiveness is a non-negotiable practice 282 00:13:13,260 --> 00:13:15,020 for the kingdom citizens. 283 00:13:16,180 --> 00:13:19,180 Forgiveness is a non-negotiable practice 284 00:13:19,180 --> 00:13:20,580 for the kingdom citizens. 285 00:13:20,580 --> 00:13:22,380 Without forgiveness, relationships, 286 00:13:22,380 --> 00:13:24,660 both with God and with others, are broken. 287 00:13:26,500 --> 00:13:28,380 How many of you guys know that in your friendships 288 00:13:28,380 --> 00:13:31,700 or your relationships, that the closer the relationship is, 289 00:13:31,700 --> 00:13:34,220 the more chance there is of offending one another? 290 00:13:35,460 --> 00:13:37,900 The more chance there is of offending one another. 291 00:13:37,900 --> 00:13:40,300 I love my wife. 292 00:13:40,300 --> 00:13:41,820 She's offended me the most. 293 00:13:41,820 --> 00:13:44,660 Right? 294 00:13:44,660 --> 00:13:47,180 Out of all relationships, 295 00:13:47,180 --> 00:13:48,740 because she's always there. 296 00:13:49,620 --> 00:13:50,460 Can't get away. 297 00:13:51,500 --> 00:13:52,860 Don't want to get away. 298 00:13:52,860 --> 00:13:53,860 Can't get away though. 299 00:13:56,300 --> 00:14:00,740 That relationship, the most intimate relationship 300 00:14:00,740 --> 00:14:03,860 in my life is the one filled with the most offenses. 301 00:14:03,860 --> 00:14:06,140 And if forgiveness was not a part of our relationship, 302 00:14:06,140 --> 00:14:08,700 our relationship would be broken and would end. 303 00:14:08,700 --> 00:14:09,540 Right? 304 00:14:12,660 --> 00:14:15,500 In the kingdom of God, it is a non-negotiable 305 00:14:15,500 --> 00:14:17,380 for the kingdom citizens. 306 00:14:17,380 --> 00:14:18,700 The issue of forgiveness. 307 00:14:19,740 --> 00:14:20,940 It's not up for debate. 308 00:14:22,380 --> 00:14:24,780 Yeah, but, yeah, but, do you don't know? 309 00:14:24,780 --> 00:14:25,620 You don't understand? 310 00:14:25,620 --> 00:14:26,460 Nope. 311 00:14:28,140 --> 00:14:30,700 Let's look at what Jesus says. 312 00:14:30,700 --> 00:14:33,900 Jesus knew that forgiving others would be one of the most 313 00:14:33,900 --> 00:14:35,540 challenging aspects of our discipleship. 314 00:14:36,300 --> 00:14:38,220 And so when he laid out the Lord's Prayer, 315 00:14:38,220 --> 00:14:39,660 guess what he looped back on? 316 00:14:40,820 --> 00:14:42,580 Yeah, and that forgiveness thing, that's real. 317 00:14:42,580 --> 00:14:44,100 That's legit. 318 00:14:44,100 --> 00:14:47,540 It's something you actually need to be very concerned about. 319 00:14:47,540 --> 00:14:49,300 Because it might be the very, 320 00:14:49,300 --> 00:14:51,980 the most challenging thing that you face. 321 00:14:53,420 --> 00:14:54,260 If you're taking notes again, 322 00:14:54,260 --> 00:14:57,580 write down the second point, which is forgiveness 323 00:14:57,580 --> 00:15:00,900 as evidence of faith. 324 00:15:00,900 --> 00:15:02,820 Forgiveness as evidence of faith. 325 00:15:02,820 --> 00:15:05,740 The Lord's Prayer assumes that forgiven people 326 00:15:05,740 --> 00:15:07,300 forgive others. 327 00:15:08,260 --> 00:15:11,420 Forgiven people forgive others. 328 00:15:11,420 --> 00:15:14,300 And the verses 14 and 15 explain that our forgiveness 329 00:15:14,300 --> 00:15:17,140 of others reveals whether we truly understand 330 00:15:17,140 --> 00:15:20,220 and accept God's forgiveness in our own lives. 331 00:15:21,340 --> 00:15:24,620 Unwillingness to forgive others undermines our personal 332 00:15:24,620 --> 00:15:28,060 and our personal forgiveness, because it reflects a heart 333 00:15:28,060 --> 00:15:31,220 that hasn't grasped the depths of God's grace. 334 00:15:32,940 --> 00:15:36,740 You might say, isn't forgiveness a gift of salvation 335 00:15:36,740 --> 00:15:39,460 that God gives us, and not something that we earn 336 00:15:39,460 --> 00:15:41,340 through good works, right? 337 00:15:41,340 --> 00:15:43,500 Not even through forgiving others can we earn 338 00:15:43,500 --> 00:15:45,260 our salvation with God. 339 00:15:45,260 --> 00:15:46,980 And that is absolutely true. 340 00:15:46,980 --> 00:15:49,660 See, the scripture also says in Ephesians chapter two, 341 00:15:49,660 --> 00:15:53,780 verse eight, that forgiveness is a gift of salvation. 342 00:15:53,780 --> 00:15:56,740 That we are saved by grace through faith, 343 00:15:56,740 --> 00:16:00,060 and this is not from ourselves, it is a gift of God, 344 00:16:00,060 --> 00:16:02,780 not by works, so that no one can boast. 345 00:16:03,940 --> 00:16:07,620 And so forgiveness can't earn our way into heaven. 346 00:16:07,620 --> 00:16:10,500 What Matthew chapter six, verse 14 and 15 is saying 347 00:16:10,500 --> 00:16:15,060 is not you have to forgive in order to earn God's favor. 348 00:16:15,060 --> 00:16:18,220 But remember who he's talking to in Matthew six. 349 00:16:18,220 --> 00:16:21,500 He's talking to those who have followed him, 350 00:16:21,500 --> 00:16:23,660 those who have laid down their life to be with him, 351 00:16:23,660 --> 00:16:25,140 and he's talking to his disciples, 352 00:16:25,140 --> 00:16:27,380 and he's laying out the kingdom life, 353 00:16:27,380 --> 00:16:30,180 the ideal in the kingdom among the kingdom citizens, 354 00:16:30,180 --> 00:16:33,260 those who have already been saved. 355 00:16:33,260 --> 00:16:37,380 And for them, oh, forgiveness is non-negotiable. 356 00:16:37,380 --> 00:16:39,900 For those who have already received mercy, 357 00:16:39,900 --> 00:16:43,220 for those who have already received forgiveness, 358 00:16:43,220 --> 00:16:45,700 it's not a matter of question anymore. 359 00:16:47,380 --> 00:16:49,860 Having placed our faith in Christ alone, 360 00:16:49,860 --> 00:16:52,620 and having received his grace, we are promised 361 00:16:52,620 --> 00:16:56,020 that the life of Christ, the very life of Christ, 362 00:16:56,020 --> 00:16:58,260 the values and the works of the kingdom, 363 00:16:58,260 --> 00:17:01,820 they will begin to bud and flower in us 364 00:17:01,820 --> 00:17:03,140 who have been forgiven. 365 00:17:04,380 --> 00:17:07,740 It is the necessary outcome, the necessary outflow 366 00:17:07,740 --> 00:17:10,620 of what it means to have the spirit of God come live 367 00:17:10,620 --> 00:17:12,420 within us as believers. 368 00:17:15,260 --> 00:17:17,900 And one of the most essential base values 369 00:17:17,900 --> 00:17:20,420 of the kingdom is forgiveness. 370 00:17:20,420 --> 00:17:23,020 An illustration that my wife was sharing with me is this. 371 00:17:23,020 --> 00:17:27,020 Imagine that you see two apple trees side by side. 372 00:17:28,220 --> 00:17:29,780 Side by side, two apple trees, 373 00:17:29,780 --> 00:17:32,580 and it's the peak of harvest season. 374 00:17:32,580 --> 00:17:35,220 And as you approach these two apple trees, 375 00:17:35,220 --> 00:17:40,220 you see one apple tree that's got this luscious fruit on it, 376 00:17:40,220 --> 00:17:44,220 apples all over it, green leaves all over it. 377 00:17:45,220 --> 00:17:49,220 Beautiful tree, beautiful fruit in the front, 378 00:17:49,220 --> 00:17:53,220 and the fruit in the first service I said red apples, 379 00:17:53,220 --> 00:17:56,820 and then I backtracked because red apples are disgusting. 380 00:17:56,820 --> 00:17:59,020 And then we went to gold or green or something else, 381 00:17:59,020 --> 00:18:00,420 but anything but red. 382 00:18:01,300 --> 00:18:04,580 And I know this is like the war between Coke and Pepsi, 383 00:18:04,580 --> 00:18:05,700 the apple wars. 384 00:18:07,420 --> 00:18:10,900 Whatever your color in your minds, whatever is good, 385 00:18:10,900 --> 00:18:12,900 imagine that on the tree. 386 00:18:12,900 --> 00:18:13,740 It's there. 387 00:18:15,140 --> 00:18:18,460 A tree that's beautiful and flourishing. 388 00:18:18,460 --> 00:18:21,220 Right next to it is another apple tree. 389 00:18:21,220 --> 00:18:24,060 And this tree has zero leaves, none. 390 00:18:24,060 --> 00:18:26,140 It has no fruit whatsoever. 391 00:18:26,140 --> 00:18:28,540 Its branches are rickety and old looking 392 00:18:28,540 --> 00:18:30,300 and cracked and dried. 393 00:18:31,860 --> 00:18:34,220 Nothing appealing about it. 394 00:18:34,220 --> 00:18:37,940 Which one would you think is alive and healthy? 395 00:18:37,940 --> 00:18:40,260 I think it's pretty obvious, right? 396 00:18:40,260 --> 00:18:42,340 Lush fruit, green leaves. 397 00:18:43,860 --> 00:18:45,100 But here's the question. 398 00:18:45,100 --> 00:18:49,340 Is the fruit what makes it healthy and alive? 399 00:18:49,340 --> 00:18:51,620 Is the fruit what makes it healthy and alive? 400 00:18:51,620 --> 00:18:54,380 Or on the other tree, is it the lack of fruit 401 00:18:54,380 --> 00:18:56,140 that makes the other one dead? 402 00:18:57,300 --> 00:18:58,620 And I think the answer is obvious. 403 00:18:58,620 --> 00:19:01,300 No, it's not the fruit that makes it alive. 404 00:19:02,300 --> 00:19:05,460 But the fruit, whether it's the fruit or the dead branches, 405 00:19:05,460 --> 00:19:08,780 they are evidence of something going on 406 00:19:08,780 --> 00:19:11,140 in the heart of the tree at the place 407 00:19:11,140 --> 00:19:13,180 where the tree derives its life from. 408 00:19:13,180 --> 00:19:15,340 Something's gone wrong in the tree 409 00:19:17,140 --> 00:19:20,140 and therefore it's not producing anything and it has died. 410 00:19:20,140 --> 00:19:22,860 Or something has gone right in the tree. 411 00:19:22,860 --> 00:19:25,420 It has gotten everything that it needed. 412 00:19:25,420 --> 00:19:27,940 And guess what just happens for apple trees 413 00:19:27,940 --> 00:19:31,740 when it's healthy and getting everything that it needs? 414 00:19:31,740 --> 00:19:33,420 Boop, bears fruit. 415 00:19:33,420 --> 00:19:35,020 Can't help but bear fruit. 416 00:19:35,020 --> 00:19:37,140 That's what it does. 417 00:19:38,940 --> 00:19:42,100 Forgiving others is the fruit of a heart 418 00:19:42,100 --> 00:19:45,460 that has received the gift of forgiveness itself 419 00:19:45,460 --> 00:19:47,100 and has come alive. 420 00:19:48,140 --> 00:19:52,300 It can't help bear the fruit of forgiveness. 421 00:19:54,300 --> 00:19:55,940 Another way that you might think of it 422 00:19:55,940 --> 00:19:58,500 is that forgiveness is a gift 423 00:19:58,500 --> 00:20:00,780 that has been given to you by grace. 424 00:20:02,420 --> 00:20:04,540 But you know what, we oftentimes think of the gifts 425 00:20:04,540 --> 00:20:06,860 that God gives us by grace? 426 00:20:06,860 --> 00:20:08,940 We think they were all for us. 427 00:20:10,140 --> 00:20:11,740 We think, oh, he gave it to me 428 00:20:11,740 --> 00:20:14,620 and it stops, it terminates with me. 429 00:20:14,620 --> 00:20:16,340 It ends with me. 430 00:20:18,020 --> 00:20:19,780 But you know something that's true of God's gifts? 431 00:20:19,780 --> 00:20:23,940 God's gifts transform us. 432 00:20:23,940 --> 00:20:26,100 God's gifts aren't just something that he gives us, 433 00:20:26,100 --> 00:20:28,740 material things or emotional things 434 00:20:28,740 --> 00:20:30,620 or spiritual things that he gives us 435 00:20:30,620 --> 00:20:31,620 and they have no effect. 436 00:20:31,620 --> 00:20:33,700 His gifts transform us. 437 00:20:33,700 --> 00:20:35,700 And you know what they transform us into? 438 00:20:35,700 --> 00:20:38,980 They transform us from merely being receivers. 439 00:20:38,980 --> 00:20:42,900 They transform us into regifters. 440 00:20:42,900 --> 00:20:46,540 You guys ever regifted a gift on Christmas or birthday? 441 00:20:46,540 --> 00:20:48,900 You've done it, you've done it. 442 00:20:48,900 --> 00:20:50,980 Thank God to that person who gave you that book 443 00:20:50,980 --> 00:20:53,540 or that fruit cake thing. 444 00:20:55,980 --> 00:20:57,420 And you just wrap that thing up 445 00:20:57,420 --> 00:20:59,300 and you get it on its way, right? 446 00:20:59,300 --> 00:21:01,140 You're just a conduit, that's all you are. 447 00:21:01,140 --> 00:21:02,940 It wasn't for you. 448 00:21:02,940 --> 00:21:04,540 It's the same in the faith. 449 00:21:05,620 --> 00:21:07,740 God wants to give gifts, 450 00:21:07,740 --> 00:21:09,700 but those gifts don't terminate with us. 451 00:21:09,700 --> 00:21:11,020 They don't end with us. 452 00:21:11,020 --> 00:21:13,700 What they do is they produce a kind of life in us 453 00:21:13,700 --> 00:21:17,340 so that we bud and burst out with flowers and fruit, 454 00:21:17,340 --> 00:21:19,460 the same kind of fruit that we've received, 455 00:21:19,460 --> 00:21:21,180 the same kind of grace that we received 456 00:21:21,180 --> 00:21:23,380 begins to come out of us, all around us, 457 00:21:23,380 --> 00:21:26,220 to the people who love us and the people who hate us, 458 00:21:26,220 --> 00:21:28,100 the people who are enemies and the offenses, 459 00:21:28,100 --> 00:21:30,020 those who commit offenses against us. 460 00:21:30,020 --> 00:21:32,220 The fruit of God begins to burst out 461 00:21:33,460 --> 00:21:35,860 if it's in here first, if we've received it, 462 00:21:35,860 --> 00:21:39,740 if we've understood this grace that has been given. 463 00:21:39,740 --> 00:21:41,260 We become regifters. 464 00:21:42,140 --> 00:21:43,540 We wrap that up and pass it on 465 00:21:43,540 --> 00:21:45,180 because we've tapped into God, 466 00:21:45,180 --> 00:21:48,940 who is our infinite source of good and grace, 467 00:21:48,940 --> 00:21:50,460 and it's never gonna run out for us. 468 00:21:50,460 --> 00:21:52,660 We don't have to hoard it, we don't have to store it. 469 00:21:52,660 --> 00:21:55,220 We can give it away and we create a pathway, 470 00:21:55,220 --> 00:21:57,420 a stream, a flow of God's grace 471 00:21:57,420 --> 00:21:59,860 that comes into us and through us and out of us. 472 00:22:00,860 --> 00:22:02,900 This is the nature of the Christian life. 473 00:22:02,900 --> 00:22:05,020 This is what it means to be kingdom citizens. 474 00:22:05,020 --> 00:22:07,940 This is what you and I are invited into, that kind of life, 475 00:22:07,940 --> 00:22:11,260 where streams of living water flow out of us 476 00:22:11,260 --> 00:22:16,260 to others to bring life, to bring glory to God. 477 00:22:20,620 --> 00:22:23,780 The life of Christ reaches further and further 478 00:22:23,780 --> 00:22:26,980 through his forgiven children to others. 479 00:22:31,540 --> 00:22:34,940 The last final point, if you're taking notes, 480 00:22:34,940 --> 00:22:37,100 is forgiveness and community. 481 00:22:39,060 --> 00:22:40,580 Forgiveness and community. 482 00:22:42,580 --> 00:22:44,660 The Lord's Prayer is inherently communal. 483 00:22:44,660 --> 00:22:46,460 We talked about that as we went through it. 484 00:22:46,460 --> 00:22:49,300 It's our Father in heaven. 485 00:22:49,300 --> 00:22:51,540 It's give us our daily bread. 486 00:22:52,620 --> 00:22:54,060 And those keys in the Lord's Prayer 487 00:22:54,060 --> 00:22:56,500 are to remind us when we go to pray 488 00:22:56,500 --> 00:22:58,980 that we pray not just for ourselves, 489 00:22:58,980 --> 00:22:59,980 but even in our prayers, 490 00:22:59,980 --> 00:23:03,580 we remember our brothers and sisters in the faith 491 00:23:03,580 --> 00:23:05,620 that they too have needs, 492 00:23:05,620 --> 00:23:08,540 that they too need to be reminded of who God is. 493 00:23:08,540 --> 00:23:10,860 And so we pray in private and we pray in public 494 00:23:10,860 --> 00:23:13,620 to remind one another of who God is. 495 00:23:13,620 --> 00:23:15,100 And we pray to God and intercede 496 00:23:15,100 --> 00:23:17,740 that he would supply the needs not just of us, 497 00:23:17,740 --> 00:23:19,380 but those that we love and those that we know 498 00:23:19,380 --> 00:23:20,460 and that we care for. 499 00:23:25,020 --> 00:23:27,300 A lack of forgiveness, though, disrupts the unity 500 00:23:27,300 --> 00:23:30,140 that Jesus himself has bought with his precious blood. 501 00:23:31,220 --> 00:23:32,900 When we harbor unforgiveness, 502 00:23:32,900 --> 00:23:35,900 especially against a brother or sister in the faith, 503 00:23:36,740 --> 00:23:38,780 then what we're doing is we're creating a blockage 504 00:23:38,780 --> 00:23:40,300 in the family. 505 00:23:40,300 --> 00:23:42,380 God's life can't flow in us and through us 506 00:23:42,380 --> 00:23:43,860 and to those around us. 507 00:23:43,860 --> 00:23:46,860 And so those in the faith begin to be starved 508 00:23:46,860 --> 00:23:49,180 of the life of God because we're refusing 509 00:23:49,180 --> 00:23:51,340 to pass on the forgiveness we've received. 510 00:23:52,980 --> 00:23:55,700 And they get choked out and they get malnourished 511 00:23:55,700 --> 00:23:59,060 and they begin to fall into a lack of health 512 00:23:59,060 --> 00:24:01,060 because the life isn't flowing anymore 513 00:24:01,060 --> 00:24:03,540 and that disunity begins to affect all of us. 514 00:24:06,260 --> 00:24:09,180 And so forgiveness is not simply merely a personal thing. 515 00:24:09,180 --> 00:24:11,500 When we harbor unforgiveness, it's not simply 516 00:24:11,500 --> 00:24:14,100 that I can hide that unforgiveness away in my heart, 517 00:24:15,500 --> 00:24:18,180 right, and just stash it away so that it doesn't 518 00:24:18,180 --> 00:24:19,100 affect anyone. 519 00:24:19,100 --> 00:24:21,020 Our forgiveness affects our community. 520 00:24:22,420 --> 00:24:24,820 Beginning here at the church with those who we love 521 00:24:24,820 --> 00:24:26,300 and those who we call brother and sister, 522 00:24:26,300 --> 00:24:28,100 when we harbor unforgiveness, 523 00:24:28,100 --> 00:24:33,100 we've put a blockage in the artery of our life here 524 00:24:35,300 --> 00:24:37,540 and we're going to be sick as a result of it. 525 00:24:41,580 --> 00:24:46,580 To withhold forgiveness, we kind of go through a process 526 00:24:46,700 --> 00:24:48,460 as humans. 527 00:24:48,460 --> 00:24:51,900 To withhold forgiveness, we have to first remove our enemy 528 00:24:51,900 --> 00:24:55,540 from the community of humanity and our hearts and our minds. 529 00:24:55,540 --> 00:24:58,820 We take them out of the community of humanity. 530 00:24:58,820 --> 00:25:00,780 We have to view them as less than. 531 00:25:02,340 --> 00:25:05,940 You have to view them in a way that they're undeserving 532 00:25:05,940 --> 00:25:08,100 of grace and mercy. 533 00:25:08,100 --> 00:25:11,260 You have to set aside what you know about human weakness, 534 00:25:11,260 --> 00:25:12,820 what you know about human frailty, 535 00:25:12,820 --> 00:25:14,380 what you know about human sin, 536 00:25:14,380 --> 00:25:16,460 what you've experienced in your own life, 537 00:25:16,460 --> 00:25:18,100 you set that aside and you say, 538 00:25:18,100 --> 00:25:19,900 well, that doesn't apply to them 539 00:25:19,900 --> 00:25:22,220 because they're not even like me. 540 00:25:22,220 --> 00:25:25,780 They're something wholly different than I am. 541 00:25:25,780 --> 00:25:28,700 And so unforgiveness begins by taking them out 542 00:25:28,700 --> 00:25:30,460 of the community of humanity, 543 00:25:30,460 --> 00:25:32,620 but the next step of unforgiveness is 544 00:25:32,620 --> 00:25:35,740 that we then take ourselves out of the community of sinners. 545 00:25:37,620 --> 00:25:40,500 You must view yourself as not that bad. 546 00:25:42,340 --> 00:25:45,820 You have to see yourself superior to other sinners, 547 00:25:45,820 --> 00:25:48,500 that you are not in need of at least the same kind 548 00:25:48,500 --> 00:25:52,020 of forgiveness and grace that they're in need of. 549 00:25:52,020 --> 00:25:54,700 Maybe God just needed to clean you up a little bit 550 00:25:54,700 --> 00:25:55,980 or wipe you down. 551 00:25:55,980 --> 00:25:57,700 Maybe you've been in the faith your whole life 552 00:25:57,700 --> 00:25:59,860 and you think that your righteous life 553 00:25:59,860 --> 00:26:02,300 has earned you something in the sight of God, 554 00:26:03,340 --> 00:26:05,580 but they haven't been in the faith all their life 555 00:26:05,580 --> 00:26:09,700 and that makes them rude and crude and kind of not like me 556 00:26:09,700 --> 00:26:12,460 and they need a different kind of forgiveness than I need. 557 00:26:13,380 --> 00:26:15,900 And so when we take them out of the community of humanity 558 00:26:15,900 --> 00:26:16,980 and view them as less than, 559 00:26:16,980 --> 00:26:18,940 then we take ourselves out of the community of sinners 560 00:26:18,940 --> 00:26:20,380 and put ourselves on a high horse 561 00:26:20,380 --> 00:26:22,460 and think that we can look down on other people, 562 00:26:22,460 --> 00:26:23,820 that we're superior, 563 00:26:23,820 --> 00:26:26,180 we're not in need of forgiveness or grace. 564 00:26:28,380 --> 00:26:31,700 Then we hold judgment. 565 00:26:32,780 --> 00:26:34,620 We don't give forgiveness. 566 00:26:36,140 --> 00:26:37,660 But you know what the Lord's Prayer does? 567 00:26:37,660 --> 00:26:40,140 The Lord's Prayer snaps us out of it. 568 00:26:41,180 --> 00:26:42,900 When we pray, forgive us our debts 569 00:26:42,900 --> 00:26:45,500 as we also have forgiven our debtors, 570 00:26:45,500 --> 00:26:46,980 we're being launched right back 571 00:26:46,980 --> 00:26:49,020 into the community of sinners. 572 00:26:49,020 --> 00:26:50,740 We're being reminded once again 573 00:26:50,740 --> 00:26:53,340 that we belong right there among all the rest of the sinners 574 00:26:53,340 --> 00:26:56,220 because we have things that need forgiving. 575 00:26:56,220 --> 00:26:59,020 Forgive us as we forgive others. 576 00:26:59,020 --> 00:27:01,620 We need the same thing that other people need. 577 00:27:01,620 --> 00:27:03,100 We need God's mercy. 578 00:27:06,060 --> 00:27:07,500 As C.S. Lewis put it, 579 00:27:07,500 --> 00:27:12,100 to be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable 580 00:27:12,100 --> 00:27:20,300 because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you. 581 00:27:20,300 --> 00:27:21,980 But we don't like forgiveness 582 00:27:21,980 --> 00:27:26,140 because forgiveness always includes suffering. 583 00:27:28,420 --> 00:27:29,700 We don't like forgiveness 584 00:27:29,700 --> 00:27:32,940 because forgiveness always includes suffering. 585 00:27:34,580 --> 00:27:37,380 And how many of us don't usually sign up for suffering? 586 00:27:38,820 --> 00:27:39,660 Hey? 587 00:27:39,660 --> 00:27:41,020 That was Canadian, right? 588 00:27:41,020 --> 00:27:41,860 A little, hey? 589 00:27:45,860 --> 00:27:49,180 I love the way Tim Keller kind of frames 590 00:27:49,180 --> 00:27:54,180 this idea of suffering and forgiveness. 591 00:27:54,180 --> 00:27:56,580 Dr. Tim Keller passed away a little while ago, 592 00:27:56,580 --> 00:28:00,260 but he put out a book called The Reason for God. 593 00:28:00,260 --> 00:28:02,340 And in it, he talks about forgiveness 594 00:28:02,340 --> 00:28:04,860 and he can say it a lot better than I, 595 00:28:04,860 --> 00:28:05,700 so I'm gonna read some of it. 596 00:28:05,700 --> 00:28:06,820 It won't be up on the screen, 597 00:28:06,820 --> 00:28:09,540 so just listen to the words that I'm gonna say. 598 00:28:09,540 --> 00:28:11,140 Listen to the words of Tim Keller. 599 00:28:12,340 --> 00:28:15,220 Forgiveness means refusing to make them pay 600 00:28:15,220 --> 00:28:17,180 for what they did. 601 00:28:17,180 --> 00:28:19,140 Let's say that one again. 602 00:28:19,140 --> 00:28:21,660 That right there, we just end it. 603 00:28:21,660 --> 00:28:25,180 Forgiveness means refusing to make them pay 604 00:28:25,180 --> 00:28:26,220 for what they did. 605 00:28:27,420 --> 00:28:32,500 However, to refrain from lashing out at someone 606 00:28:32,500 --> 00:28:37,020 when you want to do so with all your being is agony. 607 00:28:37,020 --> 00:28:37,860 It's agony. 608 00:28:39,100 --> 00:28:41,700 It is a form of suffering. 609 00:28:41,700 --> 00:28:44,900 You not only suffer the original loss of happiness 610 00:28:44,900 --> 00:28:46,900 or reputation and opportunity, 611 00:28:46,900 --> 00:28:49,220 but now you forego the consolation 612 00:28:49,220 --> 00:28:51,620 of inflicting the same thing on them. 613 00:28:55,220 --> 00:28:58,340 You are absorbing the debt, 614 00:28:58,340 --> 00:29:01,540 taking the cost of it completely on yourself 615 00:29:01,540 --> 00:29:04,260 instead of taking it out on the other person. 616 00:29:04,260 --> 00:29:06,940 It hurts terribly. 617 00:29:08,740 --> 00:29:12,260 Many people would say it feels like a kind of death. 618 00:29:13,740 --> 00:29:15,540 Forgiveness is a kind of death. 619 00:29:17,460 --> 00:29:20,380 I'll insert a little Dietrich Bonhoeffer right here. 620 00:29:20,380 --> 00:29:22,940 Dietrich Bonhoeffer said that forgiveness 621 00:29:22,940 --> 00:29:25,100 is the Christ-like suffering 622 00:29:25,100 --> 00:29:27,740 which it is the Christian's duty to bear. 623 00:29:29,180 --> 00:29:32,380 Forgiveness is the Christ-like suffering 624 00:29:32,380 --> 00:29:35,380 which it is the Christian's duty to bear. 625 00:29:35,380 --> 00:29:37,340 We all know that we're supposed to suffer for Christ 626 00:29:37,340 --> 00:29:40,100 and suffer for the cross just as Christ suffered 627 00:29:40,100 --> 00:29:42,500 and that no servant is better than his master. 628 00:29:42,500 --> 00:29:45,700 And if our master suffered, so should we suffer, right? 629 00:29:45,700 --> 00:29:47,540 But did you know that part of the suffering, 630 00:29:47,540 --> 00:29:48,980 a major part of the suffering, 631 00:29:48,980 --> 00:29:50,740 is when you forgive other people 632 00:29:50,740 --> 00:29:53,740 and you absorb the debt that they owe you. 633 00:29:55,060 --> 00:29:59,020 When you let the agony fall on you 634 00:29:59,980 --> 00:30:01,980 instead on the other person. 635 00:30:01,980 --> 00:30:03,540 Ascended on them. 636 00:30:06,220 --> 00:30:11,220 Keller continues, God in Christ absorbed the debt himself. 637 00:30:13,260 --> 00:30:15,300 He bore the penalty for sin 638 00:30:15,300 --> 00:30:18,300 so we could be forgiven and reconciled to him. 639 00:30:18,300 --> 00:30:19,980 Likewise, when we forgive, 640 00:30:19,980 --> 00:30:23,220 we bear the cost of the wrong done to us 641 00:30:23,220 --> 00:30:25,500 instead of demanding others pay it. 642 00:30:28,140 --> 00:30:31,940 When you forgive, you release not only the other person 643 00:30:31,940 --> 00:30:34,980 but also yourself from the coercive, 644 00:30:34,980 --> 00:30:38,900 a corrosive effects of resentment and bitterness. 645 00:30:38,900 --> 00:30:42,620 You let go of the right to seek repayment 646 00:30:42,620 --> 00:30:46,860 and in doing so, you reflect the grace of God. 647 00:30:48,140 --> 00:30:51,700 You let go of the right to seek repayment 648 00:30:51,700 --> 00:30:56,260 and in doing so, you reflect the grace of God. 649 00:30:58,580 --> 00:31:00,620 Forgiveness is paramount, it's foundational 650 00:31:00,620 --> 00:31:02,020 because it is the gospel. 651 00:31:03,380 --> 00:31:05,380 I'm gonna invite the worship team to come on up 652 00:31:05,380 --> 00:31:10,380 and join me on stage as we wrap up the word. 653 00:31:11,140 --> 00:31:13,260 I just want to remind us, 654 00:31:14,980 --> 00:31:18,660 if you are in Christ but you're going, you know what? 655 00:31:18,660 --> 00:31:21,660 I have harbored bitterness and resentment, 656 00:31:21,660 --> 00:31:25,540 be it in a relationship or against an enemy or something, 657 00:31:25,540 --> 00:31:29,140 I have harbored resentment and bitterness in my heart. 658 00:31:29,140 --> 00:31:32,740 I haven't released that but I know I'm in Christ, 659 00:31:32,740 --> 00:31:34,060 I'm His child. 660 00:31:35,100 --> 00:31:37,580 I think what the scripture is bearing down on us 661 00:31:38,700 --> 00:31:43,020 is a call for you to move toward Christlikeness. 662 00:31:44,860 --> 00:31:47,020 Yes, you are a child and you've been walking with Christ 663 00:31:47,020 --> 00:31:50,780 but can you move toward Christlikeness in your forgiveness? 664 00:31:50,780 --> 00:31:55,620 Can you forgive in such a way as Christ has forgiven you? 665 00:31:55,620 --> 00:31:59,180 Can you gaze into God's amazing grace? 666 00:31:59,180 --> 00:32:03,580 Can you see what He has forgiven you of? 667 00:32:03,580 --> 00:32:07,260 The rebellion, the sinfulness, the rejection of Him, 668 00:32:07,260 --> 00:32:10,220 the times that you did not give thanks to Him or praise Him, 669 00:32:10,220 --> 00:32:12,980 give Him is just due, that all of those are sins 670 00:32:12,980 --> 00:32:15,220 that piled up and for all of those, 671 00:32:15,220 --> 00:32:19,100 the Bible says that the wages of sin is death. 672 00:32:19,100 --> 00:32:21,780 If you sin, do you know what the paycheck looks like 673 00:32:21,780 --> 00:32:22,940 at the end of the week? 674 00:32:22,940 --> 00:32:27,940 The Bible says death, that's your wage, that's your paycheck. 675 00:32:29,940 --> 00:32:33,340 But the gift of God in Christ Jesus 676 00:32:33,340 --> 00:32:38,340 is forgiveness of our sins, restoration to God. 677 00:32:38,860 --> 00:32:41,340 And anytime we begin to drift away from that 678 00:32:41,340 --> 00:32:42,940 or we begin to harbor resentment, 679 00:32:42,940 --> 00:32:45,620 we have to turn our eyes back to the cross. 680 00:32:45,620 --> 00:32:49,420 We have to look again at God's amazing grace shown to me, 681 00:32:49,420 --> 00:32:51,060 not general sinners. 682 00:32:51,060 --> 00:32:56,060 Me, a sinner, you, a sinner. 683 00:32:57,300 --> 00:33:00,660 And let God's amazing grace begin to melt the resentment 684 00:33:00,660 --> 00:33:01,900 and hurt and pain. 685 00:33:03,780 --> 00:33:07,460 Yes, it will be agony, it will be all kinds of suffering 686 00:33:07,460 --> 00:33:11,660 to absorb that pain that someone has inflicted on you. 687 00:33:11,660 --> 00:33:15,340 But I would rather partner with Christ in His suffering 688 00:33:15,340 --> 00:33:18,100 by absorbing that than be out on my own 689 00:33:18,100 --> 00:33:20,260 holding my resentment and taking it away 690 00:33:20,260 --> 00:33:23,540 from me, and let that resentment and pain and anger 691 00:33:23,540 --> 00:33:26,300 and let that build up and eat away at me 692 00:33:26,300 --> 00:33:27,740 until I become nothing. 693 00:33:30,380 --> 00:33:32,460 Let me partner with Christ in His suffering. 694 00:33:32,460 --> 00:33:34,420 Paul said that he would count it joy, 695 00:33:34,420 --> 00:33:35,620 he would count it an honor 696 00:33:35,620 --> 00:33:37,860 to partner with Christ in His suffering. 697 00:33:39,180 --> 00:33:41,020 And we get that chance every time 698 00:33:42,500 --> 00:33:44,700 someone commits an offense against us. 699 00:33:44,700 --> 00:33:48,860 Will we forgive and partner with Christ in His suffering? 700 00:33:51,060 --> 00:33:56,060 How many times should I remember and reflect 701 00:33:57,900 --> 00:33:59,620 the forgiveness I've received? 702 00:34:00,700 --> 00:34:01,980 Is it seven times? 703 00:34:05,540 --> 00:34:09,140 Seven times 70, 70 times seven, 700, 704 00:34:09,140 --> 00:34:12,860 how many times should I remember and reflect 705 00:34:12,860 --> 00:34:14,780 the forgiveness I've received? 706 00:34:15,660 --> 00:34:16,860 Is there a number on it? 707 00:34:19,540 --> 00:34:21,700 How great have I been forgiven in Christ 708 00:34:21,700 --> 00:34:24,420 and how wretched was my condition before, 709 00:34:24,420 --> 00:34:28,500 how hopeless my plight, how dim my future, 710 00:34:28,500 --> 00:34:32,340 how corrupt my heart, but how loving my Savior. 711 00:34:34,300 --> 00:34:35,700 And when I was far away, 712 00:34:37,220 --> 00:34:40,140 He was standing out there waiting for me to return. 713 00:34:40,140 --> 00:34:44,100 And when He saw, He came and ran and put a robe on 714 00:34:44,100 --> 00:34:48,780 and called me Son and welcomed me in. 715 00:34:48,780 --> 00:34:53,780 That amazing grace, that forgiveness is the fuel 716 00:34:53,860 --> 00:34:58,300 that's needed to begin to spread that forgiveness 717 00:34:58,300 --> 00:34:59,540 and love to others. 718 00:35:00,620 --> 00:35:02,100 Yes, I know. 719 00:35:02,100 --> 00:35:05,100 No, no, no, John, you don't understand this situation. 720 00:35:06,060 --> 00:35:08,020 This is the exception. 721 00:35:08,020 --> 00:35:10,580 No, no, you don't understand what they did to me. 722 00:35:12,580 --> 00:35:14,180 Again, look to the cross. 723 00:35:15,580 --> 00:35:16,620 Let that bear down. 724 00:35:16,620 --> 00:35:21,620 Look what we did to Him, the perfect, spotless, holy one. 725 00:35:23,740 --> 00:35:25,940 It was our sin that put Him there. 726 00:35:25,940 --> 00:35:36,940 Look what we did to Him and let that begin to change.