WEBVTT 00:00:09.449 --> 00:00:14.289 Welcome to ECB's weekly sermon podcast. ECB is 00:00:14.289 --> 00:00:16.589 an international church in Bangkok, Thailand 00:00:16.589 --> 00:00:19.789 with dozens of nationalities worshiping together. 00:00:20.089 --> 00:00:22.989 We invite you to connect with us from wherever 00:00:22.989 --> 00:00:27.210 you are through our website, ecb .asia, or our 00:00:27.210 --> 00:00:31.070 mobile app. And now we pray that you are blessed 00:00:31.070 --> 00:00:37.299 by this week's sermon. Good morning. For those 00:00:37.299 --> 00:00:39.439 of you who are joining for the first time, we 00:00:39.439 --> 00:00:42.320 are a community who gathers around the person 00:00:42.320 --> 00:00:44.479 of Jesus. And as you've looked around, you see 00:00:44.479 --> 00:00:47.939 we are a people from all different walks of life. 00:00:48.420 --> 00:00:51.060 And yet one thing brings us together, and that 00:00:51.060 --> 00:00:54.659 is Jesus. And if you are just joining for the 00:00:54.659 --> 00:00:57.299 first time, you came to a service where we're 00:00:57.299 --> 00:00:59.840 not going to have light conversations about the 00:00:59.840 --> 00:01:02.439 weather or who's winning the World Cup at this 00:01:02.439 --> 00:01:06.959 point. We are going to go deep. to forgiveness, 00:01:07.299 --> 00:01:10.739 possibly one of the most difficult, challenging 00:01:10.739 --> 00:01:15.200 things of following Jesus. And so for the next 00:01:15.200 --> 00:01:19.019 four weeks, this will be our sermon series, Forgiveness, 00:01:19.159 --> 00:01:25.500 the Oxygen of the Kingdom. In 2006, I woke up 00:01:25.500 --> 00:01:27.739 on the west coast of the United States to the 00:01:27.739 --> 00:01:35.260 news of a horrific, horrific event. A man had 00:01:35.260 --> 00:01:37.980 entered into an Amish community. And if you're 00:01:37.980 --> 00:01:39.879 not familiar with the Amish, these are people 00:01:39.879 --> 00:01:43.099 who gather around, shape themselves to be like 00:01:43.099 --> 00:01:45.799 Jesus as a community in a very intentional way 00:01:45.799 --> 00:01:48.060 they live. They're pacifists, which means they 00:01:48.060 --> 00:01:52.219 don't even believe in war. And a man entered 00:01:52.219 --> 00:01:55.799 into one of their schools and he had the adults 00:01:55.799 --> 00:01:58.700 and the boys leave and he lined up the 10 girls 00:01:58.700 --> 00:02:03.799 and he shot them, killing five of them. and permanently 00:02:03.799 --> 00:02:10.360 injuring the other five. He then turned the gun 00:02:10.360 --> 00:02:15.419 on himself and committed suicide. Possibly even 00:02:15.419 --> 00:02:19.379 more shocking than that tragic event 20 years 00:02:19.379 --> 00:02:22.860 ago was the response of the Amish community. 00:02:24.199 --> 00:02:29.539 Not weeks, not months, not years, but moments 00:02:29.539 --> 00:02:35.180 after. The community went and visited the widow 00:02:35.180 --> 00:02:39.240 of this man that had killed their children and 00:02:39.240 --> 00:02:44.680 visited them to express their condolences and 00:02:44.680 --> 00:02:50.300 to comfort her. They committed to an act of forgiveness. 00:02:52.340 --> 00:02:56.939 They even attended his funeral. And we ask ourselves, 00:02:57.180 --> 00:03:02.919 why would you do that? This man doesn't deserve 00:03:02.919 --> 00:03:09.719 that type of treatment. Everyone says forgiveness 00:03:09.719 --> 00:03:14.740 is a lovely idea. We like to talk about it. But 00:03:14.740 --> 00:03:17.939 then when we have something, someone to forgive 00:03:17.939 --> 00:03:21.780 in a specific instance, it becomes a different 00:03:21.780 --> 00:03:25.099 reality, doesn't it? So I want to invite you 00:03:25.099 --> 00:03:28.259 to engage in this series with all of who you 00:03:28.259 --> 00:03:31.599 are. And I want you to, I'm inviting you right 00:03:31.599 --> 00:03:35.520 now to think about somebody who has wronged you. 00:03:36.479 --> 00:03:38.979 I'm a pastor, so I've heard a lot of stories 00:03:38.979 --> 00:03:42.460 about people wronging each other. I know that 00:03:42.460 --> 00:03:45.479 everyone in this room has experienced a wrong 00:03:45.479 --> 00:03:49.740 against them. Betrayal. Something stolen from 00:03:49.740 --> 00:03:53.479 you. Violation to who you are and your dignity. 00:03:55.180 --> 00:03:58.039 Things that may or may not ever be able to be 00:03:58.039 --> 00:04:01.659 returned. Think about that person. They may be 00:04:01.659 --> 00:04:04.180 in this room. They may be somebody from your 00:04:04.180 --> 00:04:09.180 past. But I want you to keep them in mind as 00:04:09.180 --> 00:04:15.840 we ask a question. Why should you forgive? Why 00:04:15.840 --> 00:04:20.129 should I forgive? Because at the heart of that 00:04:20.129 --> 00:04:22.949 question, we're going to have Jesus coming in 00:04:22.949 --> 00:04:27.009 to shape a community like ours in forgiveness. 00:04:27.569 --> 00:04:32.569 In fact, he does this in a prayer that is embedded 00:04:32.569 --> 00:04:35.410 right in the middle of three chapters, five, 00:04:35.629 --> 00:04:38.230 six, and seven of Matthew. It's called the Sermon 00:04:38.230 --> 00:04:40.829 on the Mount. This is the most concise collection 00:04:40.829 --> 00:04:43.990 of Jesus's profound teaching about what you and 00:04:43.990 --> 00:04:46.899 I are to look like as kingdom participants. And 00:04:46.899 --> 00:04:48.920 right in the middle of this in chapter six is 00:04:48.920 --> 00:04:53.360 this verse, this modeling of how to pray. And 00:04:53.360 --> 00:04:55.319 what I would like us to do is actually use this 00:04:55.319 --> 00:04:59.060 prayer to bring us into a space of, Holy Spirit, 00:04:59.139 --> 00:05:02.360 would you move within us this morning? So I'm 00:05:02.360 --> 00:05:04.300 going to pray this out. You can either follow 00:05:04.300 --> 00:05:06.459 along with the words on the screen. You know 00:05:06.459 --> 00:05:09.379 it maybe in different translations. But would 00:05:09.379 --> 00:05:12.899 you, I invite you to have a posture of surrender. 00:05:13.980 --> 00:05:18.079 Surrender to God through it. So our Father in 00:05:18.079 --> 00:05:25.800 heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your 00:05:25.800 --> 00:05:30.399 kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth 00:05:30.399 --> 00:05:36.620 as it is in heaven. Give us today the food that 00:05:36.620 --> 00:05:40.839 we need. And forgive us our sins as we forgive 00:05:40.839 --> 00:05:48.420 those who sin against us. And do not lead us 00:05:48.420 --> 00:05:51.240 yet into temptation, but deliver us, rescue us 00:05:51.240 --> 00:05:57.560 from evil. Amen. What did you notice right at 00:05:57.560 --> 00:06:00.199 the heart of this prayer? The first section is 00:06:00.199 --> 00:06:03.480 about us orienting ourselves to God. And the 00:06:03.480 --> 00:06:06.000 second part of the prayer is about God's kingdom 00:06:06.000 --> 00:06:09.899 being oriented into our own lives. So would God's 00:06:09.899 --> 00:06:12.160 kingdom shape and flow us? And right at the middle 00:06:12.160 --> 00:06:14.899 of it is this. Phrase here, would you read it 00:06:14.899 --> 00:06:19.040 out with me? And forgive us our sins as we have 00:06:19.040 --> 00:06:23.680 forgiven those who sin against us. When Jesus 00:06:23.680 --> 00:06:26.040 introduces this prayer, he says, hey, don't be 00:06:26.040 --> 00:06:28.459 like the Pharisees who go on and on and have 00:06:28.459 --> 00:06:32.079 these long prayers. Look at an option of praying 00:06:32.079 --> 00:06:34.740 that is much shorter. And for 2000 years, we've 00:06:34.740 --> 00:06:37.360 been being shaped by this prayer and it is really 00:06:37.360 --> 00:06:43.139 short. And yet God. decided to put forgiveness 00:06:43.139 --> 00:06:46.199 right at the heart of it. And not only that, 00:06:46.339 --> 00:06:49.100 but the only commentary that Jesus provides on 00:06:49.100 --> 00:06:53.180 this verse is actually focused on that forgiveness. 00:06:53.259 --> 00:06:55.959 Just in case we're like, let me see if I can 00:06:55.959 --> 00:06:59.259 wiggle out of what Jesus said there. He says, 00:06:59.500 --> 00:07:04.000 if you forgive those who sin against you, your 00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:07.680 heavenly father will forgive you. But if you 00:07:07.680 --> 00:07:10.480 don't, then you will not be forgiven either. 00:07:12.310 --> 00:07:15.209 That's kind of strong, isn't that? Wait, if I 00:07:15.209 --> 00:07:17.029 don't forgive others, does that mean I'm not 00:07:17.029 --> 00:07:22.470 forgiven? Is this conditional now, God? Forgiveness 00:07:22.470 --> 00:07:26.110 is always about receiving forgiveness and then 00:07:26.110 --> 00:07:29.490 giving it out. So we are a forgiven people who 00:07:29.490 --> 00:07:33.370 forgive others. And the mark of you being forgiven 00:07:33.370 --> 00:07:35.970 is that you will forgive others. That will be 00:07:35.970 --> 00:07:41.060 evident in what you do. So Matthew 18. An entire 00:07:41.060 --> 00:07:45.439 chapter that is focused on communities of Christ 00:07:45.439 --> 00:07:50.139 who are going to mess up a lot. I'm so glad that 00:07:50.139 --> 00:07:52.959 Jesus didn't sugarcoat and say, hey, you know, 00:07:52.959 --> 00:07:54.800 when your life group gets together, everything's 00:07:54.800 --> 00:07:57.600 just going to be great. He knows we're going 00:07:57.600 --> 00:07:59.360 to have conflict. He knows we're going to have 00:07:59.360 --> 00:08:00.839 problem and he knows we're going to hurt each 00:08:00.839 --> 00:08:03.920 other. You know why? Because you and I have the 00:08:03.920 --> 00:08:08.079 desire to be treated like Jesus deeply embedded 00:08:08.079 --> 00:08:11.029 in us. And none of you are going to treat me 00:08:11.029 --> 00:08:14.629 like Jesus can treat me. And I'm not going to 00:08:14.629 --> 00:08:17.810 treat you as perfectly as Jesus treats us as 00:08:17.810 --> 00:08:20.689 well. So we're going to kind of do this clunky 00:08:20.689 --> 00:08:23.610 community thing. And Jesus, in this entire chapter, 00:08:23.769 --> 00:08:26.769 gives seven different ways of gathering as his 00:08:26.769 --> 00:08:29.870 people. And the final two are kind of paired 00:08:29.870 --> 00:08:32.250 because one is about forgiveness and one is about 00:08:32.250 --> 00:08:36.429 being freed from the trap or the prison of resentment. 00:08:37.710 --> 00:08:39.649 And the way for that is through forgiveness. 00:08:42.370 --> 00:08:45.309 Like all of us, when we hear that story at the 00:08:45.309 --> 00:08:48.269 beginning or when you maybe picture the person 00:08:48.269 --> 00:08:50.409 who you need to forgive in your own mind and 00:08:50.409 --> 00:08:53.590 heart, we join Peter, right? We're like, ah, 00:08:53.789 --> 00:08:58.090 we want to calculate this. So every time I ask 00:08:58.090 --> 00:09:02.149 my daughters to do the dishes, They're very quick 00:09:02.149 --> 00:09:04.549 to be like, Dad, hey, can I just do this pile 00:09:04.549 --> 00:09:06.830 right here? Is that okay? And what they're doing 00:09:06.830 --> 00:09:09.590 is they're saying, maybe if I present a generous 00:09:09.590 --> 00:09:13.049 amount, he's not going to ask me to do all of 00:09:13.049 --> 00:09:16.070 the dishes. And this is exactly what Peter, Peter 00:09:16.070 --> 00:09:18.129 is my favorite because he speaks what all of 00:09:18.129 --> 00:09:21.649 us are wanting to say. But usually we wait for 00:09:21.649 --> 00:09:23.450 that person to say it. And then we're like, okay, 00:09:23.490 --> 00:09:24.889 yeah, yeah, that's what we were thinking too. 00:09:25.149 --> 00:09:27.289 So Peter comes to Jesus and he's like, Lord, 00:09:27.409 --> 00:09:31.830 how many times should we forgive? And this is 00:09:31.830 --> 00:09:34.690 the dishes thing where he goes, he's trying to 00:09:34.690 --> 00:09:37.409 be actually really holy here. Because the Pharisees 00:09:37.409 --> 00:09:39.129 would have said, you need to forgive three times. 00:09:39.570 --> 00:09:42.710 And Peter's like, how about I double that and 00:09:42.710 --> 00:09:46.409 add one more? Jesus, should we forgive seven 00:09:46.409 --> 00:09:49.730 times? And he's probably thinking, Jesus is like, 00:09:49.870 --> 00:09:53.370 whoa, Peter, you're so holy and awesome. Yeah, 00:09:53.470 --> 00:09:57.070 absolutely, that's what you should do. But that's 00:09:57.070 --> 00:10:01.029 not what happens. Instead, Jesus responds with 00:10:01.029 --> 00:10:04.129 a parable. Why does he respond with a parable? 00:10:04.190 --> 00:10:06.909 Because the story gets in at the very heart of 00:10:06.909 --> 00:10:09.629 who we are rather than a checklist of this is 00:10:09.629 --> 00:10:12.350 what you should and shouldn't do. And I'm going 00:10:12.350 --> 00:10:15.190 to read this parable. It's a well -known, familiar 00:10:15.190 --> 00:10:17.269 parable. I'm going to read it for you. And I 00:10:17.269 --> 00:10:19.929 want you, as you, again, think through whoever 00:10:19.929 --> 00:10:22.750 that is that has wronged you or offended you. 00:10:23.190 --> 00:10:26.210 And keep that in mind as you listen to Jesus 00:10:26.210 --> 00:10:29.129 responding, as you think, Do I have to forgive 00:10:29.129 --> 00:10:33.230 this? Maybe this is too much to forgive. So here's 00:10:33.230 --> 00:10:37.509 Jesus' response. Therefore, the kingdom of heaven 00:10:37.509 --> 00:10:40.090 can be compared to a king who decided to bring 00:10:40.090 --> 00:10:43.250 his accounts up to date with servants who had 00:10:43.250 --> 00:10:47.629 borrowed money from him. In the process, one 00:10:47.629 --> 00:10:51.029 of his debtors was brought in who owed him 10 00:10:51.029 --> 00:10:57.740 ,000 bags of gold. He couldn't pay, so his master 00:10:57.740 --> 00:11:00.860 ordered that he be sold, along with his wife, 00:11:00.960 --> 00:11:04.179 his children, and everything he owed to pay the 00:11:04.179 --> 00:11:09.240 debts. But the man fell down before his master 00:11:09.240 --> 00:11:12.860 and he begged him, please, please be patient 00:11:12.860 --> 00:11:19.120 with me and I will pay all of it. Then his master 00:11:19.120 --> 00:11:22.700 was filled with pity for him and he released 00:11:22.700 --> 00:11:28.279 him and forgave his debt. But when the man left 00:11:28.279 --> 00:11:31.460 the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed 00:11:31.460 --> 00:11:35.679 him a few thousand dollars. And he grabbed him 00:11:35.679 --> 00:11:37.960 by the throat and he demanded instant payment. 00:11:39.320 --> 00:11:42.700 His fellow servant fell down before him and begged 00:11:42.700 --> 00:11:46.120 for a little more time. Be patient with me and 00:11:46.120 --> 00:11:50.600 I will pay it, he pleaded. But his creditor wouldn't 00:11:50.600 --> 00:11:54.190 wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison 00:11:54.190 --> 00:11:59.470 until the debt could be paid in full. When some 00:11:59.470 --> 00:12:01.389 of the other servants saw this, they were very 00:12:01.389 --> 00:12:04.070 upset. They went to the king and they told him 00:12:04.070 --> 00:12:07.409 everything that had happened. Then the king called 00:12:07.409 --> 00:12:10.990 in the man he had forgiven and said, you wicked 00:12:10.990 --> 00:12:15.149 servant, I forgave you that tremendous debt because 00:12:15.149 --> 00:12:18.029 you pleaded with me. Shouldn't you have mercy 00:12:18.029 --> 00:12:20.789 on your fellow servant just as I had mercy on 00:12:20.789 --> 00:12:24.389 you? Then the angry king sent the man to prison 00:12:24.389 --> 00:12:28.629 to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. 00:12:29.970 --> 00:12:32.769 And Jesus concludes this parable by saying, that's 00:12:32.769 --> 00:12:34.730 what my heavenly father will do to you if you 00:12:34.730 --> 00:12:38.549 refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from 00:12:38.549 --> 00:12:43.909 your heart. This is Jesus' response to Peter. 00:12:46.639 --> 00:12:50.360 Right before the parable, Jesus has these words 00:12:50.360 --> 00:12:53.399 where he answers Peter and he says, I tell you 00:12:53.399 --> 00:12:55.419 not seven times. Remember, Peter is probably 00:12:55.419 --> 00:12:57.639 thinking, yes, I got the right amount. He says, 00:12:57.720 --> 00:13:02.480 no, not seven times. But how many times? 77 times. 00:13:03.179 --> 00:13:07.019 Now. All kinds of commentators will look at this 00:13:07.019 --> 00:13:09.019 and be like, well, it's seven times seven or 00:13:09.019 --> 00:13:11.720 it's 70 times seven. And what does that mean? 00:13:11.879 --> 00:13:14.899 I think what Jesus is doing here is he's hyperlinking 00:13:14.899 --> 00:13:19.159 into a story that is as old as time. And before 00:13:19.159 --> 00:13:21.679 I show you that passage, let me introduce a little 00:13:21.679 --> 00:13:24.659 bit of the story. So we know Adam and Eve rebel 00:13:24.659 --> 00:13:28.519 against the king. They say, we think we can use 00:13:28.519 --> 00:13:32.450 your creation, but without you. And so we're 00:13:32.450 --> 00:13:35.470 going to do life on our own terms. Well, they 00:13:35.470 --> 00:13:39.509 end up in their rebellion, having sons, Cain 00:13:39.509 --> 00:13:42.429 and Abel, and Cain kills his own brother, Abel. 00:13:43.230 --> 00:13:46.629 And Cain is then exiled away as a form of punishment. 00:13:46.629 --> 00:13:48.470 And Cain looks at God and he says, hey, this 00:13:48.470 --> 00:13:50.210 punishment is too much. It's going to be dangerous 00:13:50.210 --> 00:13:52.850 if I'm out there. And God says, don't worry, 00:13:53.029 --> 00:13:55.409 I will protect you and I will avenge seven times 00:13:55.409 --> 00:14:00.129 anyone who attacks you. Out of great mercy. Cain 00:14:00.129 --> 00:14:03.240 did not deserve that. But then we have this guy 00:14:03.240 --> 00:14:07.379 Lamech that comes along and Lamech decides to 00:14:07.379 --> 00:14:11.899 write a poem to his wives. Now, if any of you 00:14:11.899 --> 00:14:14.820 are starting a new relationship, do not take 00:14:14.820 --> 00:14:17.340 guidance from Lamech about how to be romantic. 00:14:17.799 --> 00:14:20.120 And you'll see why right here. Here's what Lamech 00:14:20.120 --> 00:14:22.879 says. Lamech said, so he sits his two wives down 00:14:22.879 --> 00:14:24.720 and you can imagine this. He's looking at both 00:14:24.720 --> 00:14:27.399 of them and he's like, he's like, Ada and Zillah, 00:14:27.519 --> 00:14:33.080 wives of Lamech. Now, you've already put yourself 00:14:33.080 --> 00:14:38.899 in the poem, right? Don't do that. Wives of Lamech, 00:14:39.080 --> 00:14:43.700 hear my words. I have killed a young man for 00:14:43.700 --> 00:14:46.500 injuring me, or a man for injuring me, a young 00:14:46.500 --> 00:14:51.200 man for wounding me. What's he doing? He's saying, 00:14:51.360 --> 00:14:53.820 you know what? When this infraction is done to 00:14:53.820 --> 00:14:58.879 me, I'm so awesome, I do this back to them. This 00:14:58.879 --> 00:15:02.049 is the way of Lamech. And here's how he finishes 00:15:02.049 --> 00:15:05.190 that. He says, if Cain is avenged seven times, 00:15:05.490 --> 00:15:12.070 then Lamech 77 times. This is the link that is 00:15:12.070 --> 00:15:14.070 made. And Jesus is going all the way back to 00:15:14.070 --> 00:15:16.830 the beginning and he's saying, guess what? There 00:15:16.830 --> 00:15:20.250 is a tale as old as time written inside your 00:15:20.250 --> 00:15:24.269 very hearts about retaliation and revenge. And 00:15:24.269 --> 00:15:26.490 so you put it right up to what Jesus said here 00:15:26.490 --> 00:15:30.049 and you see that he's telling a new story. He's 00:15:30.049 --> 00:15:32.490 telling the story that we were always meant to 00:15:32.490 --> 00:15:36.149 live in. And he says you are to forgive, in fact, 00:15:36.149 --> 00:15:38.830 the exact opposite of what lamex revenge is, 00:15:38.889 --> 00:15:43.590 77 times to another person. Seven is also considered 00:15:43.590 --> 00:15:46.230 a whole number, and so this is just, there is 00:15:46.230 --> 00:15:50.549 no limit on your forgiveness. My daughters, do 00:15:50.549 --> 00:15:53.490 all the dishes. Don't just set part of them aside. 00:15:54.190 --> 00:15:55.929 They're going to come in second service, and 00:15:55.929 --> 00:16:00.360 I'm going to hit this harder for that. So two 00:16:00.360 --> 00:16:04.500 paths that is given to us, right? And in this 00:16:04.500 --> 00:16:06.659 parable, we're going to see kind of the journey 00:16:06.659 --> 00:16:09.620 of these two ways forward, one towards resentment 00:16:09.620 --> 00:16:13.179 or one towards forgiveness. So why should we 00:16:13.179 --> 00:16:16.139 forgive? Because Jesus teaches it here and he's 00:16:16.139 --> 00:16:19.919 going to help us see that. But resentment starts 00:16:19.919 --> 00:16:24.879 with fear. You see, you and I were made to experience 00:16:24.879 --> 00:16:28.120 a perfect relationship, a secure relationship 00:16:28.120 --> 00:16:31.279 with God. But we're all born apart from that. 00:16:31.580 --> 00:16:35.419 So within us is a fear. And the fruit of fear 00:16:35.419 --> 00:16:39.240 is control. In my fear, I want to control the 00:16:39.240 --> 00:16:43.600 world around me. So when you wrong me, my first 00:16:43.600 --> 00:16:46.820 thought is, I need to control the debt that you 00:16:46.820 --> 00:16:49.799 owe me. I need to take that into my own hands 00:16:49.799 --> 00:16:52.919 and control that. Why? Because I'm fearful that 00:16:52.919 --> 00:16:55.039 nobody is going to take care of me on the other 00:16:55.039 --> 00:16:59.210 side. So I take it into my own hands. And you 00:16:59.210 --> 00:17:02.090 see this with the servant when he chokes his 00:17:02.090 --> 00:17:06.029 fellow servant. The other thing that we do in 00:17:06.029 --> 00:17:08.789 a posture of resentment is to forget. We forget 00:17:08.789 --> 00:17:12.549 how much we have been forgiven. And you see that 00:17:12.549 --> 00:17:15.950 immediately. It's ironic how quickly he turns 00:17:15.950 --> 00:17:22.779 around and he chokes his fellow servant. In this, 00:17:22.779 --> 00:17:25.680 we begin to develop a pattern, a habit of revenge 00:17:25.680 --> 00:17:29.339 towards others. So we continue the cycle of hurt 00:17:29.339 --> 00:17:35.200 and retaliation or resentment against us. And 00:17:35.200 --> 00:17:38.119 that simply repeats the story over and over and 00:17:38.119 --> 00:17:42.079 over again. And if you go back to the time that 00:17:42.079 --> 00:17:44.240 scripture was written and around when Lamech 00:17:44.240 --> 00:17:46.779 was running around, there was a code in Babylon 00:17:46.779 --> 00:17:50.720 about how we should engage ethically. And it 00:17:50.720 --> 00:17:54.859 said, if you take my eye, I take your eye. If 00:17:54.859 --> 00:17:57.660 you take my tooth, I take your tooth. And of 00:17:57.660 --> 00:17:59.779 course, the ironic thing with all of this that 00:17:59.779 --> 00:18:01.859 has been said is we're going to end up in a world 00:18:01.859 --> 00:18:04.380 where everybody's blind. And I might add that 00:18:04.380 --> 00:18:07.500 all need dentures as well. This is not a pretty 00:18:07.500 --> 00:18:10.180 place to be when we are fighting each other and 00:18:10.180 --> 00:18:11.920 saying, you did this to me, I'm going to do the 00:18:11.920 --> 00:18:14.460 same thing back to you. Or even the Lamech way, 00:18:14.579 --> 00:18:18.460 I'm going to ratchet it up a little bit. And 00:18:18.460 --> 00:18:20.740 what Jesus is doing is he brings this out in 00:18:20.740 --> 00:18:22.900 this parable is he's saying, this isn't just 00:18:22.900 --> 00:18:26.420 that guy's problem back then. This is our problem. 00:18:27.380 --> 00:18:30.740 This is within us. This is how we're going to 00:18:30.740 --> 00:18:36.079 naturally treat other people. So he responds 00:18:36.079 --> 00:18:40.640 with this parable and he helps us to see what 00:18:40.640 --> 00:18:43.619 is going on. And he says that the servant. He's 00:18:43.619 --> 00:18:48.559 going to be revengeful and actually choke the 00:18:48.559 --> 00:18:51.500 person that owes him something. Now, you may 00:18:51.500 --> 00:18:53.960 or may not get to that point of violence personality 00:18:53.960 --> 00:18:57.839 -wise, but how does your heart respond to that 00:18:57.839 --> 00:19:01.519 person that you identified? Are you so adamant 00:19:01.519 --> 00:19:05.039 about extracting something from them? And you 00:19:05.039 --> 00:19:07.359 are going to engage all of who you are to get 00:19:07.359 --> 00:19:13.539 that back. that his fellow servant, he falls 00:19:13.539 --> 00:19:15.720 to his knees. And what does he do? He begs him 00:19:15.720 --> 00:19:17.880 with almost the exact same words that he had 00:19:17.880 --> 00:19:23.740 just used. But the man refused and he has him 00:19:23.740 --> 00:19:27.720 thrown into prison. Now, is prison a good place 00:19:27.720 --> 00:19:31.460 to repay your debt? You can't work it off there. 00:19:32.180 --> 00:19:34.759 And possibly the irony of what Jesus is doing 00:19:34.759 --> 00:19:37.400 here is he's helping us see that you know what, 00:19:37.420 --> 00:19:40.859 we can't actually get retributive justice accomplished 00:19:40.859 --> 00:19:45.799 here. I maybe get some payment back, but it's 00:19:45.799 --> 00:19:49.319 never going to be what it was meant to be. And 00:19:49.319 --> 00:19:52.079 that justice moves us towards a different way 00:19:52.079 --> 00:19:57.059 forward. So we see here that... Then the master 00:19:57.059 --> 00:19:59.119 called the servant in and he says, you wicked 00:19:59.119 --> 00:20:01.880 servant, I canceled all the debt of yours because 00:20:01.880 --> 00:20:04.559 you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy 00:20:04.559 --> 00:20:07.920 on your fellow servant just as I had on you? 00:20:09.000 --> 00:20:11.599 Now with Jesus's parables, again, he's not asking 00:20:11.599 --> 00:20:13.839 us to look at this and be like, what a horrible 00:20:13.839 --> 00:20:18.279 guy. He's actually asking us to see that we have 00:20:18.279 --> 00:20:21.220 this potential as well and therefore need him 00:20:21.220 --> 00:20:25.569 even more. This is how your heavenly father then 00:20:25.569 --> 00:20:29.309 will repay you unless you forgive your brother 00:20:29.309 --> 00:20:35.849 or sister from your heart. You see, we cannot 00:20:35.849 --> 00:20:40.450 go through the narrow door into heaven when our 00:20:40.450 --> 00:20:46.309 lives are bulging with resentment. This does 00:20:46.309 --> 00:20:49.089 not mean, and I want to be very clear about this, 00:20:49.170 --> 00:20:51.630 we do not earn our way into heaven by forgiving. 00:20:53.399 --> 00:20:57.279 Forgiveness actually reveals that we have been 00:20:57.279 --> 00:21:00.559 forgiven. And so when you hold on to resentment 00:21:00.559 --> 00:21:02.420 again and again and again and again and again, 00:21:02.539 --> 00:21:04.880 it's probably an indication that you have not 00:21:04.880 --> 00:21:07.500 truly understood the full debt that you have 00:21:07.500 --> 00:21:12.700 been forgiven from the one who loves you. So 00:21:12.700 --> 00:21:16.630 you have the lame equate. But now you have a 00:21:16.630 --> 00:21:18.910 different path that Jesus is inviting forward. 00:21:19.009 --> 00:21:21.250 And he's brought this to Peter and he says, let 00:21:21.250 --> 00:21:23.849 me teach you the Jesus way. Let me show you what 00:21:23.849 --> 00:21:26.690 that is like. Because this way that I have described 00:21:26.690 --> 00:21:30.089 to you leads to a trap, a prison of your own 00:21:30.089 --> 00:21:33.710 making. Let me free you from that and offer a 00:21:33.710 --> 00:21:36.670 different way forward. So Jesus says, therefore, 00:21:36.789 --> 00:21:38.970 the kingdom, this is what it's like. The kingdom 00:21:38.970 --> 00:21:41.990 of heaven is like this king who comes and he 00:21:41.990 --> 00:21:45.990 says, I'm going to settle accounts. And so he 00:21:45.990 --> 00:21:48.349 brings people in to settle accounts and one of 00:21:48.349 --> 00:21:54.589 those people owes 10 ,000 talents or 10 ,000 00:21:54.589 --> 00:21:58.089 bags of gold. Now, rather than us calculating 00:21:58.089 --> 00:22:00.190 this and trying to figure out exactly what that 00:22:00.190 --> 00:22:03.910 means, just think this is a huge amount. He can 00:22:03.910 --> 00:22:08.450 never pay it back. Since he was not able to pay 00:22:08.450 --> 00:22:11.109 this, he comes to the king and he says, would 00:22:11.109 --> 00:22:13.609 you please forgive me? Would you please release 00:22:13.609 --> 00:22:18.400 me from this? And in mercy, the king responds 00:22:18.400 --> 00:22:20.859 and he forgives him. But this isn't Jesus saying, 00:22:21.019 --> 00:22:22.619 hey, there's a God of the New Testament that's 00:22:22.619 --> 00:22:24.019 different than the God of the Old Testament. 00:22:24.140 --> 00:22:26.680 We link all the way back to when God actually, 00:22:26.700 --> 00:22:30.660 like Lamech, writes a poem to Moses. And he comes 00:22:30.660 --> 00:22:35.140 to Moses to reveal who he is and he says, he 00:22:35.140 --> 00:22:37.019 passed in front of Moses and he says, the Lord, 00:22:37.079 --> 00:22:39.259 the Lord, he's compassionate and gracious God, 00:22:39.339 --> 00:22:43.240 slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. 00:22:44.230 --> 00:22:47.130 maintaining love to thousands and forgiving wickedness, 00:22:47.150 --> 00:22:51.569 rebellion, and sin, then what does it say? Yet 00:22:51.569 --> 00:22:58.170 he does not leave the guilty unpunished. God 00:22:58.170 --> 00:23:01.250 is not a God who simply sweeps the wrong under 00:23:01.250 --> 00:23:05.029 the rug. He actually makes a way to take care 00:23:05.029 --> 00:23:07.930 of the wrong. And this is what we long for. Our 00:23:07.930 --> 00:23:10.769 justice doesn't long for somebody to just forgive 00:23:10.769 --> 00:23:14.180 and forget. It longs for things to be taken care 00:23:14.180 --> 00:23:17.359 of. And so the number one posture within the 00:23:17.359 --> 00:23:22.279 gospel is truth, to name the debt. When somebody 00:23:22.279 --> 00:23:24.720 has wronged you, don't sweep it under the rug 00:23:24.720 --> 00:23:28.180 and pretend it didn't happen. That is going to 00:23:28.180 --> 00:23:30.599 be a way that you think, oh, this is a really 00:23:30.599 --> 00:23:33.259 Christian -like way of me responding. I'm just 00:23:33.259 --> 00:23:37.039 going to not think about it. That is not actually 00:23:37.039 --> 00:23:40.920 the way that this parable models forward. It 00:23:40.920 --> 00:23:45.140 says, name the debt. Take account of what was 00:23:45.140 --> 00:23:48.319 cost. What has happened to you and what have 00:23:48.319 --> 00:23:52.180 you done to others? Name that. Psychology has 00:23:52.180 --> 00:23:54.680 figured out that naming that helps you in so 00:23:54.680 --> 00:23:56.779 many ways. And one of those is that it helps 00:23:56.779 --> 00:24:00.299 that controlling factor of what has happened 00:24:00.299 --> 00:24:04.240 to you. It releases that. God knew that far before 00:24:04.240 --> 00:24:06.720 anybody figured that out through psychology. 00:24:08.259 --> 00:24:13.750 Name the debt. See, forgiveness does not forget. 00:24:13.950 --> 00:24:16.329 Forgiveness does not ignore the offense. It tells 00:24:16.329 --> 00:24:19.829 the truth about what was lost. Posture number 00:24:19.829 --> 00:24:22.390 one. That's why I invited you at the very beginning 00:24:22.390 --> 00:24:25.609 of this to think through what has happened to 00:24:25.609 --> 00:24:31.730 you. Somebody you need to forgive. Another quote 00:24:31.730 --> 00:24:33.849 here is, when we forgive evil, we do not excuse 00:24:33.849 --> 00:24:36.329 it. We do not tolerate it. We do not smother 00:24:36.329 --> 00:24:39.190 it. We look the evil full in the face and we 00:24:39.190 --> 00:24:42.650 call it what it is. Let its horror shock and 00:24:42.650 --> 00:24:46.049 stun and enrage us. And only then do we forgive. 00:24:46.190 --> 00:24:51.170 Forget it. Forgive it. The Amish community wept 00:24:51.170 --> 00:24:56.470 deeply for their loss. They acknowledged exactly 00:24:56.470 --> 00:24:58.890 what had happened to them and they called it 00:24:58.890 --> 00:25:03.470 what it was. It was evil. But they also acted 00:25:03.470 --> 00:25:07.930 in a gracious, forgiving response. So the second 00:25:07.930 --> 00:25:10.890 thing is to remember the story. What story are 00:25:10.890 --> 00:25:12.990 we remembering? We're remembering the debt that 00:25:12.990 --> 00:25:19.470 we actually owe. A number of months ago, I was 00:25:19.470 --> 00:25:23.519 actually taking a retreat. Because the Holy Spirit 00:25:23.519 --> 00:25:25.599 had brought to mind a person that I needed to 00:25:25.599 --> 00:25:29.759 go and forgive. And I went on this retreat and 00:25:29.759 --> 00:25:33.119 I arrived at the place and my plan was, hey, 00:25:33.160 --> 00:25:35.680 I'm going to wake up in the morning and I'm going 00:25:35.680 --> 00:25:39.339 to forgive. Right? So I go to bed that night 00:25:39.339 --> 00:25:41.319 and I'm thinking through, okay, all the ways 00:25:41.319 --> 00:25:44.900 that this person has wronged me. And I wake up 00:25:44.900 --> 00:25:47.019 in the morning and I get out there kind of triumphantly 00:25:47.019 --> 00:25:49.019 thinking, okay, here's the day I'm going to forgive 00:25:49.019 --> 00:25:53.519 them. And Holy Spirit took me on a different 00:25:53.519 --> 00:25:56.619 journey. There's about a half kilometer path 00:25:56.619 --> 00:25:59.279 around where I was going, and I was imagining 00:25:59.279 --> 00:26:01.359 kind of doing this prayer walk and forgiving, 00:26:01.480 --> 00:26:04.279 kind of like Peter, I'm so holy, aren't I? And 00:26:04.279 --> 00:26:09.059 instead, what Holy Spirit does is he takes me 00:26:09.059 --> 00:26:13.319 on seven loops around this retreat center, bringing 00:26:13.319 --> 00:26:18.480 to mind thing after thing after thing that I 00:26:18.480 --> 00:26:23.559 have done. towards other people and God. And 00:26:23.559 --> 00:26:25.779 it wasn't this, Phil, look at this, this is what 00:26:25.779 --> 00:26:28.019 I'm doing to you again and again. It was this 00:26:28.019 --> 00:26:31.180 kind way of holding me and saying, I took care 00:26:31.180 --> 00:26:34.099 of that as well. You couldn't pay for that and 00:26:34.099 --> 00:26:36.000 I took care of that. You couldn't pay for that 00:26:36.000 --> 00:26:39.920 and I took care of that. By the seven laps around 00:26:39.920 --> 00:26:42.559 when I came back remembering the story of what 00:26:42.559 --> 00:26:45.779 had happened to me, that last lap was so much 00:26:45.779 --> 00:26:48.420 easier. It was not done in my own will and grit 00:26:48.420 --> 00:26:51.710 and effort. It was done out of those seven laps 00:26:51.710 --> 00:26:54.650 of being reminded, Lord, this is what you have 00:26:54.650 --> 00:26:59.230 been doing in my own life. We must, to forgive 00:26:59.230 --> 00:27:04.809 others, we must remember the greater story. As 00:27:04.809 --> 00:27:07.269 you remember what someone has done to you, remember 00:27:07.269 --> 00:27:10.730 what God has done for you. Keep those in mind 00:27:10.730 --> 00:27:18.799 together. This king forgives this debt of 10 00:27:18.799 --> 00:27:24.400 ,000 bags of gold or 10 ,000 talents rather than 00:27:24.400 --> 00:27:26.380 us saying, okay, this is about this amount of 00:27:26.380 --> 00:27:30.559 time or work and effort. 10 ,000 is the largest 00:27:30.559 --> 00:27:34.000 Roman numeral and gold is the most significant 00:27:34.000 --> 00:27:36.359 or a talent was the most significant currency 00:27:36.359 --> 00:27:40.079 amount there. So what is he saying? This is a 00:27:40.079 --> 00:27:44.279 huge amount. This is not just a normal debt. 00:27:44.359 --> 00:27:47.039 This is a debt that actually could compromise 00:27:47.039 --> 00:27:51.460 the kingdom itself. It is like multiple kingdoms, 00:27:51.480 --> 00:27:58.319 a revenue in one single debt. My uncle Jim and 00:27:58.319 --> 00:28:01.700 my aunt Rachel have written quite a bit on forgiveness 00:28:01.700 --> 00:28:04.400 and they have done a lot of teaching and work 00:28:04.400 --> 00:28:06.759 on it and it has flowed out of their own personal 00:28:06.759 --> 00:28:11.079 story. And brothers and sisters, I so wish that 00:28:11.079 --> 00:28:13.859 they could shepherd you through this. They are 00:28:13.859 --> 00:28:17.700 wonderful people. Part of their story, though, 00:28:17.740 --> 00:28:21.299 is horrific. As a young pastor, my uncle Jim 00:28:21.299 --> 00:28:26.140 was at home when his two young kids were out 00:28:26.140 --> 00:28:29.880 playing outside in a small swimming pool. The 00:28:29.880 --> 00:28:33.319 oldest daughter was six years old. When a car... 00:28:33.720 --> 00:28:35.940 crashed through the fence, came through their 00:28:35.940 --> 00:28:38.920 yard, and ran over and killed their six -year 00:28:38.920 --> 00:28:45.220 -old daughter. To make things worse, the lady 00:28:45.220 --> 00:28:49.720 that was driving was a young lady without a license. 00:28:50.440 --> 00:28:53.960 She was joyriding with some friends. She should 00:28:53.960 --> 00:28:56.799 not have been behind the wheel. To make things 00:28:56.799 --> 00:29:00.279 even worse, her father had given her those keys 00:29:00.279 --> 00:29:06.380 and let her go out. My uncle and my aunt are 00:29:06.380 --> 00:29:10.599 now left with a burden that they can never return 00:29:10.599 --> 00:29:15.119 at that point. And it begins to move within them. 00:29:15.180 --> 00:29:18.279 But in that, they have brought an example that 00:29:18.279 --> 00:29:20.319 I'm going to use here this morning for you that 00:29:20.319 --> 00:29:22.579 has really touched the way we see things. You 00:29:22.579 --> 00:29:27.619 see, when the king forgives the debt, he doesn't 00:29:27.619 --> 00:29:31.799 just erase it and forget about it. He does something 00:29:31.799 --> 00:29:47.900 different. What does it say? Hurt. Now if I take 00:29:47.900 --> 00:29:56.460 this and I erase the debt, it's gone, right? 00:29:58.619 --> 00:30:06.609 It's that easy. Where is it? Where? It's on my 00:30:06.609 --> 00:30:11.789 hand. You see, substitutionary forgiveness means 00:30:11.789 --> 00:30:15.349 I'm not pretending that something is gone. I'm 00:30:15.349 --> 00:30:18.589 actually absorbing that very debt onto myself. 00:30:19.289 --> 00:30:22.190 And this is the gospel. This is the one that 00:30:22.190 --> 00:30:25.490 we follow. Jesus took your sins and my sins and 00:30:25.490 --> 00:30:28.900 he actually absorbed it onto himself. He didn't 00:30:28.900 --> 00:30:32.000 just forget about it or ignore it. He took it 00:30:32.000 --> 00:30:35.460 and paid for it. And what this parable shows 00:30:35.460 --> 00:30:37.740 is if he had just forgotten about it, the entire 00:30:37.740 --> 00:30:41.000 economy of this kingdom would have been wrecked. 00:30:41.259 --> 00:30:44.079 It needed to be paid for in order for the kingdom 00:30:44.079 --> 00:30:49.319 to survive going forward. And so we look forward 00:30:49.319 --> 00:30:51.920 and it says, at this the servant falls on his 00:30:51.920 --> 00:30:53.940 knees and he says, I'm going to pay back everything. 00:30:54.099 --> 00:30:57.289 Could he pay this back? Absolutely not. It doesn't 00:30:57.289 --> 00:30:59.609 matter how many years he worked. He never would 00:30:59.609 --> 00:31:01.269 have paid this back. And that's the point of 00:31:01.269 --> 00:31:03.670 this parable. You and I can never pay back what 00:31:03.670 --> 00:31:06.710 is owed to God. And yet we try over and over 00:31:06.710 --> 00:31:09.269 again. And this guy responds and he says, I'm 00:31:09.269 --> 00:31:13.130 going to try a little harder. But true forgiveness 00:31:13.130 --> 00:31:17.529 says, I can't. Only you can. Only you can cover 00:31:17.529 --> 00:31:20.910 it for me. And it's remembering that story and 00:31:20.910 --> 00:31:23.170 living in that story that begins to reshape us. 00:31:23.230 --> 00:31:25.650 You see, the one who forgives is willing to bear 00:31:25.650 --> 00:31:28.069 the consequences of the injustice that was done 00:31:28.069 --> 00:31:31.029 and erase the debt from the ledger of the one 00:31:31.029 --> 00:31:33.130 asking for forgiveness. This is a quote from 00:31:33.130 --> 00:31:39.910 my Uncle Jim. So we are called to release the 00:31:39.910 --> 00:31:43.750 debts of others. And that doesn't mean just to 00:31:43.750 --> 00:31:46.849 simply forget them. That actually means to absorb. 00:31:47.630 --> 00:31:50.930 What they have done to us. An author named Diedrich 00:31:50.930 --> 00:31:53.869 Bonhoeffer. Who is also a pastor. And ended up 00:31:53.869 --> 00:31:56.269 dying during World War II. Fighting against Hitler. 00:31:57.269 --> 00:32:00.930 He said the following. He said forgiveness is 00:32:00.930 --> 00:32:03.589 a double suffering. Because somebody has wronged 00:32:03.589 --> 00:32:06.710 you. And then you have to take on the wrong that 00:32:06.710 --> 00:32:08.890 they have done. Absorbing that to forgive them. 00:32:10.769 --> 00:32:14.730 Forgiveness is a hard work. It is incredibly 00:32:14.730 --> 00:32:17.109 hard, but we are called to release what others 00:32:17.109 --> 00:32:20.710 have done to us. Not to forget it, because God 00:32:20.710 --> 00:32:22.970 will bring everything that is wrong right again. 00:32:24.130 --> 00:32:28.369 Forgiveness is releasing my right to collect 00:32:28.369 --> 00:32:31.930 the debt and entrusting justice to God. It's 00:32:31.930 --> 00:32:35.450 a posture of releasing. I want to be really clear 00:32:35.450 --> 00:32:38.130 here to say too that there are things and people 00:32:38.130 --> 00:32:40.450 and situations possibly in this room right now 00:32:40.450 --> 00:32:43.410 where do not go back to somebody who is causing 00:32:43.410 --> 00:32:45.730 abuse. We will talk more about this through the 00:32:45.730 --> 00:32:49.089 entire month on forgiveness. Forgiveness does 00:32:49.089 --> 00:32:53.079 not mean trust. Forgiveness means a releasing 00:32:53.079 --> 00:32:55.720 over to God and saying, I'm going to let you 00:32:55.720 --> 00:32:58.019 end up taking care of this, whether it's through 00:32:58.019 --> 00:33:00.039 legal means or through the Christian community, 00:33:00.220 --> 00:33:03.240 doing what Jesus has called in Matthew 18. So 00:33:03.240 --> 00:33:05.880 keep holding on to this teaching as we go through 00:33:05.880 --> 00:33:11.539 it for the whole month of July. This is the shape, 00:33:11.559 --> 00:33:13.500 though, of what it looks like for us to respond. 00:33:13.700 --> 00:33:15.960 These three things. We are to name the debt. 00:33:16.119 --> 00:33:18.759 We're to remember the bigger story. And then 00:33:18.759 --> 00:33:21.619 we're to release the debt of others. There's 00:33:21.619 --> 00:33:24.180 more to that about reconciliation and rebuilding 00:33:24.180 --> 00:33:27.059 trust, again, that we will talk about later on. 00:33:28.140 --> 00:33:30.819 Biblical forgiveness is the grace -enabled decision 00:33:30.819 --> 00:33:33.259 to release someone from my personal right to 00:33:33.259 --> 00:33:35.700 collect the debt they owe me because God, through 00:33:35.700 --> 00:33:41.220 Christ, has released me from mine. This is why 00:33:41.220 --> 00:33:43.519 Jesus says, forgive them their debts as you have 00:33:43.519 --> 00:33:47.490 been forgiven. He is reminding us again and again 00:33:47.490 --> 00:33:49.930 and again, live daily, moment by moment, in the 00:33:49.930 --> 00:33:53.250 forgiveness that he has offered to us. So why 00:33:53.250 --> 00:33:55.390 should I forgive? Well, for one thing, because 00:33:55.390 --> 00:33:57.549 Jesus commanded us to do it. But another thing, 00:33:57.589 --> 00:34:00.150 it is the greatest participation in the kingdom 00:34:00.150 --> 00:34:02.829 of God. It is at the heart of this prayer, at 00:34:02.829 --> 00:34:05.269 the heart of Jesus' teaching, and he uses this 00:34:05.269 --> 00:34:07.329 parable to say the kingdom of heaven is like 00:34:07.329 --> 00:34:12.530 this. Brothers and sisters, we need this. We 00:34:12.530 --> 00:34:15.909 need a different story than Lamech. We need the 00:34:15.909 --> 00:34:18.210 Jesus story to shape our community and we need 00:34:18.210 --> 00:34:21.070 it to shape our city and this country and the 00:34:21.070 --> 00:34:26.210 world, right? To forgive is to set a prisoner 00:34:26.210 --> 00:34:28.849 free and to realize that the prisoner was actually 00:34:28.849 --> 00:34:32.550 you. You see, resentment is actually a repeating 00:34:32.550 --> 00:34:34.969 and a holding on to something. And when you keep 00:34:34.969 --> 00:34:37.110 doing that and you sit there and you have these 00:34:37.110 --> 00:34:39.190 repeated thoughts, how many of you have had that 00:34:39.190 --> 00:34:42.460 happen? You go through these conversations, oh, 00:34:42.500 --> 00:34:43.900 and I'm going to say this and then they said 00:34:43.900 --> 00:34:45.420 this and then I'm going to come back here and 00:34:45.420 --> 00:34:47.599 you're losing sleep at night going over this 00:34:47.599 --> 00:34:49.360 again and again and again. Maybe it's just a 00:34:49.360 --> 00:34:52.159 me problem. But I would imagine some of you have 00:34:52.159 --> 00:34:58.440 had this. It ends up trapping you and doesn't 00:34:58.440 --> 00:35:00.260 allow you to live in the freedom that Christ 00:35:00.260 --> 00:35:04.400 has come to offer you. But he doesn't say, I 00:35:04.400 --> 00:35:06.320 can do this without justice. He says, I can do 00:35:06.320 --> 00:35:09.659 this with justice and with mercy. With forgiveness. 00:35:14.280 --> 00:35:16.820 Like oxygen for the body, God's forgiveness is 00:35:16.820 --> 00:35:18.699 meant to be breathed in and then breathed out. 00:35:18.760 --> 00:35:21.539 We inhale this extravagant grace of God and then 00:35:21.539 --> 00:35:24.199 we exhale the same grace towards others. This 00:35:24.199 --> 00:35:27.519 is a rhythm of the kingdom. If you're older or 00:35:27.519 --> 00:35:29.280 you have some heart problems, I'm asking you 00:35:29.280 --> 00:35:33.300 not to do this next part of our time together. 00:35:33.400 --> 00:35:35.179 But for the rest of you, here's what I want you 00:35:35.179 --> 00:35:39.230 to do. I want you to take a huge breath in. But 00:35:39.230 --> 00:35:41.090 before you do that, let me give some more instructions. 00:35:41.309 --> 00:35:43.789 So you're going to take a big breath in. And 00:35:43.789 --> 00:35:47.250 imagine that that's the gift of forgiveness that 00:35:47.250 --> 00:35:50.710 this servant received from the king. But then 00:35:50.710 --> 00:35:52.690 I want you to hold on to that breath because 00:35:52.690 --> 00:35:55.750 it feels powerful for a moment. Okay, you ready? 00:35:56.929 --> 00:35:59.110 Don't breathe until I say, well, no, if you need 00:35:59.110 --> 00:36:01.329 to, go for it. I don't want to have to call the 00:36:01.329 --> 00:36:09.320 ushers up. You ready? Okay. And for a moment, 00:36:09.480 --> 00:36:11.619 it feels kind of like, oh, I've got control. 00:36:15.239 --> 00:36:18.079 And then you start panicking. I need to breathe. 00:36:23.360 --> 00:36:27.320 Okay, instead of any passing out. This is the 00:36:27.320 --> 00:36:31.119 idea, though. If we simply take from the kingdom 00:36:31.119 --> 00:36:34.119 of God and receiving without breathing out, we 00:36:34.119 --> 00:36:36.000 are not doing what we have been designed to do. 00:36:36.440 --> 00:36:38.519 And we will actually slowly suffocate ourselves. 00:36:39.960 --> 00:36:43.500 So to participate in the kingdom is to actually 00:36:43.500 --> 00:36:45.559 breathe in that forgiveness moment by moment 00:36:45.559 --> 00:36:48.559 and then exhale it out again. Inhale, exhale. 00:36:48.739 --> 00:36:52.039 Just like you and I were created to do with breathing. 00:36:54.800 --> 00:36:57.579 Forgiveness means that forgiven people forgive. 00:36:57.980 --> 00:37:02.809 That's why we are called to forgiveness. Now 00:37:02.809 --> 00:37:05.170 that Amish community in Nickel Mines, they didn't 00:37:05.170 --> 00:37:08.889 wake up one morning, have this tragedy, tragic 00:37:08.889 --> 00:37:12.190 event happen, and then respond in this way. They 00:37:12.190 --> 00:37:15.250 had been formed in a lifetime of forgiveness. 00:37:15.389 --> 00:37:18.650 They had been breathing in the oxygen of forgiveness 00:37:18.650 --> 00:37:23.809 and exhaling it out towards other people. Jesus 00:37:23.809 --> 00:37:26.170 doesn't give us a checklist for forgiveness. 00:37:26.969 --> 00:37:29.269 That's because forgiveness is not an isolated 00:37:29.269 --> 00:37:32.210 act of moral heroism. It's not something I wake 00:37:32.210 --> 00:37:35.949 up and I say, I forgave. It's a pattern I participate 00:37:35.949 --> 00:37:38.889 in moment by moment throughout my life. It's 00:37:38.889 --> 00:37:47.010 something I am shaped and formed in. Thank you 00:37:47.010 --> 00:37:50.969 for tuning in to the ECB sermon podcast. Whether 00:37:50.969 --> 00:37:54.050 near or far, if you are looking for community 00:37:54.050 --> 00:37:57.920 or are in need of prayer, we welcome you to engage 00:37:57.920 --> 00:38:02.780 by sending us an email to office at ecb .asia. 00:38:03.320 --> 00:38:06.400 If God is calling you to support our ministries, 00:38:06.500 --> 00:38:09.119 you will find giving options on our website. 00:38:09.920 --> 00:38:13.360 And remember to join us next week. God bless 00:38:13.360 --> 00:38:13.619 you.