WEBVTT 00:00:00.680 --> 00:00:07.780 There wasn't a dry eye in that holy sanctuary. 00:00:08.439 --> 00:00:12.519 So great was the presence of the Holy Spirit. 00:00:14.820 --> 00:00:20.719 It seemed as though every person in that sanctuary 00:00:20.719 --> 00:00:26.899 was receiving a fresh baptism, the love of God. 00:00:27.879 --> 00:00:38.340 And when... You love is impossible to hate. After 00:00:38.340 --> 00:00:44.060 the service, going down the turnpike, Maggie 00:00:44.060 --> 00:00:49.380 was driving. She said, you know, why is it so 00:00:49.380 --> 00:00:54.399 easy to forgive when you're in the presence of 00:00:54.399 --> 00:00:57.719 the Lord? She said, after that communion service, 00:00:59.880 --> 00:01:02.299 I walked out the door and the very first person 00:01:02.299 --> 00:01:08.000 I met was someone that I wasn't especially fond 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:16.459 of. And yet it was so easy to smile and say hello. 00:01:19.040 --> 00:01:23.000 His presence makes all the difference in the 00:01:23.000 --> 00:01:26.659 world. Today you and I are going to have a little 00:01:26.659 --> 00:01:32.459 heart -to -heart talk about something And at 00:01:32.459 --> 00:01:36.299 the very beginning, I want to say something to 00:01:36.299 --> 00:01:43.079 you. Don't hold anything in your heart against 00:01:43.079 --> 00:01:49.900 anyone. No matter what they've done to you, you 00:01:49.900 --> 00:01:53.599 may feel as though they've done you a great injustice. 00:01:55.319 --> 00:02:01.390 No matter what. they've done. They may have lied 00:02:01.390 --> 00:02:05.709 about you. They may have treated you shamefully. 00:02:07.370 --> 00:02:14.949 But don't hold anything in your heart against 00:02:14.949 --> 00:02:22.150 anyone. First of all be inwardly too glad and 00:02:22.150 --> 00:02:28.300 too great to be the enemy of any person. Now 00:02:28.300 --> 00:02:31.659 that may seem like such a trivial statement, 00:02:31.960 --> 00:02:37.879 but it isn't. Be inwardly, first of all, too 00:02:37.879 --> 00:02:44.219 glad. I mean exactly that. There you are, two 00:02:44.219 --> 00:02:51.740 good eyes, two good legs, two good hands. You 00:02:51.740 --> 00:02:56.539 can speak. You have a brain. You're being blessed. 00:02:57.639 --> 00:03:00.439 You've been born again. You're an heir of God 00:03:00.439 --> 00:03:04.520 and a joint heir with Christ Jesus. Literally 00:03:04.520 --> 00:03:10.960 the whole world is yours. Be too glad for God's 00:03:10.960 --> 00:03:16.180 blessing. Be too thankful for what you have. 00:03:16.319 --> 00:03:22.520 A roof over your head. Food to eat. Clothing 00:03:22.520 --> 00:03:29.770 on your body. A bed to sleep in. Sunshine, water, 00:03:30.150 --> 00:03:36.129 you're not suffering, not really. Be too thankful 00:03:36.129 --> 00:03:47.490 to be the enemy of any person. Be too big. Be 00:03:47.490 --> 00:03:52.139 too great. When you hold something in your heart 00:03:52.139 --> 00:03:55.479 against someone else, then you become as small 00:03:55.479 --> 00:03:59.400 as that person who has done you an injustice. 00:04:01.180 --> 00:04:10.360 Be too great, be too big to be the enemy of any 00:04:10.360 --> 00:04:19.379 person. You know, I've always been an admirer. 00:04:20.269 --> 00:04:27.709 of Dr. Carver, the great Negro scientist and 00:04:27.709 --> 00:04:34.290 saint. I met him years and years ago when I was 00:04:34.290 --> 00:04:38.389 very, very young, and I've always been a great 00:04:38.389 --> 00:04:45.029 admirer of his. And it was Dr. Carver, the great 00:04:45.029 --> 00:04:53.300 Negro scientist, and when I... Say, saint. I 00:04:53.300 --> 00:04:58.600 mean exactly that. He was a marvelous Christian 00:04:58.600 --> 00:05:06.060 gentleman. And, as you well know, he's risen 00:05:06.060 --> 00:05:10.160 to fame through his chemical discoveries in service 00:05:10.160 --> 00:05:13.379 to the farmers of the South. And someone asked 00:05:13.379 --> 00:05:17.360 him to reveal the name of the university which 00:05:17.360 --> 00:05:22.500 had accepted him as a student. And then, on discovering 00:05:22.500 --> 00:05:28.560 he was a Negro, had refused him admittance. Dr. 00:05:28.660 --> 00:05:36.120 Carver consistently refused to tell. He would 00:05:36.120 --> 00:05:41.759 not tell. And he just passed the incident off 00:05:41.759 --> 00:05:46.379 as just nothing. He would smile. Always said 00:05:46.379 --> 00:05:52.329 it was nothing. Just nothing. He had what somebody 00:05:52.329 --> 00:05:58.910 called the peace that passeth not only all understanding, 00:05:59.149 --> 00:06:08.509 but all misunderstanding. And sometimes I think 00:06:08.509 --> 00:06:10.910 that if that's something that we were holding 00:06:10.910 --> 00:06:14.689 in our heart, that grudge, that unforgiving spirit, 00:06:14.930 --> 00:06:20.189 that's something that has so grown. It has grown 00:06:20.189 --> 00:06:24.050 clear out of proportion. If it came to light 00:06:24.050 --> 00:06:30.209 and we would lay it out, analyze it, we would 00:06:30.209 --> 00:06:34.910 find that there was more misunderstanding there 00:06:34.910 --> 00:06:40.810 than anything else. You know, when Jesus announced 00:06:40.810 --> 00:06:44.490 his program at Nazareth, he read from Isaiah 00:06:44.490 --> 00:06:50.019 until he came to the words, The day of vengeance 00:06:50.019 --> 00:06:57.959 of our God. And then he closed the book. You 00:06:57.959 --> 00:07:04.360 do the same. You leave vengeance to God. That's 00:07:04.360 --> 00:07:07.420 one of the greatest things that I had to learn. 00:07:07.560 --> 00:07:13.019 Oh, sure. Years ago, I was a fighter. You know, 00:07:13.060 --> 00:07:20.379 people with red hair. usually had that reputation. 00:07:21.100 --> 00:07:29.040 Oh, sure. Oh, I used to be a fighter. And I was 00:07:29.040 --> 00:07:33.800 licked very often. You can understand that. But 00:07:33.800 --> 00:07:37.000 one of the greatest lessons that I've had to 00:07:37.000 --> 00:07:42.759 learn was to just keep quiet and let God fight 00:07:42.759 --> 00:07:52.379 my battles. Remember, when Jesus read those words 00:07:52.379 --> 00:07:58.740 from Isaiah, when he came to those words, the 00:07:58.740 --> 00:08:06.300 day of vengeance of our God, he stopped. He closed 00:08:06.300 --> 00:08:12.800 the book right there. It is the smart person. 00:08:13.079 --> 00:08:17.980 It is the big person. who will leave vengeance 00:08:17.980 --> 00:08:29.040 to God. We win by tenderness. We conquer by forgiveness. 00:08:31.300 --> 00:08:36.820 He that cannot forgive others breaks the bridge 00:08:36.820 --> 00:08:45.820 over which he must pass himself. Every man has 00:08:45.820 --> 00:08:52.940 need to be forgiven. Always remember that. There'll 00:08:52.940 --> 00:08:57.679 come a day when you will need to be forgiven. 00:08:59.259 --> 00:09:03.720 Every time I forgive somebody else, I'm very 00:09:03.720 --> 00:09:06.700 conscious of the fact that the day is coming. 00:09:06.899 --> 00:09:14.100 And it may be nearer than I know. I will need 00:09:14.100 --> 00:09:21.679 someone to forgive me. I repeat, he that cannot 00:09:21.679 --> 00:09:27.000 forgive others breaks the bridge over which he 00:09:27.000 --> 00:09:35.019 must pass himself one day. The very best men 00:09:35.019 --> 00:09:42.980 stand in need of pardon. If thou art a master, 00:09:43.360 --> 00:09:56.399 sometimes be blind. If a servant, sometimes be 00:09:56.399 --> 00:10:06.580 deaf. It is a smart master who sometimes. allows 00:10:06.580 --> 00:10:13.419 himself to be blind to the faults of his employees. 00:10:15.600 --> 00:10:21.700 And if you are an employee, if you are a servant, 00:10:21.980 --> 00:10:29.419 it is a smart servant who will sometimes choose 00:10:29.419 --> 00:10:39.009 to be deaf. Always remember, be inwardly too 00:10:39.009 --> 00:10:47.490 glad and too great to be the enemy of any person. 00:10:48.250 --> 00:10:52.370 I still contend, but never does the human soul 00:10:52.370 --> 00:10:58.509 appear so strong as when it forgoes revenge and 00:10:58.509 --> 00:11:04.049 dares to forgive an injury. Never will you... 00:11:04.320 --> 00:11:10.639 ever be greater. Never will you ever show what 00:11:10.639 --> 00:11:16.620 you're really made of on the inside. Never does 00:11:16.620 --> 00:11:23.159 the human soul ever appear so strong as when 00:11:23.159 --> 00:11:31.220 it forgoes revenge and dares to forgive an injury 00:11:31.220 --> 00:11:41.240 or an injustice. You see, only the brave, only 00:11:41.240 --> 00:11:46.220 that person who is secure, finds it easy to forgive. 00:11:46.399 --> 00:11:54.299 Watch it. Just watch it. Religion through the 00:11:54.299 --> 00:11:58.100 ages has stressed the need for forgiveness and 00:11:58.100 --> 00:12:02.899 tolerance. It isn't something that's new. That 00:12:02.899 --> 00:12:05.139 which I'm talking about this very hour isn't 00:12:05.139 --> 00:12:08.620 something that's new. I'm giving you something 00:12:08.620 --> 00:12:14.279 today that's as old as God himself. I'm talking 00:12:14.279 --> 00:12:19.399 about something that is as old, as up -to -date, 00:12:19.440 --> 00:12:24.659 as Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I'm talking 00:12:24.659 --> 00:12:29.440 about something that is as powerful as the might... 00:12:29.759 --> 00:12:36.179 the power of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. Religion 00:12:36.179 --> 00:12:41.259 throughout the ages has stressed this need for 00:12:41.259 --> 00:12:49.159 forgiveness and for tolerance. That's the reason 00:12:49.159 --> 00:12:53.399 you've heard me say over and over and over again 00:12:53.399 --> 00:12:58.139 that the tragedy of the hour is not that men 00:12:58.139 --> 00:13:04.299 perish. The tragedy is not that men die. The 00:13:04.299 --> 00:13:09.059 tragedy of the hour is the fact that we no longer 00:13:09.059 --> 00:13:15.019 love. That word forgive and forgiveness is completely 00:13:15.019 --> 00:13:19.799 out of the human vocabulary. Instead of loving, 00:13:19.820 --> 00:13:29.110 we hate. Instead of tolerance, we refuse. We 00:13:29.110 --> 00:13:35.029 refuse to forgive. We hate. We despise. There's 00:13:35.029 --> 00:13:40.769 greed. And that's the reason we've gotten into 00:13:40.769 --> 00:13:45.990 the condition that we're in this very hour. There 00:13:45.990 --> 00:13:48.590 are even those who've gone so far as to teach 00:13:48.590 --> 00:13:53.850 that we can achieve inner health only through 00:13:53.850 --> 00:13:58.429 forgiveness. The forgiveness not only of others, 00:13:58.590 --> 00:14:06.110 but also of ourselves. We must cease tormenting 00:14:06.110 --> 00:14:10.830 ourselves when we do not achieve the absolute 00:14:10.830 --> 00:14:19.870 in life. There's that somebody to whom I am speaking. 00:14:23.470 --> 00:14:26.710 disease that has gotten a hold of your mind. 00:14:28.350 --> 00:14:35.769 And it has gone into your body. It has caused 00:14:35.769 --> 00:14:45.149 you to be defeated. It's because you are condemning 00:14:45.149 --> 00:14:51.809 yourself. You find it impossible to forgive yourself. 00:14:52.960 --> 00:14:56.740 for not being the success that you'd like to 00:14:56.740 --> 00:15:03.000 be. You've gotten to the place where you have 00:15:03.000 --> 00:15:06.679 been tormenting yourself because you have not 00:15:06.679 --> 00:15:13.399 achieved the absolute in life. If you continue, 00:15:13.480 --> 00:15:17.539 and if you do not get this victory over that 00:15:17.539 --> 00:15:21.720 self -condemnation, you'll soon find yourself 00:15:22.460 --> 00:15:27.679 on a bed of affliction. Sick in mind, sick in 00:15:27.679 --> 00:15:33.679 soul, and sick in body. It is an absolute fact 00:15:33.679 --> 00:15:39.299 that to hold hate and to hold resentments is 00:15:39.299 --> 00:15:41.840 to throw a monkey wrench into the machinery of 00:15:41.840 --> 00:15:49.580 life. Structurally, you are made for positive 00:15:49.580 --> 00:15:58.899 goodwill. You and I were not made for hate. We 00:15:58.899 --> 00:16:03.320 are made for the Christian way of living. And 00:16:03.320 --> 00:16:07.379 the Christian way of living is love. When you 00:16:07.379 --> 00:16:10.059 try the other way, then the machinery of life 00:16:10.059 --> 00:16:14.019 breaks down. Or at least works so badly that 00:16:14.019 --> 00:16:25.200 it leaves you exhausted and ineffective. with 00:16:25.200 --> 00:16:32.440 the soul. Hate plays havoc with the mind. Hate 00:16:32.440 --> 00:16:41.799 can play havoc with the human body. Hate is sand 00:16:41.799 --> 00:16:48.120 in the machinery of life. But, beloved, love 00:16:48.120 --> 00:16:54.440 is oil, and life works so much better with oil. 00:16:54.460 --> 00:17:05.759 oil than with sand. And when you forgive, forget. 00:17:08.640 --> 00:17:12.799 Sure you know that prayer that Jesus taught us 00:17:12.799 --> 00:17:17.680 to pray. This is our prayer, not his prayer. 00:17:19.700 --> 00:17:24.279 Our Father, Which art in heaven, hallowed be 00:17:24.279 --> 00:17:28.079 thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done 00:17:28.079 --> 00:17:34.000 in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day 00:17:34.000 --> 00:17:40.839 our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we 00:17:40.839 --> 00:17:44.400 forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, 00:17:44.519 --> 00:17:48.200 but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom 00:17:48.200 --> 00:17:53.230 and the power and the glory forever. But don't 00:17:53.230 --> 00:18:01.829 stop there. Continue, if you will, please. And 00:18:01.829 --> 00:18:05.910 I give you the very word of God. This comes from 00:18:05.910 --> 00:18:11.069 the highest authority in heaven and earth. For 00:18:11.069 --> 00:18:18.869 if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly 00:18:18.869 --> 00:18:25.029 Father will also forgive you. But if ye forgive 00:18:25.029 --> 00:18:32.509 not men their trespasses, neither will your Father 00:18:32.509 --> 00:18:40.650 forgive your trespasses. You consider yourself 00:18:40.650 --> 00:18:45.910 a Christian? You consider yourself a saint of 00:18:45.910 --> 00:18:52.809 God? And yet, you're holding something in that 00:18:52.809 --> 00:18:57.950 heart of yours, an unforgiving spirit, something 00:18:57.950 --> 00:19:01.869 against your mother, perhaps years standing something 00:19:01.869 --> 00:19:06.950 has been there, against your father, or a brother 00:19:06.950 --> 00:19:14.410 against a sister, or a grandfather against a 00:19:14.410 --> 00:19:23.079 child. Remember his words. If ye forgive men 00:19:23.079 --> 00:19:28.420 their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also 00:19:28.420 --> 00:19:36.339 forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their 00:19:36.339 --> 00:19:43.099 trespasses, neither will your Father forgive 00:19:43.099 --> 00:19:55.799 your. trespasses be too big to not forgive.