WEBVTT 00:00:01.679 --> 00:00:04.040 Thank you, John, for that musical recitation 00:00:04.040 --> 00:00:08.500 of the chapter on love in 1 Corinthians. It certainly 00:00:08.500 --> 00:00:11.880 fits in well with the passage that we're approaching 00:00:11.880 --> 00:00:14.199 in the book of Ephesians, the fifth chapter, 00:00:14.400 --> 00:00:17.399 where we're told to walk in love. And as the 00:00:17.399 --> 00:00:21.980 apostle builds up to that truth, he tells us 00:00:21.980 --> 00:00:24.140 what's necessary so that we can walk in love. 00:00:28.179 --> 00:00:32.750 As I told you last week, Last Sunday, this past 00:00:32.750 --> 00:00:36.409 week, I was in Indiana preaching, and the Lord 00:00:36.409 --> 00:00:39.429 marvelously allowed the timing to be such that 00:00:39.429 --> 00:00:42.729 I was able to be with a dear friend of mine, 00:00:42.850 --> 00:00:45.969 a pastor from Elkhart, Indiana, who had surgery 00:00:45.969 --> 00:00:50.609 in Indianapolis. David Graham discovered that 00:00:50.609 --> 00:00:53.850 he is the victim of heart disease only a few 00:00:53.850 --> 00:00:57.369 weeks ago. His symptoms were shortness of breath, 00:00:57.649 --> 00:01:02.619 some chest pain, fatigue. It's not something 00:01:02.619 --> 00:01:04.599 that happened quickly, but the symptoms were 00:01:04.599 --> 00:01:09.000 noticed quickly. And they discovered that his 00:01:09.000 --> 00:01:12.799 problem was that the arteries feeding his heart 00:01:12.799 --> 00:01:19.819 were largely clogged with fatty substances. This 00:01:19.819 --> 00:01:22.099 is something he apparently inherited from his 00:01:22.099 --> 00:01:25.519 father and was not necessarily the result of 00:01:25.519 --> 00:01:29.849 his diet. Two of the main arteries were 100 % 00:01:29.849 --> 00:01:33.469 and 97 % clogged. And so you can imagine the 00:01:33.469 --> 00:01:35.629 kind of stress that his heart was experiencing. 00:01:36.790 --> 00:01:39.090 Now, in order to correct that, they had to perform 00:01:39.090 --> 00:01:41.510 bypass surgery. How many of you have had bypass 00:01:41.510 --> 00:01:45.170 surgery? I know we have several in our church. 00:01:45.310 --> 00:01:47.549 I don't see any hands in this particular service. 00:01:48.689 --> 00:01:54.620 It is an amazing procedure. We had prayer with 00:01:54.620 --> 00:01:59.159 him at 8 o 'clock on Wednesday morning, and then 00:01:59.159 --> 00:02:02.319 they took him away to the operating room. It's 00:02:02.319 --> 00:02:04.159 always fun to be with somebody when they're just 00:02:04.159 --> 00:02:06.519 starting to go under. You know, they get a little 00:02:06.519 --> 00:02:09.680 relaxed, and they begin to talk about things. 00:02:09.840 --> 00:02:11.879 It's always fun to be there and remind them later 00:02:11.879 --> 00:02:15.300 of what they talked about. They took him away 00:02:15.300 --> 00:02:18.080 at 8 o 'clock, and then in a three -hour period 00:02:18.080 --> 00:02:22.520 of time, they cooled his body down. perhaps about 00:02:22.520 --> 00:02:26.860 25 degrees below the normal temperature. They 00:02:26.860 --> 00:02:30.979 made the incision in his chest, put him on the 00:02:30.979 --> 00:02:34.560 heart -lung machine, stopped his heart, pulled 00:02:34.560 --> 00:02:40.439 it out onto his chest, iced it, then did five 00:02:40.439 --> 00:02:44.620 bypasses. When they were finished, they put his 00:02:44.620 --> 00:02:47.520 heart back in the chest cavity, closed it up, 00:02:47.620 --> 00:02:50.699 started the heart. and began to warm his body 00:02:50.699 --> 00:02:52.860 again, and all of that in the space of about 00:02:52.860 --> 00:02:56.520 three hours. We saw him about 1 .30, and he was 00:02:56.520 --> 00:02:58.620 doing quite well at that time, and we thank the 00:02:58.620 --> 00:03:00.719 Lord that his heart is beginning to be nourished 00:03:00.719 --> 00:03:04.259 again because what was blocking the blood flow 00:03:04.259 --> 00:03:10.099 has been either removed or it has been bypassed. 00:03:10.819 --> 00:03:13.560 Now it seems to me that in that procedure there 00:03:13.560 --> 00:03:16.800 is a certain parallel from which we can learn 00:03:16.800 --> 00:03:20.080 some spiritual truth. The apostle in the text 00:03:20.080 --> 00:03:21.979 that we've been looking at in Ephesians chapter 00:03:21.979 --> 00:03:28.039 4 is telling us that our lives must be unclogged 00:03:28.039 --> 00:03:33.400 and freed from sinful actions so that our spiritual 00:03:33.400 --> 00:03:38.199 hearts can be nourished, so that our lifestyle 00:03:38.199 --> 00:03:43.120 may be pleasing to God. He says, beginning in 00:03:43.120 --> 00:03:47.699 verse 29, Let no unwholesome word proceed from 00:03:47.699 --> 00:03:50.360 your mouth. In other words, he says, here's something 00:03:50.360 --> 00:03:53.680 that will block God's blessing in your life. 00:03:54.879 --> 00:03:58.219 So take those rotten words and be done with them. 00:03:58.319 --> 00:04:02.500 Remove them. And then he says, in the place of 00:04:02.500 --> 00:04:07.080 that, only such a word as is good. In verse 30, 00:04:07.139 --> 00:04:10.060 he says, do not go on grieving the Holy Spirit 00:04:10.060 --> 00:04:12.340 of God. He says, that will block the blessing 00:04:12.340 --> 00:04:15.659 of God. So don't go on grieving the Spirit of 00:04:15.659 --> 00:04:18.259 God. Get out whatever it is that is causing him 00:04:18.259 --> 00:04:22.319 to feel sorrowful and cut to the heart, and walk 00:04:22.319 --> 00:04:24.779 in obedience to him. Be sensitive to the Holy 00:04:24.779 --> 00:04:28.019 Spirit. Now we pick it up there today in verse 00:04:28.019 --> 00:04:31.120 31, where he says, Let all bitterness and wrath 00:04:31.120 --> 00:04:35.740 and anger and clamor and slander be put away 00:04:35.740 --> 00:04:39.319 from you, along with all malice, and be kind 00:04:39.319 --> 00:04:43.120 to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each 00:04:43.120 --> 00:04:47.160 other, just as God in Christ has also forgiven 00:04:47.160 --> 00:04:50.920 you. There are several features here of a life 00:04:50.920 --> 00:04:53.920 that is well -pleasing to God and the life that 00:04:53.920 --> 00:04:57.220 is going to receive the blessing of God. First 00:04:57.220 --> 00:05:00.740 of all, there must be a disciplined tongue. Secondly, 00:05:00.980 --> 00:05:04.579 there must be a sensitive spirit, that is, a 00:05:04.579 --> 00:05:08.079 spirit that is sensitive to the Holy Spirit and 00:05:08.079 --> 00:05:11.660 walks in obedience to Him. desiring not to grieve 00:05:11.660 --> 00:05:15.040 him. And today as we come to verse 31, we see 00:05:15.040 --> 00:05:20.620 that a third feature is a cleansed heart, one 00:05:20.620 --> 00:05:23.199 that is delivered from the six vices that are 00:05:23.199 --> 00:05:26.740 mentioned. He says, let these things be put away 00:05:26.740 --> 00:05:30.379 from you. The picture there is pick them up and 00:05:30.379 --> 00:05:34.399 carry them out. It's the picture of a heart that 00:05:34.399 --> 00:05:38.689 is swept clean. Now notice the vices, he says, 00:05:38.910 --> 00:05:43.329 that must be put away. First, all bitterness. 00:05:44.649 --> 00:05:47.970 The word bitter comes from a root verb that means 00:05:47.970 --> 00:05:54.449 to cut. And so the idea is, in bitterness, that 00:05:54.449 --> 00:05:58.449 of a sharp, stinging, and cutting disposition. 00:06:00.250 --> 00:06:03.990 Commentator Eadie says, It is a figurative term 00:06:03.990 --> 00:06:07.829 denoting that fretted and irritable state of 00:06:07.829 --> 00:06:11.850 mind that keeps a man in perpetual animosity, 00:06:12.029 --> 00:06:16.189 that inclines him to harsh and uncharitable opinions 00:06:16.189 --> 00:06:21.689 of men and things, that makes him sour, crabby, 00:06:21.689 --> 00:06:25.949 and repulsive in his general demeanor, that brings 00:06:25.949 --> 00:06:30.670 a scowl over his face and infuses venom into 00:06:30.670 --> 00:06:34.060 the words of his tongue. Well, it seems to me 00:06:34.060 --> 00:06:36.519 this man captures the essence of what bitterness 00:06:36.519 --> 00:06:40.420 is. The apostle says here, put away bitterness. 00:06:41.420 --> 00:06:44.899 Be done with it. Sweep it out of your heart. 00:06:46.600 --> 00:06:50.699 Hebrews 12, 15 warns us of the root of bitterness 00:06:50.699 --> 00:06:55.899 and tells us that by its presence, many can be 00:06:55.899 --> 00:06:59.740 defiled. But can we not all testify to that? 00:07:01.740 --> 00:07:04.459 For we have all either personally been guilty 00:07:04.459 --> 00:07:06.920 of this or we have been in the presence of someone 00:07:06.920 --> 00:07:10.259 who has been a sour, grumpy kind of person by 00:07:10.259 --> 00:07:13.439 demeanor. And the result of that personality, 00:07:13.860 --> 00:07:18.939 indeed the result of that sin in the life, is 00:07:18.939 --> 00:07:23.560 that it rubs off on everybody around. It spreads 00:07:23.560 --> 00:07:28.360 like a root and brings up weeds of discontent 00:07:28.360 --> 00:07:32.370 and unhappiness in the lives of others. When 00:07:32.370 --> 00:07:35.069 a parent is this way, when a mate is this way, 00:07:35.089 --> 00:07:38.930 or a roommate is known for this kind of bitterness, 00:07:39.389 --> 00:07:42.949 then there are many around who are injured by 00:07:42.949 --> 00:07:45.370 it. And so he says, be done with that. He says, 00:07:45.410 --> 00:07:49.170 secondly, be done with wrath. Put it away. Wrath 00:07:49.170 --> 00:07:53.829 is hot, passionate retort. It is that strong 00:07:53.829 --> 00:07:58.470 feeling of antagonism producing rage in one's 00:07:58.470 --> 00:08:02.529 life. The Latin word here is the word furor. 00:08:04.670 --> 00:08:07.970 This is that kind of response to a situation 00:08:07.970 --> 00:08:14.930 that is sinful anger. It is rage. It is the unleashing 00:08:14.930 --> 00:08:18.850 of feelings deep within like a volcano. It is 00:08:18.850 --> 00:08:22.230 a reaction of emotions giving vent to hot words 00:08:22.230 --> 00:08:26.810 that flow out of the tongue and scorch the ears 00:08:26.810 --> 00:08:30.310 of other people. That's wrath. Be done with that, 00:08:30.370 --> 00:08:33.529 he says, and along with that, similarly, be done 00:08:33.529 --> 00:08:37.409 with anger. A different word here, the word orge. 00:08:38.509 --> 00:08:42.990 It's the word for settled indignation or revenge. 00:08:44.110 --> 00:08:48.809 That which seeks retaliation. It is more subtle 00:08:48.809 --> 00:08:53.789 than wrath. Because anger can lie buried within 00:08:53.789 --> 00:09:00.759 a person. It churns. on the inside, causing resentment 00:09:00.759 --> 00:09:07.600 to build up. It smolders there with a get -even 00:09:07.600 --> 00:09:11.299 kind of attitude. And then when the winds of 00:09:11.299 --> 00:09:16.019 adversity or the breeze of some circumstance 00:09:16.019 --> 00:09:19.659 come blowing over that smoldering anger, suddenly 00:09:19.659 --> 00:09:23.480 it is brought to life. But the whole time has 00:09:23.480 --> 00:09:26.769 been present down inside. The apostle says that 00:09:26.769 --> 00:09:28.950 that will not allow the blessing of God in our 00:09:28.950 --> 00:09:33.529 lives. If we want to walk worthy of our calling 00:09:33.529 --> 00:09:37.789 in Christ Jesus, then here's a blockage that 00:09:37.789 --> 00:09:41.309 has to be gotten out of the way, anger. He also 00:09:41.309 --> 00:09:47.029 mentions clamor. Clamor comes from both anger 00:09:47.029 --> 00:09:50.429 and wrath, except that it's focused in the tongue. 00:09:50.929 --> 00:09:57.029 It is a violent outburst. It is shouting at another 00:09:57.029 --> 00:10:01.970 person. Acts 23 .9 suggests that that's what 00:10:01.970 --> 00:10:05.889 happened when the Apostle Paul divided the Sadducees 00:10:05.889 --> 00:10:07.669 and the Pharisees. Do you remember that occasion? 00:10:08.190 --> 00:10:11.009 They were attacking him, and he brought up a 00:10:11.009 --> 00:10:14.409 subject which they disagreed about. And in order 00:10:14.409 --> 00:10:18.710 to divert their attack from himself, he mentioned 00:10:18.710 --> 00:10:22.600 the resurrection. Now one group believed that 00:10:22.600 --> 00:10:24.860 there was no resurrection. The other group believed 00:10:24.860 --> 00:10:27.840 certainly there is a resurrection. And when he 00:10:27.840 --> 00:10:30.659 brought up that subject, it says there was immediately 00:10:30.659 --> 00:10:35.700 a great clamor. It was a wise move on the part 00:10:35.700 --> 00:10:38.179 of the Apostle Paul. But what it did was to release 00:10:38.179 --> 00:10:42.200 sin that was in the hearts of his hearers. Because 00:10:42.200 --> 00:10:44.759 the people immediately turned on each other with 00:10:44.759 --> 00:10:48.799 this loud outburst of argumentation against the 00:10:48.799 --> 00:10:51.730 other. The apostle says be done with that. Put 00:10:51.730 --> 00:10:55.049 it away. Pick it up and carry it outside your 00:10:55.049 --> 00:10:59.429 life and drop it. Be done with it. And along 00:10:59.429 --> 00:11:03.269 with clamor, he mentions slander. The word literally 00:11:03.269 --> 00:11:06.909 is blasphemy. When we hear that word, we usually 00:11:06.909 --> 00:11:10.029 think of blasphemy against God, but the New Testament 00:11:10.029 --> 00:11:13.269 speaks of it in terms of blasphemy against other 00:11:13.269 --> 00:11:16.509 believers, too. Usually we call it in that sense 00:11:16.509 --> 00:11:21.159 slander. It is speaking evil of another person 00:11:21.159 --> 00:11:27.240 with abusive speech. Slander is defamation or 00:11:27.240 --> 00:11:31.799 detraction with scornful and insolent language. 00:11:32.279 --> 00:11:35.700 He says, let none of that be a part of your habitual 00:11:35.700 --> 00:11:40.159 speech. Be done with that. You see, it does matter 00:11:40.159 --> 00:11:43.600 how we exercise our tongues. And when we exercise 00:11:43.600 --> 00:11:46.240 our tongues in this kind of way, God is not pleased. 00:11:46.340 --> 00:11:48.379 How then ought we to speak? Well, he's going 00:11:48.379 --> 00:11:51.580 to tell us later, but it's with love. We're to 00:11:51.580 --> 00:11:54.679 speak with understanding. We're to use grace 00:11:54.679 --> 00:11:58.899 in our tongues. But be done with slander. And 00:11:58.899 --> 00:12:01.740 then he mentions malice. He says, put all of 00:12:01.740 --> 00:12:06.100 these things away along with all malice. Now, 00:12:06.139 --> 00:12:11.519 malice is not just mischief. Malice is not... 00:12:12.190 --> 00:12:18.870 simply being ornery. But malice is an evil inclination. 00:12:19.990 --> 00:12:23.950 A malicious person takes some kind of delight 00:12:23.950 --> 00:12:29.870 in doing injury to other people. Jesus was faced 00:12:29.870 --> 00:12:34.590 with the Pharisees in Matthew 22, and they sought 00:12:34.590 --> 00:12:38.850 to set a trap for him. They were trying to set 00:12:38.850 --> 00:12:43.070 him up. to answer a question regarding whether 00:12:43.070 --> 00:12:47.769 they should pay tax as Jews. And they thought 00:12:47.769 --> 00:12:50.129 they would have him, however he answered. Whether 00:12:50.129 --> 00:12:52.649 he said to pay the tax or not to pay the tax, 00:12:52.789 --> 00:12:56.769 they thought they had Jesus trapped. And it says 00:12:56.769 --> 00:13:00.570 there that Jesus, knowing the malice that was 00:13:00.570 --> 00:13:04.490 in their heart, said to them, Render to Caesar 00:13:04.490 --> 00:13:07.029 the things that are Caesar's, and to God the 00:13:07.029 --> 00:13:10.389 things that are God's. With his marvelous wisdom, 00:13:10.970 --> 00:13:13.990 He eluded their trap and laid heavy truth on 00:13:13.990 --> 00:13:16.669 them that they did not know how to handle. But 00:13:16.669 --> 00:13:19.330 notice what it was that motivated them. It was 00:13:19.330 --> 00:13:23.710 malice. It was out of a desire to trap Jesus. 00:13:25.049 --> 00:13:29.610 They were seeking wickedly to do him injury. 00:13:30.350 --> 00:13:33.549 That's what malice is. The apostle says that 00:13:33.549 --> 00:13:36.490 we can have none of that. Our hearts must be 00:13:36.490 --> 00:13:40.279 cleansed, beloved, from these six vices. that 00:13:40.279 --> 00:13:44.299 he has mentioned. How can they be cleansed? Well, 00:13:44.320 --> 00:13:47.940 the first step is to acknowledge honestly the 00:13:47.940 --> 00:13:53.080 presence of any of them. Our hearts can't be 00:13:53.080 --> 00:13:57.620 cleansed if we are unwilling to admit the presence 00:13:57.620 --> 00:14:00.500 of any of these. And so we have to do a heart 00:14:00.500 --> 00:14:04.059 search and before God say, Lord, am I guilty 00:14:04.059 --> 00:14:07.179 of any of these? And then if indeed the Lord 00:14:07.179 --> 00:14:11.519 says yes, We have to deeply and sincerely repent 00:14:11.519 --> 00:14:15.059 of them to realize what we're dealing with here, 00:14:15.179 --> 00:14:19.360 that this is not some little thing, but these 00:14:19.360 --> 00:14:21.860 are vices that will prohibit the blessing of 00:14:21.860 --> 00:14:24.580 God. Our hearts, our spiritual hearts, cannot 00:14:24.580 --> 00:14:27.700 be nourished if they're blocked with these kinds 00:14:27.700 --> 00:14:32.820 of things. They have to be removed. And then 00:14:32.820 --> 00:14:34.860 we need to confess them to God as sin and ask 00:14:34.860 --> 00:14:37.519 the Holy Spirit to enable us to develop wholesome, 00:14:38.029 --> 00:14:41.450 and godly attitudes and employments for our tongue. 00:14:42.570 --> 00:14:45.309 And then if we really mean business, another 00:14:45.309 --> 00:14:49.149 thing we can do is to find a friend. It might 00:14:49.149 --> 00:14:52.970 be a husband or wife, or some friend at least 00:14:52.970 --> 00:14:56.490 who is willing to be honest with us and to whom 00:14:56.490 --> 00:15:00.450 we will listen. And ask that person to keep check 00:15:00.450 --> 00:15:03.529 on us. And if that individual senses this particular 00:15:03.529 --> 00:15:06.730 problem coming back in our lives, that we want 00:15:06.730 --> 00:15:10.570 that person, to immediately come to us and say, 00:15:10.629 --> 00:15:16.429 I perceive this, and we can respond to it. If 00:15:16.429 --> 00:15:18.769 we mean business about a cleansed heart, I think 00:15:18.769 --> 00:15:22.190 those steps are important. Now the Apostle says 00:15:22.190 --> 00:15:25.370 another feature of a life that pleases God, a 00:15:25.370 --> 00:15:28.149 life that can receive His blessing, is found 00:15:28.149 --> 00:15:30.610 in the first part of verse 32, where it says, 00:15:30.769 --> 00:15:35.409 and be kind to one another. Literally, he says, 00:15:35.470 --> 00:15:40.190 keep on proving, yourselves to be kind to one 00:15:40.190 --> 00:15:45.490 another. The idea is to be graciously useful 00:15:45.490 --> 00:15:50.549 to others, to be willing to serve others, get 00:15:50.549 --> 00:15:54.970 this, at the point of their need, not at the 00:15:54.970 --> 00:15:59.110 point of our convenience. There's a difference. 00:16:00.490 --> 00:16:03.850 It is being willing to go the extra mile if necessary 00:16:03.850 --> 00:16:07.360 so that we can honestly minister to that other 00:16:07.360 --> 00:16:11.120 person or that other family at the point where 00:16:11.120 --> 00:16:15.559 they need it at that moment. That's easy to do 00:16:15.559 --> 00:16:18.759 for our friends, the people that we know well. 00:16:18.840 --> 00:16:23.379 It was not hard for me to drive a few extra hours 00:16:23.379 --> 00:16:25.940 this week to go to Indianapolis and be with my 00:16:25.940 --> 00:16:33.059 friend. I love him. And I would have driven from 00:16:33.059 --> 00:16:35.419 Minnesota to Indiana if necessary to have been 00:16:35.419 --> 00:16:38.299 there. Wednesday for his surgery, be with his 00:16:38.299 --> 00:16:42.860 family. It's not hard for any of us to be kind 00:16:42.860 --> 00:16:45.779 to those that we love. But what about the people 00:16:45.779 --> 00:16:50.139 we don't know yet? At least we don't know on 00:16:50.139 --> 00:16:55.120 that level. Or what about newcomers to your small 00:16:55.120 --> 00:16:59.539 church or to our church family? What about those 00:16:59.539 --> 00:17:03.220 who are not what we sometimes call the beautiful 00:17:03.220 --> 00:17:09.539 people? I heard someone describe recently a national 00:17:09.539 --> 00:17:12.880 Christian leader as being a man who enjoys being 00:17:12.880 --> 00:17:17.019 around beautiful people. And I thought to myself, 00:17:17.200 --> 00:17:20.380 if that's all there is to that individual, he's 00:17:20.380 --> 00:17:26.880 awfully superficial. Jesus came for the unlovely. 00:17:27.940 --> 00:17:30.500 Nothing wrong with ministering to those who are 00:17:30.500 --> 00:17:33.440 beautiful people. But let's remember that those 00:17:33.440 --> 00:17:36.650 who are not the... Beautiful people, as the world 00:17:36.650 --> 00:17:41.049 evaluates that, are often even in more need because 00:17:41.049 --> 00:17:44.210 of deep hurts in their lives. What about those 00:17:44.210 --> 00:17:48.809 who can't return our favor? Are we willing to 00:17:48.809 --> 00:17:51.950 meet their needs? Be kind to one another. You 00:17:51.950 --> 00:17:53.470 know, as I hear about some of the things that 00:17:53.470 --> 00:17:57.049 are done in our church, some of the ministry 00:17:57.049 --> 00:18:00.349 that goes on within the small church and the 00:18:00.349 --> 00:18:04.140 ministry that goes on to people outside, My heart 00:18:04.140 --> 00:18:08.119 is thrilled because I see what Paul says in verse 00:18:08.119 --> 00:18:12.079 32 being fleshed out in so many instances, and 00:18:12.079 --> 00:18:15.019 I thank God for that. I want you to know that 00:18:15.019 --> 00:18:18.940 God is pleased with that, and God will bless 00:18:18.940 --> 00:18:24.519 you for that. And then I want to come to the 00:18:24.519 --> 00:18:27.259 last part of verse 32 because I think it's critically 00:18:27.259 --> 00:18:31.450 important. The final feature that we're going 00:18:31.450 --> 00:18:34.049 to look at here of the life that pleases God, 00:18:34.130 --> 00:18:36.970 the life that is worthy of the name Christian, 00:18:37.150 --> 00:18:43.950 is a forgiving spirit. He says, be tenderhearted, 00:18:44.109 --> 00:18:48.190 forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also 00:18:48.190 --> 00:18:52.130 has forgiven you. Now there is an assumption 00:18:52.130 --> 00:18:54.490 that we have to look at first, and that is that 00:18:54.490 --> 00:18:56.869 there will be occasions when we'll need to forgive 00:18:56.869 --> 00:19:04.480 other people. God tells us in His Word that within 00:19:04.480 --> 00:19:08.259 the body of Christ there are going to be occasions 00:19:08.259 --> 00:19:13.140 when we'll need to forgive others. There will 00:19:13.140 --> 00:19:15.559 be times when offenses will take place quite 00:19:15.559 --> 00:19:20.019 accidentally. But there will be other times when 00:19:20.019 --> 00:19:25.119 offenses will take place premeditatively because 00:19:25.119 --> 00:19:29.390 someone is walking in the flesh. We haven't all 00:19:29.390 --> 00:19:33.049 arrived yet, have we? We all still have some 00:19:33.049 --> 00:19:38.809 rough edges in our lives. And when we bump up 00:19:38.809 --> 00:19:41.130 against other people with those rough edges, 00:19:41.250 --> 00:19:49.109 we can leave hurts, cuts. And that's when forgiveness 00:19:49.109 --> 00:19:52.750 is needed. I think he's telling us here in the 00:19:52.750 --> 00:19:55.650 first place that forgiveness comes from a tender 00:19:55.650 --> 00:19:59.589 heart. It seems that there is a lot of coldness 00:19:59.589 --> 00:20:03.109 and callousness in our world today, but let it 00:20:03.109 --> 00:20:07.009 never be so among God's people. Let us be tender 00:20:07.009 --> 00:20:11.930 -hearted. The idea is in this word that we are 00:20:11.930 --> 00:20:17.269 able to feel within. You know, we are presented 00:20:17.269 --> 00:20:22.890 with so much ugliness in our world by way of 00:20:22.890 --> 00:20:27.119 the television. whether it be in the news or 00:20:27.119 --> 00:20:30.000 it be in programs that we may choose to watch, 00:20:30.279 --> 00:20:37.500 we're often overcome by all of the violence that 00:20:37.500 --> 00:20:41.299 we see to the point that our spirits almost become 00:20:41.299 --> 00:20:45.160 immune to it. So that even in real life when 00:20:45.160 --> 00:20:49.119 we bump up against it, somehow it just doesn't 00:20:49.119 --> 00:20:53.200 move us anymore. The Apostle says that we are 00:20:53.200 --> 00:20:58.539 to be tenderhearted, able to feel, caring and 00:20:58.539 --> 00:21:03.640 warm, responsive. This word tenderhearted revolves 00:21:03.640 --> 00:21:09.099 around powerful feelings of affection, compassion, 00:21:09.160 --> 00:21:14.779 and genuine pity. Now he says out of that tenderheartedness, 00:21:14.819 --> 00:21:19.220 there needs to flow a stream of forgiveness from 00:21:19.220 --> 00:21:23.990 our lives. In the Bible, There are at least seven 00:21:23.990 --> 00:21:29.589 words for forgiveness. But the main ones are 00:21:29.589 --> 00:21:35.390 to cover, such as the blood of Christ covering 00:21:35.390 --> 00:21:39.130 over sin. It's the picture of covering over something. 00:21:40.329 --> 00:21:45.950 The second one is to bear or to take away. And 00:21:45.950 --> 00:21:50.289 the third one is to pardon. That is to remove. 00:21:50.920 --> 00:21:54.779 penalty from someone. Literally here, the apostle 00:21:54.779 --> 00:21:59.400 says in this word forgiving, he says, being gracious 00:21:59.400 --> 00:22:05.259 to one another. Gary Chapman, who was one of 00:22:05.259 --> 00:22:07.759 our speakers this last week in the Bible conference, 00:22:07.859 --> 00:22:10.339 and who, by the way, is going to be here for 00:22:10.339 --> 00:22:14.619 a family conference in September, it's mentioned 00:22:14.619 --> 00:22:16.660 in the newsletter today, and I hope you'll circle 00:22:16.660 --> 00:22:20.150 those dates, and plan to be here. all of you, 00:22:20.150 --> 00:22:24.230 if you possibly can, to hear this man. Gary Chapman 00:22:24.230 --> 00:22:27.750 this last week defined forgiveness with this 00:22:27.750 --> 00:22:36.849 phrase, lifting the penalty of an offense. It 00:22:36.849 --> 00:22:40.710 means that we no longer hold against another 00:22:40.710 --> 00:22:46.589 person the offense that has been committed. It 00:22:46.589 --> 00:22:51.019 means to treat the offender as though he had 00:22:51.019 --> 00:22:55.819 never sinned against you. Is that not what God's 00:22:55.819 --> 00:23:00.579 forgiveness is? When God forgives us, he lifts 00:23:00.579 --> 00:23:05.279 the penalty that we have incurred. When he forgives 00:23:05.279 --> 00:23:10.380 us, he removes the offense and no longer holds 00:23:10.380 --> 00:23:14.140 that against us. It's not an issue any longer 00:23:14.140 --> 00:23:18.940 between us and God. And that's what forgiveness 00:23:18.940 --> 00:23:22.960 is to be on a human level also. How is forgiveness 00:23:22.960 --> 00:23:26.119 to be given? Well, he tells us, forgiving each 00:23:26.119 --> 00:23:31.539 other just as God in Christ has also forgiven 00:23:31.539 --> 00:23:36.359 you. In other words, we are to pattern our forgiveness 00:23:36.359 --> 00:23:41.259 after God's forgiveness. What kind of a pattern 00:23:41.259 --> 00:23:44.019 does God give us? Well, a couple of important 00:23:44.019 --> 00:23:48.289 things. First of all, when God forgives, He forgives 00:23:48.289 --> 00:23:54.069 fully and freely. God does not forgive partially. 00:23:56.269 --> 00:24:01.049 God does not forgive temporarily, only to bring 00:24:01.049 --> 00:24:05.309 it up again later. When God forgives, He forgives 00:24:05.309 --> 00:24:09.890 fully and freely. And that's how we need to forgive. 00:24:10.970 --> 00:24:15.430 We haven't forgiven someone. If somewhere down 00:24:15.430 --> 00:24:20.109 the line we bring up again that issue that already 00:24:20.109 --> 00:24:24.430 we've said we've forgiven, we have failed to 00:24:24.430 --> 00:24:27.390 understand what forgiveness is. When forgiven, 00:24:27.609 --> 00:24:33.910 a person is relieved of the penalty. No longer 00:24:33.910 --> 00:24:40.150 is that event that has been an offense held against 00:24:40.150 --> 00:24:47.180 the other person. And secondly, we need to pattern 00:24:47.180 --> 00:24:52.380 God in this way. Our forgiveness needs to be 00:24:52.380 --> 00:24:59.099 conditioned upon confession. Now that is different 00:24:59.099 --> 00:25:02.400 than maybe some that you have heard. Because 00:25:02.400 --> 00:25:05.119 there is a teaching that we need to forgive other 00:25:05.119 --> 00:25:08.019 people no matter what their attitude is for us. 00:25:09.279 --> 00:25:12.220 And there is a certain sense of truth in that, 00:25:12.279 --> 00:25:16.000 in this way. We are not to be bitter. toward 00:25:16.000 --> 00:25:20.759 other people. You see, forgiveness really isn't 00:25:20.759 --> 00:25:22.960 the issue there. It's dealing with our own feelings, 00:25:23.059 --> 00:25:28.539 our own bitterness. I believe that there is a 00:25:28.539 --> 00:25:31.920 key passage telling us how to forgive in Luke 00:25:31.920 --> 00:25:34.759 chapter 17. Would you turn back there with me? 00:25:38.519 --> 00:25:42.180 What I'm saying is that we are not to forgive 00:25:42.180 --> 00:25:48.460 others. until there has been an admittance made 00:25:48.460 --> 00:25:55.299 of wrong. That does not mean that we are vengeful. 00:25:56.119 --> 00:25:59.559 It does not mean that we are spiteful, that we 00:25:59.559 --> 00:26:02.920 hold bitterness toward them. But we are unable 00:26:02.920 --> 00:26:07.839 to lift the penalty. We are unable to restore 00:26:07.839 --> 00:26:11.480 relationship until there has been a confession, 00:26:11.680 --> 00:26:16.690 an admittance of what's happened. In Luke 17, 00:26:17.109 --> 00:26:19.670 Jesus said to his disciples, It is inevitable 00:26:19.670 --> 00:26:23.789 that stumbling blocks should come, but woe to 00:26:23.789 --> 00:26:25.910 him through whom they come. It would be better 00:26:25.910 --> 00:26:28.289 for him if a millstone were hung around his neck 00:26:28.289 --> 00:26:30.950 and he were thrown into the sea, and that he 00:26:30.950 --> 00:26:33.190 should cause one of these little ones to stumble. 00:26:33.289 --> 00:26:38.630 Be on your guard. Notice his instruction. If 00:26:38.630 --> 00:26:44.369 your brother sins, rebuke him. And if he repents, 00:26:45.319 --> 00:26:49.960 Forgive him. And if he sins against you seven 00:26:49.960 --> 00:26:52.859 times a day and returns to you seven times saying, 00:26:52.940 --> 00:26:56.539 I repent, forgive him. And the apostles said 00:26:56.539 --> 00:27:01.579 to the Lord, increase our faith. Jesus' teaching 00:27:01.579 --> 00:27:05.140 here was so unusual to their conception of forgiveness 00:27:05.140 --> 00:27:08.660 that their response was, Lord, increase our faith 00:27:08.660 --> 00:27:11.779 in light of what you're saying. And notice what 00:27:11.779 --> 00:27:17.970 the process that is involved. First of all, an 00:27:17.970 --> 00:27:22.609 offense is done. In the term of our text here, 00:27:22.730 --> 00:27:26.329 there is a stumbling block, or our brother sins. 00:27:26.950 --> 00:27:33.609 That's step number one. Step number two, the 00:27:33.609 --> 00:27:38.950 offender is to be rebuked or confronted. Notice 00:27:38.950 --> 00:27:40.890 that we're not to go to other people and talk 00:27:40.890 --> 00:27:43.869 about what our brother's done to us. That's not 00:27:43.869 --> 00:27:48.329 what he's saying. We are to go to our brother 00:27:48.329 --> 00:27:52.150 and rebuke him, confront him about what he's 00:27:52.150 --> 00:27:57.730 done. What if our brother refuses then to acknowledge 00:27:57.730 --> 00:28:00.890 what he has done? Then we leave it at that point. 00:28:01.549 --> 00:28:04.589 The only alternative to forgiveness is justice. 00:28:07.769 --> 00:28:14.329 And God is the judge. But if our brother acknowledges, 00:28:14.329 --> 00:28:19.869 that is, if he repents, then we are obligated 00:28:19.869 --> 00:28:22.609 as the fourth step in the process to forgive. 00:28:23.589 --> 00:28:28.569 And so there is the offense. There is the confrontation 00:28:28.569 --> 00:28:33.250 about the offense. There is repentance on the 00:28:33.250 --> 00:28:36.670 part of the one who offended. And then the one 00:28:36.670 --> 00:28:40.289 who is offended is to forgive. That is the process. 00:28:40.920 --> 00:28:44.519 as our Lord outlines it in Luke chapter 17. We 00:28:44.519 --> 00:28:48.319 are to forgive just as God in Christ Jesus has 00:28:48.319 --> 00:28:52.559 forgiven us. Does God forgive the sinner until 00:28:52.559 --> 00:28:59.460 there's repentance? No, He does not. God has 00:28:59.460 --> 00:29:03.680 provided for forgiveness. He has provided for 00:29:03.680 --> 00:29:06.019 that forgiveness through the Lord Jesus Christ 00:29:06.019 --> 00:29:08.859 and His suffering and death on the cross of Calvary. 00:29:10.089 --> 00:29:12.829 But forgiveness is not extended. The penalty 00:29:12.829 --> 00:29:16.950 is not lifted until the sinner acknowledges his 00:29:16.950 --> 00:29:23.569 sin and repents. 1 John 1 .9 says, If we confess 00:29:23.569 --> 00:29:27.049 our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive 00:29:27.049 --> 00:29:30.710 us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 00:29:33.569 --> 00:29:36.549 And notice that our Lord says that this process 00:29:36.549 --> 00:29:41.509 of forgiveness is to be unending. There is no 00:29:41.509 --> 00:29:45.329 limit to it. He says if our brother sins against 00:29:45.329 --> 00:29:49.029 us seven times, we are to forgive our brother 00:29:49.029 --> 00:29:51.950 seven times. Now he wasn't saying count them 00:29:51.950 --> 00:29:56.490 off, that's one. That's two. That's not what 00:29:56.490 --> 00:29:59.069 he's saying. By using the term seven, our Lord 00:29:59.069 --> 00:30:02.410 is actually saying as many times as your brother 00:30:02.410 --> 00:30:06.329 sins against you and repents, you are obligated 00:30:06.329 --> 00:30:10.700 to forgive him. And that is what caused the disciples 00:30:10.700 --> 00:30:15.259 to gasp and to say, Lord, increase our faith. 00:30:16.420 --> 00:30:19.259 Now, if we respond by saying, I can't forgive, 00:30:19.619 --> 00:30:25.420 then we need to consider something. Not only 00:30:25.420 --> 00:30:27.440 do we need to consider what our Lord has commanded 00:30:27.440 --> 00:30:30.660 us to do, but we need to remember what our Lord 00:30:30.660 --> 00:30:34.700 has done for us. And just as we have been forgiven, 00:30:34.900 --> 00:30:39.579 we are to forgive others. Indeed, Jesus warned 00:30:39.579 --> 00:30:43.920 us in the disciples' prayer, in what he said 00:30:43.920 --> 00:30:47.420 we should pray to the Father, forgive us our 00:30:47.420 --> 00:30:50.839 sins as we forgive those who have sinned against 00:30:50.839 --> 00:30:59.819 us. How can we gain a forgiving heart? How can 00:30:59.819 --> 00:31:03.440 we get over this hurdle of hurt so that we can 00:31:03.440 --> 00:31:06.730 honestly forgive the other person? The answer 00:31:06.730 --> 00:31:10.549 is only by going to the cross and there seeing 00:31:10.549 --> 00:31:15.109 how much our Lord has forgiven us and at what 00:31:15.109 --> 00:31:19.609 a cost. Then we shall see that the utmost we 00:31:19.609 --> 00:31:22.970 are called upon to forgive compared with what 00:31:22.970 --> 00:31:26.190 we ourselves have been forgiven is but a very 00:31:26.190 --> 00:31:32.910 little thing. The result of forgiveness is that 00:31:32.910 --> 00:31:38.140 relationship is restored. Fellowship is restored 00:31:38.140 --> 00:31:44.220 as a result of the forgiving process. You say, 00:31:44.240 --> 00:31:49.059 well, I can forgive, but I can't forget. And 00:31:49.059 --> 00:31:50.920 you know there's a certain truth there, because 00:31:50.920 --> 00:31:54.759 we are unable to go into our minds and erase 00:31:54.759 --> 00:32:03.740 memories. We cannot choose to forget things. 00:32:04.880 --> 00:32:07.099 In the sense that no longer will they ever come 00:32:07.099 --> 00:32:10.019 to our minds. But I tell you what we can do. 00:32:10.980 --> 00:32:16.859 When we forgive, we can choose to treat that 00:32:16.859 --> 00:32:19.559 other person as though that event that we can 00:32:19.559 --> 00:32:27.059 remember never occurred. You say, well, I have 00:32:27.059 --> 00:32:29.579 forgiven someone of something they did to me. 00:32:30.420 --> 00:32:35.529 But I still get feelings of... anger about it, 00:32:35.569 --> 00:32:39.190 I still have feelings of bitterness, then my 00:32:39.190 --> 00:32:43.829 friend, the problem is not in what happened before, 00:32:43.950 --> 00:32:45.930 it's what's happening right now in your heart. 00:32:47.309 --> 00:32:51.069 Because you see, those feelings are within you. 00:32:55.190 --> 00:32:57.549 And your need is to go to your Heavenly Father 00:32:57.549 --> 00:32:59.650 and to pour out your heart to Him and say, Lord, 00:32:59.910 --> 00:33:06.220 I have forgiven my friend. I still have these 00:33:06.220 --> 00:33:08.519 feelings within. Would you please deal with them? 00:33:08.539 --> 00:33:14.160 Enable me to put these evil feelings away. And 00:33:14.160 --> 00:33:16.859 God will answer that prayer, my friend. He's 00:33:16.859 --> 00:33:19.819 not going to erase the event from your memory. 00:33:20.819 --> 00:33:25.779 But he can and he will take away the power of 00:33:25.779 --> 00:33:28.900 that memory so it no longer dominates your feelings 00:33:28.900 --> 00:33:35.500 about the other person. The Apostle says if we 00:33:35.500 --> 00:33:39.660 want a life that pleases God, if we want to walk 00:33:39.660 --> 00:33:42.160 worthy of our calling, then we have to have tender 00:33:42.160 --> 00:33:49.119 hearts that are eager to forgive the brother 00:33:49.119 --> 00:33:53.420 who sins against us and who repents. We ought 00:33:53.420 --> 00:33:57.960 to forgive as fully and as freely as God has 00:33:57.960 --> 00:34:03.269 forgiven us for Christ's sake. The title of this 00:34:03.269 --> 00:34:07.130 message and the previous one is Cleaning Up Your 00:34:07.130 --> 00:34:13.150 Act. All of us have some cleaning up to do. As 00:34:13.150 --> 00:34:15.550 we examine this text of Scripture in Ephesians 00:34:15.550 --> 00:34:18.789 chapter 4, we see the Apostle saying, remove 00:34:18.789 --> 00:34:21.670 this, put away that, be done with this, no longer 00:34:21.670 --> 00:34:25.969 do that. And in the place of those things, do 00:34:25.969 --> 00:34:31.010 this and do this. That's what he means by cleaning 00:34:31.010 --> 00:34:36.230 up. We ought to clean up, and for good reason. 00:34:36.389 --> 00:34:38.630 In the first place, it pleases God that we should 00:34:38.630 --> 00:34:41.909 do that. But there's another reason. When we 00:34:41.909 --> 00:34:44.530 clean up our act, it liberates us. It liberates 00:34:44.530 --> 00:34:46.929 us from the shame and the guilt that we carry 00:34:46.929 --> 00:34:51.170 around with us. When we clean up our act, it 00:34:51.170 --> 00:34:56.090 enables God to pour out His blessing upon us 00:34:56.090 --> 00:34:59.349 and then through us to other people. It is a 00:34:59.349 --> 00:35:02.269 liberating thing to be done with the things that 00:35:02.269 --> 00:35:05.769 we've talked about. these sins of the flesh, 00:35:06.010 --> 00:35:12.170 and to walk before God seeking to obey Him. I 00:35:12.170 --> 00:35:13.909 don't know what your need may be this morning. 00:35:15.329 --> 00:35:18.730 But I do know this. I know that God is waiting 00:35:18.730 --> 00:35:22.710 right there at the point of your need. And that 00:35:22.710 --> 00:35:25.090 God is waiting for you to reach out your hand 00:35:25.090 --> 00:35:30.610 to Him and say, Lord, here's my need. And He 00:35:30.610 --> 00:35:32.809 will reach out to you, my friend, and He will. 00:35:33.460 --> 00:35:37.460 meet you at that point of need. It may be that 00:35:37.460 --> 00:35:41.699 you need forgiveness. It may be that there is 00:35:41.699 --> 00:35:45.039 sin in your life that is blocking God's blessing. 00:35:46.500 --> 00:35:49.320 That's the point of need. It may be that you 00:35:49.320 --> 00:35:52.119 need to be able to forgive others and you need 00:35:52.119 --> 00:35:54.119 God's help to do it. God will give you that. 00:35:56.420 --> 00:36:02.590 It may be that you need a new vocabulary. God 00:36:02.590 --> 00:36:05.349 will help you to develop that. Whatever the point 00:36:05.349 --> 00:36:10.050 of need is this morning, he's there. Meet him 00:36:10.050 --> 00:36:17.590 there. Let's pray. With our heads bowed, our 00:36:17.590 --> 00:36:22.050 eyes closed, I wonder what the Spirit of God 00:36:22.050 --> 00:36:33.239 is lovingly saying to you within. What is that 00:36:33.239 --> 00:36:40.800 point of need that he is concerned about? Will 00:36:40.800 --> 00:36:44.659 you right now talk to the Lord? Will you extend 00:36:44.659 --> 00:36:51.800 the hand of faith to him and receive his grace, 00:36:51.820 --> 00:36:55.599 his forgiveness, his enablement, whatever your 00:36:55.599 --> 00:37:02.090 need is? Right now in the quietness of this moment, 00:37:02.190 --> 00:37:19.289 will you talk with him? Father in heaven, we 00:37:19.289 --> 00:37:25.130 thank you that you are able to meet every need 00:37:25.130 --> 00:37:30.320 that we have. And we thank you for exposing our 00:37:30.320 --> 00:37:35.239 needs at those times when we are able to deal 00:37:35.239 --> 00:37:41.739 with them honestly with you. There have been 00:37:41.739 --> 00:37:43.880 scores of us here this morning who have done 00:37:43.880 --> 00:37:47.760 business with you. Thank you for answering that 00:37:47.760 --> 00:37:51.300 prayer. In advance, we express our gratitude 00:37:51.300 --> 00:37:55.800 for the way that you're going to answer. And 00:37:55.800 --> 00:37:58.199 I pray, Father, that the result of our response 00:37:58.199 --> 00:38:00.679 to your working in our lives will be that our 00:38:00.679 --> 00:38:05.619 walk will be worthy of our calling. And being 00:38:05.619 --> 00:38:10.039 called Christians, our lifestyle will reflect 00:38:10.039 --> 00:38:15.820 the person of Jesus Christ to those around. And 00:38:15.820 --> 00:38:18.239 this we pray in his blessed name. Amen.