1 00:00:00,880 --> 00:00:02,259 Alright. Hey. Good morning. 2 00:00:02,960 --> 00:00:03,699 Good morning. 3 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:07,120 As we get started, Kevin just mentioned this. 4 00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:09,119 Maybe in your venue, you already heard something 5 00:00:09,119 --> 00:00:12,099 about catalyst, and that's all about personal transformation. 6 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:13,759 And one of the ways we wanna gauge 7 00:00:13,759 --> 00:00:15,585 that is with the survey that you've already 8 00:00:15,585 --> 00:00:18,225 been invited to participate in. And so, here's 9 00:00:18,225 --> 00:00:20,704 the deal, if you know, you know you, 10 00:00:20,704 --> 00:00:22,625 the only time that you're gonna participate in 11 00:00:22,625 --> 00:00:24,464 that is right now, I'm not gonna be 12 00:00:24,464 --> 00:00:26,144 offended. Alright? I guarantee you, in all the 13 00:00:26,144 --> 00:00:27,960 venues, I won't be offended. So you can 14 00:00:27,960 --> 00:00:29,239 grab your phone and you can do it 15 00:00:29,239 --> 00:00:31,000 right now as we get started about five 16 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:32,700 to seven minutes, but it's really important 17 00:00:33,399 --> 00:00:35,479 that we would have a baseline. Because by 18 00:00:35,479 --> 00:00:36,600 the time we get to the end of 19 00:00:36,600 --> 00:00:38,379 catalyst, how do we talk about transformation 20 00:00:38,759 --> 00:00:40,119 if we don't have a way to gauge 21 00:00:40,119 --> 00:00:42,039 it? So, would you do that please? We 22 00:00:42,039 --> 00:00:42,539 ask. 23 00:00:43,105 --> 00:00:44,865 As we get started, I'm Dave, and we're 24 00:00:44,865 --> 00:00:47,664 welcoming Roane County down in Bearden. Good morning 25 00:00:47,664 --> 00:00:48,325 to y'all, 26 00:00:48,704 --> 00:00:50,545 over at Amplend, good morning to you as 27 00:00:50,545 --> 00:00:52,945 well. And you can open a Bible to 28 00:00:52,945 --> 00:00:53,445 chapter, 29 00:00:54,304 --> 00:00:56,164 18 in the book of Matthew, 30 00:00:56,625 --> 00:00:58,719 and We're gonna talk about a topic today 31 00:00:59,100 --> 00:00:59,840 called forgiveness. 32 00:01:00,780 --> 00:01:02,240 Everybody up for this one? 33 00:01:03,100 --> 00:01:03,600 Yeah. 34 00:01:03,899 --> 00:01:04,959 That's what I thought. 35 00:01:07,180 --> 00:01:09,340 You know, I I it was about twenty 36 00:01:09,340 --> 00:01:11,325 years ago. No. It was twenty years ago. 37 00:01:11,405 --> 00:01:11,905 And, 38 00:01:12,444 --> 00:01:13,185 this year. 39 00:01:14,364 --> 00:01:14,864 And, 40 00:01:15,325 --> 00:01:16,465 my wife and I, 41 00:01:17,084 --> 00:01:20,125 before that, we had left, one career path. 42 00:01:20,125 --> 00:01:21,724 I was in a new career path. I 43 00:01:21,724 --> 00:01:23,344 was now in vocational 44 00:01:23,644 --> 00:01:26,909 ministry, and part of that transition was the 45 00:01:26,909 --> 00:01:28,829 thing that I knew is that God was 46 00:01:28,829 --> 00:01:30,750 calling me to go to school. And it's 47 00:01:30,750 --> 00:01:32,670 a long story that I'm gonna try and 48 00:01:32,670 --> 00:01:34,609 tell in a really short period of time, 49 00:01:34,670 --> 00:01:36,349 but in the midst of that, I just 50 00:01:36,349 --> 00:01:38,590 had this deep conviction that that's what it 51 00:01:38,590 --> 00:01:40,369 was all about. I had no idea 52 00:01:40,865 --> 00:01:42,784 at that time that I might actually be 53 00:01:42,784 --> 00:01:44,645 doing what I do. I never imagined 54 00:01:45,025 --> 00:01:46,704 that I'd be doing what I do, but 55 00:01:46,704 --> 00:01:48,064 but I just knew that I was supposed 56 00:01:48,064 --> 00:01:48,885 to go to school 57 00:01:49,185 --> 00:01:51,265 and, there was a church. They invited us 58 00:01:51,265 --> 00:01:52,865 to come be on staff. It was church 59 00:01:52,865 --> 00:01:54,390 that we were part of. It's a church 60 00:01:54,390 --> 00:01:54,890 church 61 00:01:55,430 --> 00:01:57,694 that we were deeply connected in, and we 62 00:01:57,694 --> 00:01:58,525 are deeply connected with the lead pastor of 63 00:01:58,525 --> 00:02:00,310 that church and his wife. We were at 64 00:02:00,310 --> 00:02:02,790 dinner one night, and they they had invited 65 00:02:02,790 --> 00:02:04,469 us to come be part of their staff, 66 00:02:04,469 --> 00:02:04,969 and 67 00:02:05,590 --> 00:02:07,805 and, we were concerned a little bit. There 68 00:02:07,805 --> 00:02:09,164 was a lot of stuff going on in 69 00:02:09,164 --> 00:02:11,104 that church and he looked, 70 00:02:11,564 --> 00:02:13,405 at us and in particular, he looked at 71 00:02:13,405 --> 00:02:15,085 my wife straight in the eyes and he 72 00:02:15,085 --> 00:02:17,164 said, Kelly, as long as I'm the lead 73 00:02:17,164 --> 00:02:19,485 pastor of this church, you have nothing to 74 00:02:19,485 --> 00:02:20,224 worry about. 75 00:02:22,740 --> 00:02:24,199 Yeah. We were we were 76 00:02:25,699 --> 00:02:27,379 Yeah. We weren't we weren't really aware how 77 00:02:27,379 --> 00:02:28,520 that works. So 78 00:02:28,900 --> 00:02:30,740 here's the thing, it was less than a 79 00:02:30,740 --> 00:02:32,740 year later. About a year later, all of 80 00:02:32,740 --> 00:02:33,319 a sudden, 81 00:02:33,699 --> 00:02:35,159 in very short order, 82 00:02:35,585 --> 00:02:37,025 within a week, I was out of a 83 00:02:37,025 --> 00:02:39,905 job and when I asked him about that 84 00:02:39,905 --> 00:02:41,905 statement, hey, here's what you said, here's the 85 00:02:41,905 --> 00:02:44,405 promise you made to my wife, he says, 86 00:02:44,944 --> 00:02:46,324 I never said that. 87 00:02:47,599 --> 00:02:48,819 Now here's the thing, 88 00:02:49,360 --> 00:02:51,280 at that time it was like not It 89 00:02:51,280 --> 00:02:53,539 gets more complicated because it's not just 90 00:02:53,840 --> 00:02:55,599 that, hey, there was a person and they 91 00:02:55,599 --> 00:02:57,680 betrayed you. For those of you who've been 92 00:02:57,680 --> 00:02:59,759 in business, for those of you who've been 93 00:02:59,759 --> 00:03:01,680 in a marriage where you've been betrayed, those 94 00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:03,474 of you who've been in families where you've 95 00:03:03,474 --> 00:03:06,034 been betrayed by somebody who's close to you, 96 00:03:06,034 --> 00:03:08,034 you know that that's difficult, but when it's 97 00:03:08,034 --> 00:03:08,534 somebody 98 00:03:08,835 --> 00:03:11,254 who's representing Jesus in your world, 99 00:03:12,675 --> 00:03:14,675 it gets far more complicated. Not just are 100 00:03:14,675 --> 00:03:16,355 you working through do I forgive this person, 101 00:03:16,355 --> 00:03:17,415 but how do I forgive 102 00:03:17,760 --> 00:03:19,699 Jesus even though he doesn't need my forgiveness? 103 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:23,219 How do I work my way through that? 104 00:03:23,919 --> 00:03:26,560 And so, that's where we're starting today. On 105 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:27,300 the surface, 106 00:03:27,919 --> 00:03:28,419 forgiveness 107 00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:31,219 sounds simple. Just forgive people. 108 00:03:33,215 --> 00:03:34,974 But as you know, it's not simple at 109 00:03:34,974 --> 00:03:37,634 all. It's one of the hardest things we're 110 00:03:37,694 --> 00:03:40,254 not only asked to do, but we're commanded 111 00:03:40,254 --> 00:03:40,914 to do. 112 00:03:41,775 --> 00:03:44,175 It's not an option, this isn't like, Hey, 113 00:03:44,175 --> 00:03:45,235 there's a nice accessory, 114 00:03:45,930 --> 00:03:47,689 by the way to the Christian life. It's 115 00:03:47,689 --> 00:03:49,290 called forgiveness. If you get around to it 116 00:03:49,290 --> 00:03:51,710 and you feel like it, embrace that one. 117 00:03:52,729 --> 00:03:54,750 Jesus doesn't set it up that way. 118 00:03:55,050 --> 00:03:56,729 So here's what we're gonna talk about today, 119 00:03:56,729 --> 00:03:58,409 this idea of forgiveness. And what I wanna 120 00:03:58,409 --> 00:04:00,034 do is I wanna set it up and 121 00:04:00,034 --> 00:04:01,394 and I wanna set it up by telling 122 00:04:01,394 --> 00:04:02,375 you it is complicated 123 00:04:02,754 --> 00:04:05,555 and your situation is complicated and you probably 124 00:04:05,555 --> 00:04:07,155 can't figure it out on your own if 125 00:04:07,155 --> 00:04:08,614 you haven't figured it out already. 126 00:04:10,594 --> 00:04:13,739 You probably aren't gonna figure it out this 127 00:04:13,739 --> 00:04:16,139 afternoon if it's been 10:20, 128 00:04:16,139 --> 00:04:18,139 thirty years that you've been dealing with it. 129 00:04:18,139 --> 00:04:20,459 And so I'm gonna encourage you that you 130 00:04:20,459 --> 00:04:21,680 requires that we would 131 00:04:22,060 --> 00:04:23,199 get wise counsel. 132 00:04:24,139 --> 00:04:26,300 We can get counsel from things like books. 133 00:04:26,300 --> 00:04:27,759 There's a book called Forgive 134 00:04:28,274 --> 00:04:31,555 by Timothy Keller. He's since passed away, but 135 00:04:31,555 --> 00:04:33,475 in that book, in particular, it's based upon 136 00:04:33,475 --> 00:04:35,714 the parable that we're gonna see today, and 137 00:04:35,714 --> 00:04:37,975 in the end, there's some appendixes that actually 138 00:04:38,435 --> 00:04:40,435 walk you through the process. What does this 139 00:04:40,435 --> 00:04:42,055 look like for me to actually 140 00:04:43,100 --> 00:04:45,740 experience and give the forgiveness that I've been 141 00:04:45,740 --> 00:04:46,240 given? 142 00:04:46,860 --> 00:04:49,259 Forgiveness is a word we know, but what 143 00:04:49,259 --> 00:04:51,600 we're talking about here is this idea that 144 00:04:51,819 --> 00:04:54,319 forgiveness means giving up the right to revenge, 145 00:04:54,860 --> 00:04:56,860 the right to seek repayment from the one 146 00:04:56,860 --> 00:04:57,920 who harmed you. 147 00:04:58,225 --> 00:04:59,524 It must be recognized 148 00:05:00,144 --> 00:05:00,884 that forgiveness 149 00:05:01,584 --> 00:05:03,045 is a form of voluntary 150 00:05:03,665 --> 00:05:04,165 suffering. 151 00:05:05,904 --> 00:05:06,964 There's a debt 152 00:05:07,745 --> 00:05:09,205 that needs to be paid. 153 00:05:10,479 --> 00:05:10,979 Unforgiveness 154 00:05:11,360 --> 00:05:11,860 says 155 00:05:12,319 --> 00:05:14,819 when you finally do enough 156 00:05:16,159 --> 00:05:18,800 then we can move on, then I'll forgive 157 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:20,019 you. When you finally 158 00:05:21,439 --> 00:05:22,659 pay the penalty. 159 00:05:23,324 --> 00:05:25,564 But forgiveness is different than that. The forgiveness 160 00:05:25,564 --> 00:05:28,604 that's gospel centered forgiveness looks like, I don't 161 00:05:28,604 --> 00:05:30,925 expect you to pay it because I'm gonna 162 00:05:30,925 --> 00:05:31,985 pay your debt. 163 00:05:32,845 --> 00:05:35,324 I'm gonna take the debt of your offense 164 00:05:35,324 --> 00:05:37,245 with me, and I'm gonna take it upon 165 00:05:37,245 --> 00:05:37,745 myself, 166 00:05:38,350 --> 00:05:40,430 and I'm going to pay your debt. I 167 00:05:40,430 --> 00:05:42,750 forgive you. That sounds a lot like the 168 00:05:42,750 --> 00:05:43,970 gospel, does it not? 169 00:05:44,830 --> 00:05:46,750 Sounds like what Jesus did for us and 170 00:05:46,750 --> 00:05:48,930 the expectation Jesus had for us 171 00:05:50,284 --> 00:05:51,504 is that that kind 172 00:05:51,805 --> 00:05:54,044 of forgiveness is what would flow out of 173 00:05:54,044 --> 00:05:56,685 us and into others. And in that book, 174 00:05:56,685 --> 00:05:57,584 Forgive by, 175 00:05:57,964 --> 00:06:00,365 Timothy Keller, he he talks about a lot 176 00:06:00,365 --> 00:06:02,044 of real world stuff that has happened in 177 00:06:02,044 --> 00:06:03,264 the last five years 178 00:06:03,910 --> 00:06:06,970 Because the world's message is don't be foolish. 179 00:06:07,269 --> 00:06:09,509 People have to pay. They did the crime. 180 00:06:09,509 --> 00:06:11,269 They gotta do the time. While that may 181 00:06:11,269 --> 00:06:14,470 be true, okay? The relationships that you have 182 00:06:14,470 --> 00:06:16,009 may never be the same. 183 00:06:16,550 --> 00:06:18,490 Jesus is gonna give us a warning. 184 00:06:19,725 --> 00:06:22,305 It does require forgiveness in our heart. 185 00:06:23,725 --> 00:06:25,024 If we're a follower of Christ, 186 00:06:26,125 --> 00:06:28,524 that's the grave warning. So here's what we're 187 00:06:28,524 --> 00:06:30,145 gonna walk away with this weekend. 188 00:06:30,524 --> 00:06:32,845 Real life with Jesus in his kingdom is 189 00:06:32,845 --> 00:06:33,985 fueled by grace 190 00:06:34,889 --> 00:06:35,389 demonstrated 191 00:06:35,769 --> 00:06:36,750 by unlimited 192 00:06:37,610 --> 00:06:40,269 forgiveness. If you take note, circuit that word 193 00:06:40,569 --> 00:06:41,069 unlimited. 194 00:06:43,689 --> 00:06:46,089 We don't get to set the parameters. Now 195 00:06:46,089 --> 00:06:47,610 with that, I I don't know what your 196 00:06:47,610 --> 00:06:48,509 story is. 197 00:06:49,154 --> 00:06:49,814 I don't 198 00:06:50,115 --> 00:06:50,935 know how 199 00:06:51,314 --> 00:06:53,714 how great the offense is that you have 200 00:06:53,714 --> 00:06:54,295 to forgive. 201 00:06:55,314 --> 00:06:57,654 I have no idea. It may be unimaginable 202 00:06:57,955 --> 00:06:59,335 and we'll talk about that. 203 00:06:59,714 --> 00:07:01,735 All I know is what Jesus says. 204 00:07:03,519 --> 00:07:05,759 And he doesn't say that, Oh, if you 205 00:07:05,759 --> 00:07:07,060 reach a certain level, 206 00:07:07,680 --> 00:07:10,259 now you've qualified for the unforgiveness camp. 207 00:07:11,519 --> 00:07:14,319 It's all levels, and he does so by 208 00:07:14,319 --> 00:07:15,459 telling a story. 209 00:07:15,914 --> 00:07:17,214 Now, Matthew 18, 210 00:07:17,595 --> 00:07:19,375 here's what we've seen, is that Jesus 211 00:07:19,834 --> 00:07:21,914 talks about us that those who are in 212 00:07:21,914 --> 00:07:24,654 the kingdom are like children, humble and dependent, 213 00:07:25,194 --> 00:07:27,115 and he calls us to pursue those who 214 00:07:27,115 --> 00:07:29,675 have wandered away and to care for others 215 00:07:29,675 --> 00:07:30,495 in the pursuit 216 00:07:30,919 --> 00:07:33,259 of those people, and that we would 217 00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:36,379 work hard towards seeing relationships 218 00:07:36,839 --> 00:07:37,339 restored. 219 00:07:38,360 --> 00:07:41,160 Forgiveness isn't just an isolated moment, it's it's 220 00:07:41,160 --> 00:07:44,220 the culmination of all that's gone on already 221 00:07:44,600 --> 00:07:45,819 in chapter 18. 222 00:07:46,485 --> 00:07:48,964 If we are in God's kingdom, and we 223 00:07:48,964 --> 00:07:51,365 are within a body called the body of 224 00:07:51,365 --> 00:07:53,764 Christ, that we pursue one another, and we 225 00:07:53,764 --> 00:07:56,404 forgive one another because it's what Jesus has 226 00:07:56,404 --> 00:07:58,345 given us as a model of the gospel, 227 00:07:58,644 --> 00:08:00,870 and so this is what Peter's wrestling with. 228 00:08:00,949 --> 00:08:03,430 He's trying to figure out how kingdom greatness 229 00:08:03,430 --> 00:08:05,509 works in the real world where people mess 230 00:08:05,509 --> 00:08:08,389 up. As we pick up here in chapter 231 00:08:08,389 --> 00:08:10,550 18 in verse 22 where it says, Then 232 00:08:10,550 --> 00:08:12,410 Peter came up and said to him, 233 00:08:13,125 --> 00:08:15,685 Lord, how often will my brother sin against 234 00:08:15,685 --> 00:08:16,985 me and I forgive him? 235 00:08:17,525 --> 00:08:18,985 As many as seven times? 236 00:08:19,925 --> 00:08:21,925 Jesus said to him, I do not say 237 00:08:21,925 --> 00:08:23,145 to you seven times, 238 00:08:23,845 --> 00:08:25,384 but 77 times. 239 00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:27,180 Therefore, 240 00:08:27,800 --> 00:08:29,800 the kingdom of heaven may be compared to 241 00:08:29,800 --> 00:08:31,720 a king who wished to settle accounts with 242 00:08:31,720 --> 00:08:32,459 his servants. 243 00:08:33,080 --> 00:08:34,919 When he began to settle, one was brought 244 00:08:34,919 --> 00:08:37,399 to him who owed him 10,000 talents. And 245 00:08:37,399 --> 00:08:38,860 since he could not pay, 246 00:08:39,254 --> 00:08:41,894 his master ordered him to be sold with 247 00:08:41,894 --> 00:08:43,815 his wife and children and all that he 248 00:08:43,815 --> 00:08:46,295 had and payment to be made. Now last 249 00:08:46,295 --> 00:08:47,995 night, while I was sitting here, 250 00:08:48,295 --> 00:08:49,894 getting ready to get up on stage and 251 00:08:49,894 --> 00:08:52,134 speak, ChatGPT helped me out. Gave me like 252 00:08:52,134 --> 00:08:53,495 a modern day kind of thing. We figured 253 00:08:53,495 --> 00:08:54,970 it out earlier in the week, but I'm 254 00:08:54,970 --> 00:08:57,129 like, what about now? What's ChatGPT have to 255 00:08:57,129 --> 00:08:59,289 say? And if ChatGPT is right, we're talking 256 00:08:59,289 --> 00:09:01,789 about $6,000,000,000. 257 00:09:02,090 --> 00:09:04,090 We figured it earlier this week. It's about 258 00:09:04,090 --> 00:09:06,009 $13,000,000,000 259 00:09:06,009 --> 00:09:06,910 to give you 260 00:09:07,370 --> 00:09:10,254 a scale. Okay? So the the kind of 261 00:09:10,254 --> 00:09:12,514 debt that we're talking about is 262 00:09:13,214 --> 00:09:13,714 massive 263 00:09:15,054 --> 00:09:16,355 to the point of being 264 00:09:17,375 --> 00:09:17,875 unpayable. 265 00:09:19,455 --> 00:09:21,375 You can never pay the debt. It's a 266 00:09:21,375 --> 00:09:22,595 really important point 267 00:09:23,120 --> 00:09:24,019 in the story. 268 00:09:25,919 --> 00:09:27,919 So the servant fell on his knees imploring 269 00:09:27,919 --> 00:09:29,839 him, have patience with me and I will 270 00:09:29,839 --> 00:09:30,820 pay you everything. 271 00:09:31,519 --> 00:09:33,199 And out of pity for him, the master 272 00:09:33,199 --> 00:09:35,279 of that servant released him and forgave him 273 00:09:35,279 --> 00:09:36,019 the debt. 274 00:09:37,004 --> 00:09:38,924 But when the servant went out, he found 275 00:09:38,924 --> 00:09:41,105 one of his fellow servants who owed him 276 00:09:41,164 --> 00:09:44,044 a 100 denarii and seizing him he began 277 00:09:44,044 --> 00:09:45,264 to choke him saying, 278 00:09:45,644 --> 00:09:47,664 Pay what you owe. 279 00:09:48,684 --> 00:09:50,865 In today's dollars, about $10,000. 280 00:09:53,319 --> 00:09:54,699 He owes 6,000,000,000 281 00:09:55,720 --> 00:09:56,539 that was forgiven, 282 00:09:58,439 --> 00:10:00,379 but you're gonna pay me the 10,000. 283 00:10:05,235 --> 00:10:07,714 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded 284 00:10:07,714 --> 00:10:09,794 with him, have patience with me and I 285 00:10:09,794 --> 00:10:10,695 will pay you. 286 00:10:11,075 --> 00:10:13,235 He refused and went and put him in 287 00:10:13,235 --> 00:10:14,934 prison until he should pay the debt. 288 00:10:15,475 --> 00:10:17,875 When his fellow servants saw what had taken 289 00:10:17,875 --> 00:10:19,899 place, they were greatly distressed and they went 290 00:10:19,899 --> 00:10:21,820 and reported to their master all that had 291 00:10:21,820 --> 00:10:22,559 taken place. 292 00:10:23,179 --> 00:10:24,779 Then his master summoned him and said to 293 00:10:24,779 --> 00:10:26,800 him, you wicked servant. 294 00:10:27,420 --> 00:10:30,059 I forgave you all that debt because you 295 00:10:30,059 --> 00:10:31,200 pleaded with me. 296 00:10:31,754 --> 00:10:34,475 And should not you have had mercy on 297 00:10:34,475 --> 00:10:36,875 your fellow servant as I had mercy on 298 00:10:36,875 --> 00:10:37,375 you? 299 00:10:37,835 --> 00:10:40,715 And in anger his master delivered him to 300 00:10:40,715 --> 00:10:42,815 the jailers, to the tormentors 301 00:10:44,639 --> 00:10:47,220 until he should pay all his debt. 302 00:10:48,240 --> 00:10:50,559 So also my heavenly father will do to 303 00:10:50,559 --> 00:10:52,639 every one of you if you do not 304 00:10:52,639 --> 00:10:54,960 forgive your brother from your heart. Now when 305 00:10:54,960 --> 00:10:56,800 Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away 306 00:10:56,800 --> 00:10:58,820 from Galilee and entered the region of Judea 307 00:10:59,200 --> 00:11:00,100 by the Jordan. 308 00:11:01,815 --> 00:11:04,375 If you write in your Bibles, that that 309 00:11:04,375 --> 00:11:07,274 last part there, the end of chapter 18, 310 00:11:08,294 --> 00:11:09,674 should be underlined, 311 00:11:10,054 --> 00:11:13,034 starred, highlighted, circled, all the things 312 00:11:14,590 --> 00:11:16,289 because it's the point of the parable, 313 00:11:18,909 --> 00:11:21,649 and it's great. It's a huge warning, and 314 00:11:21,710 --> 00:11:23,870 throughout this week, I I kind of wrestled 315 00:11:23,870 --> 00:11:25,470 from the time we went from sermon meeting 316 00:11:25,470 --> 00:11:27,870 and we went through this week until this 317 00:11:27,870 --> 00:11:30,274 weekend. I'm like, it's really important that we 318 00:11:30,274 --> 00:11:32,535 would know the magnitude of the warning. 319 00:11:35,715 --> 00:11:38,115 That that this is something that's he doesn't 320 00:11:38,115 --> 00:11:39,815 say like if you feel like it. 321 00:11:40,514 --> 00:11:42,375 He says this is what's gonna happen. 322 00:11:44,190 --> 00:11:46,190 If you if you're a person who says, 323 00:11:46,190 --> 00:11:49,889 I I could never, I will never, 324 00:11:51,230 --> 00:11:53,250 we're gonna talk about the hard truth. 325 00:11:54,190 --> 00:11:55,490 Here's the hard truth. 326 00:11:58,054 --> 00:11:59,434 Maybe you don't know grace, 327 00:12:01,095 --> 00:12:02,554 maybe you haven't experienced 328 00:12:04,455 --> 00:12:05,195 the supernatural 329 00:12:05,575 --> 00:12:07,815 forgiveness of God, of a debt that you 330 00:12:07,815 --> 00:12:08,794 could never pay. 331 00:12:09,539 --> 00:12:11,000 Maybe that's an indicator 332 00:12:11,700 --> 00:12:12,600 in your life 333 00:12:13,620 --> 00:12:14,839 that you don't really 334 00:12:15,139 --> 00:12:15,639 grasp 335 00:12:16,740 --> 00:12:19,320 what the debt that Christ paid, 336 00:12:19,940 --> 00:12:21,639 the debt that's been forgiven. 337 00:12:22,580 --> 00:12:24,519 Because if we grasp that, 338 00:12:25,715 --> 00:12:27,014 if we grasp that, 339 00:12:28,115 --> 00:12:30,754 we're certainly going to be people who say, 340 00:12:30,754 --> 00:12:33,815 I know it's difficult, maybe even seems impossible 341 00:12:34,035 --> 00:12:36,035 to me, but I'm going to pass that 342 00:12:36,035 --> 00:12:37,715 along. And there's something to keep in your 343 00:12:37,715 --> 00:12:38,774 back of your mind 344 00:12:39,154 --> 00:12:40,740 as we go through the rest of this, 345 00:12:40,980 --> 00:12:42,759 this weekend, the rest of this message. 346 00:12:43,459 --> 00:12:43,959 Jesus 347 00:12:44,500 --> 00:12:46,440 thinks this is possible. 348 00:12:48,419 --> 00:12:49,320 This is built 349 00:12:50,179 --> 00:12:51,000 on Jesus 350 00:12:52,179 --> 00:12:53,799 believing this is possible. 351 00:12:54,735 --> 00:12:57,054 So if in your mind you're saying that's 352 00:12:57,054 --> 00:12:59,075 not possible, I could never, 353 00:12:59,695 --> 00:13:01,394 you're not arguing with me. 354 00:13:03,214 --> 00:13:04,674 You're arguing with Jesus 355 00:13:05,214 --> 00:13:06,034 who says 356 00:13:06,735 --> 00:13:07,955 this is the expectation 357 00:13:09,389 --> 00:13:11,389 that we would be people who pass along 358 00:13:11,389 --> 00:13:12,370 this kind of forgiveness. 359 00:13:15,470 --> 00:13:17,790 This got all in my business. I'm already 360 00:13:17,790 --> 00:13:19,410 all up in yours, so let's go. 361 00:13:21,070 --> 00:13:23,389 Here's the deal. We're called to cancel offenses, 362 00:13:23,389 --> 00:13:25,605 not track them. We're called to cancel 363 00:13:26,065 --> 00:13:28,784 offenses, not track them, and this goes against 364 00:13:28,784 --> 00:13:32,144 everything within us. Jesus connects the dots for 365 00:13:32,144 --> 00:13:35,024 Peter by using a Biblical story. In Genesis 366 00:13:35,024 --> 00:13:36,704 chapter four, there's a guy who shows up 367 00:13:36,704 --> 00:13:38,440 by the name of Lamech. He's a descendant 368 00:13:38,440 --> 00:13:41,179 of Cain, and Cain was the first murderer 369 00:13:41,480 --> 00:13:43,100 in the Bible. So, 370 00:13:43,480 --> 00:13:44,620 you've got this lineage 371 00:13:45,240 --> 00:13:46,539 from Cain to Lamech, 372 00:13:47,240 --> 00:13:49,980 and it's a family line of violence. 373 00:13:50,360 --> 00:13:51,100 And so 374 00:13:51,554 --> 00:13:55,575 Lamech says, if Cain's revenge is sevenfold, 375 00:13:56,355 --> 00:13:58,855 then Lamech's is 70 sevenfold. 376 00:14:00,115 --> 00:14:02,855 He's not setting a limit. He's declaring 377 00:14:03,235 --> 00:14:04,200 that Lamech's 378 00:14:04,519 --> 00:14:05,580 payment is 379 00:14:06,120 --> 00:14:06,620 unlimited 380 00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:07,500 vengeance. 381 00:14:09,559 --> 00:14:10,779 Lamech represents 382 00:14:11,399 --> 00:14:12,940 the world's system. 383 00:14:16,120 --> 00:14:16,860 If you 384 00:14:17,399 --> 00:14:18,460 offended me 385 00:14:18,924 --> 00:14:20,304 to a certain level, 386 00:14:20,764 --> 00:14:21,264 you 387 00:14:21,644 --> 00:14:22,785 don't deserve 388 00:14:23,165 --> 00:14:23,665 forgiveness. 389 00:14:26,125 --> 00:14:27,665 And the gospel says 390 00:14:28,524 --> 00:14:31,665 it doesn't matter if they deserve it. 391 00:14:33,419 --> 00:14:36,059 It doesn't matter if they deserve it. It 392 00:14:36,059 --> 00:14:37,740 doesn't matter if they ask for it. It 393 00:14:37,740 --> 00:14:39,679 doesn't matter if they want it. 394 00:14:41,339 --> 00:14:43,500 It doesn't matter if they humble themselves and 395 00:14:43,500 --> 00:14:45,039 come and ask for it. 396 00:14:46,294 --> 00:14:48,934 There's something that that has to happen within 397 00:14:48,934 --> 00:14:49,434 us. 398 00:14:50,294 --> 00:14:53,434 And somebody said that Jesus takes this saying 399 00:14:54,934 --> 00:14:57,174 and he flips it upright, the world's thinking 400 00:14:57,174 --> 00:14:59,815 is upside down and so Jesus comes and 401 00:14:59,815 --> 00:15:02,470 he takes Lamech's thinking and he flips it 402 00:15:02,470 --> 00:15:02,970 upright 403 00:15:03,670 --> 00:15:06,230 and what happens is he gives us a 404 00:15:06,230 --> 00:15:06,730 representation 405 00:15:07,350 --> 00:15:09,429 of what it looks like to live in 406 00:15:09,429 --> 00:15:12,470 the kingdom. And so 70 times seven is 407 00:15:12,470 --> 00:15:14,410 an idiom of limitless forgiveness. 408 00:15:14,764 --> 00:15:16,304 This 77 times. 409 00:15:18,684 --> 00:15:21,164 It's not saying count to them. It's it's 410 00:15:21,164 --> 00:15:22,544 just a way of saying 411 00:15:23,245 --> 00:15:25,825 don't count. There's unlimited forgiveness. 412 00:15:27,580 --> 00:15:28,480 Stop counting. 413 00:15:31,500 --> 00:15:33,759 This is the overflow of something deeper. 414 00:15:34,940 --> 00:15:36,860 It's the overflow of the work of Jesus 415 00:15:36,860 --> 00:15:37,600 in us. 416 00:15:38,059 --> 00:15:39,039 It's the overflow, 417 00:15:39,500 --> 00:15:40,879 that we've really grasped 418 00:15:41,414 --> 00:15:44,134 forgiveness because forgiveness stops being a decision that 419 00:15:44,134 --> 00:15:46,214 we that we make and it starts becoming 420 00:15:46,214 --> 00:15:47,654 who we are. The more that we understand 421 00:15:47,654 --> 00:15:49,495 the gospel, the more that that plays out 422 00:15:49,495 --> 00:15:51,195 in our life. How would I not forgive 423 00:15:51,254 --> 00:15:53,334 when I'm forgiven? And then once again, it's 424 00:15:53,334 --> 00:15:56,259 complicated. Does it mean? It does not mean 425 00:15:56,259 --> 00:15:58,500 that we just go back and we pretend 426 00:15:58,500 --> 00:15:59,960 like something didn't happen. 427 00:16:01,220 --> 00:16:02,980 It's not like we just pretend that the 428 00:16:02,980 --> 00:16:04,680 offense didn't didn't occur. 429 00:16:06,580 --> 00:16:08,660 Because when we do that with Jesus, if 430 00:16:08,660 --> 00:16:10,764 we pretend like the offense didn't occur, occur, 431 00:16:10,764 --> 00:16:11,504 what happens? 432 00:16:12,125 --> 00:16:12,865 We forget. 433 00:16:14,924 --> 00:16:16,464 The offense occurred, 434 00:16:17,644 --> 00:16:19,745 and because the offense occurred, 435 00:16:20,125 --> 00:16:22,365 it keeps me humble under the rule of 436 00:16:22,365 --> 00:16:22,865 Jesus, 437 00:16:23,259 --> 00:16:25,819 and I recognize my need for Jesus, the 438 00:16:25,819 --> 00:16:27,519 one who has forgiven my debt. 439 00:16:29,259 --> 00:16:31,679 And so when I I think about relationships 440 00:16:31,819 --> 00:16:34,539 with other people, I I don't just go 441 00:16:34,539 --> 00:16:36,799 and maybe put myself in the same situation. 442 00:16:37,419 --> 00:16:38,480 I'm wise. 443 00:16:39,195 --> 00:16:40,575 It requires wisdom, 444 00:16:41,355 --> 00:16:43,835 but it requires a work inside. He says 445 00:16:43,835 --> 00:16:46,014 that this is a forgiveness in the heart, 446 00:16:46,235 --> 00:16:49,115 and so what we're talking about is grace 447 00:16:49,115 --> 00:16:51,455 received must become grace given. 448 00:16:52,870 --> 00:16:53,769 That's the story. 449 00:16:55,350 --> 00:16:57,690 The grace that I've received is the grace 450 00:16:57,990 --> 00:17:00,970 that I pass on and it does require 451 00:17:01,990 --> 00:17:02,490 wisdom. 452 00:17:04,070 --> 00:17:05,210 It requires wisdom. 453 00:17:07,015 --> 00:17:08,934 Because here's the thing, Jesus says you must 454 00:17:08,934 --> 00:17:11,414 forgive them in your heart and that doesn't 455 00:17:11,414 --> 00:17:12,315 look like this. 456 00:17:12,694 --> 00:17:14,394 Somebody has offended you. 457 00:17:15,894 --> 00:17:17,275 They don't know it. 458 00:17:19,960 --> 00:17:21,500 Or maybe even they do. 459 00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:24,360 In your wrestling you're like, You know what? 460 00:17:24,360 --> 00:17:25,559 I do. I have to forgive them. I 461 00:17:25,559 --> 00:17:27,019 have to forgive them in my heart. 462 00:17:28,360 --> 00:17:30,279 So because I've forgiven them, I wanna make 463 00:17:30,279 --> 00:17:31,340 sure that they know. 464 00:17:33,775 --> 00:17:35,075 So I'm gonna tell them, 465 00:17:35,855 --> 00:17:38,275 Hey, by the way, you hurt my feelings 466 00:17:38,335 --> 00:17:39,634 and I've forgiven you. 467 00:17:41,615 --> 00:17:42,595 Don't do that. 468 00:17:43,535 --> 00:17:46,575 That's the wrong answer, okay? You just took 469 00:17:46,575 --> 00:17:48,994 your forgiveness and made it about you, 470 00:17:50,330 --> 00:17:52,509 And now they have to forgive you. 471 00:17:53,289 --> 00:17:54,830 You just passed it along. 472 00:17:55,289 --> 00:17:56,809 Now you're like Now they're sitting there going, 473 00:17:56,809 --> 00:17:58,730 Hey, I'm glad that you forgave me for 474 00:17:58,730 --> 00:18:00,490 my offense. Now I gotta forgive you for 475 00:18:00,490 --> 00:18:02,590 your offense because I'm offended at you. 476 00:18:03,210 --> 00:18:04,590 Now we're in this cycle. 477 00:18:05,244 --> 00:18:06,304 Don't do that. 478 00:18:07,164 --> 00:18:10,044 If it's real, if it's genuine, if it's 479 00:18:10,044 --> 00:18:12,765 something that he's doing within you, you don't 480 00:18:12,765 --> 00:18:15,424 have to declare it to the other person. 481 00:18:15,565 --> 00:18:17,804 Now if a person comes to you and 482 00:18:17,804 --> 00:18:20,410 they've offended you and you've followed Christ in 483 00:18:20,410 --> 00:18:22,650 that and you've forgiven them and they come 484 00:18:22,650 --> 00:18:24,190 to you and they say to you, 485 00:18:24,809 --> 00:18:25,710 I'm sorry. 486 00:18:27,849 --> 00:18:29,470 I did this thing to you, 487 00:18:29,930 --> 00:18:31,849 please forgive me. Well then it would be 488 00:18:31,849 --> 00:18:34,490 appropriate for you to say, I've already forgiven 489 00:18:34,490 --> 00:18:34,990 you. 490 00:18:35,914 --> 00:18:38,794 I've already forgiven you. We're good. I've forgiven 491 00:18:38,794 --> 00:18:40,335 you. There's no offense to be forgiven. 492 00:18:40,634 --> 00:18:42,095 I've forgiven you. 493 00:18:43,275 --> 00:18:45,355 And it's also the reason why we need 494 00:18:45,355 --> 00:18:48,335 to stop calling Matthew 18 the the church 495 00:18:48,394 --> 00:18:50,954 discipline chapter. It turns out it's not about 496 00:18:50,954 --> 00:18:51,329 that. 497 00:18:52,529 --> 00:18:54,210 It's about life in the kingdom. We should 498 00:18:54,210 --> 00:18:55,509 call it the kingdom life. 499 00:18:55,890 --> 00:18:58,769 Humble, pursuing others, living within the body of 500 00:18:58,769 --> 00:18:59,269 Christ, 501 00:18:59,569 --> 00:19:01,109 forgiving as we're forgiven, 502 00:19:02,769 --> 00:19:05,029 chasing each other down when we go astray, 503 00:19:05,089 --> 00:19:07,694 caring for one another, living in community 504 00:19:08,075 --> 00:19:09,054 with each other. 505 00:19:10,394 --> 00:19:13,994 You see, withholding forgiveness contradicts the gospel we 506 00:19:13,994 --> 00:19:15,214 can aim to believe 507 00:19:16,154 --> 00:19:18,254 and that's why we started with a warning. 508 00:19:20,789 --> 00:19:21,769 If we absolutely 509 00:19:22,230 --> 00:19:23,529 refuse to embrace 510 00:19:24,230 --> 00:19:24,890 the forgiveness 511 00:19:25,190 --> 00:19:27,450 of Christ in the lives of other people, 512 00:19:28,789 --> 00:19:31,190 forgiveness in our hearts, we're saying, I don't 513 00:19:31,190 --> 00:19:33,430 know that I really believe it or at 514 00:19:33,430 --> 00:19:33,930 least 515 00:19:34,325 --> 00:19:37,525 my allegiance isn't with Jesus. My allegiance is 516 00:19:37,525 --> 00:19:40,325 somewhere else. My allegiance is most likely to 517 00:19:40,325 --> 00:19:40,825 me. 518 00:19:42,644 --> 00:19:44,805 So what does the gospel actually look like 519 00:19:44,805 --> 00:19:46,884 when it's lived out? It looks like this 520 00:19:46,884 --> 00:19:47,384 parable. 521 00:19:48,160 --> 00:19:51,039 When someone truly understands that the king has 522 00:19:51,039 --> 00:19:52,019 forgiven them, 523 00:19:53,359 --> 00:19:55,140 it lets us be transformed 524 00:19:55,519 --> 00:19:56,819 in how we treat others. 525 00:19:58,880 --> 00:20:01,200 Once again, not pretending that the offense didn't 526 00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:01,700 happen, 527 00:20:03,825 --> 00:20:05,204 Forgiving is not forgetting. 528 00:20:08,944 --> 00:20:10,005 It's remembering 529 00:20:13,025 --> 00:20:15,125 but without exacting payment. 530 00:20:17,420 --> 00:20:19,839 It's not throwing it in someone else's face, 531 00:20:20,619 --> 00:20:23,440 it's saying it's been redeemed. I've forgiven it. 532 00:20:23,500 --> 00:20:24,720 You see, real forgiveness 533 00:20:25,180 --> 00:20:27,820 reflects Jesus' heart and it defines life in 534 00:20:27,820 --> 00:20:28,559 his kingdom. 535 00:20:30,734 --> 00:20:32,414 So when you step back and you look 536 00:20:32,414 --> 00:20:33,474 at the whole parable, 537 00:20:34,734 --> 00:20:36,835 that's what Jesus has been showing them. 538 00:20:38,734 --> 00:20:41,375 This isn't really about the other person or 539 00:20:41,375 --> 00:20:43,795 what they did when you look at it. 540 00:20:45,599 --> 00:20:47,680 It's not about the person who has offended 541 00:20:47,680 --> 00:20:48,819 you, it's about you. 542 00:20:50,400 --> 00:20:52,019 This is the irony of this. 543 00:20:53,279 --> 00:20:55,839 Your entire life in God's kingdom is built 544 00:20:55,839 --> 00:20:56,819 on one foundation. 545 00:20:57,519 --> 00:20:58,579 You've been shown 546 00:20:58,880 --> 00:21:00,339 mercy you didn't 547 00:21:00,795 --> 00:21:01,295 deserve. 548 00:21:02,235 --> 00:21:04,095 You've been shown mercy you didn't deserve. 549 00:21:04,955 --> 00:21:06,894 You know what that's called? That's good news. 550 00:21:08,235 --> 00:21:10,255 You've been shown mercy you didn't deserve. 551 00:21:11,515 --> 00:21:12,715 That $6,000,000,000 552 00:21:12,715 --> 00:21:14,095 thing you could never pay? 553 00:21:15,180 --> 00:21:15,680 Wow. 554 00:21:17,980 --> 00:21:18,480 Forgiven. 555 00:21:20,539 --> 00:21:21,039 Paid 556 00:21:22,460 --> 00:21:23,200 by Christ. 557 00:21:25,180 --> 00:21:27,500 But here's the honest part, the grace we're 558 00:21:27,500 --> 00:21:29,259 called to give doesn't work like a light 559 00:21:29,259 --> 00:21:30,644 switch. It's It's not something you can just 560 00:21:30,644 --> 00:21:32,245 go, Oh okay, I heard this today. I'm 561 00:21:32,245 --> 00:21:33,924 gonna walk out of here. Oop, problem solved. 562 00:21:33,924 --> 00:21:35,125 Last three years of my life I've been 563 00:21:35,125 --> 00:21:36,884 struggling with this thing, but now I guess 564 00:21:36,884 --> 00:21:37,545 I'm not. 565 00:21:38,644 --> 00:21:40,725 No. It requires that we embrace the process. 566 00:21:40,725 --> 00:21:42,825 I'm gonna use in a a baseball analogy, 567 00:21:43,285 --> 00:21:44,985 because it just works for this. 568 00:21:45,839 --> 00:21:48,559 Trust the process. And so here's what happens 569 00:21:48,559 --> 00:21:50,179 in baseball. In baseball, 570 00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:52,960 being a hitter is very difficult. Hitting a 571 00:21:52,960 --> 00:21:54,419 baseball, it's very 572 00:21:54,799 --> 00:21:55,299 difficult. 573 00:21:56,480 --> 00:21:57,779 You know it's difficult 574 00:21:58,875 --> 00:22:01,214 because if you're a professional baseball 575 00:22:01,674 --> 00:22:03,615 player and you hit a baseball 576 00:22:04,474 --> 00:22:07,035 and get on base one third of the 577 00:22:07,035 --> 00:22:07,535 time, 578 00:22:09,115 --> 00:22:10,815 do you know what happens to you? 579 00:22:11,509 --> 00:22:12,869 You end up in the hall of fame 580 00:22:12,869 --> 00:22:14,549 as one of the greatest baseball players who 581 00:22:14,549 --> 00:22:15,289 ever played. 582 00:22:16,710 --> 00:22:17,529 It's hard. 583 00:22:18,309 --> 00:22:20,869 And sometimes they get they get in slumps 584 00:22:20,869 --> 00:22:23,210 where they they're doing all the things, 585 00:22:26,934 --> 00:22:29,095 but they're not getting on base. They have 586 00:22:29,095 --> 00:22:31,115 to trust the process. They have to trust, 587 00:22:31,174 --> 00:22:32,775 okay, I'm gonna work with my coach. I'm 588 00:22:32,775 --> 00:22:34,375 gonna work with my hitting coach. Do you 589 00:22:34,375 --> 00:22:36,855 know what professional baseball players do you know 590 00:22:36,855 --> 00:22:37,994 who they work with? 591 00:22:38,419 --> 00:22:39,880 They're making multimillion 592 00:22:40,900 --> 00:22:41,400 dollars 593 00:22:41,859 --> 00:22:44,579 and they're working with a swing coach. Do 594 00:22:44,579 --> 00:22:47,079 you know what golfers do who are making 595 00:22:47,299 --> 00:22:47,799 multimillion 596 00:22:48,099 --> 00:22:50,679 dollars? They work with a swing coach. 597 00:22:52,904 --> 00:22:54,285 As followers of Christ, 598 00:22:55,065 --> 00:22:56,684 there's wisdom here for us. 599 00:22:57,305 --> 00:22:59,225 What's it look like for us to to 600 00:22:59,225 --> 00:23:02,345 be open to seeking wise counsel, to to 601 00:23:02,345 --> 00:23:03,945 going, Wow, I've not been able to figure 602 00:23:03,945 --> 00:23:05,545 this one out. I need to clude other 603 00:23:05,545 --> 00:23:06,045 people, 604 00:23:06,539 --> 00:23:09,039 not to bash the person who needs forgiveness, 605 00:23:09,259 --> 00:23:11,019 but what does that look like for me 606 00:23:11,019 --> 00:23:12,940 to work through this? What does this look 607 00:23:12,940 --> 00:23:15,360 like for me to work through this process? 608 00:23:15,420 --> 00:23:17,519 You see, forgiveness is a journey with Jesus 609 00:23:17,740 --> 00:23:19,759 empowered by the spirit over time. 610 00:23:20,765 --> 00:23:23,245 Forgiveness like this isn't something we can produce 611 00:23:23,245 --> 00:23:24,684 on our own. I don't believe this is 612 00:23:24,684 --> 00:23:26,684 something you can dig deeper and find. I 613 00:23:26,684 --> 00:23:28,924 believe that this is a supernatural work of 614 00:23:28,924 --> 00:23:31,725 people who are born through the spirit of 615 00:23:31,725 --> 00:23:35,100 God. People who are who have become new 616 00:23:35,100 --> 00:23:36,880 in Christ, followers of Christ, 617 00:23:38,059 --> 00:23:40,539 who've been born again or born from above, 618 00:23:40,539 --> 00:23:42,240 this is what John calls it, 619 00:23:43,100 --> 00:23:45,440 who are indwelt by the Spirit of God. 620 00:23:45,660 --> 00:23:49,039 That's what's required to see this kind of 621 00:23:49,714 --> 00:23:51,894 response. It's a spirit empowered response. 622 00:23:52,434 --> 00:23:54,595 And so Paul writes this to the church 623 00:23:54,595 --> 00:23:56,515 in Ephesus. He says, do not grieve the 624 00:23:56,515 --> 00:23:57,734 Holy Spirit of God 625 00:23:58,195 --> 00:23:59,955 by whom you were sealed for the day 626 00:23:59,955 --> 00:24:00,695 of redemption. 627 00:24:01,474 --> 00:24:03,335 Let all bitterness and wrath 628 00:24:03,910 --> 00:24:06,630 and anger and clamor and slander be put 629 00:24:06,630 --> 00:24:08,970 away from you along with all malice. 630 00:24:09,910 --> 00:24:12,809 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one 631 00:24:12,950 --> 00:24:15,529 another as God in Christ forgave you. 632 00:24:16,134 --> 00:24:16,634 Therefore, 633 00:24:17,174 --> 00:24:19,595 be imitators of God as beloved children 634 00:24:20,054 --> 00:24:22,234 and walk in love as Christ loved us 635 00:24:22,454 --> 00:24:25,275 and gave himself up for us a fragrant 636 00:24:25,335 --> 00:24:25,835 offering 637 00:24:26,134 --> 00:24:28,855 and sacrifice to God. That's the Spirit empowered 638 00:24:28,855 --> 00:24:29,355 life. 639 00:24:31,259 --> 00:24:32,000 That requires 640 00:24:32,859 --> 00:24:35,279 that we don't grieve the spirit, we obey 641 00:24:35,340 --> 00:24:36,000 the spirit. 642 00:24:37,180 --> 00:24:38,400 That we are yielded 643 00:24:39,180 --> 00:24:41,279 to the spirit so that we can actually 644 00:24:41,340 --> 00:24:42,799 be kind to one another. 645 00:24:43,125 --> 00:24:44,345 We can be tenderhearted, 646 00:24:44,805 --> 00:24:45,545 we can 647 00:24:45,924 --> 00:24:49,125 forgive one another as God in Christ forgave 648 00:24:49,125 --> 00:24:51,224 you. How did Jesus forgive 649 00:24:52,884 --> 00:24:53,945 you? Completely. 650 00:24:56,090 --> 00:24:57,549 It's an unlimited 651 00:24:58,410 --> 00:24:58,910 forgiveness. 652 00:25:00,490 --> 00:25:03,289 So forgiveness is the hard work of saying 653 00:25:03,289 --> 00:25:04,349 yes to Jesus 654 00:25:04,809 --> 00:25:05,309 again 655 00:25:05,690 --> 00:25:07,690 and again and you could add like a 656 00:25:07,690 --> 00:25:08,750 bunch more agains. 657 00:25:09,884 --> 00:25:11,964 Again and again and again and again until 658 00:25:11,964 --> 00:25:13,884 it's really annoying. Keep saying that to yourself. 659 00:25:13,884 --> 00:25:15,664 How many times? And again 660 00:25:16,205 --> 00:25:18,464 and yet again. You keep offending me. 661 00:25:20,445 --> 00:25:21,265 And you forgive 662 00:25:21,900 --> 00:25:23,740 yet again. Now it doesn't mean that you 663 00:25:23,740 --> 00:25:26,619 don't address relational problems. It doesn't mean that 664 00:25:26,619 --> 00:25:28,940 you don't seek counseling. It doesn't mean that 665 00:25:28,940 --> 00:25:31,039 you just keep letting the same situation 666 00:25:31,580 --> 00:25:34,160 play out and you become, you know, just 667 00:25:34,220 --> 00:25:37,424 a an emotional punching bag. No. It does 668 00:25:37,424 --> 00:25:39,284 mean that because of forgiveness 669 00:25:39,904 --> 00:25:41,605 you step into the situation. 670 00:25:42,784 --> 00:25:45,684 I don't hold your offense against you 671 00:25:45,984 --> 00:25:48,325 by stepping into the offense. 672 00:25:52,080 --> 00:25:52,580 Forgiveness 673 00:25:53,200 --> 00:25:55,220 demonstrates our allegiance to Jesus 674 00:25:55,920 --> 00:25:58,720 and living under his reign in our everyday 675 00:25:58,720 --> 00:26:00,980 lives. This is the culmination of real life 676 00:26:01,039 --> 00:26:03,920 with Jesus in his kingdom that this is 677 00:26:03,920 --> 00:26:05,684 what this looks like. It looks like a 678 00:26:05,684 --> 00:26:07,924 life that has submitted to the rule and 679 00:26:07,924 --> 00:26:08,904 reign of Christ. 680 00:26:09,845 --> 00:26:11,224 We've humbled ourselves 681 00:26:11,765 --> 00:26:13,384 under the authority of Christ. 682 00:26:14,884 --> 00:26:17,464 We're connected with other followers of Jesus. 683 00:26:18,329 --> 00:26:20,429 We go after those who strayed 684 00:26:21,450 --> 00:26:24,490 and we forgive with a supernatural forgiveness that 685 00:26:24,490 --> 00:26:26,269 comes from the spirit of God alone. 686 00:26:29,210 --> 00:26:29,710 Forgiveness 687 00:26:30,089 --> 00:26:30,589 demonstrates 688 00:26:31,210 --> 00:26:31,710 ultimately 689 00:26:33,144 --> 00:26:34,525 who I believe. 690 00:26:35,785 --> 00:26:37,005 Do I believe Jesus 691 00:26:37,704 --> 00:26:39,704 or not? So real life with Jesus in 692 00:26:39,704 --> 00:26:42,585 his kingdom is fueled by grace demonstrated by 693 00:26:42,585 --> 00:26:43,085 unlimited 694 00:26:43,464 --> 00:26:43,964 forgiveness 695 00:26:46,890 --> 00:26:49,130 And the question is always, so what will 696 00:26:49,130 --> 00:26:51,070 you do with it? This week, 697 00:26:52,250 --> 00:26:55,789 we're headed towards a national holiday of celebrating 698 00:26:56,490 --> 00:26:58,809 Thanksgiving, right? We're heading toward that place of 699 00:26:58,809 --> 00:26:59,789 being grateful. 700 00:27:01,634 --> 00:27:04,035 And before we get there, I wanna encourage 701 00:27:04,035 --> 00:27:05,894 you that you would reconcile 702 00:27:06,195 --> 00:27:07,975 things in your own heart and mind. 703 00:27:09,394 --> 00:27:10,855 We can't possibly 704 00:27:11,715 --> 00:27:12,215 demonstrate 705 00:27:12,835 --> 00:27:13,335 thankfulness 706 00:27:14,490 --> 00:27:15,390 for the gospel 707 00:27:16,170 --> 00:27:17,630 and not pass along forgiveness. 708 00:27:19,609 --> 00:27:20,509 The hypocrisy 709 00:27:20,970 --> 00:27:24,089 of walking into thanksgiving saying, God, I'm so 710 00:27:24,089 --> 00:27:24,589 grateful. 711 00:27:26,345 --> 00:27:29,945 And yet harboring things against another person in 712 00:27:29,945 --> 00:27:32,424 our heart and mind who doesn't deserve our 713 00:27:32,424 --> 00:27:32,924 forgiveness, 714 00:27:33,305 --> 00:27:35,164 it it's the ultimate in hypocrisy. 715 00:27:36,505 --> 00:27:38,045 What are you grateful for? 716 00:27:38,970 --> 00:27:41,049 Well, I'm grateful for the 6,000,000,000 out of 717 00:27:41,049 --> 00:27:42,569 my account, but I'm still gonna look for 718 00:27:42,569 --> 00:27:44,589 all the 10 thousands people owe me. 719 00:27:46,250 --> 00:27:46,750 Or 720 00:27:47,690 --> 00:27:48,509 I'm grateful 721 00:27:48,890 --> 00:27:50,809 that I'm forgiven so that I can live 722 00:27:50,809 --> 00:27:52,934 in the freedom of Christ. And so my 723 00:27:52,934 --> 00:27:55,734 story, it it played out over time. I 724 00:27:55,734 --> 00:27:57,674 I had deep wounds because 725 00:27:57,974 --> 00:28:00,774 the offense against me wasn't just against me. 726 00:28:00,774 --> 00:28:02,634 It wasn't just that I lost a job. 727 00:28:02,774 --> 00:28:04,774 It wasn't just that. It was like, woah, 728 00:28:04,774 --> 00:28:08,049 this this impacted my whole family. This was 729 00:28:08,049 --> 00:28:10,609 a wound that that impacted all of us 730 00:28:10,609 --> 00:28:13,089 and so I I wrestled with it over 731 00:28:13,089 --> 00:28:14,930 time and it began, it was always on 732 00:28:14,930 --> 00:28:16,150 the front of my mind. 733 00:28:19,825 --> 00:28:21,664 And I wrestled through it because it's like, 734 00:28:21,664 --> 00:28:24,085 God, I don't think I should have to. 735 00:28:24,704 --> 00:28:26,944 I wrestled with God for a couple years 736 00:28:26,944 --> 00:28:29,184 and I finally had to come to grips 737 00:28:29,184 --> 00:28:30,625 with the fact that I was mad at 738 00:28:30,625 --> 00:28:32,644 Jesus, I was mad at the world, 739 00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:35,160 I was working it out slowly through the 740 00:28:35,160 --> 00:28:37,320 power of the spirit, it wasn't something that 741 00:28:37,320 --> 00:28:38,619 happened in an instant. 742 00:28:40,200 --> 00:28:41,740 And then do you know what happened? 743 00:28:42,200 --> 00:28:44,440 There were other offenses by other people that 744 00:28:44,440 --> 00:28:45,980 started mounting up as well. 745 00:28:47,044 --> 00:28:48,484 All of a sudden it felt like, wow 746 00:28:48,484 --> 00:28:50,804 I have this huge gaping wound and now 747 00:28:50,804 --> 00:28:52,585 I have all these other little 748 00:28:52,884 --> 00:28:55,544 stab wounds to go along with it. 749 00:28:56,644 --> 00:28:59,304 How's this ever gonna work out? And so 750 00:28:59,690 --> 00:29:01,710 I I was working it through my mind 751 00:29:01,769 --> 00:29:03,470 from last night until today. 752 00:29:04,250 --> 00:29:05,230 It is probably 753 00:29:05,529 --> 00:29:07,309 about six years later. 754 00:29:09,049 --> 00:29:10,509 It's about six years later 755 00:29:11,049 --> 00:29:11,549 and, 756 00:29:12,089 --> 00:29:14,269 I ran into him at a conference. 757 00:29:14,944 --> 00:29:16,224 Where do you run into people at a 758 00:29:16,224 --> 00:29:18,144 conference? In a bathroom? Of course, that's where 759 00:29:18,144 --> 00:29:20,865 you're gonna run into people, right? I ran 760 00:29:20,865 --> 00:29:22,244 into him, I was like, Woah, 761 00:29:22,785 --> 00:29:23,285 hello. 762 00:29:24,065 --> 00:29:26,244 And I realized something in that moment. 763 00:29:27,200 --> 00:29:30,019 I realized that God had done a supernatural 764 00:29:30,160 --> 00:29:31,140 work over time. 765 00:29:32,319 --> 00:29:34,420 That there had been something through the intentional 766 00:29:34,480 --> 00:29:36,799 work of allowing the spirit of God to 767 00:29:36,799 --> 00:29:39,200 transform my heart and mind, because when I 768 00:29:39,200 --> 00:29:40,275 saw him, I didn't 769 00:29:40,755 --> 00:29:42,914 feel the emotion of how dare you, how 770 00:29:42,914 --> 00:29:45,394 could you. I was able to smile, I 771 00:29:45,394 --> 00:29:46,914 was able to to go, 772 00:29:47,474 --> 00:29:49,714 with a genuine kind of way, Hey, how 773 00:29:49,714 --> 00:29:51,734 are you? What's going on in your world? 774 00:29:52,609 --> 00:29:55,410 And here's ultimately what what happened is God 775 00:29:55,410 --> 00:29:57,570 revealed that that this was something in the 776 00:29:57,570 --> 00:29:59,650 back of my mind while forgiveness had happened 777 00:29:59,650 --> 00:30:01,809 over time, it was so gradual, I didn't 778 00:30:01,809 --> 00:30:04,850 even realize the completion of it until he 779 00:30:04,850 --> 00:30:07,075 revealed it to me through an encounter with 780 00:30:07,075 --> 00:30:09,234 a person. It doesn't make any sense. I 781 00:30:09,234 --> 00:30:11,555 still to this day believe it was the 782 00:30:11,555 --> 00:30:14,434 supernatural kindness of God to allow me to 783 00:30:14,434 --> 00:30:16,375 encounter him in that restroom, 784 00:30:16,755 --> 00:30:17,975 as weird as that sounds. 785 00:30:19,315 --> 00:30:20,455 And in that moment, 786 00:30:21,549 --> 00:30:23,809 I knew that forgiveness had brought healing, 787 00:30:25,789 --> 00:30:26,849 not to our relationship, 788 00:30:28,190 --> 00:30:29,950 not to the relationship between the two of 789 00:30:29,950 --> 00:30:30,450 us, 790 00:30:30,910 --> 00:30:33,570 but to me. Because the irony of forgiveness 791 00:30:33,630 --> 00:30:35,250 is that it restores you. 792 00:30:36,045 --> 00:30:37,424 It restores you. 793 00:30:38,605 --> 00:30:40,305 You may have heard this before, 794 00:30:40,765 --> 00:30:43,085 it's a common phrase that you have a 795 00:30:43,085 --> 00:30:45,505 person living rent free in your head. 796 00:30:47,085 --> 00:30:49,630 There's someone that they're always on your mind, 797 00:30:49,630 --> 00:30:51,549 they're coming to mind, they're the person when 798 00:30:51,549 --> 00:30:53,390 we're talking about today, it's the first thing 799 00:30:53,390 --> 00:30:55,630 that came to mind, they are hanging out 800 00:30:55,630 --> 00:30:57,710 and they are living there and they're paying 801 00:30:57,710 --> 00:30:58,450 no rent, 802 00:30:59,869 --> 00:31:02,349 and what they're doing is they're keeping you 803 00:31:02,349 --> 00:31:03,009 in bondage. 804 00:31:03,755 --> 00:31:06,235 You're not experiencing the freedom of the gospel. 805 00:31:06,235 --> 00:31:07,134 You're not experiencing 806 00:31:07,595 --> 00:31:10,735 the freedom of Christ because you've not extended 807 00:31:10,955 --> 00:31:11,455 forgiveness. 808 00:31:12,394 --> 00:31:14,495 As followers of Jesus, we forgive 809 00:31:15,115 --> 00:31:16,495 because we're forgiven. 810 00:31:17,240 --> 00:31:18,779 You may have heard this before, 811 00:31:19,400 --> 00:31:19,900 forgiveness 812 00:31:20,519 --> 00:31:21,980 is based on forgiveness. 813 00:31:23,880 --> 00:31:25,900 It's not based on a qualifying 814 00:31:26,519 --> 00:31:29,340 ask, it's not based on deserving, it's not 815 00:31:29,480 --> 00:31:30,299 based on, 816 00:31:30,794 --> 00:31:31,294 somebody 817 00:31:31,835 --> 00:31:34,154 just having a deep regret and finally they 818 00:31:34,154 --> 00:31:35,835 got to the point where you're like, Okay, 819 00:31:35,835 --> 00:31:38,254 I'll forgive you. No, it is an unconditional 820 00:31:38,554 --> 00:31:40,954 supernatural thing that's through the spirit of God 821 00:31:40,954 --> 00:31:43,980 as we yield and humble ourselves to His 822 00:31:43,980 --> 00:31:46,240 power at work in us. 823 00:31:47,660 --> 00:31:50,140 So my encouragement to you is, go to 824 00:31:50,140 --> 00:31:50,640 work. 825 00:31:52,700 --> 00:31:53,920 Embrace the process. 826 00:31:55,660 --> 00:31:56,960 Don't write it off. 827 00:31:58,835 --> 00:32:00,535 Maybe you are five 828 00:32:00,914 --> 00:32:01,414 levels 829 00:32:01,955 --> 00:32:02,455 removed. 830 00:32:03,234 --> 00:32:05,394 And I wanna encourage you, I wanna encourage 831 00:32:05,394 --> 00:32:07,234 you this week, listen to the podcast, it's 832 00:32:07,234 --> 00:32:08,835 in the Live It Out Guide. Listen to 833 00:32:08,835 --> 00:32:10,595 the podcast, we worked through some of this 834 00:32:10,595 --> 00:32:12,775 in there. It's not simple. 835 00:32:14,500 --> 00:32:16,339 It's not just a decision that you make 836 00:32:16,339 --> 00:32:17,940 and you move on and it's not something 837 00:32:17,940 --> 00:32:19,779 that you go, well, it's all gonna work 838 00:32:19,779 --> 00:32:21,160 out in the end. It's not. 839 00:32:21,859 --> 00:32:24,359 Without you embracing the supernatural 840 00:32:24,740 --> 00:32:26,839 work of God in your heart and mind 841 00:32:27,214 --> 00:32:30,414 to extend grace in a way that's beyond 842 00:32:30,414 --> 00:32:31,234 your ability. 843 00:32:33,934 --> 00:32:34,755 That's what 844 00:32:35,295 --> 00:32:36,275 the church is. 845 00:32:36,815 --> 00:32:38,335 This is the picture of life in God's 846 00:32:38,335 --> 00:32:38,835 kingdom. 847 00:32:39,580 --> 00:32:41,600 To be these people. We need each other. 848 00:32:41,740 --> 00:32:43,580 We need each other when we're like, man, 849 00:32:43,580 --> 00:32:44,880 I don't know what to do. 850 00:32:45,660 --> 00:32:47,660 This is the relationship that I have. This 851 00:32:47,660 --> 00:32:49,980 is the relationship that ended. This is the 852 00:32:49,980 --> 00:32:51,914 the thing where I am. This is the 853 00:32:52,075 --> 00:32:53,914 person who walked out the door on me, 854 00:32:53,914 --> 00:32:56,154 this is the business partner who betrayed me 855 00:32:56,154 --> 00:32:58,955 and walked away with a bazillion dollars, whatever 856 00:32:58,955 --> 00:33:00,315 that may be. Now I wanna say to 857 00:33:00,315 --> 00:33:02,414 you, this parable is not about money. 858 00:33:04,589 --> 00:33:07,230 Don't don't misapply the parable. Once again, doesn't 859 00:33:07,230 --> 00:33:08,910 mean that if the spirit of God says, 860 00:33:08,910 --> 00:33:11,069 Hey, forgive the real debt that they have, 861 00:33:11,069 --> 00:33:13,009 that you should, but it's not a command 862 00:33:13,230 --> 00:33:15,549 that anybody who might owe you money doesn't 863 00:33:15,549 --> 00:33:17,150 owe you money. Okay? That is not what 864 00:33:17,150 --> 00:33:19,569 this parable is about. This is about forgiveness. 865 00:33:23,015 --> 00:33:25,095 The supernatural work of God in our heart 866 00:33:25,095 --> 00:33:25,674 and minds. 867 00:33:26,134 --> 00:33:27,575 And once again, I'm not saying the spirit 868 00:33:27,575 --> 00:33:28,955 of God might not say, 869 00:33:29,815 --> 00:33:32,234 you need to give, forgive the actual 870 00:33:32,934 --> 00:33:34,075 financial obligation. 871 00:33:35,559 --> 00:33:37,160 Just saying, Don't use this parable to do 872 00:33:37,160 --> 00:33:37,660 it. 873 00:33:39,240 --> 00:33:41,160 So here's the question, I want to encourage 874 00:33:41,160 --> 00:33:42,380 you, and before I do. 875 00:33:43,320 --> 00:33:44,759 So it's one thing to say, Reach out 876 00:33:44,759 --> 00:33:46,279 for help, it's another thing to give you 877 00:33:46,279 --> 00:33:48,519 a resource. So there's two resources. One way 878 00:33:48,519 --> 00:33:50,295 you can reach out for help is by 879 00:33:50,455 --> 00:33:52,535 buying a book called Forgive by Timothy Keller 880 00:33:52,535 --> 00:33:54,455 and going through the process and using the 881 00:33:54,455 --> 00:33:56,375 appendix in the back. There's four of them. 882 00:33:56,375 --> 00:33:58,295 To work through the process. What's it look 883 00:33:58,295 --> 00:33:59,654 like for me to allow the spirit of 884 00:33:59,654 --> 00:34:01,975 God to use scripture to change my heart 885 00:34:01,975 --> 00:34:03,275 and mind over time? 886 00:34:03,789 --> 00:34:06,190 Another way is you might need counseling, you 887 00:34:06,190 --> 00:34:08,670 might need somebody to come alongside and help 888 00:34:08,670 --> 00:34:10,289 you in that process and that's 889 00:34:10,670 --> 00:34:12,670 why we wanna encourage you to reach out 890 00:34:12,670 --> 00:34:13,489 for a referral. 891 00:34:14,429 --> 00:34:17,170 Don't keep doing the same thing. 892 00:34:18,554 --> 00:34:19,534 Change course 893 00:34:21,275 --> 00:34:23,614 and don't think, oh, I'll do that someday. 894 00:34:24,074 --> 00:34:26,315 We want to encourage you, don't delay because 895 00:34:26,315 --> 00:34:28,815 the longer that we delay, especially from weekends, 896 00:34:29,034 --> 00:34:31,275 the longer that we delay in following through, 897 00:34:31,275 --> 00:34:33,690 the chances that we'll follow through, they they 898 00:34:33,690 --> 00:34:35,469 start to decrease exponentially. 899 00:34:36,969 --> 00:34:38,650 And so I want to encourage you follow 900 00:34:38,650 --> 00:34:39,150 through. 901 00:34:40,409 --> 00:34:41,710 Here's the question though, 902 00:34:42,010 --> 00:34:43,690 that I'm gonna ask us to all wrestle 903 00:34:43,690 --> 00:34:44,190 with. 904 00:34:44,655 --> 00:34:47,394 Where is Jesus asking you to pursue Him, 905 00:34:48,015 --> 00:34:49,315 so that you can forgive 906 00:34:49,775 --> 00:34:50,515 like Him? 907 00:34:54,094 --> 00:34:56,255 I do believe the lack of forgiveness is 908 00:34:56,255 --> 00:34:57,474 out of a lack of pursuit. 909 00:34:59,059 --> 00:35:00,519 If we're pursuing Christ, 910 00:35:02,900 --> 00:35:04,679 forgiveness becomes a lot easier. 911 00:35:05,859 --> 00:35:07,940 When I grasp what Jesus is doing in 912 00:35:07,940 --> 00:35:08,440 me, 913 00:35:09,539 --> 00:35:11,239 extending that onto other people 914 00:35:11,699 --> 00:35:12,760 is a lot easier. 915 00:35:13,744 --> 00:35:15,744 And so I want to encourage you, ask 916 00:35:15,744 --> 00:35:17,985 that question. I'm gonna give you like twenty 917 00:35:17,985 --> 00:35:18,485 seconds. 918 00:35:18,785 --> 00:35:21,285 Where is Jesus asking you to pursue Him 919 00:35:21,425 --> 00:35:23,265 so that you can forgive like Him? And 920 00:35:23,265 --> 00:35:25,344 and hold it captive, write it down, maybe 921 00:35:25,344 --> 00:35:26,785 like, I don't even gotta write that down, 922 00:35:26,785 --> 00:35:28,085 I know, I know that. 923 00:35:29,099 --> 00:35:30,079 Ask him that 924 00:35:32,940 --> 00:35:33,440 question. 925 00:36:00,710 --> 00:36:02,390 So over the next couple of days, my 926 00:36:02,390 --> 00:36:03,989 encouragement to you is to do the work. 927 00:36:03,989 --> 00:36:05,910 Use the Live It Out guide. Over the 928 00:36:05,910 --> 00:36:07,590 next couple days, as we head and we 929 00:36:07,590 --> 00:36:08,090 celebrate 930 00:36:08,630 --> 00:36:11,114 Thanksgiving, as we celebrate our gratefulness 931 00:36:11,655 --> 00:36:15,195 to God for all the abundance of blessings 932 00:36:15,335 --> 00:36:17,355 in in our world and in our lives, 933 00:36:19,094 --> 00:36:21,114 let's begin by doing the hard work, 934 00:36:22,375 --> 00:36:25,240 trusting the process that that as we do, 935 00:36:25,420 --> 00:36:26,880 we'll experience a gratefulness 936 00:36:27,420 --> 00:36:28,800 we could never have known 937 00:36:29,260 --> 00:36:31,019 any other way. Now in all of our 938 00:36:31,019 --> 00:36:33,180 venues, I'm gonna invite you to stand. Father, 939 00:36:33,180 --> 00:36:35,500 we are grateful that you're a God who's 940 00:36:35,500 --> 00:36:37,364 led us out of darkness and into the 941 00:36:37,364 --> 00:36:39,125 light. And we pray that this week we 942 00:36:39,125 --> 00:36:41,364 would be people who walk in the light 943 00:36:41,364 --> 00:36:42,905 of the truth of the gospel. 944 00:36:43,364 --> 00:36:46,425 We declare your praise now in Jesus name. 945 00:36:46,724 --> 00:36:47,224 Amen.