If you could see into the world of souls, you would
see a lot of people carrying baggage. Sometimes people don’t realize they are
carrying baggage. Some don’t want to admit it.
They have issues in life they don’t want to face. We carry this into our
relationships and we don’t know how to function with them so we try to cover
them up.
Each of us approaches the subject of forgiveness
with a different perspective. Maybe you grew up unscathed and don’t know what
it means to have a deep injury to your soul. Others grew up in home where you
were exposed to all kinds of things and had a great deal of injury.
It is important when we look at scripture we have to
rightly divide the word of truth.
Matthew
18:15-35 15 “If your brother or sister[a] sins,[b] go and point out their fault, just between
the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But
if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter
may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’[c] 17 If
they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to
listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector. 18 “Truly I tell you, whatever you
bind on earth will be[d] bound in
heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be[e] loosed in
heaven. 19 “Again, truly I
tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will
be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three
gather in my name, there am I with them.”
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times
shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus answered, “I tell you,
not seven times, but seventy-seven times.[f] 23 “Therefore,
the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his
servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand
bags of gold[g] was
brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered
that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the
debt. 26 “At this the servant
fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay
back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled
the debt and let him go. 28 “But
when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a
hundred silver coins.[h] He
grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. 29 “His fellow servant fell to his
knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’ 30 “But he refused. Instead, he
went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31
When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and
went and told their master everything that had happened. 32 “Then the master called the
servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours
because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your
fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed
him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. 35 “This is how my heavenly Father
will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your
heart.”
He was talking to Jews who were knowledgeable of the
law. They knew a trespass was a serious
offense. It was a serious injury that if not fixed you would consider ending
the relationship. Little petty things you blow off…minor things. The major things we deal with different… here
Jesus is telling us that they are steps we take in dealing with these things.
In
our culture it is common to go to everyone else instead of the one who we need
to go to. Peter is thinking about this and asked in vs 21 how often should I
forgive him? Seven is a number of completion. So he asked him seven times? Jesus said no seventy times seven. Then
Christ went into a parable.
Don’t miss this principle: Forgiveness is an amazing
force for overcoming evil. Unforgiveness is a weight that will hold you back
and open doors for trouble.
Ephesians
4:32 32 Be kind and
compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God
forgave you.
There are going to be times that people will sin
against us that they can never pay it back.
How do
you pay back murder, molestation….? There are people that cannot possibly ever
pay back.
You know why people don’t have faith in forgiveness…
we think we are letting them off the hook.
Forgiveness is not justifying, understanding, or explaining away
some one's behavior. Time does not heal all wounds. If time was the healing
factor then people would simply get better over a weeks or months. This is a
misused and damaging cliche. Forgiveness is not denying that we have been hurt
or pretending it was no big deal. In
fact this attitude works against the forgiveness process.
Jesus is teaching you will lose. The servant fell
down….have mercy, the master forgave the debt.
Vs 29-35 If you harbor a grudge it brings shame on
you so you are wrong and others can see it. We can be so easy on ourselves but
tough on others. It is so easy to write people off. If it is a severe offense
we should not just blow it off. He gives
us a process.
Note: How do
we deal with the people who wrong us and refuse to acknowledge their debts? The person that is totally unrepentant. We cannot allow the weight of unforgiveness
to stay in your heart. Lev. 19:17-18
>>What Unforgiveness Looks Like
It is a desire open and or secret for revenge. …the will to retaliate. The imagination is
about retaliation. When you do that you become a prisoner to that person. You
have that person on your back. You may have been raped, molested, ripped off.
When you are praying for bad things to happen you
are a prisoner to that person. You are in Gods way.
Proverbs 24:29, Romans 2:6, Romans 12:19, When you hand it over to the Lord, God steps
in. If you are doing it yourself you are in territory you should not be in. Vengeance
is God’s domain.
God says let me deal with it. We have to be
satisfied that God will fix this problem. Trust me, He will deal with it. At
that point it is a spirit of forgiveness. We have to watch God. Remember that forgiveness is for our benefit.
When we live with an unforgiving spirit towards other people we are simply
placing ourselves in emotional and spiritual bondage. When we really understand
that we are forgiven people through the cross of Christ, then and only then are
we prepared to forgive others.
>>What Forgiveness Looks Like
As seen in the life of Joseph
A. The heart of a forgiving person believes God
is sovereign in His dealings and makes all circumstances work for good.
Gen 45:5-8 5 And now,
do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here,
because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. 6 For
two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years
there will be no plowing and reaping. 7 But God sent me ahead of you
to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great
deliverance. 8 “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God.
He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all
Egypt.
Gen 50:20 But as for
you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it
about as it is this day, to save many people alive.
Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work
together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according
to His purpose.
Isa 43:2 When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When
you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch
you.
Acts 7:9-10 The patriarchs, becoming envious,
sold Joseph into Egypt. But God was with him and delivered him out of all his
troubles and gave him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of
Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.
B. The heart of a forgiving person has allowed
the breaking points in life to become grace encounters.
Gen 39:2-3, 21 The Lord was with Joseph, and he
was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And
his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all he did to
prosper in his hand. 21 But the Lord
was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the
keeper of the prison.
C. The heart of a forgiving person has been
softened by life's hard experiences.
Gen 42:23-24 But they did not know that Joseph
understood them, for he spoke to them through an interpreter. And he turned
himself away from them and wept. Then he returned to them again, and talked
with them. And he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes.
Gen 43:30-31 Now his heart yearned for his
brother; so Joseph made haste and sought somewhere to weep. And he went into
his chamber and wept there. Then he washed his face and came out; and he
restrained himself, and said, "Serve the bread."
Gen 45:2 And he wept aloud, and the
Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard it.
Gen 45:14-15 Then he fell on his brother
Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. Moreover he kissed all
his brothers and wept over them, and after that his brothers talked with him.
D. The heart of a forgiving person does not live
in the pain of the past.
Gen 41:50-52 And to Joseph were born two sons
before the years of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah
priest of On, bore to him. Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh:
"For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father's house."
And the name of the second he called Ephraim: "For God has caused me to be
fruitful in the land of my affliction."
E. The heart of a forgiving person does not take
on God's responsibilities in dealing with offenders.
Gen 50:17 Thus you shall say to Joseph:
"I beg you, please forgive the trespass of your brothers and their sin;
for they did evil to you."' Now, please, forgive the trespass of the
servants of the God of your father." And Joseph wept when they spoke to
him.
Gen 50:19-21 Joseph said to them, "Do not
be afraid, for am I in the place of God? But as for you, you meant evil against
me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to
save many people alive. Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you
and your little ones." And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.
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