Sermon Transcript:Thank you so much for the start of the fall semester that you would come and be with us, we don't take that lightly. And she's already sort of brought this up, you know, the image that is behind me is of a heart with a bandaid on it. And the reason why we have band aids booboos from the time we were little is that we have hurts, don't we? And so I know that for many of you, as you thought about this series, whether you just heard about it a couple minutes ago, or whether you came last week, I recognize there's a lot of pain and hurt there. Because it's one thing to say, Okay, we have a forgiving God who loves us, it's another thing to really grapple with the reality that we've been hurt. And so I just want to acknowledge that right from the get go that I do not pretend that this is easy. And as we walk through this together, we all recognize that we are people in process, I want to start out with reminding us how to think about forgiveness sort of rightly or biblically that'll sort of help us in our journey. So this first image, you may have seen it last week, it's this whole idea that first and foremost, we have to understand that we've been forgiven by God, it doesn't mean that if you've never become a Christian, that you can't have elements of forgiveness and elements of reconciliation, I would argue that we could not have a society at all, if there wasn't some element of okay, I messed up my bad, I'm sorry, let's come back together. This happens in all kinds of ways, both publicly and privately. But in terms of understanding where forgiveness comes from, and being empowered by the Holy Spirit, to be able to do some things and to be reconciled with the God of the universe. First and foremost, we have to have that vertical relationship, right understanding that we love because God first loved us that we forgive, because God forgave us, then we have the idea of internal we grant forgiveness, we spent some time on that last week, sort of a little bit, we really focused on the top part last week, we're gonna focus a lot on that today. And again, this becomes hard because when we then we want to go into the third part of like, I don't know if I can be reconciled with them. I don't know if I can truly forgive them. I don't know what that is the third part, the horizontal aspect. But before we get there, and before we ask questions about whether I'm even supposed to be in relationship with this person anymore, what it should look like and trust being broken and hurt being done. Maybe for a long time. Maybe it's even generational sin, we have to deal with the internal conflict, that we feel the angst that we may even feel in this moment, as I began to talk about pain and hurt and healing and forgiveness. Well, the disciples, the followers of Christ, they were thinking along the same lines. And so I want to begin with telling the story that Jesus told to his followers when they began to ask these questions, because nothing has changed since the fall. And so let's go ahead and begin in the book of Matthew chapter 18, beginning verse 21. We're going to see this right here, then Peter, now who's Peter, he is a lot of times the mouthpiece of the disciples, the followers of Christ, he comes to the Lord and he asked, Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times. Now again, he thinks he's being generous. Because like all of us, we feel like yeah, I'll give you a shot or two. But if you disappoint me, or message me over too many times done writing you off, canceling you even we talked about this with our culture and kind of where we're at. So he thinks he's being generous. It's also a number of completion. Jesus replied, No, not seven times. But 70 times seven, if you want to work that out, it's like 490, or something. But that's not the point. The point is that we are not to keep track of wrongs you ever been there before? Or known someone like that before, where you're just keeping every jot and tiddle maybe it's someone in the workplace, making sure their food isn't touched. Maybe it's someone in your home or in your past or in your greater family, this whole idea of keeping track of wrongdoing, figuring out who did what, to who, it's exhausting, and it hurts our heart. So you might ask, well, then, who in the world would commit the same offense seven times and expect anyone who's reasonable to forgive them? And what we have to think of that is the point because we have to begin with the idea that that's how we interact with our Father in heaven. Think about this. Think about how many times those of us that have tried to shake off so the old ways some of our own sinful habits. How many times do we find ourselves looking towards heaven gazing upward and saying, God forgive me or looking downward and saying, God, forgive me? I'm still in this. I'm still struggling. I'm still in bondage to this specific sin. Then what does our fatherHeaven dude, as he casts us out, does he condemn us? No, he shows us mercy. Even if we sin in the same way, seven times a day, you see where the power comes from. And I know this is very personal and you think about in your home or in your inner circle, and someone who hurt you and says things that aren't right. And you're to call to what forgive them from your heart. And we'll talk about maybe some boundaries, and if those are to occur, that are appropriate at times, but just right there from the get go, we need to understand that we have to deal with ourselves and with God internally. This leads to my first point that we're meant to see. And it may sound a little harsh or cruel when I first read it, but I think it fits the context of the verses that we're reading. First point is this, the amount of forgiveness we are to show is to be proportionate to how much we want to smite them. A man this took a dark turn quick pasture, what are you talking about? Well think about what we are when we are angry at someone when we are hurt. What do we want to do? What is our gut instinct? What is our knee jerk reaction? I'll just speak for myself. If you're not there, it's to what? Get them back we want even if it was okay, Lord, I don't be the one to do it, but cause an anvil to fall in their head. Like those Looney Tunes commercials I enjoyed so much as a kid, right? It's that whole idea that when we're upset or angry, when we're hurt when we've been sinned against, we want, we want vengeance, and we want it quick. And again, we say, oh, not by my hand, but somehow something make something happen. Jesus talked about this, he was always upping the ante. He was always raising the stakes. When you think about our heart, do we think about anger? Because if you look at places like the Sermon on the Mount, and people are coming to him and saying, Hey, look, you know, Jesus is saying, you know, you've heard it say, Do not murder. Yeah, that's right. We don't need to be killing people. But also understand that when you're angry in your heart towards your brother and sister, you've already gone down that path. And so what's Jesus doing, he's telling us, because I love and care about you so much, recognize where your heart goes, where my heart goes, when we are harboring on forgiveness, your willingness to forgive my willingness to forgive, really is like a portal into our hearts. I love that term, Portal. It's that whole idea of like, whether you're on a ship, or you're looking into something, it's sort of this, this circular glass object that you're able to see through and are withholding forgiveness from someone says a lot more about us than them. And so when we you and I think about how much we hate them, or how much we want them to just be sort of erased from our life or from the earth, we have to replace that with how much love we should have for them and how much we should be praying for them. Now, I don't say that simply and easily. This is very difficult. But Jesus talked about this, right? He talked about praying for your enemies and praying for those who persecute you and harbor all kinds of evil and resentment against you. That doesn't come from inside you and me, right. So let's remember our first points. And the whole idea that Jesus says, we're gonna be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. I'm quoting a lot of the Sermon on the Mountain here that comes from a different place. And it comes from our Lord and Savior, granting us a new heart. That's a lot of what is of the encouragement today is that today, if you hear God's voice, and that's what we want to do, as a people individually, collectively, the call is don't harden your heart. Today, if you hear God's voice, don't harden your heart, you're asking God like in Ezekiel, in the days of old god, take out my heart of stone and give me a heart of flesh. We're not talking about being walked all over. We're not talking about letting them off the hook for whatever evil or injustice they did to you. The Bible is all about justice. And we'll talk about that. But it's that whole idea of, of what about your heart? What about is going on internally with you that God wants to deal with you about and what he wants you and I to have, is a position of forgiveness. So this is the call right? We can't get around to Jesus said this. So then he goes and he tells a story may be familiar with it, but I want to highlight some aspects, you may or may not have heard about it. So Jesus tells this story right after that question and how much we should forgive and how often he says therefore the kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king, who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. In the process. One of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars he couldn't pay. So his Master ordered that he be sold along with his wife, his children and everything he owed to pay the debt. But the man fell down before his master and begged him please be patient with me and I will pay it all that his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few $1,000. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.His follow his fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time be patient with me, and I will pay it, he pleaded, but his creditor wouldn't wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt can be paid in full. A lot of things to notice in this in the first thing is that the King who brings before him that first servant is really an insurmountable debt. It's millions of dollars. It's the income of some small nations and some small countries, it's again to show that this is not a debt that could ever be repaid. And yet, the king has pity pity is very helpful when we think about how we are to forgive someone thinking about their situation, putting ourselves in their shoes, for empathy comes in and comes from. And so yes, this king has pity on him. But what do we see here quite quickly, that he goes out, he finds somebody who owes him a few $1,000 a debt that couldn't be paid, it's not nothing. And he says to himself, well, I'm owed this, I should have this, he'd really did do something that costs me money, and I loaned it to him, and he hasn't paid it back. And so what does he do? He violently comes at him. That's why I say smile is to not it's not too strong of a word of what's really going on our heart some time in this story. What is he doing, he's choking me strangling him. And so therefore, we see at the end of the story,that even though he asked for a little more time, that he would not wait. So this leads to my second point this morning is that unforgiveness doesn't look good. And it doesn't act good. See, that's the thing is a lot of us are harboring unforgiveness in our hearts. And the way that it comes out is in our outbursts of anger, the way it comes out is in our unwillingness to be patient or unwillingness to empathize our our tough exterior that has led to deceit, that's all over in our wake. You see, for all of us in the room, self awareness, and the consequences of our action don't come naturally, a lot of times, all we see is the wreckage behind us. In fact, depending on our background, vengeance and survival might come naturally, because of the home environment you grew up in, or just really the way you were reared or raised or whatever you had to go through. In order to get here I think about being here on the border land and the wild west in El Paso, in particular, some of the hardships and struggles that you or your parents or your grandparents had to go through in order to attain sort of land or a income, a source of living and even set up house or shop. A lot of hard things happened right here in this area. And in this region, a lot of hard history. I think this is maybe best seen in a movie that is somewhat dated now. But in 1992, Clint Eastwood gave what he thought was his final western movie called unforgiveness may be familiar with anyone best pitcher of the year, it was lauded and praised for a lot of reasons. And one of the main reasons it was praised for is that it really crushed the image of the old west as a simple good versus evil or sort of everything gets wrapped up in a neat bow. And, you know, the cowboy gets the girl and they get to ride off in the sunset in the end. And what that movie does, and in the title itself, think about that unforgiveness is it's aboutin the old west, and that he really is feeling unforgiven. And he is delving out unforgiveness with no real hope for himself, or those around him. He's what sometimes we call in literature and anti hero. And so one of the reasons I bring that up is because that sort of defines a lot of us, doesn't it that we feel like we've got to fight, and we feel like that we're not forgiven. And therefore we create a destruction pattern around us because we feel like we've been under some weight of brokenness itself. We've read about it and a lot of us have experienced the brokenness in our own hearts are own homes and even in our city. Then what ends up happening is we have these sort of Inklings these sort of things that are residing in our hearts. And right now we're just in a day and age in which those flames are fanned. You know what I'm talking about. We have a little wicker of, of hardness or vengeance, or I'll show you or I'm better than you, I can't wait to get a hold of you or show them or show him or show whatever youAnd that's fanned the flame. And so what ends up happening is that we aren't good recipients of forgiveness, and we're not in a good place to receive it or give it because what ends up happening is that we look around and say forgiveness. That seems weak, it seems stupid. But what's going on in this story, you have a man who is a servant himself, who is shown mercy. And what does he do, he goes and finds a fellow servant, and demands payment and begins to choke him and then ultimately throw him into prison. When he is doing that, he's acting as if he were the king and the judge, to go back to my we wish that we the anvil would fall in their head, we wish we could smite them off the earth, or at least out of our lives and send them to a neighboring town. When we are doing that we are acting as if we're King and judge, we know better, we know better than the king himself. We know better than God who is represented in this parable in this story. So how do we know we still have some of that residing in our hearts? Because we don't want this right? We know that once we go down a pattern of destruction, of hate of harboring unforgiveness towards one another. We know it's like a snowball. Right? And in fact, that's the point of that movie that I've already referenced when he has to go in at the end and Clint Eastwood style and Mo, everybody down with a gun was a how do you and I know if we're still in that situation where there are things in our heart that God of the universe wants to deal in? We have to ask yourself, what is yours? And what is my physical and emotional reaction? When I hear that name? Or that situation has brought up? What are the trigger effects that we are feeling? asked this question, do I cringe? Do I roll my eyes when I hear about them? Do I feel my pulse clicking? Do I clench my jaw or let out a sigh of her? Not them? Do I shake my head at the unfairness of the good things that are happening to them? Do I celebrate secretly when I hear that they're having difficulty with thoughts like finally, they get they're getting what's coming to them? Do I dream of the moment when I get to present all of my proof and hear them finally admit what they did was wrong when I talked to others about their story because a lot of you're like, Whoa, pastor, I'm too sophisticated to think somebody should be killed or wiped off the earth. So ask yourself this question. When I talk to other people about this story. Am I quick to try to convince them how wrong I was hoping to elicit a satisfying sympathetic reaction from them towards me. In some kind of statement affirming how awful my offender's actions really were? If there's still a regular part of my life, am I always expecting the worst from them? Am I easily offended, put off aggravated and annoyed by them? Or people who remind me of them or so if you found any of those things kind of welling up in your heart, which I find welling up in my heart in certain situations, and I'm processing? Or are we on the other side? Where do I acknowledge that was hard? But I'm now in a sense of calmness and peace. Can I sincerely pray for them? When they're facing difficult things? Can I manage my emotions, when good things happen to them? My eager to share a helpful perspective with others facing a similar situation, right, allowing God to turn that for good, hoping to help them get to a better place. Can I look for what is good and other people just period? Because trust has been broken? Do I look for life lessons and click those instead of grudges? Where we where we keep in tabs? What hurt my offender have suffered that would have led them to do what they did? Can I have compassion for the offender's brokenness? Can I be like my Heavenly Father and offer forgiveness with no strings attached? Because we are putting ourselves in their shoe and begin to see them as a human and humanly? And then lastly, can I authentically, be kind to this person who's unkind to me, even though boundaries may need to be drawn? Again, we're not some of those people who say, Well, we have to just rush back into abuse harm, for harm sake, no. But do we have a posture of our heart? Because as long as someone has breath, reconciliation is always possible. It may not be plausible, it may not be likely from our perspective. But we're going to learn that God is up to things that we don't know about at times. And that leads to the next part of our story. Verse 31, says this, when some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that happened. Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and he said, you evil servant. I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn't you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had moremercy on you. Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. Third point I want us to see this morning that's so hard for many of us I know is let God take care of them.Let God take care of them. He does your heart and my heart no good to try to scheme up ways to bring about harm to others. In fact, we just got done with a study on the book of James James chapter two, verse 13, says, there will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. And we don't want that, do we? We want the mercy of our Father in heaven. So we don't want to be people who still have harboring unforgiveness and what that does to us, Matthew five, seven, and the sermon on the mount that I've been quoting throughout this sermon, God blesses those who are merciful, don't you and I want blessing, blessing from God, for Thy will be shown mercy. God is always up to something and man, we cannot see behind the curtain. The reason why in this story that King is so angry is because even though this person was forgiven a great debt, they put themselves in the place of God or even above God or above the king in the story, to enact judgment, we have to trust him. And we don't help out God by trying to get them to see the errors of their ways ever done this in an individual kind of one on one circumstance, and you know that they've offended you, and you're steaming about it. So you go to them, and they have no clue because you haven't brought up really the situation in a helpful way. And you just say, like, I forgive you, right? You know what I mean? What? And because where are that? They don't think they did anything wrong. And so when you do that, that doesn't help. Now, that doesn't mean that we don't speak up in the moment, or we don't work through things that we don't help them to see they're wrong. But it's just knowing when to speak and how to go about it, and to not be one who has to help God out. Do you ever feel that way? Sometimes, I feel that way, a lot where, you know, you see the Ark of the Covenant, you know, being rolled around on a cart. And you know, it's supposed to be on poles, because you've seen the movie, and you've read the scriptures and you think is supposed to be on poles. And so when it begins to shake and come off the cart, you think, Okay, I'm just gonna help God out here and stick my hand under it before it hits the ground. And we don't need to help God out. In those situations, or any situation, he doesn't need help.So how's the story end? Where does it Where does it all going? It's where we've been going this whole sermon, and this is about our heart. What does it say? So if we're here, if we're understanding this story, and Jesus wants us to, and he's talking to Peter and the followers then and the followers today, that's what my heavenly Father will do to you, if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters, from your heart.So the last question I have for us this morning is how's your heart? How's my heart? Are we moving towards healing, or hate? Last week, I brought the whole idea that's not original of me the idea that when we harbor unforgiveness, we're really putting ourselves in a prison. But I would also bring up the whole idea that when you and I choose to hurt, we're doing double damage. Instead of instead of going to the doctor and the physician and being healed, we're doing double damage, how so? Because what you're saying is, I've been hurt, and I'm gonna hurt you, even if it's just through conniving, and through gossip. And what will happen is, is that we won't have peace. That's what I mean, when you and I are doubly hurt, because we're hurt by the offense. And then now we're carrying that and we're walking around with that, and those who love us and know us the best they're aware of it. That's why I say self awareness is so hard to see. And our consciences aren't often there yet because of conviction or lack thereof. But what we're doing when we harbor unforgiveness is we're doing double damage. We're paying double there, we're carrying the pain. And we're saying things and doing things that we don't want to do or we know God is not pleased with or what he would have for you and me. So that's one way we can live or we can begin to see that are hurt. never justified. I've said that before I started that out. And I will say it again, whoever has hurt you along life's way and we have all been hurt. We either been hurt or being hurt or we will be hurt or in some fashion or form and is not justified at all. And oftentimes the reason why we don't want to forgive and we don't want to internally deal with it, is because we feel like it's letting them off the hook. Not at all. It's doing yourself a favor and how we can be healed.then reconnected with the God of the universe. What do we want to be church? What do we want to be individually? What do we want to be corporately? Do we want to be people who just get what we get while the getting's good, right? Like every business practice, or a lot of business practices in this city, and in this community, I'll just take it while I can. And, you know, who cares about the consequences? Or do we begin to see ourselves connected with the God of the universe who's helping others connect with the God of the universe, in spite of our pain, and our hurts that we've been forgiven? So therefore, we can extend forgiveness? In other words, do we want to carry the pain? Or do we want to be an instrument of healing? Anyone will tell you that the way you combat pain, the way you combat anger, the anger, the way you combat hate, is with peace, that we show mercy instead of judgment, not because they deserve it. They deserve at some level, maybe to be smiling, but let God take care of that we see the story, this parable in order to let us know, you don't have to worry about it. But what about your heart? What about my heart? What will change our hearts? Well, as we're on this process, or on this journey, it's getting a view of the amazing love that the King of the Universe has for you and me, because what did he do? He's not asking us to do anything that he didn't do. First, he made himself a one. Jesus Christ made himself a what? A slave or a servant, so that others may down? Isn't that such good news that not only does God illustrate this for us, not only does he show us now in his he helped give explanation to us. He then sends his one and only son.It's other stories in Hong Kong about this whole idea of him sending His Son into the vineyard, Surely no one would abuse and kill him. And you see that that's exactly what happened to our Lord and Savior, and yet, the death when did hurt, when did hate when? No, no. In fact, what is the great news for you and for me that we celebrate week in and week out? It's the truth of the gospel. And as you and I sing songs as we lift our hands, and as we praise or as we hit our knees, we find ourselves in this story, we are being healed. And listen, we have three more weeks of this. Having said all that, I want to say I know we still have issues. What about reconciliation? What about being mad at God? What about myself and how I'm thinking through it, we'll get to some of those questions. But ultimately, let's land at the feet of the cross this week and every week of our lives. Thank God, even when I don't understand I'm going to trust you. Even when I've been around people who have hurt me harm me have shown themselves untrustworthy. I'm going to trust you, God, even though I'm hurting right now. I'm going to choose peace. I'm going to choose love God even though I don't understand exactly why you allow this thing to occur in my life, I'm going to ask you to turn it for good what you want to do, so that I can be an instrument of healing and reconciliation for others as you have healed and reconciled me to yourself and others. Let's pray. Father, we thank You for Your Word. We thank you how you love us how you don't leave us wondering, wondering that you've given us just clear, clear instruction. But father, I know that for many of us, our hearts haven't caught up with the holy instruction that you've given us. So help us Father we pray, help us with the hurt and the pain that we feel right now in this moment when that situation when those people when that person is brought up.God we know you want to heal us, Lord, take out our Hearts of Stone and give us a heart of flesh that can be molded into who you want us to be. Not who our parents want us to be not who our grandparents want us to be. Not carrying around all the hurt and the baggage from being rough and ready butbut being people who have surrendered and open their hands and say wherever you lead, I'll go where else do i turn father but to you? We ask these things in Christ's name. Amen.

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