WEBVTT 00:00:00.800 --> 00:00:09.119 I've always been a foot in my mouth kind of person, and uh and as a result of that, I've needed a lot of people to forgive me, and that's that's kind of what we're gonna talk about today. 00:00:09.199 --> 00:00:18.000 But first, I want to show you a video that I stumbled across a couple months ago, and it's it's a video that was a just a moment six seconds long, something like that. 00:00:18.160 --> 00:00:23.519 Captured on a phone, candid moment, and I relate to this video more than I than words can express. 00:00:23.600 --> 00:00:25.359 And so with that said, watch this. 00:00:25.760 --> 00:00:27.120 And let me see what you have. 00:00:27.359 --> 00:00:32.399 And I'm like, no! And so it happened fast. 00:00:32.479 --> 00:00:41.520 If you didn't hear it, um, there's a mom, she sees her son running, she says, Let me see what you have, and he screams, a knife, and she goes, No, right? 00:00:42.320 --> 00:00:45.280 Any parents relate to that, to that video a little bit? 00:00:45.439 --> 00:00:46.079 Oh my gosh. 00:00:46.240 --> 00:00:54.560 Like, it's amazing how much time I've spent in my life with my four kids pulling things out of their hands that would would like kill them, or someone else. 00:00:54.799 --> 00:00:56.560 I have I have four, my youngest. 00:00:56.640 --> 00:01:01.359 I haven't told a lot of a lot of Eli stories yet, because we don't have a lot of Eli stories, but they're they're starting to come. 00:01:01.439 --> 00:01:07.599 Um, this is a picture of of my one-year-old Eli, and he's barely over one year old, just as cute as could be. 00:01:07.840 --> 00:01:09.920 This is a really cool picture, and here's why. 00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:16.480 Um my wife took this picture because when she walked out of the room that that she was in with Eli, he was not in his high chair. 00:01:16.560 --> 00:01:18.400 Um he was playing in the floor. 00:01:18.959 --> 00:01:25.200 And then ten seconds later, she walks in and he's in his high chair, and he's the one who put himself there. 00:01:25.439 --> 00:01:29.840 Eli is a terrifying, terrifying child because he climbs everything. 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:30.959 He gets into everything. 00:01:31.040 --> 00:01:33.280 And my wife constantly takes pictures and posts on Facebook. 00:01:33.439 --> 00:01:34.879 Look where Eli is, look where Eli is. 00:01:35.040 --> 00:01:40.079 He gets on anything, and like barely over one, barely walk, but he can climb and get himself in that. 00:01:40.159 --> 00:01:43.439 Um, we have a craft table in our room, uh, in our in our living room. 00:01:43.599 --> 00:01:45.120 It's where Megan keeps all that stuff. 00:01:45.280 --> 00:01:46.560 He climbed up onto that. 00:01:46.799 --> 00:01:49.359 That that stool maybe weighs like seven ounces. 00:01:49.439 --> 00:01:53.120 It's a we got it at IKEA, very cheap, but he somehow used it as a ladder. 00:01:53.200 --> 00:01:54.640 I don't even understand how he did it. 00:01:54.799 --> 00:01:57.519 And uh two days ago, Megan walked into our living room. 00:01:57.760 --> 00:01:59.359 Sounds like we're not watching our children. 00:01:59.519 --> 00:02:02.879 We are, but there's four of them. 00:02:03.040 --> 00:02:05.599 When you have more children than eyes, you have to have grace for that. 00:02:05.760 --> 00:02:10.800 And uh she walks into the living room, and Eli is standing on top of that very same craft table holding two pairs of scissors. 00:02:10.960 --> 00:02:15.680 Um, by the way, we keep the scissors in a jar that has a lid, but you know, he figured that out. 00:02:15.840 --> 00:02:25.439 And so she walks in and there's this baby on a table, two pairs of scissors in hand, and she had the same reaction that that mom had in that video like, no, no, put it down. 00:02:26.319 --> 00:02:30.080 It's we don't know whether to be concerned or scared for our lives. 00:02:30.159 --> 00:02:30.879 We're not sure. 00:02:31.039 --> 00:02:32.400 Time will tell. 00:02:33.120 --> 00:02:38.879 Spent a lot of time as a dad trying to get things out of my kids' hands, trying to get them to drop things that would hurt them. 00:02:38.960 --> 00:02:44.080 And I often wonder how much God the Father relates to that very same principle. 00:02:44.319 --> 00:02:47.039 You know, God describes himself as a father very often in Scripture. 00:02:47.120 --> 00:02:47.599 He loves us. 00:02:47.680 --> 00:02:52.479 We are we're told that when we give our lives to Jesus, he adopts us as his own sons and daughters. 00:02:52.639 --> 00:02:53.840 It's not a metaphor. 00:02:54.080 --> 00:02:58.080 If you have put your life in Jesus' hands, you are part of the family of God. 00:02:58.319 --> 00:02:59.759 That means Jesus is your brother. 00:02:59.919 --> 00:03:00.960 That's kind of cool. 00:03:01.199 --> 00:03:03.280 That means that God's your dad. 00:03:03.599 --> 00:03:11.599 And I wonder how often God looks at us as our father and sees us holding on to things that we're not meant to hold on to. 00:03:12.159 --> 00:03:17.680 Things that if we keep if we keep holding on to them, they're gonna cause a lot of damage to either ourselves or the people around us. 00:03:17.759 --> 00:03:20.560 It's a little more nuanced than knives and scissors, though. 00:03:20.879 --> 00:03:29.280 It can be anger, deep disappointment, rejection, feelings of abandonment or betrayal. 00:03:29.680 --> 00:03:31.120 It's heartbreak. 00:03:31.599 --> 00:03:35.360 We're really, really good at holding on to that stuff, aren't we? 00:03:36.000 --> 00:03:39.840 It's amazing how much better we are at holding on to the bad than we are to the good. 00:03:40.080 --> 00:03:41.520 Science actually backs this up. 00:03:41.599 --> 00:03:47.840 Our brains remember with much more clarity the negative things that we experience than the positive. 00:03:48.400 --> 00:03:49.599 I mean, think about this. 00:03:49.680 --> 00:03:55.360 How many times have you had this experience in your life where you have a day that you might describe as a bad day? 00:03:55.599 --> 00:03:58.719 And the reason you might describe it as a bad day is because one bad thing happened to you. 00:03:58.879 --> 00:04:02.240 Now, in that same day, 35, 40, 50 good things may have happened, right? 00:04:02.319 --> 00:04:04.400 Maybe you started, you went through Chick-fil-A for breakfast. 00:04:04.479 --> 00:04:05.120 That's a good day. 00:04:05.280 --> 00:04:08.240 That's a good way to start a day, right? 00:04:09.759 --> 00:04:13.360 And that's good, and you get to work, you have a job, that's good. 00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:15.759 You live in America, that's a really good thing. 00:04:15.840 --> 00:04:17.759 That's a very blessed thing to live in this country. 00:04:17.920 --> 00:04:27.519 You're having all these good things happen, you have a family, whatever's going on, but then one bad thing happens, somebody says something, somebody does something, and that one bad thing now classifies your entire day as bad. 00:04:27.680 --> 00:04:31.439 We allow the negative to affect us far more than we should. 00:04:32.000 --> 00:04:33.519 We remember it with clarity. 00:04:33.680 --> 00:04:35.120 We hold on to it. 00:04:35.360 --> 00:04:41.680 Have you ever found yourself driving in your car, and out of nowhere you're like reliving some moment that happened years ago? 00:04:41.839 --> 00:04:49.920 And maybe you're even engaging with it, you're having like an imaginary conversation with the person, imagining what you should have said, what you should say, what you ought to say. 00:04:50.160 --> 00:04:52.240 Anyone ever do that, or is it just me, the pastor of your church? 00:04:52.399 --> 00:04:53.120 Okay, good. 00:04:53.360 --> 00:04:53.759 Good. 00:04:53.920 --> 00:04:54.800 I'm not alone. 00:04:54.879 --> 00:04:56.240 We're all messed up. 00:04:56.879 --> 00:05:00.240 We uh do not clap for being messed up. 00:05:00.399 --> 00:05:03.199 When I say that, I really want to make sure you know that. 00:05:03.360 --> 00:05:06.959 We should we are own it, but don't clap for it. 00:05:08.000 --> 00:05:11.439 That's why, by the way, if you're new to church, you're like you think church is full of hypocrites. 00:05:11.519 --> 00:05:11.839 It is. 00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:13.680 That's why we're here, right? 00:05:13.920 --> 00:05:15.839 Like we're recognizing that fact. 00:05:16.079 --> 00:05:21.920 So we we hold on to the negative, and God the Father is telling us, let it go. 00:05:22.319 --> 00:05:23.360 Drop it. 00:05:23.680 --> 00:05:26.720 You do not need to hold on to these things any longer. 00:05:27.439 --> 00:05:31.279 Now, thankfully, our faith has the solution for that. 00:05:31.439 --> 00:05:40.160 Our faith has the very solution, the only real solution to truly letting go and moving on with life, no matter what we've experienced, and it's forgiveness. 00:05:40.240 --> 00:05:42.000 And that's what we're gonna talk about today. 00:05:42.240 --> 00:05:44.959 We're gonna talk about God's version of forgiveness. 00:05:45.120 --> 00:05:47.199 In fact, the title of the message is a really boring title today. 00:05:47.279 --> 00:05:49.360 It's understanding biblical forgiveness. 00:05:49.519 --> 00:05:56.000 Because the forgiveness that Jesus teaches, the forgiveness that scripture shows us, it is not like the world's version of forgiveness at all. 00:05:56.319 --> 00:05:58.480 It's completely on its own level. 00:05:58.720 --> 00:06:00.720 We're in a series right now called The King and His Kingdom. 00:06:00.800 --> 00:06:03.199 We're studying our King Jesus and his teachings. 00:06:03.360 --> 00:06:07.040 Because he teaches us what his life is actually like. 00:06:07.199 --> 00:06:12.800 He teaches us what his kingdom is all about, what living life connected to him looks like. 00:06:12.959 --> 00:06:20.879 And if you study the teachings of Jesus for long, you find, you actually don't have to study it for very long to find that forgiveness is a really big deal to Jesus. 00:06:21.120 --> 00:06:22.079 He's passionate about it. 00:06:22.160 --> 00:06:28.480 And today we're going to look at a specific teaching that Jesus gives that shows us the intensity of God's forgiveness. 00:06:28.639 --> 00:06:32.480 It's Matthew chapter 18, verses 21 through 35. 00:06:33.439 --> 00:06:37.839 Then Peter came to him and asked, Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? 00:06:38.079 --> 00:06:39.279 Seven times? 00:06:39.519 --> 00:06:43.759 No, not seven times, Jesus replied, but seventy times seven. 00:06:44.000 --> 00:06:50.240 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. 00:06:50.480 --> 00:06:55.839 In the process, one of his debtors was brought to him, who owed him millions of dollars he couldn't pay. 00:06:56.079 --> 00:07:00.399 So his master ordered that he be sold, along with his wife, his children, everything he owned to pay the debt. 00:07:00.560 --> 00:07:05.120 But the man fell down before his master and begged him, Please be patient with me, I will pay it all. 00:07:05.279 --> 00:07:07.439 And then his master was filled with pity for him. 00:07:07.600 --> 00:07:10.560 And he reel and he released him and forgave his debt. 00:07:10.800 --> 00:07:14.319 But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. 00:07:14.399 --> 00:07:17.120 He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment. 00:07:17.279 --> 00:07:22.639 His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. 00:07:22.879 --> 00:07:26.639 Be patient with me, and I will pay it, he pleaded, but his creditor wouldn't wait. 00:07:26.959 --> 00:07:30.000 He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full. 00:07:30.160 --> 00:07:32.560 When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. 00:07:32.720 --> 00:07:35.120 They went to the king and they told him everything that had happened. 00:07:35.279 --> 00:07:41.920 And then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, You evil servant, I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. 00:07:42.079 --> 00:07:46.240 Shouldn't you have mercy on your fellow servant just as I had mercy on you? 00:07:46.560 --> 00:07:50.240 Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. 00:07:50.399 --> 00:07:55.439 That is what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart. 00:07:56.560 --> 00:07:57.199 Wow. 00:07:58.240 --> 00:07:58.879 All right. 00:07:59.279 --> 00:08:02.959 In other words, Jesus is saying, God's really serious about this. 00:08:03.199 --> 00:08:04.639 Pay attention. 00:08:05.279 --> 00:08:10.480 Forgiveness is a really, really big deal to God, and it should be a big deal to us. 00:08:10.879 --> 00:08:15.839 In large part because our entire relationship with God relies on it. 00:08:16.319 --> 00:08:20.879 And because it's the key to actually learning how to let go of the things we need to let go of. 00:08:21.360 --> 00:08:24.879 And what we're gonna do today is we're gonna analyze biblical forgiveness. 00:08:24.959 --> 00:08:28.480 We're gonna look at three things that it is and three things that it isn't. 00:08:28.720 --> 00:08:30.079 Because forgiveness is a tricky thing. 00:08:30.160 --> 00:08:31.040 It's kind of like love. 00:08:31.199 --> 00:08:33.519 Like everyone, everyone says they know what love is. 00:08:33.600 --> 00:08:35.200 If I ask someone, do you know what love is? 00:08:35.279 --> 00:08:37.440 They'll say, Yeah, absolutely, I know what love is. 00:08:37.840 --> 00:08:41.440 And then if you ask them to describe it, things get a little fuzzy. 00:08:41.759 --> 00:08:44.720 It's like, well, you know, love is like when you when you love someone. 00:08:44.960 --> 00:08:50.879 And you love them, you know, and they love you and you love them, and it's just you feel good, and it's it's it's more than a feeling, but it's also a feeling. 00:08:51.039 --> 00:08:53.679 Love's it's a hazy thing, and forgiveness is like that too. 00:08:53.759 --> 00:08:56.159 We all say that we get forgiveness, but do we? 00:08:57.120 --> 00:09:04.080 Forgiveness is very powerful if used properly, but it's also something that some people will try to take advantage of. 00:09:04.399 --> 00:09:11.840 It's also something that our enemy, Megan during Lord's Supper earlier, talked about the fact that we have an enemy, our enemy loves to distort the message of God. 00:09:12.080 --> 00:09:22.879 And our enemy will actually distort forgiveness and try to have us walk in in very unhealthy relationships with very unhealthy dynamics under the cover of some false idea of forgiveness. 00:09:22.960 --> 00:09:26.799 So we need to understand what biblical forgiveness is and what it's not. 00:09:27.279 --> 00:09:28.720 So let's start with what it is. 00:09:28.799 --> 00:09:32.480 Number one, biblical forgiveness is extravagant. 00:09:33.039 --> 00:09:34.960 Biblical forgiveness is extravagant. 00:09:35.120 --> 00:09:37.519 Jesus illustrates this so well in the story. 00:09:37.679 --> 00:09:41.919 Number one, Peter comes up to him and says, Hey, how often should I forgive my brother if he sins against me? 00:09:42.159 --> 00:09:42.720 Seven times? 00:09:42.879 --> 00:09:48.879 Peter thinks Jesus is gonna be like, Wow, Peter, dude, you just blew me away. 00:09:49.120 --> 00:09:50.960 Peter's always, he's always running his mouth. 00:09:51.039 --> 00:09:59.759 In fact, I read a theologian who said, we have a lot, we owe a lot to the fact that Peter ran his mouth so much, because so many of the things that Jesus taught are in direct response to Peter running his mouth. 00:09:59.919 --> 00:10:02.399 The Jewish tradition was that you should forgive someone three times. 00:10:02.480 --> 00:10:04.240 It was like a three strikes in your out rule. 00:10:04.320 --> 00:10:09.120 And so what Peter's doing right here is he's saying, Hey, I've kind of figured out, Jesus, that you really like forgiveness. 00:10:09.200 --> 00:10:10.320 I've I've picked up on that. 00:10:10.399 --> 00:10:12.240 And so I'm thinking like seven times. 00:10:12.399 --> 00:10:15.279 I took the normal number, I doubled it, I added one for a good measure. 00:10:15.360 --> 00:10:17.840 And so what do you think, Jesus, seven times, right? 00:10:17.919 --> 00:10:18.720 Am I right? 00:10:18.960 --> 00:10:24.559 And Jesus goes, Hey, why don't you take your number, multiply it by ten, and then like multiply that by itself. 00:10:24.799 --> 00:10:26.799 And Peter's trying to do math in his head, which is hard. 00:10:26.879 --> 00:10:28.320 And he's like, just seventy times seven. 00:10:28.399 --> 00:10:31.039 Not seven, seventy times seven. 00:10:31.440 --> 00:10:33.360 Jesus is being hyperbolic. 00:10:33.600 --> 00:10:37.759 And then he teaches this story, gives this parable, and the parable's hyperbolic as well. 00:10:38.080 --> 00:10:41.679 Your translation, depending on what translation you're reading, might say millions of dollars. 00:10:41.840 --> 00:10:46.799 Other translations will actually tell you what the specific amount was in the Greek language that this was written in. 00:10:46.879 --> 00:10:48.720 It's 10,000 talents. 00:10:49.200 --> 00:10:50.240 10,000 talents. 00:10:50.320 --> 00:10:54.000 Now, talents don't really mean anything to us from a monetary perspective. 00:10:54.159 --> 00:10:57.200 That's why some translations will just say millions of dollars. 00:10:57.440 --> 00:11:02.320 And that does it justice, but also not quite, because millions is a little broad. 00:11:02.559 --> 00:11:04.159 Like how many millions? 00:11:04.399 --> 00:11:07.120 You know, 10 million dollars is a lot. 00:11:07.360 --> 00:11:09.919 100 million dollars is a lot more. 00:11:10.159 --> 00:11:11.919 A billion is many millions. 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:13.679 And so what are we talking about here? 00:11:13.919 --> 00:11:20.960 Well, in that culture at that time, it would take the average person who had a decent job about 20 years to earn one talent. 00:11:21.120 --> 00:11:22.960 That's how much a talent was. 00:11:23.200 --> 00:11:31.759 And so when Jesus says 10,000 talents, this would be in our economy the equivalent of 200,000 years' salary. 00:11:32.720 --> 00:11:36.399 That basically breaks down to 7.3 billion dollars. 00:11:36.639 --> 00:11:36.960 Okay? 00:11:37.279 --> 00:11:39.360 That's how much this guy owes. 00:11:40.080 --> 00:11:43.440 And the master, the king, he forgives all of that. 00:11:44.080 --> 00:11:48.799 Now there's this other person who owes thousands of dollars, and in the Greek language it actually says 100 denarii. 00:11:48.879 --> 00:11:50.720 Your translation might say 100 denarii. 00:11:50.879 --> 00:11:54.000 100 denarii would be about$10,000 to$15,000. 00:11:54.960 --> 00:12:00.879 So he's forgiven seven billion, and he demands$15,000. 00:12:02.879 --> 00:12:06.399 There's a great divide between those numbers, and Jesus is doing this on purpose. 00:12:06.879 --> 00:12:10.080 He's illustrating some really important things for us when it comes to God's forgiveness. 00:12:10.240 --> 00:12:15.440 See, sin, sin by the way, just being not being all that we should be. 00:12:15.759 --> 00:12:18.559 Sin is more than just doing bad things. 00:12:18.879 --> 00:12:20.320 That's how we like to think about sin. 00:12:20.799 --> 00:12:22.000 It's more than that. 00:12:22.399 --> 00:12:28.080 There's a famous biblical writer who said that sin is more than just not being as bad as we could be. 00:12:28.639 --> 00:12:31.120 It's actually not being all that we should be. 00:12:31.600 --> 00:12:32.720 And we all sin. 00:12:33.519 --> 00:12:37.679 But sin can be, it can be vertical and it can be horizontal. 00:12:38.240 --> 00:12:42.960 In the sense that I can sin to God and I can also sin against other people. 00:12:43.039 --> 00:12:43.919 You see this in the story. 00:12:44.000 --> 00:12:52.159 There's horizontal sin that's that's emphasized, there's the debt that is owed between the two people, but then there's also the vertical, what's owed to the king. 00:12:52.399 --> 00:12:54.879 And what's owed to the king, notice, is much, much more. 00:12:55.600 --> 00:12:56.320 That's intentional. 00:12:56.399 --> 00:12:57.679 That's to illustrate something for us. 00:12:57.840 --> 00:13:03.200 See, if I sin against someone else, there's something between us now. 00:13:04.320 --> 00:13:11.120 And then I could go sin against a different person, and now there's something between me and this person, but that that has nothing to do with the other person that I sinned against earlier. 00:13:11.759 --> 00:13:18.240 The problem though is that when I sin against this person, I'm also sinning against God because that's God's son, that's God's daughter. 00:13:18.639 --> 00:13:25.600 Like if you go, if you go say something about someone or mess with someone that doesn't affect my life, I may not, I may not I might not even know about it. 00:13:26.399 --> 00:13:31.279 But if you say something against my son, my daughter, well, that's different, right? 00:13:31.440 --> 00:13:32.480 Those are my kids. 00:13:32.639 --> 00:13:33.759 Don't do that. 00:13:34.960 --> 00:13:39.279 Every single time we sin against someone, we're we're simultaneously sinning against God. 00:13:39.360 --> 00:13:40.159 Every single time. 00:13:40.320 --> 00:13:52.000 That's why David, in Psalm 51, verses 2 through 4, after committing a great sin, he wrote, Wash me clean from my guilt, purify me from my sin, for I recognize my rebellion, it haunts me day and night. 00:13:52.159 --> 00:13:54.639 Against you and you alone have I sinned. 00:13:54.879 --> 00:13:59.919 I have done what is evil in your sight, you will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just. 00:14:00.080 --> 00:14:06.639 When David says, Against you and you alone have I sinned, he's not saying that I'm not owning up to the fact that I've hurt other people. 00:14:06.720 --> 00:14:10.720 He's just recognizing that his sin directly affects God. 00:14:12.399 --> 00:14:16.240 And there's this understanding that we have that all sin is vertical. 00:14:16.480 --> 00:14:18.720 And that's kind of scary when you think about it. 00:14:18.879 --> 00:14:21.279 Because I've had a lot of horizontal sin in my life. 00:14:21.519 --> 00:14:22.559 Like a lot. 00:14:22.879 --> 00:14:29.360 And if now I'm learning that everything I've ever done against someone else, I've also offended God in that same sense, then I've got a pretty big debt. 00:14:29.600 --> 00:14:33.440 We are all multimillion dollar debtors when it comes to sin. 00:14:33.519 --> 00:14:35.200 We're all that first servant. 00:14:35.840 --> 00:14:39.840 We owe a tremendous debt more than we could ever pay. 00:14:41.840 --> 00:14:44.159 Biblical forgiveness is extravagant. 00:14:45.759 --> 00:14:47.279 Praise God for that. 00:14:47.679 --> 00:14:50.000 You don't have to pay your debt. 00:14:52.080 --> 00:14:58.159 Now, maybe you don't realize how big your debt is, or maybe you're overwhelmed by it right now, because it's pretty quiet in the room. 00:14:58.480 --> 00:15:02.159 But like, you don't have to pay your debt. 00:15:02.399 --> 00:15:03.919 It's been paid. 00:15:04.240 --> 00:15:05.440 You're forgiven. 00:15:05.679 --> 00:15:06.399 You're forgiven. 00:15:06.480 --> 00:15:12.879 Like, like there was a company, I think it was Chase or Citigroup, it was one of the an American financial institutions that recently pulled out of Canada. 00:15:13.039 --> 00:15:14.639 This was in the news a few weeks ago. 00:15:14.879 --> 00:15:18.879 And they tried to get into the credit market in Canada, hadn't worked, not sure why. 00:15:19.120 --> 00:15:23.679 And uh and they just decided, as they pulled out of the Canadian market, just to forgive all the debt. 00:15:23.919 --> 00:15:39.039 And so there are all these pictures on social media of people holding up their credit card statements, and these are like the luckiest people in the world because they've got statements and they've got$5,000,$10,000 of debt, and and Chase just said, I think it was Chase, just said, yeah, forget about it, forgive it. 00:15:39.120 --> 00:15:43.519 And they're like, woo! And we look at that and we're like, oh man, I wish that would happen to me. 00:15:43.679 --> 00:15:44.320 You know? 00:15:45.600 --> 00:15:46.960 That's happened to you. 00:15:47.440 --> 00:15:52.240 But to a far greater deal than you can imagine, God has forgiven you of everything. 00:15:52.399 --> 00:15:55.600 His forgiveness, biblical forgiveness is extravagant. 00:15:56.000 --> 00:15:57.360 It's extravagant. 00:15:57.679 --> 00:16:01.519 You owe nothing because of Jesus. 00:16:02.559 --> 00:16:06.480 Number two, biblical forgiveness is freedom. 00:16:07.759 --> 00:16:08.879 It's freedom. 00:16:10.320 --> 00:16:16.960 Notice in the story that if not for the forgiveness, this person would have been, would have been shipped off to jail. 00:16:17.120 --> 00:16:21.600 That's a weird concept to us, but that's actually a very, a very normal part of history. 00:16:21.919 --> 00:16:26.559 There was something called debtor's prison that up until the 19th century, people were thrown in prison all the time for debt. 00:16:26.799 --> 00:16:31.120 In fact, some of you may know this, but our state, Georgia, that's how we got our start. 00:16:31.440 --> 00:16:35.519 Georgia was an alternative to debtor's prison in England. 00:16:35.759 --> 00:16:38.000 That's how our whole state was conceived. 00:16:38.240 --> 00:16:43.600 England had a colony, the Carolinas, and the Carolinas were very productive as far as producing crops went. 00:16:43.679 --> 00:16:45.840 They wanted to form some protection around the Carolinas. 00:16:46.000 --> 00:16:49.840 They wanted another colony to the south, but they couldn't get anyone to move there, right? 00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:51.440 We're not offended by that, by the way. 00:16:51.519 --> 00:16:53.200 It's all good, like we live here now. 00:16:53.360 --> 00:16:56.639 But but they conceived of this idea. 00:16:57.039 --> 00:17:03.759 Well, what if we make that colony an alternative to debtor's prison when people are about to be shipped to prison for debt? 00:17:03.840 --> 00:17:09.200 We'll say, or you could you could move to America, to the colonies, and you could settle there and have a fresh start. 00:17:09.359 --> 00:17:14.799 It was a benefit to them because it lessened their load in the prisons and it helped them do what they wanted to do in the colonies. 00:17:14.880 --> 00:17:18.000 It was a benefit to the people because better to do that than go to prison. 00:17:18.240 --> 00:17:22.960 This is a very normal thing in most of human history, being thrown in jail for debt. 00:17:23.119 --> 00:17:25.279 We don't think about debt that same way. 00:17:25.839 --> 00:17:30.079 But we all know what it's like to be less than free because of debt. 00:17:31.119 --> 00:17:36.880 We all understand that if I didn't owe this, whether it's a financial amount or owe something to another person, I'd be free. 00:17:36.960 --> 00:17:39.759 I could go do other things, I could do what I want. 00:17:43.039 --> 00:17:44.640 It keeps us bound. 00:17:45.920 --> 00:17:49.920 And when it comes to the things that have been done against us with other people, it's the same thing. 00:17:50.079 --> 00:17:56.160 If we don't let go, if we don't forgive, then we carry a weight around with us that we're not meant to carry. 00:17:57.200 --> 00:18:01.119 It's interesting, in Africa, there's this ancient way of catching monkeys. 00:18:01.279 --> 00:18:03.119 It's really awesome, really simple. 00:18:03.440 --> 00:18:04.640 They have these jars. 00:18:04.799 --> 00:18:08.960 The jars are pretty heavy, and they're very, very wide at the bottom but narrow at the top. 00:18:09.119 --> 00:18:18.960 And all they do is they put a little trinket in the jar, and they they take the jar to a place where monkeys are, and someone will like shake it and make a noise. 00:18:19.039 --> 00:18:22.079 The monkeys take notice of that, and then they leave. 00:18:22.319 --> 00:18:28.240 And the jar is designed so that if your hand is like this, you can you can easily reach down into the bottom. 00:18:28.559 --> 00:18:32.000 But if you make a fist, you cannot get the hand out. 00:18:32.720 --> 00:18:34.319 And the monkeys won't let go. 00:18:34.960 --> 00:18:39.519 They'll go in, they'll reach, they'll grab it, and they will not let go. 00:18:39.920 --> 00:18:46.000 And so when someone comes to capture the monkey, it tries to run away, but the weight of the jar is too much and it will not let go. 00:18:46.400 --> 00:18:48.880 All it has to do is this, and it's free. 00:18:49.599 --> 00:18:50.640 But it refuses. 00:18:52.240 --> 00:18:56.240 And so often that's how we live our lives when it comes to the things that other people have done against us. 00:18:56.400 --> 00:18:58.000 We will not let go. 00:18:58.640 --> 00:19:06.799 And if we could, if we could just forgive it and say it's over, we're free, that weight is gone, it no longer haunts us, it no longer bothers us. 00:19:08.079 --> 00:19:09.440 But we struggle to let go. 00:19:09.519 --> 00:19:12.160 And in doing so, we we forfeit our freedom. 00:19:12.640 --> 00:19:14.559 Biblical forgiveness is freedom. 00:19:14.880 --> 00:19:15.920 So let go. 00:19:16.799 --> 00:19:21.680 Number three, biblical forgiveness is both given and received. 00:19:21.759 --> 00:19:22.079 It's both. 00:19:22.160 --> 00:19:23.200 It's received and it's given. 00:19:23.279 --> 00:19:25.119 You can't you can't choose which one of those you want. 00:19:25.200 --> 00:19:26.319 It's not a multiple choice test. 00:19:26.400 --> 00:19:28.960 You can't be like, I would like to receive forgiveness. 00:19:29.119 --> 00:19:30.480 I just don't want to give any. 00:19:30.720 --> 00:19:33.279 Or God, I would like to receive twice the forgiveness I give. 00:19:33.440 --> 00:19:34.559 It doesn't work that way. 00:19:34.799 --> 00:19:37.759 I mean, that story Jesus tells is pretty intense, right? 00:19:38.240 --> 00:19:45.680 When he says that that if you don't, if you don't forgive your brothers and sisters, this is what my heavenly Father will do to you? 00:19:46.640 --> 00:19:47.519 Cast out. 00:19:48.319 --> 00:19:52.240 This is language, by the way, that's almost always used about hell. 00:19:54.160 --> 00:19:56.880 It's not intended, by the way, to like scare you. 00:19:57.680 --> 00:20:04.640 But but understand that in heaven you will be surrounded by many people who you're either going to forgive now or you'll have to forgive then because they're there. 00:20:07.200 --> 00:20:10.400 And heaven is not for the bitter and the hard-hearted. 00:20:11.680 --> 00:20:18.160 See, when we hold on to unforgiveness, it becomes resentment, it becomes bitterness, it hardens our hearts, we become cynical, we become angry. 00:20:25.519 --> 00:20:27.920 We see this so often in Scripture. 00:20:29.039 --> 00:20:30.960 Luke chapter 11, verse 4. 00:20:31.279 --> 00:20:34.079 Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. 00:20:34.160 --> 00:20:34.960 Do you see the connection? 00:20:35.039 --> 00:20:37.519 This is Jesus praying what we call the Lord's Prayer. 00:20:38.559 --> 00:20:42.880 Colossians 3.13, make allowance for each other's faults and forgive anyone who offends you. 00:20:43.039 --> 00:20:46.880 Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 00:20:48.480 --> 00:20:49.759 There's no option there. 00:20:50.160 --> 00:20:51.599 It's required. 00:20:53.440 --> 00:20:55.920 It's something that God has given us as a requirement. 00:20:56.000 --> 00:20:58.720 It's not like try your best to forgive other people. 00:20:58.880 --> 00:21:01.440 You know, God's forgiven you of everything you've ever done. 00:21:01.759 --> 00:21:04.720 So find it in your heart to forgive like a tenth of what's been done to you. 00:21:04.799 --> 00:21:05.279 No, no, no. 00:21:05.440 --> 00:21:08.240 He says, forgive as you're forgiven. 00:21:09.200 --> 00:21:11.599 Forgive because you're forgiven. 00:21:11.680 --> 00:21:15.519 And sometimes the order of that gets messed up, like do I receive forgiveness first, then give it? 00:21:15.599 --> 00:21:16.960 Do I give the forgiveness, then receive it? 00:21:17.039 --> 00:21:17.599 I don't really know. 00:21:17.759 --> 00:21:18.480 It's like walking. 00:21:18.559 --> 00:21:20.480 You just take one step at a time, you alternate. 00:21:20.720 --> 00:21:22.319 Doesn't really matter which step comes first. 00:21:22.400 --> 00:21:24.799 You forgive, you're forgiven, you forgive, you're forgiven. 00:21:24.880 --> 00:21:29.279 And the hard thing is, if you don't receive the forgiveness from God, how are you supposed to give it? 00:21:31.119 --> 00:21:33.920 You cannot give something you don't have. 00:21:34.160 --> 00:21:35.200 It's impossible. 00:21:35.359 --> 00:21:44.240 But if you actually receive the forgiveness of God, if you if you spend some time and reflect on all that He's forgiven you of, it's powerful. 00:21:44.319 --> 00:21:45.200 It's so powerful. 00:21:45.279 --> 00:21:48.079 I had a pastor ask us to do an exercise once. 00:21:48.319 --> 00:21:51.519 I was at a church interning and it was a pretty intense exercise. 00:21:51.680 --> 00:21:56.319 We had to write down everything that we could think of that we had done that wasn't good. 00:21:57.839 --> 00:21:59.759 That's a longer list than. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:06.400 You might think when you really start getting into that mindset, and then just tear the whole thing up and throw it away because it's gone. 00:22:07.440 --> 00:22:09.119 That's the forgiveness that you've received. 00:22:09.279 --> 00:22:14.640 The forgiveness that God has given you, it's not like forgiveness up to the point of the last week. 00:22:15.359 --> 00:22:16.960 It's not a fresh start either. 00:22:17.039 --> 00:22:21.599 It's like it's like someone deposits so much money in your bank account that you could never possibly spend it all. 00:22:21.759 --> 00:22:23.279 That's like the forgiveness that you receive. 00:22:23.440 --> 00:22:24.319 That's grace. 00:22:24.559 --> 00:22:29.200 When God forgave you for everything, it wasn't just everything you did up to the point when you first gave your life to Jesus. 00:22:29.279 --> 00:22:34.480 If you give your life to Jesus today, if you're here and you've yet to do that, but today you're like, I need this forgiveness. 00:22:34.559 --> 00:22:35.440 I desperately need it. 00:22:35.599 --> 00:22:36.559 I realize that. 00:22:36.640 --> 00:22:50.799 And you want to give your life to Jesus, get saved, become a Jesus follower, become a Christian, you're not forgiven of everything you've ever done up to today, and you receive a fresh start, and then you walk out of this place with a zero sum in your in your balance, so to speak. 00:22:50.960 --> 00:22:52.079 It's way more than that. 00:22:52.240 --> 00:22:56.240 You're forgiven of everything you ever have done, you're forgiven of everything you ever will do. 00:22:56.880 --> 00:22:58.480 Completely and totally. 00:22:58.960 --> 00:23:04.640 And if you really believe that you've been forgiven that much, shouldn't you be excited to give what you've been given? 00:23:04.880 --> 00:23:09.119 That's why we say this a lot, as Jesus followers, we should be really hard to offend. 00:23:09.599 --> 00:23:12.160 Really hard because we've been forgiven so much. 00:23:13.039 --> 00:23:17.920 Biblical forgiveness is extravagant, it's freedom, and it's both given and received. 00:23:18.000 --> 00:23:19.039 It's not a multiple choice. 00:23:19.119 --> 00:23:22.799 Now, that said, there's a few things that biblical forgiveness is not. 00:23:22.880 --> 00:23:31.680 And the reason I want us to talk about this is not to put a damper on forgiveness, it's because I don't want our enemy to take advantage of us using God's forgiveness as his cover. 00:23:31.759 --> 00:23:32.720 Does that make sense? 00:23:32.880 --> 00:23:39.119 And in my experience as a pastor, in my experience as a person, I have more experience in the latter than the former. 00:23:39.440 --> 00:23:44.000 Forgiveness is something that sometimes gets twisted and gets us a little out of step. 00:23:44.240 --> 00:23:45.519 So I want us to understand this. 00:23:45.599 --> 00:23:50.960 Number one, biblical forgiveness is not making an allowance for evil. 00:23:51.279 --> 00:23:52.480 Let me explain this. 00:23:53.599 --> 00:23:58.640 Some of us rob ourselves of the ability to actually forgive because we will not admit that we need to. 00:23:59.359 --> 00:24:05.200 Because when someone does something against us, we say, oh, that's just how they are. 00:24:05.839 --> 00:24:06.799 Oh, you know what? 00:24:06.880 --> 00:24:08.640 They they just had they had a bad day. 00:24:09.279 --> 00:24:11.359 Oh, I don't I don't think they really meant it. 00:24:12.079 --> 00:24:16.960 You know, they've just they've had a really rough year or decade, I don't know, life. 00:24:17.519 --> 00:24:26.000 And instead of actually just acknowledging what's been done to us for what it is, wrong, hurt, we just excuse it away. 00:24:26.240 --> 00:24:29.599 And we think in our minds that that's actually a mature way to handle it, but it's not. 00:24:29.839 --> 00:24:37.519 Because what's actually happening in those moments is is what's been done to us is penetrating deeper than we we would like to believe, but we're not addressing it. 00:24:37.839 --> 00:24:39.920 We're just making excuses for it. 00:24:41.359 --> 00:24:46.960 The only way that you actually have true biblical forgiveness is if you acknowledge the evil that's been done. 00:24:47.200 --> 00:24:51.200 And you just call it for what it is and forgive it. 00:24:52.160 --> 00:24:55.599 But if you make an excuse for it, you don't actually get to practice forgiveness. 00:24:55.920 --> 00:24:58.160 Understand this, and this is a good thing, by the way, not a bad thing. 00:24:58.319 --> 00:24:59.119 God never does that with us. 00:24:59.200 --> 00:25:01.680 God never says, Oh, that's just how I made them. 00:25:01.920 --> 00:25:02.559 You know? 00:25:03.440 --> 00:25:08.640 I know people who are like that, where they want to they want to use that phrase as an excuse to do whatever they want to be like a jerk. 00:25:08.799 --> 00:25:10.160 God does not make jerks. 00:25:10.400 --> 00:25:13.839 Like, that's not how he's like, I'm gonna wire this one to be a real pain in the neck, you know? 00:25:14.000 --> 00:25:15.599 Like, he doesn't do that. 00:25:16.240 --> 00:25:17.839 And so, but but we so often make that. 00:25:18.240 --> 00:25:19.359 I know people who will use that excuse. 00:25:19.519 --> 00:25:20.319 This is how I am. 00:25:20.480 --> 00:25:21.279 I'm passionate. 00:25:21.440 --> 00:25:22.799 Oh, you're a jerk. 00:25:23.680 --> 00:25:35.599