Mission Sent
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Mission Sent
Father, Forgive Them: How Grace Changes Everything
What would happen if 3.3 billion professing Christians actually took Romans 12:14 seriously? "Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them." According to Pastor Josh, this single principle could shut down toxic social media culture and transform every relationship in your life.
The term "Christian" began as a derogatory label for Jesus-followers who lived radically different lives from the culture around them. Yet today, many believers have assimilated to cultural norms rather than standing out. When someone talks behind our backs, lies about us, or publicly criticizes us, our instinct is to fire back. "I didn't start it, but I'll finish it" becomes our mantra, directly contradicting Jesus's example.
As Jesus hung on the cross, facing mockery and torture, his response wasn't retaliation but compassion: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." This wasn't hyperbole—it was a literal demonstration of counter-cultural living. When we understand that our battle isn't against people but against spiritual forces (Ephesians 6:12), and when we recognize our identity as God's children, we can trust Him to fight our battles.
The parable of the unforgiving servant powerfully illustrates this principle. A man forgiven an enormous debt refuses to forgive someone who owes him pennies in comparison. The master's rebuke feels personal: "Shouldn't you have mercy on others as I had mercy on you?" We've been forgiven infinitely more by a perfect God than anyone will ever do to us.
Breaking free from the cycle of retaliation means doing something different. It means blessing those who persecute us because we recognize who we are without Christ and who we are in Him. When we follow Jesus in this counter-cultural way, not only are we transformed, but we become a light in the darkness that draws others to Him.
All right. Well, at this point I want to share something before we jump in, something that some of you may know, some of you may not know the word Christian. We call ourselves Christians, I say a lot of times, if you call yourself a Christian, in sermons. But number one I want you to understand the word Christian was actually started as a derogatory term to the followers of Jesus, right? So when we were saying we are more than conquerors and it's talking about we are defiant in your name, was actually started as a derogatory term to the followers of Jesus, right? So when we were singing we are more than conquerors and it's talking about we are defiant in your name, christians throughout history have taken that moniker that was meant for evil and went hey, yeah, you know what. We're going to stand by it and we're going to be proud of it. Now they got this monarchy because they were what we call counter cultural.
Speaker 1:All right. So next year we're going to get into the book of Matthew and eventually we're going to get through like, um, the sermon on the Mount. Right, blessed are the meek, blessed are the peacemakers, all those kinds of things. Right, understand that following Jesus is counter cultural. In other words, we're called to look different than the culture around us. Why? Because the culture around us has been infected with sin. We often talk about it right as us versus the world. Right, be in the world, but not of it and things of that nature. I want to say that that's not entirely true. It shouldn't be us versus the world. It should be the light going into the darkness, and I think, with what we're going to talk about today, this is going to be the easiest possible way for you to be a light in the darkness. In fact, if we take what we're going to do today seriously, I'm going to tell you right now we could shut down social media. Like. It would be amazing.
Speaker 1:For those of you that don't know, I am not on social media and if you're like, we're friends on social media. You are friends with Debbie, who put my profile on social media because I had to have one for the church. Okay, there, there's only one social media account that I actually use. It's called Salt Strong. It's a online fishing community, um, and and part of it. You can actually get kicked out of if you are not. I guess the easiest way would be to say if you are not nice to each other, they will actually kick you out of it, right? If you're not encouraging and building someone else up, they will go hey, no, we don't want you to be here, all right. So I am a part of that, because it talks about fishing. I mean, how could I not be a part of that? Plus, there's a lot of tools and this is not a sales pitch for them, but it is. It is very engaging.
Speaker 1:That being said, we could. We could completely shut down social media with what we're going to discuss with today. If the 3.3 professing Christians could. Actually my mind or my mouth sometimes goes faster than my mind does If the 3.3 billion professing Christians throughout the world actually took this serious, we could completely shut down social media. And if you take it serious, it will completely change all of the relationships you have in your life, and I mean all of the relationships you have in your life.
Speaker 1:So, with all of that being said, I'm going to pray and then we're going to jump into it. Father, I ask, and I pray, that as I go through your word today, that it be your words that are being said and not mine. I ask that it is not my opinion, father, it is not my thought, but it is your powerful word that can change our hearts from the inside out. Jesus, I pray that you just speak to your people and that, father, we leave here changed. I pray this in Jesus' name, amen, all right.
Speaker 1:Romans 12, 14 says this bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse them. Now there's a lot we're going to get into in that one verse, but, like I said, if we really grab a hold of this, this could change the world. Now we're going to do something today that we don't normally do except if you're here on Wednesdays for our systematic theology class is we're going to look at Romans 12, 14 in light of another scripture to help us have a better understanding at what Paul is really driving at in Romans 12, 14. All right, if you were here on Wednesday. We did the same thing with Hebrew 6, right, matthew 13.
Speaker 1:But the other scripture we're going to look at right now is found in Luke. It is found in Luke 23, starting in verse 32. It says this Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him Talking about the crucifixion of Jesus. Right, and when they came to the place that is called the skull there. They crucified him and the criminals one on his right and one on his left and Jesus said, father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. And they cast lots to divide his garments. And the people stood by watching. But the rulers scoffed at him, saying he saved others, let him save himself If he is the Christ of God, his chosen one. The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine and saying if you are the king of the Jews, save yourself. There was also an inscription over him this is the king of the Jews.
Speaker 1:Now, the reason we're going to look at what Paul is talking about in context is because if there was ever anyone who was persecuted for no reason, it was Jesus. Really, in all honesty, as you look through the life of Christ, what did Jesus do? He healed people. He opened blind eyes, he opened deaf ears, he brought people back from the dead. What was he doing that was so terrible and dangerous that he deserved to be mocked, that he deserved to be beat, that he deserved to be convicted of a crime that he did not commit, that he deserved to be crucified. What was he doing that was so evil and wicked? Well, one, he was setting straight the religious leaders right, and if there's anything that us religious leaders love, it's being told that we're wrong. Two, he was countercultural, extremely countercultural.
Speaker 1:It always makes me laugh when we have conversations like just so y'all know like we get here here, like the praise team and myself we get here usually about an hour before service, just so we can make sure everything is turned on, make sure everything still sounds right from Wednesday's practice, just to make sure all of the songs are flowing together, make sure I have all the words right for the slides, like all of these different things. And, and a lot of times it's usually about 830 that everything kind of wraps up and we're done and we're just kind of hanging out and talking. And today, as some of y'all saw when you walked in, we had a very interesting discussion about all of these things that most of us on as soon as we hear it, we don't like it and we want to fight against it because it goes against everything inside of us, right, like the big thing today was communal living. That was really the crutch of it. I know some of you guys walked in later in it and we were talking about communism and stuff like that. But the crutch of it was actually this was the Bible calls it to look different.
Speaker 1:The individualistic society that we live in, the trying to stack up everything for us, like we looked at I think it was last week or the week before makes us look more like squirrels than it makes it look like Jesus. See, squirrels will spend all of their time, and if you don't believe me, just go in your backyard and watch squirrels, right? What do they do all day? They just like grab nuts off the ground or acorns or whatever it is they actually eat. I mean, really, in all honesty, they're just bushy-tailed rats and I wish that we could just eradicate them all, because they come in the house and they chew on wires and they do all this craziness, but what do they spend their life doing? Just stacking up for themselves, just hoarding. That is how most of us live, but Jesus, on the other hand, did not.
Speaker 1:Jesus is extremely countercultural. Like you want to talk about a rebel, because that's our big thing, especially us millennials, right? Like that's our big thing. Right, we're going to rebel against the powers that be. We're going to overthrow it all. We're going to get rid of it all. We're going to burn it to the ground, because we know better man. You want to talk about a rebel. Jesus was a rebel Like. He didn't look like anything that they were used to. In fact, why did the Jews reject him as Messiah? Because he didn't look like what they thought Messiah was going to look like. They thought Messiah was going to look like King David. They thought Messiah was going to be this war general that was going to be able to show up and throw off Rome. And instead Jesus goes hey, give to Caesar what is Caesar's, but give to God what is God's. And the Jews didn't like that because they went hey, you're letting this oppressive government come in and just control us like this. And the Romans didn't like it because he wasn't saying Caesar is Lord, he is saying Yahweh is Lord. So he's so countercultural on so many things. And so they wind up executing him. Now think about this At the crucifixion of Jesus, what was everyone there to do?
Speaker 1:Mock? They were there to mock him. They were there to make fun of him. They were there to persecute him. They were there to talk about him. They were there to persecute him for a crime that he didn't commit. And I want to show everyone in here. Jesus could have had ended it anytime. He wanted to Just listen to.
Speaker 1:Like, right, when Jesus is betrayed in the garden, right, they show up at night. They come in to arrest him. He's betrayed by Judas. Iscariot, peter's with them. What's Peter do? Cuts the ear off the high priest, right. He's like how dare you come and try to take my Lord and Savior Most of us in this room, isn't that how we react right? And try to take my Lord and Savior Most of us in this room? Isn't that how we react right? But yet listen to what Jesus says at that moment In Matthew 26, 52,. Then Jesus said to him he's talking to Peter, put your sword back in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Countercultural right.
Speaker 1:We believe power comes from us being able to win, and yet Jesus is sitting here going. That's not where power comes from. In fact, that leads to death. Then he continues and he says Do you think that I cannot appeal to my father and he will at once send me more than 12 legions of angels? But how, then, should the scriptures be fulfilled? That it must be so. Understand this.
Speaker 1:Anytime in scripture an angel shows up, what is the first thing that angel has to say to whoever they're showing up to Fear not, do not be afraid. That is one angel that is sitting here going hey, don't be afraid. When Jesus says 12 legions, he's talking about at least 12,000 angels. So if one angel scares the crap out of us, what is 12,000 of them going to do? And what Jesus is sitting here saying is he's sitting here trying to get his disciples to understand. I am not the weak one at this crucifixion. You guys don't understand. Like this doesn't have to go this way. I'm choosing to allow it to go this way. He could have ended it at any time. Think about it, and it is one of the things I think about a lot.
Speaker 1:In Genesis 3, we have the fall right. We have sin entering into creation. Genesis 3, we have the fall right. We have sin entering into creation. Understand, god would have been completely just, when Adam and Eve ate from the tree that God told them not to, to just go. You know what Done? I'm going to make another man and another woman. Maybe this one will listen to me. He would have been completely justified in that, but yet he didn't Because God went. I'm going to show my redemption to creation, see, in this.
Speaker 1:This I say because what was Jesus's reply to the persecution, to the mocking, to the lying, to the betrayal, to the talking behind his back, to all of those things? What was his reply, father, forgive them, they do not know what they do. Let me ask you is that your reply? Someone spouts off something on social media, right? Someone's talking at the ball field behind your back? Someone's lying about something you said and or did? Is that your reply? Is your reply, father, forgive them, they don't know what they do. Or is your reply, like every normal human being, to fire back? Oh, I'm going to tell the truth. I'm going to set the story straight. Think about all the fights you've ever been in in your life. Have they not started the same exact way? Physical fights, fight with your spouse, fights with your kids, fights with whoever? I'll tell you right now, not Jesus man. I've got to stop doing that.
Speaker 1:Jt, one of the last days of school I don't even remember which day it was. One of the last days of school, I don't even remember which day it was JT like came out of he. He normally would work in in my office in the actual room that the air conditioning from hell is is still dealing with. He would work in the little office. Well, he, he came out. We were listening to music was one last day of school. He came out because I was playing a certain song, I don't remember what song it was. Now, um, and and he walks over and he like looks at me and he had that look in his eye, right, and I was like, oh, you think we're equals. And immediately like, next thing, I know we're like straight on jujitsu rolling.
Speaker 1:Okay, now, mind you, there is a classroom full of kids that I'm supposed to be supervising here and learning or teaching, and all of that. And I went the only lesson they're going to learn right now is you don't mess with your dad, like that's the lesson. So, as I sit there and apply a guillotine to JT and choke him out, I went why did this even happen? Like, how did we get involved in this? Now, yes, the bigger lesson is is I want all of the little kids in the class to go hey, if he can choke out that big kid, he could choke me out too. But why? Why wouldn't I just look at him and go hey, man, you don't even know what you do. Like JT, don't look at me like that, because you don't know who you're messing with. Like shouldn't that have been my response? Shouldn't that have been the countercultural thing? Because that's what Jesus does. See again on Wednesday night, and this is why, if you don't come on Wednesdays, I'm telling you there's a lot that happens on Wednesday nights, but on Wednesday night, one of the things we were talking about was this People who are still dead in their trespasses and sin and guess what? They don't know. They don't know that they're dead.
Speaker 1:When I first hired on at the sheriff's office, they were going over Baker Acts and if you're not familiar with what a Baker Act is, it's a medical call that you can take someone into custody, but it's not an arrest if you can deem them a harm to themselves or others. And so my training officer and I we're sitting there, we're talking about it and what it means and when you can use it and when you can't use it, and all of these different things. And a lot of times on a Baker Act, we're using it for people who are usually in some kind of crisis. Obviously, right Like this isn't something you just take like-heartedly, and a lot of times it's for people who are suffering with some kind of like mental illness or they're having some kind of episode or something of that nature, and I was like, well, why can't we just arrest them if they're threatening to hurt someone else? I mean, that is a crime. And my FTO kind of looked at me and he goes hey, let me ask you something, though Does a crazy person know? They're crazy Sometimes, but most of the time they don't.
Speaker 1:This is what we see a lot in families that have people that are suffering some very bad mental illness.
Speaker 1:Right, because they get prescribed medication, the medication starts working, and then what do they think? I don't need the medication anymore because I'm cured, and then, a lot of times, it falls right back into again a lot of crisis and stuff like that. See, but just like they may not understand the depths of what's going on in their mind, dead people don't know they're dead, regardless of what the sixth sense told us, and that's why we, as Christians, should look at those that are far from Jesus with something different than an us versus them-them mentality, like I said in the beginning, because understand this, they don't know any better. Think about it they don't understand the full ramifications of their choices. They are living without the conviction of the Holy Spirit. They are living without the conviction of the Holy Spirit. So then, how do they know any different? But yet we are not challenged. But we try to judge to the same standard that I would look at a fellow brother and sister and judge with. The difference there is is a fellow brother and sister. You should know better, brother and sister, you should know better. This is why, like I, wouldn't take a sixth grader and give them a college master level thesis to write. Why? Because they don't know all of this yet Now granted with chat, gpt and Gemini Google now, or Gemini AI, whatever, I'm sure they could do it now. However, if they were to try to do it by themselves, they're not going to be able to. Why? Because they don't know. But do we look at people like that or do we hold them to the same standard we would hold anyone else to See? This is what we have to understand that the people we're dealing with aren't the problem.
Speaker 1:Paul talks about this in Ephesians 6. He says this, starting in verse 12, for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. Here's what that means your problem isn't with the person. You're like no, no, no, no, my problem is with the person. You don't understand what they said, you don't understand what they did, and I'm sitting here telling you. You can believe that if you want to, but the Bible is arguing against you. You're not arguing against me. The Bible literally just said for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. You know what you do. Wrestle, though, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Speaker 1:See, when someone lies about you, when someone talks about you, when someone's spreading rumors behind your back, when someone's trying to, like, get your job, or when someone's trying to do all of this, understand, it's not the person, it's the force controlling that person, it's the evil that surrounds all of it, and I know for us that's hard to separate, right, because I don't know about you, but anybody in here ever worked at a company where, like, people were talking behind your back? I'll do you one better. I worked at a company I'm not going to name the company Before I even started. People were talking about me because I got hired into a position I was not quote unquote qualified to be in, even though, because I didn't have the right license to do the job Even though the license I did have far exceeded the license you're supposed to have I wasn't qualified enough. So my first day there there were people who already didn't like me, because during my interview all of this came out and one of the guys that was doing my interview went back and told everybody about it. Do you think that was comfortable for me?
Speaker 1:Like your first day there, when everyone's like, hey, you don't deserve the job you have, shouldn't be a supervisor. People have been here longer than you. People who've been here have higher licenses than you. You don't deserve that role. I get it. And you know what my mindset was Look bro, I don't care, because you won't sign my paycheck. I'm going to come in, I'm going to do the job to the best of my ability and I'm going to leave it all out there.
Speaker 1:And when I went and finally did take one of my licenses test and I came back with my little sheet that had my score on it, they're like there's no way. No one scores that high. Their first time I was like hey, guys, think about this One. We're not doing neuroscience here. This isn't the hardest thing in the world. Two, like I told you guys, I've been doing this my entire life. I know what I'm doing. Just because I didn't have a piece of paper that said that doesn't mean I didn't. But see, did that stop me when I went on jobs to help other people? No, because I was there to do a job. They were paying me to be there. So I'm going to use my abilities to the best of my knowledge. It would have been very easy for me to go hey, no, I'm not qualified. It would have been very easy for me to just start cursing the other guys, but I went.
Speaker 1:But that's not what we see in Jesus. And if we are following Jesus, then what we have to do is do the things that Jesus did. It's impossible to go I follow Jesus and you don't do anything that Jesus does. That's not following Jesus. And understand the Bible doesn't ever call us to say a prayer and get baptized and then we're good. The Bible calls us to be a disciple. That word disciple means follower. If you are a Christian, to break that word down, that means you are Christ-like, which means when people look at you, it should be like when they are looking at Christ. When people look at you, it should be like when they are looking at Christ, and, from what we can see in scripture, jesus is heartbroken for the lost. How do we know this? Well, one, as he's being killed, he says father, forgive them. They do not know what they do.
Speaker 1:Number two in Luke 19,. Jesus gives us very plainly his mission here on earth is to seek and save what is lost. Like Jesus goes, the only reason I'm even here is so that creation can be redeemed. Is that the same way that we look at it? Or do we, like most Christians now, put ourselves in this category where, hey, I have the secret information, I'm good, you're beneath me now. Now, I got to get you up to my level.
Speaker 1:Understand you share a lot more with a Gnostic person, if you look at it that way, than you do with Jesus, and that's the whole point of scripture, that's the whole point of gathering together, that's the whole point of studying all of this right and so that I can look more like Jesus. You know, the number one thing I hear from people that just cuts right through me and immediately makes me angry is if I'm sitting there talking to you and you go yeah, I know, but I'm not Jesus, I'm not going to change doing what I'm doing because I'm not Jesus. I'm not going to change doing what I'm doing because I'm not Jesus. Okay, well, james 2, 10 would very clearly tell you then, he who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him that is a what Sin. So now you are sitting here telling me hey, even though I know the right thing, even though I know I need to change this about myself, even though I know I need to work on this, even though I know Jesus did it differently, I'm still not going to do it.
Speaker 1:Guess what. That is Sin. You are willfully sitting here going, hey, I'm just going to live in sin. But then you have the nerve to talk about someone else who doesn't even know they're living in sin. Living in sin Guess what hypocrite. This is why we get called the names. We get called Because we don't want to do the work. So if we're going to follow Jesus, we have to do the things that Jesus did. And Jesus was heartbroken for the people.
Speaker 1:In fact, earlier in Luke 23, the same chapter, he gets crucified in everyone's crying because Jesus is about to be crucified. And here's his response he goes because Jesus is about to be crucified. And here's his response he goes. Don't weep for me, it's not on there. Don't weep for me, weep for you, don't cry for me. I'm doing what the Father called me to do. I'm doing what the Father put me on this place to do. You know who you need to weep for you, because the Messiah showed up and you do not recognize him. So let me ask you this is where it all starts Do you see the Messiah for the Messiah? Do you see Jesus for who he is? Because if you don't, none of this makes sense to you. See, again, going back to the conversation we were having at the beginning of service, Countercultural is a big thing.
Speaker 1:We don't, for the most part, live counterculturally. We, for the most part, assimilate to what culture has. You know how I know this Because we all own our own houses. You know how I know this Because most of us, when you leave, are going to tell me one thing you ready, see you next week. Some of you, you hardcore people in here, you're going to go see you Wednesday Because you're a little more Christian than the other people in here. Hey, but if we were to truly follow scripture, you know what you would tell me. See you tomorrow. Because they met daily. They came together daily and ate and studied the scripture. They looked different. They did things different. Not us, though, right? We just try to take America and Jesus, put them together and see what we get.
Speaker 1:See, it's easy for all of us in this room to look at others and, as soon as they mistreat us, fire back at them. Right, as soon as someone says something about you, what are you doing? I'm going to say something back to you, in fact, most of you in this room, if I had to guess okay and this is just a guess on my part, this is not prophetic in any way, shape or form Most of you were taught you better not start the fight, oh wow. So most of you were taught that Don't start it, but you better finish it, right, most of us? That's what we teach our kids, right? Hey, you better not be the first one to throw a punch, but as soon as I mean, we spend money every month to teach JT how to fight, obviously, we're not doing a good job if his old dad can still beat him up, though, but think about it, right, that's what we teach.
Speaker 1:That is the very opposite of what the Bible teaches, though Jesus could have at any point been justifying and saying you know what? This ain't worth it. None of you are worth it and cursed us to eternal damnation in hell because we didn't do what we were supposed to do. And he would have been justified in doing it, but he didn't. And if Jesus didn't do that, let me ask you this. And if Jesus didn't do that, let me ask you this why are you and you're sitting here going? I don't do that. Yeah, you do, sure you do.
Speaker 1:There are people in your life that you have written off because you went. They'll never get it. You want to know something? In my younger years, I would have been that person that you wrote off and went. They'll never get it. He'll never fully understand this. Like if I look back throughout my life, understand, I wasn't like, oh, this kid that just did amazing things and would just spend all of my time just holed up in my room studying the scriptures and praying. Not saying I didn't do that sometimes, but for the most part, that was not how I would characterize my younger life. And yet here I am, standing in a room full of people preaching the word of God. Why? Because Jesus doesn't do that. People in my life did it to me, like when I was 17,. The church like hurt me in ways that I'm not even going to waste time in my sermon to stand up here and talk about. But I didn't go to church again for almost 10 years, not because of Jesus, but because of people in the church. Because when people fire at me, what am I going to do? I didn't start the fight, but I can promise you I will end it.
Speaker 1:See, when that person that calls you a name, your first reaction is what? And I work with kids, so this ain't even fair. And I'll tell you what your kid's first reaction is. Like. Let someone say something to your kid. You want to know what their first reaction was. They said something back and it usually was like they went up one more level too, right.
Speaker 1:What about when someone lies about you, talks behind your back? What's your first reaction? You're going to tell the truth, right, and guess what you're doing? Talking behind their back, because they didn't come to you to talk to you about it, they talked to someone else about it. That person came and talked to you about it. And then you were like that ain't even how it happened. Here's what happened You're doing the exact same thing the other person did that you're sitting here going. This is so wrong, for we're not conforming to the image of Jesus. We're conforming to the image of the world, and when we react the same way as the world does, instead of like Jesus, how are we going to seek and save what is lost?
Speaker 1:Let me ask you why don't people want to come to church? Does anybody know the actual reason? They think we're hypocrites. Well, and we are. We're both of those things. Right, we're snobby, we're hypocrites. Let's just do it like this. Because they know Christians, because they've been to church before, because they go. No, I've already dealt with all of that. I'm good, I don't need to deal with that again. You know why? Because we didn't show them Jesus. We showed them the world. We did the exact same thing that anyone out there would do to them.
Speaker 1:And then we wonder why? Hey, why are we in decline? Why doesn't anybody want to be a part of this? Because we don't sound different, we don't act different, we're not standing up and owning our mistakes and going hey look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way. We're not going to people that we've offended, and you know what we're doing. We're not blessing those who persecute us. What do we do? We start political like raging fires. Right, that's been the past. What 10 years in our country? When has the church stood up and went? Hey look, be smart with who you're voting for.
Speaker 1:But understand neither one of these candidates are the Messiah. They both are going to bring problems to the table. They're both going to do things imperfectly. One may do less imperfect, but neither one of them are ushering in the kingdom of heaven. See, we have to sound and act different Now. How do we sound and act different Now? How do we sound and act different? It's really super easy.
Speaker 1:Realize who we are without Christ. You want to know how you have grace for others, the easiest possible way. Realize the amount of grace you were given. Realize who you are in Christ. Realize that anything good you do isn't you doing it, but Jesus who lives in you. Like, wrap your head around that. This is why the Bible will say in the very next verse we're getting, or very next group of verses we're getting into, says do not be haughty in your own sight, and I love that word haughty, and I can't wait until next week when I when I get to preach on it, because it's just such a fun word to say. But here's what it means. Realize that without Jesus, I you can insert your name there am chief among sinners. Realize how evil and wicked I am without Christ, restraining some of that. Realize the grace that I have been given, because when I realize who I am without Jesus, it makes it very easy for me to look at someone else who is just as broken as I am and go, hey, I get it, I've been there too. But you know what we don't do Put ourselves in that.
Speaker 1:See, jesus gives us this perfect illustration. It's found in a parable, in Matthew 18, and it starts with this question In verse 21,. Uh-oh, that's some of us in this room right. As many as seven times Jesus said to him I do not say to you seven times, but 77 times. Now I'm going to go ahead and let you guys in on a secret Debbie has forgiven me throughout our 25 years together more than 77 times. And what Jesus is not referring to here is a specific number. If we understand Hebrew thought, seven is completion. That's why the earth is made in seven days. So what Jesus is actually saying is like infinity times, infinity times, like that's what that 77 is actually referring to.
Speaker 1:So Peter comes to Jesus and he's like hey, how many times I got to deal with this fool. He sinned against me over and over and over. How many times do I have to keep forgiving him? Seven times? Some of you that may be you, your spouse may have sinned against you seven times. Your friend may have sinned against you seven times. Your whoever may have sinned against you seven times.
Speaker 1:And here's what Jesus would say Doesn't matter, keep forgiving. You know why? Because we sin against Jesus every day, and when I say we, I mean all of us in this room. I do not put myself above that. I may not struggle with the same things some of you struggle with. I may have moved past that struggle by now, but there are still things that I struggle with. That's why I give you so many illustrations of my family. You know why? Because we're imperfect. You know why? Because we're a group of sinners that live in the same house together. Of course, it's the same thing as the church, right? Why doesn't the church ever get it right? Because we're a group of sinners that come together to worship Jesus. There's going to be sin when you have a group of sinners. So should we continue to forgive one another 77 times, 77 times, infinity times, infinity.
Speaker 1:See, some of us walk around with some things we're holding on into in our hearts and I'm gonna go ahead and tell you forgiveness ain't for the other person, forgiveness is for you. Forgiveness is what allows you to go. You know what I'm not even gonna be angry about this. Forgiveness is sitting here, going. I'm not gonna hold on to this every single day of my life. Think about this. Forgiveness is sitting here, going. I'm not going to hold on to this every single day of my life. Think about it. If I were to hold on to every single thing that Debbie's ever done that has made me mad all three things in our 25-year history that she's made me mad with you know what I would spend my life doing being mad and angry, and some of us. That's where you find yourselves. You want to know why you're not moving forward in anything, because you're so pissed off at everything else in your life and it's just not fair. You're going to stomp your feet. Why don't you start forgiving? Because, see, that's how it started. Here's how it ends, in verse 32.
Speaker 1:So there's a whole parable that goes through here, right? Then his master summoned him. Oh, you know what? Let me fill it in real quick. Okay, I'm not going to read all of it because it would take me a while.
Speaker 1:So Jesus is talking about this guy who is forgiven of his debt. Right, this guy owes like and I mean this like a gazillion dollars. It's this amount that he will never, ever, ever, ever be able to pay back. Even if he lived a hundred lifetimes, he wouldn't be able to pay this money back. So he gets thrown into what's called debtor's prison. All right, they used to have this If you owed someone money, they would throw you in jail. You would work off your debt until your debt was paid, and then you would be released. Okay, man, if they did this with student loans right now, america would probably be in trouble. I definitely wouldn't be up here preaching, I'd be on the run, we'd be doing underground church, okay. But anyway, this guy is forgiven of this crazy amount. He gets released from jail. Okay, he didn't work it off. The master was like you know what? I'm going to have grace on you and I'm going to let you go. He's walking back home and he finds this guy that owes him like 50 bucks and he has him thrown in jail because he owes him like 50 bucks.
Speaker 1:You know what that's an illustration of. That's us in this room. Right? You have been forgiven infinitely more by a perfect and just God than anyone will ever do to you. I'll even do you one better. You know who lies to you the most in your life. It ain't that person you're thinking of, it's you. You lie to yourself. You let yourself down. You are the reason why your life took those turns. But yet this guy has this other guy thrown in debtor's prison.
Speaker 1:This is when it picks up. The servants see it. They're like man. I can't believe you. You were just forgiven of all that. Now you have him thrown in there and then it picks up. Then his master summoned him. This is the guy that had the other guy thrown in and said to him you wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me, and should you not have had mercy on your fellow servant as I had mercy on you? Here's what that means, the same thing Paul started with. Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse them. You know why? Because you were them. See, it's easy for me to look at others in a different light when I see me for who. I am.
Speaker 1:Going back to the fighting thing, right In Matthew 5, 38, jesus says this. You have heard it said an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you do this is what I hear most Christians. Well, jesus has given us a hyperbole to prove a point. I don't think he is. I think Jesus literally means what he's saying. And here's why Was Jesus slapped when he was carrying the cross to Golgotha? What did he do? Did he fight back? He didn't start the fight. Did he end it? He did, if you're looking at like sin and death, but not in the sake of our context. Right, see, when Paul says bless those who persecute you, he means it, and he means it literally. You know why? Because that is what Jesus did.
Speaker 1:Now, why don't we do this? Why is this so hard for all of us in this room to do? And that's what we're afraid of. Right? People walk all over me. Right, people will walk all over me. Our pride swells up. We go hold on. Who are you to tell me?
Speaker 1:And ultimately, here's what it boils down to we don't realize who we are in Christ. We don't realize who Christ is. We just sang a song, right? We are more than conquerors through Christ. Does anybody in here know where that song actually comes from? Romans 8. See, before Paul gets to this point in his letter to the Romans, he spent all this time going hey, here's who you are in Christ. In a few weeks we're going to see never repay evil for evil, but repay evil with good. Leave vengeance to God, because, think about this, who do you think is more powerful? The all supreme, all perfect, omniscientipotent Lord of the universe, or you, the one who can speak things into existence, or you? So we don't realize who we are in Christ.
Speaker 1:Think about it like this your child comes up to you and they're just like bawling tears. Right, they're little. You go. What's wrong? Right, because that's your first question. Are you hurt? Right, and they go oh, so-and-so called me stupid or fat or ugly, whatever the word is.
Speaker 1:Someone called me that. What's the first thing you tell them? Thing you tell them Me. I ask a question, right, I go. Are you Like I've had? I've had Gabby and I'll use her for an example, just because she's sitting here. I've had Gabby run up to me in tears because Kayla called her stupid and my first question was are you Well? No, then what are you crying for? Why did that hurt you? You know you're not stupid. What difference does it make what someone else thought you? Reassure them the truth that you are not what you are being called, see. And if we understood the truth of who we are in Christ, we will start to act more like jesus, simply by realizing who we are now. Who are we? Well, the bible would tell us in john 1, 12 that if you are in christ, but to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of god. Here, here's what that means If I am in Christ, I am a child of God.
Speaker 1:Now let me ask you, as we were sleeping last night and honestly here was my hardest time about Debbie not being at the house, and it may sound wrong and whatever Of course I miss her, I love her and all of that my hardest thing is this I'm a very deep sleeper. Someone could theoretically kick my door in and I not know it. Now, debbie. On the other hand, if a mouse were to fart in our house, on the other side of the house is like up and alert. So I need that, because all I need her to do is wake me up. I don't want her to do anything else. In fact, I've told her over and over hey look, if that were to happen, you just stay right here, you call 911. I'm gonna go handle the problem. You are just going to get in my way, right? But with her not there I went.
Speaker 1:I have two girls that I need to protect with everything I am. And if you're not a male, you may not fully understand this illustration, because there is something just deep within you that when you look at, especially your daughters because, let's be honest, I look at JT and I go, he's my size, he can defend himself, but you look at your daughters and, regardless of how old they get, you look at them and go, I have to protect them. That is what God put me on this earth to do provide and protect. Right, and I'm sitting here and going. I can't fall asleep Like, I can't go into a deep sleep because Debbie's not here to wake me up and I don't trust, and I know, kayla is not a light sleeper and I can't hear anything because she's right in my ear. Last night, just like. So I'm like I'm never going to be able to like hear if something happens, so so I'm like every time I would feel myself kind of like getting into that deep REM cycle. I would jolt myself back up because I will do anything in the world to protect them.
Speaker 1:And you want to know something? I'm an imperfect father, but let me ask you this If you were a child of God and he is a perfect father who fights for you, good job. I mean, when, when we have children that can come in and answer it, some of y'all, I think you think I'm asking you trick questions. What do you need to fight for then? Like, if someone were to bust in here right now, you know what. I'm going to go ahead and let you all in on a secret. I got it. I'm going to be the first person that they have to meet coming into this room, and they ain't going to like how it goes.
Speaker 1:We are the same way when it comes to the evil that surrounds us. We have a God that sits here and goes. If I am for you, who can be against you. How come you don't rest in that? How come you're sitting here going no, no, no, no, no. I know God's for me and all that, but I still got to get mine. I still got to be for me because no one else is going to stick up for me. The God of the universe is sitting here going. I'm going to stick up for you. The God of the universe is sitting here, going. I'm going to fight for you. In fact, if we go all the way back into the book of Isaiah, what does he say? No weapon formed against me shall prosper, and every tongue that rises against me in judgment, thou shall, and every tongue that rises against me in judgment, thou shalt condemn. You think you got something on God and God's sitting here going hey look, you don't have to fight that battle, I got it.
Speaker 1:Think about this this would be like if you challenged me to like a one-on-one fight and I went, cool, but you're going to fight Ilya Toporiy instead of me, and if you don't know who that is, he just beat Charles Oliveira last night in a lightweight MMA fight to become not just the lightweight champion, but he's also the flyweight champion. Dude is moving like weight classes because he's going there's no one good enough to fight me and knocked him out in the first round. Charles Oliveira is like one of the greatest fighters of all time. Would you still want to fight me then? No, you'd be like I'm not fighting that guy, he's a trained fighter. Like I thought I had a chance with you because I know you got bad shoulders and you're getting older and you're a little out of weight. And you just put up a video of you fishing in which you commented I should not breathe this hard, just catching a fish. It's not even like I was running, I was literally just standing there reeling in a fishing pole. But see, I don't have to fight those battles.
Speaker 1:When Joshua went to fight Jericho guess who? He didn't have to fight Anyone. God just went, march around the city. Do that for six days and on the seventh day, march around seven times. I'm gonna give you the city. You want to know how you can bless those who persecute you. Understand, you don't fight. Understand that I don't have to be afraid that someone's going to take over. I'm not saying don't be wise, right, use wisdom, but understand. You're not fighting me, you're fighting God Most High, you're fighting Elohim, I ain't worried about what you can do to me. That's why the same writer who wrote this in Philippians 1 would say this for me, to live is Christ, to die is gain. How do you mess with someone like this? There's nothing you can. We're going to put you in jail? Cool, I'm going to start a prison ministry. That's what Paul does, because he's sitting here going. It doesn't matter where I am, what I'm doing. Here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to preach Christ. You know who Paul was before. That Doesn't matter where I am or what I'm going to do. I'm going to kill Christ.
Speaker 1:So if you could take the biggest enemy of the church and put them square up with jesus, you wind up with someone who actually starts more churches and is the best church planner that the world has ever seen, who writes half of the new testament. Why? Because you can't fight against christ. The devil can't fight against jesus. You want to know how to bless those who persecute you Understand. It ain't your fight to begin with, because you do not wrestle against flesh and blood. You wrestle against the powers of evil and you are no match for the powers of evil to begin with. But you know who is the one that was promised in the Proto-Eugelion, in Genesis 3.15, that one day you would bruise his heel but he will crush your head. That's who fights for you. So I ain't worried about it. Say what you want about me, it really doesn't matter, because I know who fights for me, because I know who I am without Christ and therefore I can have grace and mercy with others. And I know, at the end of the day, it's not my fight to fight.
Speaker 1:You fight against God most high, and that has never worked out for anyone in the history of mankind. Did it work out for Nebuchadnezzar? I mean empire of Babylon, anyone ever heard of that one? Like one of the most strongest empires the world has ever seen. Dude was eating grass like an ox. Why? Because he wanted to fight against the most high. God's like cool, go out in the field and just act like an ox, like we have. You know those people that do that now, right, just saying they're called furries. I just saw a YouTube video the other day of people like acting like dogs and they like get walked on leashes and stuff like that. You don't think that that's not the wrath of God going, hey, you want to fight against me. Cool, you will look like the world's biggest fool, walking down the sidewalk, acting like an animal. We've already seen it in Scripture. So we bless those who persecute us. Bless and do not curse.
Speaker 1:So, as we close today, how's the rest of your day going to look? Are we leaving here and just getting back to our normal lives, or are there people that you're sitting here going, hey, I need to bless. Are there things in your heart that you need to overcome? Do you need to pray? Do you need to repent? Whatever it is that we need to do, we need to start actually doing those things, because, see, you're not called to fight. You're not called to be God's mouthpiece. You're not called to do any of that. Here's the only thing we're called to do Follow Jesus, look more like Jesus From one degree of glory to the next. That's all we're called to do. So all we have to do is be obedient to Christ. But we got to start doing stuff, because if we've always done what we've always done, we'll always get what we've always got, and some of us. That's the cycle we just live in. You want to know how to break it. Do something different.
Speaker 1:So, father, I ask and I pray that you be with each and every one of us. You be with our hearts. Father, you look in there and you go hey, you know what? Here's the stuff I need to go ahead and take out and pluck out. Father, I ask that you prune us as a vine and I ask and I pray, father, that as we leave here, we are different than to look more like you and God. I ask and I pray that that, through the power of your spirit, we are changed from one degree of glory to the next. Father, I ask that you give us the strength to bless those who persecute us. Bless and not curse them, father. I ask that you give us the strength to do things different, to do things like you did. Father, I ask this in Jesus name, amen.