Sermon Tone Analysis
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I heard this illustration of a football team huddling for a play.
The team would huddle up and figure out a play to run.
They would communicate it well so that everyone heard and understood it, then they did something strange.
Instead of running the play, they would run off the field and sit on the bench.
They would stay off the field until the other team had run a play, then they would run out and huddle up again to discuss the next play that they should run.
Then they would run off the field again.
Pastor Francis Chan compared this to how the people of the church too often gathers on Sunday to praise, to pray, and to proclaim the truths of the faith, but all too often we run out of the game instead of running the play.
W
My prayer for us today is that we don’t just talk about what the life of a disciple looks like, but instead take this challenge as an opportunity to live the disciples’ life.
Pray
We are beginning the 6th of the 9 week long New Testament Challenge.
In this series, we are 1.
striving to read or listen to the New Testament together.
WE are striving to attend every Sunday service to hear a message on one of the 9 main themes of the NT.
We are seeking to hear from God and 4th, we have committed to obeying any call of God we might receive during this series.
I’m glad you are here because I believe that God wants to say something to someone today.
This week in the New Testament Challenge, we read a few of Paul’s letters to first churches.
We read his letters to the churches in Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, and Colossae.
These letters were written to real people facing real issues in their church.
They were facing issues that were driving their churches apart.
This week, we read a few of Paul’s letters to first churches.
We read his letters to the churches in Galatia, in Ephesus, in Philippi, and Colosae.
These letters were written to real people facing real issues in their church.
They were facing issues that were driving their churches apart.
Real problems of how to live out their faith.
They were facing real problems of how to live out their faith in their lives, while struggling with how to treat one another when they are lied to, persecuted, hungry, taken advantage of, and in poverty.
Living real lives, struggling how to treat one another when they are lied to, mistreated, persecuted, hungry, and in poverty.
To Galatia, he told them about how they are free to live Godly lives by God’s grace, that we aren’t justified by obedience to the law.
To Ephesus, Paul explains how the experience of God’s grace creates in us real changes in the way we live.
These changes aren’t made to earn God’s love, but rather because we have God’s love at work in us, he reorients our lives around his way of doing things.
When you forgive, you don’t change the past... you change the future.
TO the church in Philippi, Paul, while in prison, reminded the church to be unified as servants, as Jesus was in emptying himself on the cross.
and to the church in Colossae, Paul taught them to be on the look out for false teachers.
That as God’s people we were to leave our lives of sin behind and live in a godly way, following Christ, loving Jesus and loving one another.
, to leave the
When you forgive, you don’t change the past... you change the future.
Paul wrote these letters to help and encourage the church, that’s you and I, to live out our relationship with Jesus, not just talk about it.
But they were having a hard time doing that, that’s why he wrote to encourage or correct them when all they were doing was huddling up and never running the play.
I mean, I’m a preacher, you know I love to talk…but our faith was meant to be lived…love was meant to be loved.
One of the things that prevents people from living the life we were all created to live, the one thing we all have in common is what we are going to talk about today, the challenge to forgiveness.
Forgiveness, or the lack of forgiveness, is something we all deal with…or struggle with.
EXAMPLES: spouse, parents, neighbor, employer, classmate, stranger, sibling, an employee, fellow church member, or even your pastor
WE think that what they did was so bad we can’t possibly forgive them.
Or maybe it’s the flip-side, that some of us think that what we did back then was so bad, God will never forgive me.
But both of these are a lie.
Forgiveness is the release, on the part of the creditor or offended party, of any expectation that a debt will be repaid or that an offender will receive punishment for an offense.
Forgiveness does not…say the behavior was ok.
Forgiveness does not…say I’ll let you do it again.
Forgiveness does not…say the offender won’t face any consequences
Forgiveness does not…say, unless the forgiver is God, that God won’t punish
Forgiveness does not…say, unless the forgiver is God, that God won’t punish
Forgiveness does not…say it never happened.
When I forgive, i’m saying, going forward I won’t hold you accountable for what you have done in the past.
It doesn’t change the past…it changes the future.
It’s hard and for many of us, forgiveness is one of the most difficult things about the Christian faith.
Forgiveness doesn’t change the past…it changes the future.
But we aren’t the only ones who struggle with it, the early church did, even the apostles did.
That’s the source of our text today.
If you brought your bible, I’d invite you to open your bible to the gospel of Matthew.
Picking up in chapter 18, verse 21 we find Peter asking Jesus about this very issue.
We are going to spend all day right here.
While you are turning there, I’d like to say something to those of you who are here today and don’t really follow Jesus.
You wouldn’t not consider yourself a Jesus follower.
This forgiveness thing won’t make sense to you.
It’s part of the way we understand God works in our lives.
But if you don’t believe God works in our world, if you don’t believe that you can be forgiven of your past, then by all means, when you are offended or wronged, you should seek revenge.
That’s how the world works and if you don’t take part, the whole system will break down.
But if you call yourself a Christian, if you hold to the forgiveness of God through Jesus's death and resurrection, then hear these words of Jesus.
What brought up such a problem for Peter?
Just previously, Jesus was teaching that if a brother sins against you, that you should say something.
If he doesn't listen to you, then take someone with you.
If he doesn’t listen to you both, tell the whole church…and if he still doesn’t get it…well treat him as you would an outsider.
How did you treat an outsider?
Jesus taught us to love people no matter what.
How did you treat an outsider?
Jesus taught us to love people no matter what.
But how often do I have to forgive them Peter asks.
He’s like, yea, but when we correct him and he apologizes and comes back and does it all over again.
How often do we have to forgive that one?
We need to hear this, cause let’s face it, I can smile at people without forgiving them, amen.
I can welcome people without forgiving them.
I can be nice without forgiving them.
Rock Hall is the town for nice people we know that so you can be nice without forgiving people.
Forgiveness isn’t fake.
Jesus says not seven times..I’ve read that in the Jewish culture at this time it was customary to forgive people 3 times.
Then after that, you were done with them.
They didn’t deserve forgiveness…Jesus says don’t just do a little better than the culture... but seventy seven…some bibles translate it as 7 times 70.
Either way, the point is, if you are counting, it’s not forgiveness.
Forgiveness means you stop keeping score.
Because forgiveness is about NOT keeping a list.
Forgiveness is about NOT holding a person accountable.
What does that kind of forgiveness even look like?
Jesus told Peter a parable.
A couple of things here.
First, the debt that was owed, 10,000 talents.
How much is that?
Well, it would take a man 20 years to earn 1 talent…so 10,000…that’s more than you could earn in many lifetimes.
It’s millions.
It’s unimaginable.
This was a huge debt owed.
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