Pentecost 11 Get Connected: The Prayer of Release Matthew 6:12 And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. (please be seated) SHOW VIDEO. THE POWER OF FORGIVENESS Thankfully, most of us will never have to forgive someone for committing such a crime as this one. That would be hard to forgive. Only by the power of the Spirit. But all of us are affected by the 2 Misery Twins: Guilt and Resentment. Last week we said there is no guilt because our sins are forgiven. Today we talk about Resentment when others sin against us. We ve all been hurt by other people. Sometimes unintentionally. Sometimes intentionally. It s one thing to forgive someone who hurts us ONCE. But what about REPEAT OFFENDERS? Those who hurt us over and over and over again. How often do I have to forgive someone who keeps on hurting me? It s a good question. In fact, Peter asked Jesus this question 2000 years ago. Peter asked, Do I have to forgive someone 7 times? We understand that question. People are sinners. We get hurt. And they said that 90% of the resentment we experience is with family members. Someone once said: To dwell above with those we love That will be a glory! To dwell below with those we know That s another story. So Peter asks the question, Do I have to forgive someone 7 times? Peter thought he was being magnanimous here. Jewish law said you had to forgive someone 3 times. Then forget about them. So Peter doubled that and add 1 for good measure!
Jesus said, Not 7 times, but 77 times. IN other words, If I m counting how many times I ve forgiven someone, that really isn t forgiveness! Jesus is saying Keep on Forgiving. Release the hurt. Forgive the offender. And Jesus then told a story, a story that we now know as the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant There was once a king who decided to collect all of his debt that his subjects owed him. One at a time, he called them in and asked to be repaid. He discovered one man owed him 10000 talents, which is about 12 million dollars. Back then Bankruptcy was very simple. You don t pay your debt? Then you and all your family is sold into slavery. This 12 million dollar debt was impossible to repay. Even if he paid it $100/day, it would take 300 years to repay. The man falls on his knees and begs for mercy. Give me a few more days! Yeah right. But the king says, I ll do more than that. I ll write it off. I forgive your debt. I release you from this debt. The king canceled it. Why would anyone do that? More importantly, why must we do that? God s Word gives us 3 reasons to let go of the hurt, release the resentment and forgive. 3 reasons. First, We forgive BECAUSE God in Christ Jesus has forgiven me! Everything you have done wrong, Jesus died for you and paid your debt. The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. We ve been released from the debt of our sins. Now if you were that servant who had been forgiven 12 million dollars, what would you have done? Maybe a happy dance! At least a Woo Who! Gratitude. Relief. Freedom.
That s not how the man in our story reacted. He immediately goes to someone who owed him 100 denarii, 17 bucks, and demanded payment. When that man couldn t pay, rather than forgive the debt, he threw him into jail. No mercy. Why was this guy so harsh? Perhaps he didn t really believe that the king had forgiven him. Come to think of it, when I feel unforgiven, I become unforgiving. If I don t feel release from my sin, I sure don t want to release you from yours. Ephesians 4 says, Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other as God in Christ Jesus forgave you. Why do we have to forgive? Second, Resentment is Self-torture. Whenever you hold a grudge, it hurts you more than it hurts anyone else. When you allow someone from your past to keep hurting you today, that s dumb. The king heard about what that man did, not forgiving his friend, but having him thrown into prison over $17. So the king went to this man and said, You contemptible and wicked servant. I canceled your debt. Shouldn t you have done the same? And king sent this man to prison to be tortured. Resentment and lack of forgiveness is a prison, a self-imposed prison. If you nurse it and grudge it, it will eat you up. That s what the lady in the video said. He killed my son. This forgiveness wasn t for him. IT WAS FOR ME. Let it go. Release it. The Grudge and resentment will destroy you. It destroys your health. According to Stanford Research, those who carry resentment are twice as likely to have a stroke, 3 times as likely to have heart issues. 4 times as likely to high cholesterol. Sometimes, it s not what you eat, it s what s eating you.
Why do we have to forgive? I was talking to DCE Leah about this sermon, and she mentioned something she learned at the Youth Gathering. Forgiveness is the MOST POWERFUL WITNESS to Jesus Christ. Only By faith can you let it go, release it. And You are reflecting the Love of Jesus. You are being Christ-like. Forgiveness is to be ENJOYED and EMPLOYED. So how do I do this? How do I release my hurt? You leave it to God. The Bible says, Vengeance is mine, says the Lord. Put it in his hands. Forgiveness DOES NOT EQUAL instant Trust. They are not the same. Forgiveness is immediate, but Trust has to be rebuilt. A person has to EARN YOUR TRUST. Let s say, a woman is abused in the home. She kicks her husband out. (And she should because no one has to endure abuse.) If he comes back and says, Please forgive me she has to forgive. We are told to forgive an infinite number of times. For your good. But if he says, Can I move back in? She doesn t have to say YES until he earns her trust again. Forgiveness is instant and undeserved. And it is something you can do. Whether or not they ask for it. Whether or not they realize that they need it. YOU FORGIVE. IT HELPS YOU. But the restoration of a relationship takes more than forgiveness. It takes repentance, restitution, rebuilding of trust. HOW DO I FORGIVE? I heal with grace. The only cure for a hurting heart is to not allow the sin to take root. Hebrews 12 says Offer God s grace, or you end up with the bitter spirit.
Most of us figure out that life isn t fair. It s not. We try to keep our kids from learning that lesson too soon. It is a hard lesson to learn. We live on a broken planet. Our Old Testament reading, Solomon was at that point where life seemed to have no meaning. Life wasn t fair. But it wasn t fair for Jesus to have to pay for your sin. 1 Peter 2, Christ carried our sins in His body to the cross. Take your hurt, and nail it to the cross of Jesus. Nothing else will free you from regrets and resentments. That video. Man, it was powerful. The prayer of Release. Forgive us our Trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. How badly do you want to be healed? Let it go in Christ. Nail it to the cross. Be free of it. Forgiving someone else is as much for you as for that person.