Forgiveness

[00:00:00] This audio sermon is provided by AnabaptistSermons.com and may be freely copied and distributed. You may not sell or edit this sermon. Our prayer is that you would be blessed by this ministry. Good morning and greetings to everyone in the precious name of Jesus. I'd like to read two portions of Scripture, and there's a lot of similarities in principle between these two portions. [00:00:33] The first is in Matthew chapter 18. This has to do with abundant living. I'll begin reading in verse 21 of chapter 18 in Matthew. Then came Peter to him and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee until seven times, [00:01:05] but until seventy times seven is that abundant living? Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king which would take account of his servants and when he had begun to reckon one was brought unto him which owed him ten thousand talents but for as much as he had not to pay His Lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. [00:01:45] The servant, therefore, fell down and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the Lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow servants, which owed him an hundred pence. [00:02:19] and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat saying pay me that thou owest and his fellow servant fell down at his feet and besought him saying have patience with me and I will pay thee all and he would not but went and cast him into prison till he should pay the debt So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their Lord all that was done. [00:02:59] Then his Lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me. Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee? And his Lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. [00:03:34] And notice, So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you. Now, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. Now, I would like to read a portion of scripture from Luke chapter 15, beginning to read in verse 11. This is Jesus speaking. And Jesus said, A certain man had two sons, and the younger of them said to his father, [00:04:09] Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land, and he began to be in want. [00:04:40] And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat, and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger. I will arise and go to my father and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. [00:05:25] Make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. [00:05:56] But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet, and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it, and let us eat and be merry. For this my son was dead, and is alive again. He was lost, and is found, and they began to be merry. Now his elder son was in the field, and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing. [00:06:33] And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come, and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. And he was angry and would not go in Therefore came his father out and entreated him And he answering said to his father Lo, these many years do I serve thee [00:07:05] Neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment And yet thou never gavest me a kid that I might make merry with my friends But as soon as this thy son was come which hath devoured thy living with harlots thou hast killed for him the fatted calf and he said unto him son thou art ever with me and all that I have is thine it was meet that we should make merry and be glad [00:07:37] for this thy brother was dead and is alive again and was lost and is found thank you for following in that lengthy scripture reading I see numerous parallels in these two passages, and both of these passages deal with forgiveness, forgiveness. And it seems like in our day, in our time, there are quite a few people who are carrying unnecessary luggage. [00:08:15] You know, sometimes you, like we, the reason we're here is for a wedding, but coming here we brought some luggage, we brought some baggage, and sometimes, in our home at least, say, well now, let's not take too much, you know, let's not be overloaded, let's not overdo it, let's keep it minimal. And in our Christian walk, God does not want us carrying a lot of baggage, any baggage. [00:08:47] Baggage has a way of wearing you out, tiring you down, making you weary. And as you continue carrying that baggage, it's even difficult to get up. You know, when you get up, you're going to feel the weight. If you're sitting down and the backpack is on the bench behind you, while it's still there, you may not sense the load. But when you get up to go somewhere, the weight of the backpack drags you down and you sense it anew and afresh. [00:09:22] Yeah, it's still there. In this area of forgiveness, I think this is one area that can be a tremendous hindrance to the abundant life. to life as God intended and desired for us to experience it. I see a parallel between the king in Matthew 18 and the father in Luke 15. I see a parallel between this unforgiving servant in Matthew 18 and the elder son in Luke 15. [00:10:01] You look at the attitude this elder son had in Luke 15, the same attitude that the unforgiving servant had in Matthew 18. And you look at the prodigal son. I see a parallel between him and the servant who owed the debt. Turn if you will to Matthew 18. I want to just point out some things from Matthew 18. I see a parallel between him and the prodigal son, what we call the prodigal son. [00:10:42] As I study Luke 15, I see there's two prodigal sons. Not only one, there's two. And the real point Jesus is making, I think, is seen in the attitude of the latter. But here in Matthew 18, it says there was a king who had servants. And there was one servant who owed him 10,000 talents. How did he get into that condition? [00:11:13] How did he get to that place of totaling up 10,000 talents? I see a parallel there between him and the first son we read about in Luke 15. Riotous living. Just living for the now. Just wanting what he wants and he wants it now. That's what I see a parallel here. And he tallied up this tremendous bill. [00:11:45] 10,000 talents. I didn't do this figuring myself, but back in, I think it was about 1990, someone figured this up, figured at $6 per ounce, the value, $6 to the ounce of silver. And this total came at that time, would probably be higher now, but at that time it was $45 million in U.S. currency. [00:12:17] $45 million this servant owed the king. And the king says, I want my money and I want it now. And he says, well I don't have it now. Now, he says, okay, I'm going to sell you. I'm going to sell your wife. I'm going to sell your children. I'm going to sell all your possessions. And there's a phrase here that says, for as much as he had not to pay. He didn't have it. [00:12:48] And this man, I look at what's happening This man here, maybe he was involved with riotous living Spending where he should not have spent Not being accountable Not being wise Not being thrifty Not being frugal Similar to the prodigal son He had not to pay And the king says, okay I'm going to sell you, your wife, your children, and all your possessions The man looks at that side of the coin and he says, I can't handle that. [00:13:21] And he falls down on his knees, and a Greek term for this worshiping, as it is in the book of Luke, where Satan tempts Jesus and says, if you worship me, I'll give you all this. The Greek meaning there is, if you fall down with your forehead to the ground and prostrate yourself before me in worship. And it seems to me this is what this servant did. He fell down low as he could go. [00:13:54] And he says, have patience and I will pay you all. How far is he thinking when he's saying that? I thought, how could he even afford to pay the interest, much less the principle? On such a sum as this. And I think the king realized this poor fellow is not thinking straight. This poor fellow does not realize the true situation. He can never pay this debt. He can never pay it. [00:14:27] And then it says, the king was moved with compassion. Same term we read in Luke 15. The Father saw him a great way off and had compassion. The King moved with compassion. We read in one of the Gospels that Jesus, seeing the multitudes, was moved with compassion. And here this King, he says, I'm going to forgive you. [00:15:02] He loosed him. Such a beautiful term. He loosed him and forgave him the debt Loosed, that has something to do with abundant living He loosed him and forgave him the debt You know what that really means? That means he bore the loss of $45,000, million dollars [00:15:35] He bore that himself. I read an illustration that a native in Africa gave. He said he could imagine this servant coming by the king's house later. And he sees a truck backed up to the door. And he sees him loading furniture on there. And he sees another truck come and loading furniture on there. And he says, why is the king selling all this furniture, moving this furniture? [00:16:06] He says, well, the loss was greater than what he expected, so to speak. And he had to sell some of his furniture to make up for the loss. The point he was making is that the king, it was like a personal loss he suffered when he forgave this servant who, with riotous living, totaled up this bill, $45 million. Maybe it wasn't riotous living, but I see a similarity there between those two. [00:16:39] And the king loosed him and forgave him the debt. And what happens? This same servant went out and found a fellow servant which owed him 100 pence. The same value in U.S. currency comes up to $75. Here was a man who owed $45 million and he was forgiven. And here is a fellow servant who owes him $75 and he refuses to forgive. [00:17:12] Why is forgiveness difficult? I think one of the reasons it's difficult is because we feel this person owes us something. And if he doesn't pay, we're going to have to bear the loss. We're going to have to lose him. We're going to have to free him. And it's difficult to bear the loss. It's difficult to bear the loss. To suffer the loss. [00:17:43] to suffer wrong. I like to make this parallel. The King and the Father. I see a representative of God. Representative of God. And the grace of God. So beautiful in these two accounts. The King exemplified graciousness, kindness, goodness, mercy, compassion, love, Love, gentleness, tenderness. And the father likewise in Luke 15. Those same characteristics he expressed to his son. One translation I read in connection with the father running to meet the son. It says he ran and hugged him and kissed him numerous times tenderly. I love that. That is the grace of God. [00:18:40] Wayne said this morning that he's heard me say, God's will is a good will. Look at these two accounts, and look at the will of the king, and look at the will of the father. That was a good will. And God's will this morning, I say it again, is a good will toward men. When the angel said, peace on earth, good will toward men. I so appreciated the verse that Brother Eli read. [00:19:14] The thief cometh not but for to steal, to kill, and to destroy. That's Satan's work. Jesus said, I am come. The good will of God, I am come. That you might have life and have it more abundantly. And you look at the Father. And you look at the King. And you see them both willing to bear and suffer the loss And you look at God [00:19:44] When you and I choose to sin When you and I live in sin We are grieving God Like the prodigal son When he left the presence of the Father Or the other son When we refuse to forgive Neither son was doing the will of the Father. Study it out. The will of the Father was for both sons to do His will. And that was to love one another. [00:20:17] Is that right? I want my sons to do my will. One son says, I'll not do your will. I want what belongs to me. I want it now. and I'm going to use it how I want it to in the absence of any interference from you. In other words, it is a rejection of government. It is a rejection of the Father's authority. And that is similar to what the servant did in Matthew 18. [00:20:51] He rejected the authority of the king. The king's authority, the king's will was that because he has been forgiven, he should forgive also and love. When we sin, we grieve the loving heart of God. We do him a personal injury, as it were, a loss. Do you ever wonder why David said in Psalm 51, 1. Against thee and thee only have I sinned, and done this great wickedness in thy sight. [00:21:29] Maybe we think when we sin, we are only sinning against our wives, against the church, against the preacher. When we sin, we are most of all sinning against God. Against God. And this prodigal son in Luke 15, he said, I'm going to go back, it says, when he came to his senses. In Hebrews chapter 3, there's a phrase that talks about being hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. [00:22:04] All sin is deceitful. All sin has deceit connected in one form or another with it. Any temptation is deceitful. Satan is a liar and the father of it. You can go back, study, when he first came into the Garden of Eden, there was deceit involved in that temptation. Lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin This younger son in Luke 15 was hardened through the deceitfulness of sin [00:22:42] He was hardened against the government of his father The authority of his father And he said, freedom is to do what I want to do When I want to do it, where I want to do it, and how I want to do it Is that real freedom? That is deceitful. That is bondage. There's a verse in Proverbs that says, a man's iniquities shall bind him. With the cords of his iniquities he shall be holden. [00:23:13] In other words, that rebellious attitude causes prodigal son, the younger son, to act against the will of his father. And sin always leads you further than you want to go. Slowly but wholly taking control. That's what happened to this younger son. You look what happened. Riotous living, he had friends while the money was gone or was there [00:23:44] When the money was gone, what happened? He began to be in need He began to be in want And as I see the picture in today's setting He probably went down on some street corner Held up a cardboard sign and said, I'll work for food But I noticed something in the account, it says No man gave him. No man gave him. [00:24:14] You see, in that far off country, it's the realm of selfishness. Every man is out for himself. They don't care about others. In that far off country, there's no love. There's no compassion. There's no kindness. There's no caring. Every man is for himself. I had to get mine, you can get yours. And the son became hungrier and hungrier and hungrier. [00:24:48] Till finally, it says, he was feeding the hogs and he wanted to eat what the hogs ate. Does that sound like abundant living? Hog food? Not to me. Through that hunger, he came to his senses. I think it's Psalm 107 talks about men that come to their wit's end before they call on the Lord. But at wit's end, they cried unto the Lord, and the Lord heard and delivered them out of their troubles. [00:25:23] That's where I think this younger son came to, his wit's end. And then he began reasoning thus. How many servants of my Father have bread enough and to spare? In other words, they have more than what they really need. And here I am, notice this word, perishing with hunger. I perish. That is the deceitfulness of sin. [00:25:53] It brings you to the place not of fullness, not of abundance, but of emptiness and loneliness And where he says, I am perishing If I don't do something and do something soon, I'm done for He said, would it not be better to go to my father and be a servant in his house They at least are drawing a check And they can buy food They've got bread enough and to spare [00:26:25] I'm going back home I'm going to tell Daddy Daddy, I did wrong when I left you I sinned against you And I sinned against heaven Daddy, I am no more worthy to be called your son But if you will have me, Daddy I'll work for you the rest of my days as one of your servants. Just take me on as a hired hand, would you please? That's what I'm going to tell Daddy. And it says, He arose and went. [00:26:59] Brother and sister, that is repentance. He changed His mind. And that is what the Greek term means for repentance. A change of mind. He changed His mind. You see, he was saying, Dad's will is a hard will. Dad's will is not a good will. But he came to the place where he changed his mind and he said, Dad's will is good will. Look at his servants. They've got bread. [00:27:31] I who am not in his will have no bread, and I'm perishing. He repented. He changed his mind. And he went. There needs to be sometimes repentance along with our sons. Repentance in word and repentance in deed. Restitution. Repentance in word and repentance in deed. The prophet Hosea said, take with you words and turn to the Lord. [00:28:02] The prodigal son took with him words, and he said to the father, I have sinned. And what happened? His father had compassion. He didn't meet him with his finger in his face. You spend all my money. I've been waiting for you to come back. You know what I mean? James says, the Lord upbraideth not. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God. He doesn't upbraid. [00:28:35] In other words, ball you out. Are you familiar with that term? He won't ball you out when you come to Him in repentance. The prodigal son came in repentance. And he brought with him words. And the attitude that produced deeds of servanthood. And look what happens. He never got so far as to say, make me as one of your hired servants. The father cut him off before he got there. [00:29:07] And he says, bring the best robe and put it on him. And put a ring on his finger. And put shoes on his feet. I believe this prodigal son was in bad shape physically. And I think he was dressed in a bad way. He was poorly dressed. and I think he was barefooted. He didn't have money to buy new shoes. He didn't have money to buy sandals. The father said bring the best robe. Bring the ring. [00:29:38] Put it on his finger and put a new pair of shoes on his feet and kill the fatted calf. Now I'd like to ask you a question. Is that abundant life? Is that abundant life? Here the son comes. Unworthy. Undeserving. and the Father loosed him and forgave him and poured on him provision. Now the prodigal, the son, returns to the bosom of the father. [00:30:10] He says, Dad, I'll get up when you tell me to get up and I'll work till you say break time and when you say get back to work, I'll go back to work. I'll serve you. And instead, what happens? The Father is, as it were, serving the Son. Do you get the picture? The Son is the guest. The Father is the host. And suddenly, the Son has a robe that He did not have previously. [00:30:42] He has shoes that He did not have previously. He has a ring on His hand that He did not have previously. and he is well on the way to a good meal that he did not enjoy previously. Full belly again with satisfying and nutritious food. Not hog food, husks. A vast difference and it was because of the grace of the Father. The grace of God. [00:31:12] Brother and sister, the grace of God has brought to us the abundant life through Jesus Christ our Lord. As I see the picture, it's this way. If I'm not in the presence of the Father, looking from the perspective of the younger son, if I'm not in the presence of the Father, I don't have life. I don't have food. I don't have provision. I don't have security. I don't have protection. I don't have what I need. But when I am in His presence, in His will, I have fullness. [00:31:54] fullness. Psalm 16 says, In thy presence there is fullness of joy, and at thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore. Jesus said, Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. That's true. You seek the Father, and the Father will take care of the robe you need. [00:32:26] He will take care of the ring if you need one. He will take care of the shoe if you need one. You seek the will of the Father, and suddenly you will find the Father caring for you, providing for you, protecting you, keeping you. He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge, He is my strength [00:33:01] And if you want to put this psalm in this context, Psalm 23 The Father is my shepherd, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not lack or need or want He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me beside the still waters. And you look at that. It's beautiful. It is the secondary things being provided as David sought the primary with all his heart. [00:33:37] God. As David sought God with his whole heart. God protected him. God provided for him. And David says, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Why? For thou art with me. The presence of Jesus, the presence of the Father, that is the abundant life. In the absence of the presence of Jesus, in the absence of the presence of the Father, we have no abundance, we have no protection, we have no security. [00:34:16] Brother and sister, it is amazing, the grace of God. So we look at the debt that we owed, and we could not pay it. The songwriter says, Could my zeal no respite know? Could my tears forever flow? All for sin could not atone, could not pay it. All for sin could not atone, thou must save and thou alone. And look at the price. Far greater than 45 million dollars was the price Jesus paid on Calvary's cross for my sins and your sins. [00:34:58] There on Calvary's cross, he shed his precious holy blood for my sins and your sins. The sins of the whole world, Isaiah says, were laid on his back. With his stripes, we are healed. We can experience forgiveness because of what Jesus paid for us and that alone. God forgives us only for Jesus' sake. [00:35:30] Not because we've been Mennonites all our lives. Not because we've been such good Mennonites. And not because we are the best Mennonites. Okay, He forgives us for Jesus' sake. 1 John chapter 2 says, Your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake. For Jesus' sake. When God looked at the price that Jesus, His Son, paid for sinners, for sinners, Isaiah says, He shall see of the travail of His soul and shall be satisfied. [00:36:10] God was satisfied with the payment that Jesus made on Calvary's cross. And Jesus said, It is finished. Brother and sister, what comforting words for the weary, heavy laden sinner and the failing saint. It is finished. The debt is paid. You have been forgiven for Jesus' sake, for all your sins. [00:36:46] And he didn't murmur or complain at the price. I heard of a man, someone, just an illustration, had taken his wife to the doctor, and later someone asked this individual about the visit to the doctor, how were things in connection with the wife's health, and what do you think the individual mentioned first? Prior to giving an expression of what the doctor found with his wife, what the doctor found with condition, it cost us X number of dollars. [00:37:26] What do you think? When we come to Jesus, God receives us in the absence of complaining about the price. That is love. That is love. Such love cannot be fathomed when he paid such a price and in the absence of one murmur or one complaint he receives us and forgives us and cleanses us from all unrighteousness. [00:37:57] That is life, the abundant life. I thought Eli just had to say it, what the Apostle Paul said, for me to live is Christ, you see, that's the abundant life, Christ, Christ, He is my all in all, does Christ want us to act different, to talk different, to be different, to dress different? [00:38:31] Think about it. I think He does. I think He wants us to show that we are His children by our love. First of all, one for another. Jesus said, By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, when you have love one for another. The love that forgives an erring brother, a faltering brother, a failing brother The love that we read about in Galatians 6, 1 where it says [00:39:03] Brothers, if a man be overtaken in a fault, restore him in the spirit of meekness Considering yourself because you are just as vulnerable and capable of falling as he is But because you love this brother and you want him to continue experiencing the abundant life You work at restoring him in the spirit of meekness You love one another, you forgive one another, and you forbear one another in love [00:39:40] You're not demanding your own way But what we want is his way, right? His will And sometimes, like the elder son, we point fingers and we look at the back past track record and we say, I'm not going in. I'm not going in. I'm not going to fellowship with this brother who's wasted his life. I'm not going to associate with him. [00:40:10] And you notice, it says, because he would not go in, a father came out. Do you get that picture? He's ever seeking the lost. Here was this elder son says, Daddy, I always did what you wanted. I served you. You never did this for me. But look at what he was doing. He was violating the will of his father right then in not loving his brother. He was violating the father's will and the same love that the father had for that younger son [00:40:48] And prompted him to wait with anxious eye year after year for his return Moved him to go out and speak to the elder brother And it says he went out and entreated him Won't you forgive him? I've forgiven him I've received him I've put a ring on him as my own dear son, and I've put shoes on his feet, I've given him the best robe, and brother and sister, the best robe is the righteousness of Jesus Christ, by faith on our account. [00:41:22] And he tells this elder son, won't you forgive him? Won't you receive him as your brother? I've received him as my son. Can't you receive him as your brother? And another translation says, he flew into a rage. An explosive rage because of the resentment that was built up in his breast over all the years that he was gone. Resentment, anger, frustration, unforgiveness [00:41:57] He was not living in the will of the Father And Jesus in Luke 15 was trying to make a point To the scribes and the Pharisees Because they accused Him of associating and receiving sinners And I think that elder son Jesus is saying You are, as a scribe and a Pharisee, in the condition of the elder son. You're not receiving those whom God has forgiven. [00:42:28] You're not forgiving them. What a reunion that would have been, brother and sister. The elder son would have said, Dad, you forgave him. I can forgive him. Where is he? I want to give him a hug and welcome him home and say, I'm so glad you're back, brother. You see the difference? What would that have done? For that brother, I think it would have had a melting effect, I think it would have had a drawing effect, and I think it would have had the effect I want to do whatever I can here to contribute to making this, to cooperate with the Father's will in this home [00:43:06] Brother and sister, I don't know where you are, I know where I am at times, out of the will of the Father And there are those times I need to repent. Yes, as a preacher, as a husband, as a father, as a bishop. There are those times I need to repent. I think sometimes we think repentance is only for the lost. I'd like to suggest something else to you. Repentance is for the saved and the lost. [00:43:41] You say repentance is not for the saved? Maybe that's a new thought. But read Revelation 2 and 3. And Jesus is speaking to His church. And to five of the seven churches, He says, Repent. Repent. So I conclude repentance is for the saved. And in this area of repentance, I think of the little man Zacchaeus, who was really a big man. [00:44:12] This little man did what a lot of big men refuse to do. This little man invited Jesus to his house and into his heart. Jesus said, This day is salvation, come to his house. And the scribes and the Pharisees were murmuring. He is associating with the tax collector, the crooks, the cheaters. You know, they cheat you on your taxes. And he's associating with these people. And they murmured and they complained. [00:44:45] Now notice the difference. Jesus went into this man's house. It doesn't say how long he stayed. But Jesus says, Today salvation has come to this man's house. And what did that little man do? He went out and he said, If I have cheated anybody, I am going to give you back four times what I cheated you. You see, repentance in word, repentance in deed. And I believe this little guy checked his records closely. [00:45:19] He wanted the abundant life. And I think if he found someone that he had cheated, he went there and gave them four times what he had took. What do you think that would do to the scribes and Pharisees? That is life that works. I think they were probably saying, hey, let's take Jesus to some more tax collectors. Well, you think, brother and sister, there's people all around us that need Jesus, need to be changed. [00:45:55] Let's take Jesus to them. They can have the abundant life. And when we have the opportunity or the occasion to forgive, we have the opportunity to portray Christ's likeness in one of the most. In other words, maybe I can say it this way. We never can act so much like God as when we forgive another. So when you have the opportunity to forgive, you are bringing Jesus into perspective. [00:46:28] I want to encourage you, forgive, forbear, love one another, experience the abundant life. It is available.