Untitled Sermon (22)

cast your bread upon the waters! Micah 7:18-19 Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in mercy. [in Hebrew mercy is the word "ch-sed" -- which has a much deeper meaning. He will turn again, He will have compassion on us, and He will subdue our iniquities. Yes, You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. One of the more beautiful ceremonies of the Jewish faith is called "Tashlich". Tashlich means to cast away. Every year between Yom Teruah and Yom Kippur, Jewish people around the world journey to a nearby river or stream and cast in bread crumbs as they confess their sins. As the bread crumbs are swept downstream soon to be out of sight, so they believe God will sweep away their sins. We as believers in Yeshua (Jesus), know that true forgiveness doesn't come by doing works, keeping traditions and taking part in beautiful ceremonies. Reconciliation with God comes by truly giving up our lives for His purposes and receiving atonement for our sin through Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Messiah), as the Hebrew scriptures clearly show. We all struggle with sin. Let's take this opportunity to tashlich it today! Cast it away! The Scripture says that if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us, cleanse us from all unrighteousness and remove those sins as far as the east is from the west! Robert, let's not be burdened any longer with sin -- confess it and be cleansed! The Lord is in the business of restoration -- let's give Him our lives once again. And let’s pray for God to do a work among the Jewish people. That they would see the truth of their blessed Messiah! Your family in the Lord with much agape love, George, Baht Rivka, & Obadiah Baltimore, Maryland

And this is another fine day in the Lord

Matthew 6:12 (NASB95) — 12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Suddenly they are face to face. Corrie ten Boom and the camp guard. Corrie has just given a speech on the theme of forgiveness. As the people leave, he comes walking forward. Then Corrie sees who this man is. This man is partly responsible for the death of her sister. He extends his hand to her: “What a beautiful message, fräulein.” Corrie freezes. Now what?

How could Corrie ten Boom forgive?

Let’s go back in time for a moment. Corrie ten Boom and her family live in Haarlem. Her father Casper owns a watch store in the heart of Haarlem, and Corrie becomes the first qualified female watchmaker in the Netherlands. When World War II breaks out, their house above the watch store becomes a transit house. A temporary shelter for Jews and members of the resistance. More than 800 people found temporary shelter in their house. An extra wall is placed in Corrie’s bedroom, creating a small hiding place. And this is not without danger. The ten Boom family will pay a high price.

Betrayed

You may have guessed it. The family is betrayed. On February 28, 1944, Jan Vogel is at the door. He asks Corrie for help. His wife is said to have been arrested after hiding Jews. Would Corrie have some money to bribe the police? Although Corrie doesn’t quite trust it, she agrees and asks him to come back half an hour later. Jan Vogel returns. But this time with reinforcements. The whole house is turned upside down. As many as six people are hidden in the small hiding place. Miraculously, after hours of searching, they are not found. They do find a stack of food coupons somewhere – much more than the family is entitled to. The family is arrested. Corrie, her sister Betsie and father Casper.

Concentration Camp

Father Casper soon dies in captivity. Corrie still receives a letter. Behind the stamp is a secret message. “All watches are safe.” Or in other words – all the people in hiding place are safe. They are freed from hiding after 2.5 days.

Corrie and Betsie eventually end up in Ravensbrück concentration camp. They are treated terribly. It is at this terrible place in Germany where she meets the camp guard. He is engraved in her memory.

As the man stands before her again, the memories come back: the pile of dresses on the floor, walking naked past the camp guards, and the face of the severely emaciated Bestie. Her beloved sister does not survive the camp and dies on December 16, 1944. A few days later, Corrie is accidentally released due to a clerical error.

Journey of forgiveness

And then the journey of forgiveness begins. The Christian faith has played a very important role in Corrie’s life. At home, read the Bible everyday, sang a lot and talked about Jesus. Their love for God and the Jewish people was the reason they risked their lives to save others. Jesus’ sayings about forgiveness she knew by heart. After the war, Corrie traveled the world with her message of forgiveness, except to Germany. She doesn’t want to go there. But then she herself is put to the test. Because talking about forgiveness is easier than forgiving yourself. She gets an invitation to speak at a church in Munich.

So we are back in that little church in Germany. The camp guard stands before Corrie. Corrie recognizes him but he doesn’t even remember her. “I became a Christian after the war. Your message about forgiveness touched me very much. You told about camp Ravensbrück. I was a camp guard there. I have always wanted to ask forgiveness of someone personally so I ask you: will you forgive me?

Can Corrie ten Boom forgive?

“It feels like my blood is freezing,” Corrie later recounts. “There suddenly stands a man before me, co-responsible for the slow horrible death of my dear Betsie and he dares to ask me for forgiveness. All those beautiful sermons about forgiveness but now I have to forgive myself. And I can’t.” The man holds out his hand to Corrie but she won’t take it.

“Forgiveness is not an emotion. It is an act of the will.”

“I pray softly to Jesus. I don’t want this! You have to help me. Then I realize, ‘Forgiveness is not an emotion. It is an act of the will.’ The feeling is not there but I can move my hand. Almost mechanically I place my hand in his. And then something extraordinary happens.”

“I suddenly feel a warm wave through my body. From my shoulder, through my arm, to our hands. I have to cry, “I forgive you brother, with all my heart.” There we stood. The camp guard and the prisoner. For a long time we held hands. And never before have I experienced the love of God so deeply.”

“Forgiveness is releasing the prisoner just to discover that I was the one imprisoned.”

Forgiveness means to wipe out to clear the books and allowing another to go free from being cast into a debtor’s prison.

Debt here is not referring to financial debt but debt that has incurred through sin.

As a Paris Island Drill Instructor, it was common to say to a recruit.

“You owe me!”

It was an idiom that this recruit screwed up and he was going to have pay for the screw up usually with many pushups and mountain climbers and bends and trusts.

There are transgressions that we have against each other.

Forgiveness is for the benefit of three.

1. It is for the benefit of the one being forgiven.

All of us have hurt another. Either real or imagined. This leaves a riff within the body of Christ, as long as one carries this sin there is a danger of bitterness that will spring up within the heart of the wounded, which can spout to ruin the whole body.

Hebrews 12:15 (NASB95) — 15 See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled;

The many are those within the body forming pockets of animosity or feuding cliques all of which destroys corporate worship

So important that Jesus teaches

Matthew 5:23–26 (NASB95) — 23 “Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering. 25 “Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26 “Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent.

Withholding forgiveness leaves an anchor to them moving forward in their spiritual lives.

2. Forgiving others of their trespasses is for us as well.

As long as we harbor resentment, we are building ourselves up a boundary around our heart and the bitterness that we harbor in turn robs us of our Joy in the Lord.

Galatians 5:22–26 (NASB95) — 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. 26 Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.

Failing to forgive another is the quenching of the holy spirit and in turn prevents the fruit of the spirit within our lives.

the failure to forgive others leaves the bitterness and hate to be kindled and burn up the heart within. Failing to forgive another for their transgressions leaves you unforgiven as well.

Matthew 6:15 (NASB95) — 15 “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

Matthew 18:21–35 (NASB95) — 21 Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. 23 “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. 24 “When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25 “But since he did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made. 26 “So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’ 27 “And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt. 28 “But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ 29 “So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’ 30 “But he was unwilling and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed. 31 “So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened. 32 “Then summoning him, his lord said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 ‘Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’ 34 “And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. 35 “My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.”

3. Benefit to others in testimony

Forgiveness of other transgressions against us becomes a reflection of Christ within us. It is in part what people see in us when we are asked what is the hope that is found in us.

No one had ever suffered a greater in justice than our Lord Jesus Christ who while upon the cross he says

Luke 23:34 (NASB95) — 34 But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves.

And then there was the witness for Christ Stephen who followed the same course of action.

Matthew 6:13 (NASB95) — 13 ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’

forgiveness of those who transgressed against his person he puts the matter in the hands of the Lord and at the time intercedes for those who transgressed.

How important is forgiving others?

Matthew 6:14–15 (NASB95) — 14 “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

That easy.