WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO FORGIVE?

Matthew 18:15–35

I. The pattern of forgiveness.

A. So we need to identify the Problem right?

Matthew 18:15–17 “15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. 16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. 17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.”

This is God’s plan to make things right between Christians. Misunderstanding destroys God’s work.

B. Power—v. 18. Prayer power keeps Satan from hindering God’s work, Matthew 18:18 (NLT) 18 “I tell you the truth, whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.

C. Prayer—v. 19. If only two people agree and join together in prayer great power is generated. Have any of you called a friend and asked to PRAY with them, in person, over coffee, on the back porch, in your car, in a parking lot, let me tell you this, it is a powerful time with God and a friend. Matthew 18:19 19 “I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you.

D. When we pray with others, we fellowship, we grow with that person, we hear their heartfelt needs, thoughts, being Present with a few others and God is a blessing we have been given, are we doing it? Matthew 18:20 “20 For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.”

E. Pardon, OK, to me this verse has been a game changer, we need to be going by what Jesus said, not what we feel, RIGHT? Matthew 18:21–22 “21 Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” 22 “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!” Forgiving at all times as a sign of true Christianity.

II. Of course there is a process, a doing part, The practice of forgiving—vv. 23–27

A. Again, Jesus tells a simple parable to explain a truth. Matthew 18:23 “Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him.

B. But, in this parable, there was a Problem, Matthew 18:24 “24 In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. A man owed ten thousand talents. According to the Living Bible, this was ten million dollars.

C. There was to be major Punishment for this kind of outstanding debt! Matthew 18:25 tells us: “He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt.”

The king to whom the man owed the money was going to take all the man had, including his wife and children, making them slaves.

D. So the man started Pleading for debt forgiveness and patience. in verse: Matthew 18:26 “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’The man asked that the king have patience with him.

E. Have any of you been Pardoned for a huge debt? Matthew 18:27 Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.” The king forgave him completely.

I bet that guy was asking for a Halaluya don’t you all? Forgiveness of 10 million dollars?

III. The deeper problem, our hardened hearts. It is mentioned throughout the Bible.

A. Matthew 18:28 “But when the man left the king, (who had just forgiven a 10 million dollar debt) he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. (This is where this hard heart of ours comes in). He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment. So this man who was forgiven by the king went to a man who owed him two thousand dollars a grabbed him by the throat, hmmmmmmmmmDo we know anyone like this man?

B. Again, there was a Plea, give me time, have pity, I’ll get it to you... Matthew 18:29 “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded.”

You see many times in life, its not the size of the debt or really it’s not the story about the debt. It s about the either soft or hard hearts. Are we doing the right thing in our lives for others? Compassion and forgiveness does not always come in a dollar forgiveness, what about the person that cuts you off in traffic? Do we forgive them? What about a teenager who comes in late, do we forgive them or hold a grudge?

C.So there was a big Problem here. Matthew 18:30 “But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full.”

Although he had been forgiven such a huge debt by the king he had no patience, now we can substitute the word PATIENCE with words like , EX. Kindness, compassion, maybe listening, understanding toward the man who owed him money couldn’t we?

When God forgives us, He wants us to forgive others with our SOFT hearts. Yet how often we are critical toward other people. Even when God has forgiven them, we still remember their past. God forgives and forgets. Sounds like something we should be doing. AMEN

IV. Now, a few principles of forgiveness, or non-forgiveness. You see, people had been watching or witnessing the event this with this man, the king and the servant. Just like today, people see what’s going on don’t they? They see when you forgive someone or when you do not. It goes both ways doesn't it?

A. There was great Anger when the people noticed the man’s actions. Matthew 18:31–34 “When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. 32 Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. 33 Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ 34 Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. The king who forgave became very angry with the servant who refused to forgive others.

B. We need to be conscious of our Attitude toward both, forgiveness and being forgiven don’t we?

Now, perhaps the most important verse in my message today:

Matthew 18:35 35 “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”

We need to be aware of our actions and choices when we are angry don’t we?

Christ will treat the unforgiving person in the same way as the king treated the unforgiving man. “The angry king sent the man to the torture chamber until he had paid every last penny due”

AMEN