Cana - Unhindered Forgiveness

Cana - UNHINDERED – Week 3 - Forgiveness

Series Slide

Good morning and welcome to worship! Thank you, Les. I have toured and visited the Methodist Children’s Home numerous times and I have always been proud of the ministry they do. I am also very proud of this church's joint ministry with the Methodist Children’s Home and the Boy’s Ranch.

The MCH is all about setting the students and residents up for success and setting them free to be all that God has created them to be, and that is what we are talking about today…

We are in week 3 of our 5-week series on setting our faith free. You and I are set free, we are unbridled, we are unrestrained… we are Unhindered. If you weren’t with us last week, here’s a brief recap; The book of Acts is not a list of attributes to memorize or bullet points to fit into a spreadsheet. Acts isn’t a how-to manual for the church. It tells the story of the birth of Christianity and the very beginnings of the spread of the Gospel… As you read the Book of Acts, there is one word that wraps up all that is going on, it’s the very last word of the book, Unhindered.

We find it in Acts 28:30-31, as Luke is concluding his story of the birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, followed by the spread of Christianity across the world he wraps up with these words:

Acts 28:30-31

Now Paul stayed two full years in his own rented lodging and welcomed all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching things about the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered.

It’s this one word that bridges the gospel accounts to the epistles. This one word gives us context, hope, and clarity for all that God has done and is doing through His Son, Jesus. Last week we started by looking at the lavish love and grace available to us through the unhindered Kingdom. God has held nothing back from us. As I said last week, we are unhindered. You have been set free. You are a part of this amazing Kingdom of God that is pouring God’s Love out on all people.

A huge part of pouring God’s love out on all people is accepting and offering forgiveness, and that is today’s topic. Unhindered Forgiveness.

Sermon slide

What is the big deal about forgiveness?

To a Christian, forgiveness is rooted in the belief that all people are sinners and in need of forgiveness from God. We believe that forgiveness comes from God, who extends mercy and grace to all who repent and seek forgiveness.

That’s my first point.

Forgiveness is for Everyone

In the past, in the Old Testament, forgiveness was administered by a complicated system centered around the concept of repentance and atonement.

Repentance was the first step towards reconciliation. In other words, admitting and recognizing that you have done wrong… and turning in a new direction away from that life…

Then, you seek atonement, you make amends for the wrongdoing. This was done through the offering of sacrifices. They would symbolically transfer the guilt of the individual to the animal being sacrificed. The blood of the animal was seen as a way of cleansing the individual from their sin and restoring their relationship with God.

Here's the crazy thing about this system. It was not only complicated, it was exclusive. Only the Jews or those who were seeking to follow the Jewish way were allowed to participate.

If you weren’t following the Jewish customs, you had no way to return and atone for your sins.

But Jesus did a new thing. He made all things new.

Through the single act of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, forgiveness is available to all who confess and believe.

You don’t have to go through some set of systems. You don’t have to do a long list of good things to be forgiven. You simply call upon the name of the Lord.

Turn with me to the end of Luke’s first book… the Gospel of Luke, chapter 23.

Jesus is hanging on the cross between these two criminals. One of them mocks Jesus and ridicules him, but the other one is repentant, here is what he said:

Luke 23:42-43 (NLT)

Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”

And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Jesus didn’t call down 10,000 angels to stop the crucifixion so he could baptize the man.

Jesus didn’t call for the Chief Priest to come perform some ceremony and sacrifice to forgive the man’s sins… no, the man confessed his belief in Jesus and Jesus assured him of his salvation.

That’s Jesus’ system… Confess and Believe.

In Jesus, forgiveness is unhindered.

Romans 10:9-10 tells us,

Romans 10:9-10 (NIV)

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

It’s that simple. Confess and believe. Proclaim Christ and accept what he has done. That is it.

But there is a caveat… God didn’t just forgive us… we are forgiven to forgive.

Forgiven to Forgive

What God has done for us, we are to do for others!

We just prayed this a moment ago… but, this time we will read it from the NIV:

Matthew 6:9-15

“This, then, is how you should pray:

“ ‘Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one.’

For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

We are forgiven by the measure that we forgive.

In other words, Forgiveness is to be unhindered. We are to forgive, just as Jesus has forgiven us - completely.

The truth is, forgiveness is part and parcel to everything we do as followers of Christ.

It is a part of us, as followers of Jesus going on to perfection, holiness, completeness. It is a part of us receiving the fullness of life that Jesus promised.

As I wrap up, I want to share something with you from a Messianic Rabbi. Some of you may know of Jason Sobel through his work as a consultant with The Chosen. I had the opportunity to meet him and have dinner with him at a friend's home in Brownwood.

Jason recently shared that Jesus connected forgiveness and bread in a powerful way.

We just prayed, and then read the scripture

Give us today our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

He taught that our daily bread and our forgiveness are linked.

Then, when Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, when he took the Passover Meal of their heritage and forever changed the meaning, he lifted up the matzah, the bread, and said, “This is my body, broken for you.”

In other places, Jesus said that he was the Bread of Life.

Going even deeper, Rabbi Jason reminds us that Jesus is born in Bethlehem, in Hebrew Beit Lechem, which means, house of bread.

The Hebrew language is alphanumeric, which means each letter has a numerical value:

The word Beit Lechem – Bethlehem, has a numerical value of 490

The Hebrew word for Nativity, moledeth, has a numerical value of 490

The Hebrew word Tamim means blameless, complete, perfect, unblemished - it is the word used to describe the Passover Lamb, the sacrifice for salvation and forgiveness…

Tamim is also the word used to describe Jesus… and it has a numerical value of 490.

Because of this, it is considered the number of completeness, the number of perfection, the number of salvation.

When Peter asked Jesus, how many times should I forgive… Peter thought he was giving the best possible answer, he was being generous, he was being righteous when he said, “7 times?” But what does Jesus tell him, “Not 7 times, but 70 X 7.” Which equals 490.

We forgive as we are forgiven… until it is complete -- until it is perfect. We forgive unhindered.

Sermon Slide

Friends, the one who was blameless, complete, perfect, unblemished… his forgiveness was complete, it was unhindered, it was and is perfect.

You and I cannot live without bread, without daily sustenance, and you and I cannot survive without forgiveness.

If we are going to live the unhindered life, if our faith is going to be set free, we must live a life of unhindered freedom – received and given.

Would you pray with me…