God’s Favorite “F” word!

Build Connection

We are all looking for a good deal when we are shopping. From clothing to cars to tools, we all want to get our moneys worth.

I recently needed to buy a siding nailer and found one that was a good deal because it came with a cordless circular saw worth about $250. It was a good deal, for $300 I got a nice nailer and a cordless circular saw.

I ended up not using the nailer so I returned it but forgot to return the circular saw with it. I returned the saw later and the lady behind the counter was confused.

Create Tension

The best deal on the planet is one we all can get in on, and it is one we can’t afford to miss! That is what I want to talk to you today about!

Provide Solution

We have been in a series called “Once upon a time” where we have been looking at some of Jesus’ parables he told.

Matthew 18:21–35

“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! 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. 24 In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. 25 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. 26 “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ 27 Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt. 28 “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment. 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. 30 But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full. 31 “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. 35 “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”

How often should we forgive?

Peter asks a simple question, “how many times should I forgive another person who sins against me, seven times?”

Rabbinic teaching states that you had to forgive someone three times. Peter is being generous by saying 7 times, in the bible 7 has a reference to completeness.

Jesus’ response was clear, not 7 but 7 times 70 or every 3 minutes, (or 77 depending on interpretation or every 18 minutes).

What Jesus is implying here is that we need more than just the act of forgiveness, we need to have an attitude of forgiveness.

A willingness to forgive whenever the need arises.

When asking how many times we must forgive others we must realize the answer is in another question, “How many times do we want God to for give us?

What should we forgive?

In the Parable we see a King who forgave a tremendous debt. The NLT says “millions of dollars” in our society that translation does not do the debt justice. The emphasis is not on the amount, but on the fact the one who owed the debt could never repay it!

People who don’t want to forgive others don’t realize the great debt they need forgiven!

Let’s say you owe someone 500 Million dollars and you get a court order to pay it all back. If you can’t, you are informed that 90% of the money you make from your job will go to the one you owe money to. Could you imagine only living off 10% of the money you are currently making?

Most people are in debt because they choose not to live by their means as it is, now imagine living on only 10% of what you make, it would be tough!

Now lets say the one you owe money to decided to cancel your debt completely! Wouldn’t you be overjoyed, relieved, thankful all rolled into one?

We would like to say we would never forget that kind of generosity, but would we?

Some say the servant who was forgiven forgot the great debt he had been released from, but I don’t think that was the case,

This servant did what we often do, downplay the debt we owe and maximize the debt owed to us!

Compared to the debt owed, what was owed to the servant wasn’t worth mentioning! And yet he went to collect it!

Why should we forgive?

The most obvious answer is because we have been forgive such a great debt!

Romans 3:23 “23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”

Ephesians 2:8–9 “8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”

We need to remember that our righteousness is as filthy rags.

Isaiah 64:6 “6 We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.”

The greatest thing we could do is realize that without Christ, all our good is good for nothing!

Knowing we do not deserve the forgiveness we receive from God, we should be eager to forgive others, not reluctant!

We don’t want to forgive because our un-forgiveness justifies our feelings.

Not only should we freely forgive others, we should also seek others out to seek their forgiveness.

Peter after denying Jesus, what do we see him do besides weeping bitterly.

Luke 24:11–12 “But the story sounded like nonsense to the men, so they didn’t believe it. However, Peter jumped up and ran to the tomb to look. Stooping, he peered in and saw the empty linen wrappings; then he went home again, wondering what had happened.”

I can’t help but think that he desperately wanted to reconcile his relationship with Jesus!

John 21:7 “Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and headed to shore.”

Encourage Change

Are you as eager to forgive as you are to be forgiven?