A Forgiven Heart Forgives

Introduction

Recap Series

Week 1 - Attitude of Prayer - Humble / Prideful Prayer

Week 2 - Our Father in Heaven - Honoring God’s Name

Week 3 - Your Kingdom Come - Picture of God’s kingdom looking at

Week 4 - Our Daily Bread - Relying on God, Hoarding for ourselves eternal things

I am not sure about you, that message helped me this week as I would look at things and think, makes no difference in the kingdom of God

I do not need to be upset.

Today - A Forgiven Heart, Forgives...

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And forgive us our debts,

Forgive = stop blaming or taking an offense

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Debts = sin that has incurred a debt with or injury against

we have a severed relationship with God due to our sin.

Speak about two weeks ago the picture of the Garden

Debtors = sinners, or person that has incurred a debt with injury against

Greek Grammar indicates that the disciple prays for forgiveness only after having expressed forgiveness to others.

all major translations agree, except KJV which reads, “As we forgive” instead of, “have forgiven.”

This is actually a dangerous part of the prayer…

that would make it a works salvation… your salvation is not based on you, but on the work that Jesus did

think about this last week and the people that you interacted with, do you want God to forgive you the same way that you have forgiven those you interacted with?

Nobody will boast about what they have done…

“I forgave so many people…” I forgave somebody that did this to me...”

This is actually a dangerous part of the prayer…

think about this last week and the people that you interacted with, do you want God to forgive you the same way that you have forgiven those you interacted with?

Forgiveness is Evidence

Forgiveness is Evidence

We like evidence of things...

When we are little… we began to demand evidence; “Prove it!”

unless it is something that you agree with

politically if we hear something that agrees with our political slant, we are more likely to believe it.

If we have been told something that we question, we want proof of its validity

The t-shirt theology or social media thing that you would share, is “if you were prosecuted on being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”

Here is your evidence for your life… do you have a forgiving heart?

“For if you forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. 15 But if you don’t forgive others, your Father will not forgive your offenses.

this is still a part of the sermon on the mount, as Jesus is teaching about prayer.

almost as I am teaching this prayer to you, let me clarify this one point

this is how important this is…

CSB Study Bible: Notes Chapter 6

6:14–15 God forgives those who are truly repentant. True repentance results in a willingness to forgive others.

he has to make sure that the disciples understand

We are getting dangerously close to sounding like a works gospel here… as if this must happen in order to be saved.

I have told you more time than I can count that we do not have to get ourselves “right” in order to come to God…

Only God can clean us up…

One commentary says it this way…

6:14–15 God forgives those who are truly repentant. True repentance results in a willingness to forgive others.

6:14–15 God forgives those who are truly repentant. True repentance results in a willingness to forgive others.

This is what I have meant when I say that repentance is not simply acknowledging your sin… repentance is turning from it

if you do not truly repent, your heart is not changed, if there is no heart change, there is no forgiveness

14 “For if you forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. 15 But if you don’t forgive others, your Father will not forgive your offenses.

Our salvation is evident by our willingness to forgive...

This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commands.

What have we been commanded?

Jesus said summarized the law into two;

Love God with everything

Love your neighbor as yourself

A Christian should have a forgiving heart, and want to forgive others as they have been forgiven.

This is not saying that we must forgive in order to be forgiven...

that would make it a works salvation… your salvation is not based on you, but on the work that Jesus did

Nobody will boast about what they have done…

“I forgave so many people…” I forgave somebody that did this to me...”

If you are unwilling to forgive others, there is no forgiveness of others found in you, you may not be saved.

This is not saying that we must forgive in order to be forgiven...

that would make it a works salvation… your salvation is not based on you, but on the work that Jesus did

 The one who says, “I have come to know him,” and yet doesn’t keep his commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

Nobody will boast about what they have done…

“I forgave so many people…” I forgave somebody that did this to me...”

So back to our prayer… And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

This is actually a dangerous part of the prayer…

think about this last week and the people that you interacted with, do you want God to forgive you the same way that you have forgiven those you interacted with?

Forgiveness is Lavished

Lavished is not a word that I use very often… maybe you do, just not one that I use everyday.

I was thinking about the grace of God, the forgiveness that he has shown me over my life, my week… that is the word that came to mind… Lavished

Lavished = (of a person) very generous or extravagant: he was lavish with his hospitality.

God lavishes his love on us… we referenced this verse last week

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, 5 made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace!

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, 5 made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace! 6

God lavishes his abundant love on us…

Illustrate with Jesus eating at the Pharisee Simons house...

“A creditor had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 Since they could not pay it back, he graciously forgave them both. So, which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “I suppose the one he forgave more.” “You have judged correctly,” he told him.

Saying it this way, makes sense to us…

We understand this because it is terms of owing, we have all had great bills… We can picture having a great bill and just imagine if it was cancelled.

if it was much less, we would appreciate it, but maybe not as much as we would if it was a huge bill

This is not even argued by the Pharisee… yeah sure the one who owes more i guess

44 Turning to the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she, with her tears, has washed my feet and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss, but she hasn’t stopped kissing my feet since I came in. 46 You didn’t anoint my head with olive oil, but she has anointed my feet with perfume. 47 Therefore I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; that’s why she loved much. But the one who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 Then he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

What Jesus points to is an understanding of our own sin...

do you really recognize how much you have been forgiven?

to my brothers and sisters in Christ, you were bound for Hell! the sin that gave you an eternal sentence in Hell has been erased by the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.

41 “A creditor had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii,,j and the other fifty. 42 Since they could not pay it back, he graciously forgave them both. So, which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “I suppose the one he forgave more.” “You have judged correctly,” he told him. 44 Turning to the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she, with her tears, has washed my feet and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss, but she hasn’t stopped kissing my feet since I came in. 46 You didn’t anoint my head with olive oil, but she has anointed my feet with perfume. 47 Therefore I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; that’s why she loved much. But the one who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 Then he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

The amount we are willing to forgive is based on our understanding of how much we have been forgiven

for the pharisee, they have not been forgiven that much right

they are pretty good people, especially in comparison to those bad sinners

look back at the pharisee’s prayer… thank you for not making my like this tax collector

those people are judgmental, they compare themselves to those they only judge worse then them

but watch out… if you are christian because that is what your supposed be, I mean this is the USA. but if your christianity is based on how patriotic you are, you may not have been forgiven for much.

How much have you been forgiven… this is something that we really need to understand

When we understand the forgiveness that God has lavished on us, how can we do anything but do the same to others.

we above all people should be lavishing forgiveness

43 Simon answered, “I suppose the one he forgave more.”

Un-forgiveness is Punished

“You have judged correctly,” he told him. 44 Turning to the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she, with her tears, has washed my feet and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss, but she hasn’t stopped kissing my feet since I came in. 46 You didn’t anoint my head with olive oil, but she has anointed my feet with perfume. 47 Therefore I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; that’s why she loved much. But the one who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 Then he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

This is not a popular point…

we do not like that word punishment, it almost makes it sound like we deserve something.

Remember, a forgiving heart is evidence of rebirth

If this is true, then the opposite is also true, an unforgiving heart shows a lack of rebirth

if you have not been born again, you are not saved.

If you are not saved, there is an eternal punishment...

Tell the parable of the king who forgave the servant the huge sum that he owed...

the servant celebrated by finding one of his friends who owed him money, not near as much, and had him arrested because he could not pay

32 Then, after he had summoned him, his master said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33 Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And because he was angry, his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured until he could pay everything that was owed. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to you unless every one of you forgives his brother or sister from your heart.”

Re-tell the story

tortured until he can repay… how much money do you make while being tortured

This is forever…

21 Then Peter approached him and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? As many as seven times?” 22 “I tell you, not as many as seven,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven. 23 “For this reason, the kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle accounts, one who owed ten thousand talents was brought before him. 25 Since he did not have the money to pay it back, his master commanded that he, his wife, his children, and everything he had be sold to pay the debt. 26 “At this, the servant fell facedown before him and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 Then the master of that servant had compassion, released him, and forgave him the loan. 28 “That servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii.,o He grabbed him, started choking him, and said, ‘Pay what you owe!’ 29 “At this, his fellow servant fell down and began begging him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ 30 But he wasn’t willing. Instead, he went and threw him into prison until he could pay what was owed. 31 When the other servants saw what had taken place, they were deeply distressed and went and reported to their master everything that had happened. 32 Then, after he had summoned him, his master said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33 Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And because he was angry, his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured until he could pay everything that was owed. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to you unless every one of you forgives his brother or sister from your heart.”

A hard and unforgiving heart will be punished with eternal death.

If you do not have forgiveness in your heart…

give the gospel

Conclusion…

There are some of us that just hold on to things… this message was on forgiveness and I did not have time to go into the how, but what forgiveness is.

we do not like the confrontation, it is not that big of a deal

they didn’t mean anything by it, they didn’t even know they did it

Some are huge things because we have been hurt so deeply that we do not want to forgive

I get it… all of the above

so you continue to drink the poison and wait for the other person to get sick

you can forgive without the other person even knowing that you are hurt.

If you are holding on to it, remember that you are carrying a very heavy wait just hoping that their arms will begin to hurt.

I know that I do not know what they did…

How much have you been forgiven

As long as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

22 “I tell you, not as many as seven,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven.

So if that is you, and you know that there is some one that you need to forgive… but you do not know how;

Rick Warren’s four steps to forgiving others

23 “For this reason, the kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle accounts, one who owed ten thousand talents was brought before him. 25 Since he did not have the money to pay it back, his master commanded that he, his wife, his children, and everything he had be sold to pay the debt. 26 “At this, the servant fell facedown before him and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 Then the master of that servant had compassion, released him, and forgave him the loan. 28 “That servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii.,o He grabbed him, started choking him, and said, ‘Pay what you owe!’ 29 “At this, his fellow servant fell down and began begging him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ 30 But he wasn’t willing. Instead, he went and threw him into prison until he could pay what was owed. 31 When the other servants saw what had taken place, they were deeply distressed and went and reported to their master everything that had happened. 32 Then, after he had summoned him, his master said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33 Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And because he was angry, his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured until he could pay everything that was owed. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to you unless every one of you forgives his brother or sister from your heart.”

Recognize no one is perfect. When we hate somebody, we tend to lose our perspective about that person. When we’re filled with resentment and bitterness and hurt, we tend to dehumanize the offender. We treat that person like an animal. But we’re all in the same boat. The Bible says, “ There is certainly no one righteous on the earth who does good and never sins.” (). We’re all imperfect.

26 “At this, the servant fell facedown before him and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 Then the master of that servant had compassion, released him, and forgave him the loan. 28 “That servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii.,o He grabbed him, started choking him, and said, ‘Pay what you owe!’ 29 “At this, his fellow servant fell down and began begging him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ 30 But he wasn’t willing. Instead, he went and threw him into prison until he could pay what was owed. 31 When the other servants saw what had taken place, they were deeply distressed and went and reported to their master everything that had happened. 32 Then, after he had summoned him, his master said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33 Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And because he was angry, his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured until he could pay everything that was owed. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to you unless every one of you forgives his brother or sister from your heart.”

But we’re all in the same boat. The Bible says, “ There is certainly no one righteous on the earth who does good and never sins.” (). We’re all imperfect.

There is certainly no one righteous on the earth who does good and never sins.” ( NLT). We’re all imperfect.

who does good and never sins.” ( NLT). We’re all imperfect.

28 “That servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii.,o He grabbed him, started choking him, and said, ‘Pay what you owe!’ 29 “At this, his fellow servant fell down and began begging him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ 30 But he wasn’t willing. Instead, he went and threw him into prison until he could pay what was owed. 31 When the other servants saw what had taken place, they were deeply distressed and went and reported to their master everything that had happened. 32 Then, after he had summoned him, his master said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33 Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And because he was angry, his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured until he could pay everything that was owed. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to you unless every one of you forgives his brother or sister from your heart.”

Relinquish your right to get even. This is the heart of forgiveness. The Bible says, “ Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for God’s wrath, because it is written, Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord.” (). You deserve to retaliate, but you must commit not to do so. It’s not fair, but it’s healthy. This isn’t a one-time decision but a daily one that may even require moment-by-moment decisions.

Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for God’s wrath, because it is written, Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay,,al says the Lord.” ( TLB). You deserve to retaliate, but you must commit not to do so. It’s not fair, but it’s healthy. This isn’t a one-time decision but a daily one that may even require moment-by-moment decisions.

29 “At this, his fellow servant fell down and began begging him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ 30 But he wasn’t willing. Instead, he went and threw him into prison until he could pay what was owed. 31 When the other servants saw what had taken place, they were deeply distressed and went and reported to their master everything that had happened. 32 Then, after he had summoned him, his master said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33 Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And because he was angry, his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured until he could pay everything that was owed. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to you unless every one of you forgives his brother or sister from your heart.”

Respond to evil with good. This is how you know you’ve fully released someone from the wrong that has been committed against you. Humanly speaking, it’s nearly impossible to respond to evil with good. You’ll need God’s help. You’ll need the love of Jesus to fill you up. Why? God’s love doesn’t keep track of wrongs (see ). 4 Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant, 5 is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable, and does not keep a record of wrongs. 6 Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant, 5 is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable, and does not keep a record of wrongs. 6 Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Refocus on God’s plan for your life. You stop focusing on the hurt and the person who hurt you. Instead, you refocus on God’s purpose for your life, which is greater than any problem or pain you might be currently facing. As long as you continue to focus on the person who has hurt you, that person controls you. In fact, you can take it a step further. If you don’t release your offender, you will begin to resemble your offender.

As long as you continue to focus on the person who has hurt you, that person controls you. In fact, you can take it a step further. If you don’t release your offender, you will begin to resemble your offender.