Sunday, November 5, 2006
Title: A Servant Church Forgives
Text: Luke 6:37 – 42
Focus: Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven
In rereading the Luke passage during this past week, I was reminded that Jesus’ public ministry only spanned three years. Time is indeed a gift from God. We do not control it, we cannot manipulate it, and we definitely can not predict it. Time is a gift we can only by thankful for.
As Christians we have the command to model our lives in the form and manner of Jesus Christ. Therefore, a servant church must have at its essence the embodiment of forgiveness.
The other day I was having lunch. Beef brisket over rice. As the waitress served the meal, I noticed that she had placed gravy on the side, but I asked her could she have the cook pour a little of the essence over the meat and rice. Essence is the by product of the meat being cooked and the juices that flow from the meat that contain the seasoning. You know what I mean. Essence, the juice that seems to contain all of the favor and taste of the meat. Pour that over my rice. Essence is the remaining portion of the meal that you take your biscuit and sop up the juices. Essence, somebody here knows what I mean when I say essence.
Well when you bring all of the elements of the servant church together: empowerment, love, training, and healing – the by product of all that – the essence must be the ability and the capacity to forgive.
Without forgiveness the church would be dry.
Without forgiveness there would be no risk-taking that produces love.
Without forgiveness there would be no incentive to train.
Without forgiveness there would be no desire to heal.
Forgiveness is the essence of a servant church. If we don’t learn that lesson, I will argue that you miss the blessedness of being a servant.
I know forgiveness is the hardest Christian discipline to implement in our lives. Oh the text says, forgive and you shall be forgiven.
But, how do you forgive when every fiber in your body says get even for the wrong you have been done?
How do you forgive when you natural impulse is to strike back?
How do you forgive when your reputation is on the live, your street creditability, your sense of manhood or womanhood is being challenged?
How do your forgive when you are tired of losing every argument, when the pendulum never swings in your favor, when instead of letting you up, your enemy keeps pressing you down?
How do you forgive, when the demons get more vicious, the attacks get more relentless, and the ridicule gets more ridiculous?
How do you meet hate with love? How do you respond to chaos with charity? How do you deal with conflict by compromise?
If we are honest with ourselves we are lacking in the art of forgiveness. We lack the spiritual tools to forgive and love those who get on our last nerve.
The truth of the matter is that we have not reached the depths of love. We need to go deeper into love: deeper than our passions, deeper than our loyalties, and deeper than our kinship.
We must go deeper and move on up a little higher. God wants us to seek the highest good. God wants us to strive for the highest motive. God wants us to ascend to the heavenly heights on the stairway of love.
To go deep and to ascend high there are three traps we must avoid:
1. Hating those who love us.
That’s the root of all this violence and abuse. That’s the root of racism. It’s the attitude that says no matter what you do. No matter what kindness you show, I hate you. That’s the basic for pouting and giving of cold shoulders. There nothing you can do to change my feelings towards you.
2. Hating those who hate us.
The danger of hate to hate is that it only produces hate. We see it every day: segregation, apartheid, and war. Palestine’s against Jews, neighbors against neighbors, relatives who have not spoken in years – since you don’t call me I won’t call you.
3. Loving only those who love us.
That’s a do for me and I will do for you. You meet my needs and I’ll meet yours. That a mutual reciprocity kind of love. In that kind of love, if someone does something that is unloving towards us, we get disappointed and seek an end to the relationship.
The Gospel challenges us to do deeper and higher. Therefore, God wants us to travel the perfect way which is the path of Jesus Christ. And, God wants us to journey in the excellent way which is the path of love.
Therefore, to go deep and to ascent high we must:
1. Love those who hate us.
Jesus commands that if we are to be his followers – we must love our enemies. Not just people who rub you the wrong way, but your enemies. Not just people who you may tend to disagree with, but your enemies. An enemy is not one who makes you feel uncomfortable, unloved, used and abused; but you enemy is anyone who tries to limit, destroy, and subvert your diving destiny in God. Jesus says, “Do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you, to him who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from him who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt.”
Your enemy is not the mother who wants child support. Your enemy is not that husband who walked out on you. Your enemy is not the boss or company that lays you off.
Your enemy is those who hate you, those who curse you, those who abuse you, those you take what you have.
Your enemy may be a disease that is seeking to destroy your family. Your enemy may be the one who told you if you leave they would kill you and your children. Your enemy may be the crack, heroine, alcohol, or pills you can’t stop taking. Your enemy may be debt, illiteracy, teenage pregnancy, or racial prejudice.
Your enemies are those things that seek to destroy and devour your future relationship with God.
The word of God tells us to love them all. Love your enemies.
I don’t have to like it, but I do have to love you.
I don’t have to forget about how you may have done me wrong, but I can forgive you.
In fact, my forgiving you does not have to make you feel good or make me feel better.
The reason I forgive you is that there may be a lifting up of a burden that hinders my destiny in God. In Hebrew, to forgive means, “to be lifted or removed.” That’s the key to forgiveness. We must not focus on the event or the persons, but we must focus on the purpose.
For the servant church to forgive it must realize that forgiveness stems from three things:
1. Our attitudes. To forgive you must put your attitude in check. You must take on an attitude to love them by doing them some good. Do that which is good for your enemies. Not what they think is good for them but actually what is good for them. That’s tough love at its best. I’m going to love you by doing that which is good for you. For those struggling with addiction, I going to love you by getting you some help rather than give you money to support your habit. For those struggling with violent tendencies, I’m going to love you by getting you some rehabilitation rather than let you continue to endanger yourself by hurting others. You can do more for folk by implementing discipline rather than remaining complacent. You do more good for a child by giving them rules and regulations, than by just letting them express themselves. 1st you must check your attitude.
2. Our allocution. What you say. Practice words of forgiveness. Practice comes through blessing those who curse you and praying for your abusers. Don’t just pray about them, but pray for them. Don’t go to God complaining about them but come to the Lord seeking compassion upon their lives. Jesus say go as far as seeking to bless them. Your prayers should be a blessing for your enemies.
3. Our actions. That means that you must do something, you must give. Give to them what they are reluctant to give to you. For every wrong, return righteousness. For every misery, return mercy. For every heartache, heartbreak, and headache, return peace and love. Meet their devilish tongues with words of compassion. Give them what they won’t give you. Show them love in action.
For the servant church to forgive it must realize that forgiveness stems our attitudes, our allocution, and our actions.
Allow me to share a secret with you. That’s what Joseph did towards his brothers who wronged him, he showed them love. That’s what the civil rights workers did to the segregationists showed them love. That what God did for us, he showed us love. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him shall have everlasting life.
Jesus became the ultimate expression of forgiveness. He forgave you and me. Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.
That’s the good news. The seeds of forgiveness that you plant will spout up as a harvest of blessings. Jesus says, “give and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over.”
Every injustice we forgive against us, God will forgive those committed against him.
Those trespasses you let go down here will be your testimony in heaven.
What you are going through is right now is a divine set-up for a blessing later on.
The mess you are in right now is preparation for the goodness that is about to overtake you life.
Remember forgive, and you shall be forgiven.
