Sermon Brief
Date Written: June 02, 2014
Date Preached: June 04, 2014
Where Preached: OPBC (AM)
Sermon Details:
Series Title: A Study on the Lord’s Prayer
Sermon Title: …and Forgive US Our Debts…(Sermon 9)
Sermon Text: Matthew 6:9-13 [HCSB]
Essence of the Text: Jesus wanted His disciples to know how to pray…
Essence of the Sermon: Jesus wants believers today to know how to pray…
Objective of the Sermon: Prayer is vital for the believer, but prayer is not so much in the words as it is in the attitude behind those words. This model prayer lays forth a template that guides the believer in the direction of their prayer and the attitude of their heart.
Introduction:
We have learned MANY things in the first 8 sermons based on this model prayer Jesus gave to His disciples and to US as believers today! We have learned how God is holy and MUST be honored as such, we have learned that the accomplishment of God’s Will begins with the individual believer, we have learned that we must learn to trust in God to provide all our needs and for us to trust in Him and lean on Him to do it!
But tonight I want us to look at the next phrase in this model prayer and it is “…and forgive us our debts…” There other translations of this phrase read, “…forgive us our trespasses [sins]…” which is a more generic term.
Tonight we are going to look at: “…and forgive us our debts…” In the model prayer, Jesus’ FIRST priority was to acknowledge God and His holiness and His sovereignty, but the 2nd priority of Jesus’ prayer is to focus on the human condition and what can be done about it…
The phrase we looked at last time deals with providing for our welfare and us trusting God to take care of us… This phrase deals with the forgiveness of trespasses or debts…
We find that forgiveness in this prayer is a major theme… so much so that Jesus takes the time to develop the theme of forgiveness in a much greater detail throughout His ministry!
The thoughts/concepts held by Jesus when He uttered to the words, “…forgive us our debts,” were much broader and wider than just what we can see in this prayer. We can see this in how the many translations have actually translated this Greek phrase…
Forgive us our trespasses…
Forgive us our shortcomings…
Forgive us what we owe you…
Forgive us our sins…
Forgive us our resentments…
Forgive us the wrong behavior we have done…
I believe many points stand out here in this phrase… and when we recognize these points it helps this prayer to become SO much more meaningful to us!
If we are going to sincerely pray, “Forgive us our debts OR trespasses…” then we are openly admitting that we have sin in our lives… that we are guilty of doing WRONG! I say that because MANY who say these words don’t see this as a confession of THEIR sin!
They don’t see themselves as sinners… as one owing a debt to God… as an offender of God’s holiness or being guilty before God. It also follows that until one is convinced of their guilt… that there is NO sense of a need for forgiveness! In other words, what do I need forgiveness for?
The irony here is that while people feel ‘innocent’ and we use these words or the attitude behind these words without truly seeing our guilt… then this prayer becomes nothing more than empty rhetoric and words coming from a self-satisfied soul!
This leads us to a 2nd concept that is revealed thru several questions we can ask of ourselves:
Why am I even coming to God in prayer if I don’t need His forgiveness?
Do I feel indebted to Him?
Do I sense in some way that I have trespassed against His holiness?
Am I of the belief I am FREE of any guilt in that area?
Am I conscious of wrongdoing, a wrong attitude, or a wrong motive in my life?
Unless I can answer yes to these questions… this prayer become a pointless exercise in repetative babble…
Now I don’t believe we need to morally whip ourselvses or brow beat our soul everyday, however is it also NOT spiritually healthy to casually overlook or ignore sin that is in our lives. We know that ALL thru Scripture God’s people are called to live lifes that seek to please and glorify God.
As believers, we are ‘new creatures’ in Christ and we are urged to leave our past behind and forge forward in the grace and forgiveness of God, but that cannot and NEVER should be done casually, but only with a disciplined spirit and a focused heart on giving God glory thru our lives!
Another aspect of this is seeking humility and actually BEING humble before God. The very recognition and admission of wrong doing and sinful behavior and seeking forgiveness for our sin produces an attitude of humility because we see ourselves as helpless without His grace and mercy and forgiveness.
Which is the exact opposite of a cavelier attitude toward our sin, which fosters an arrogant and prideful spirit… if we harbor the thought that we do NOT need to be forgiven debts we come to believe we are above our desparate need for God and His grace! James tells us in James 4:6 that ‘…God rebukes the proud, but offers grace to the humble of heart…’
There is NO doubt to me that when Jesus was teaching His disciples this prayer that He was considering our human nature and the dilemma we face to humble ourselves and admit we have sin in our lives! Jesus was clear in His teaching that a contrite and broken heart before God was key to reconciliation and forgiveness, as God will never turn away the truly repentant heart/soul.
But preacher, what if I feel like I have NOT done anything wrong? What if I TRULY feel that I don’t need forgiveness in any part of my life? What if I don’t feel I ‘owe’ any debts at this time? My answer to that is simple… the one who has met the Savior and seeks to honor Him and glorify Him in their daily lives… will ALWAYS compare himself to Christ and find that he/she falls short and has sin within their lives in some area…
When we stand humbly and honestly before a holy God, there is a sense of longing within us to be washed and made whole by His presence and redemption. We are overwhelmed by what He has done IN CHRIST thru the Cross event to bring this wonderful and eternal redemption to those who are chipped, cracked and broken!
We owe God a ‘debt’ of gratitude for what He has done in sending Christ to die for our sin… who has paid the price for our forgiveness… who has opened up His kingdom to those who do NOT deserve it NOR can do anything to earn a place within it!
In the light of God’s overwhelming love and generosity the BEST of our behavior is tainted, flawed and fall FAR short of His perfection. It is our keen awareness of His amazing grace and mercy that we can come to the conclusion that we NEED His forgiveness and that we cannot forget our place before a holy and just God.
So it is NO wonder that Jesus enters phrase into this model prayer. It basically mirrors our inner most thoughts and feelings where we truly feel we have a piece missing or that we have a hole that needs filling, but just cannot quite put our finger on what that is… many have said that this is a God-sized hole that only God can fill… all other things fall terribly short!
So when Jesus teaches His disciples, this part of the prayer was taught to deal with the deep and very intense NEED of the human heart laid bare before God. As long as we are sensitive to our frailty as a human and to the sinful nature we possess, we can come to the Lord and utter this prayer knowing that our sin will be dealt with…
Outside of Christianity when one realizes the err of his/her ways they are often called to make ammends for their actions… they are called to pay a ‘pennance’ of sorts to atone for their sinful behavior… but no action on our part can place our soul at ease (even though there is NO issue to action on our part…we NEED to act on our behavior) however, no action can asuage our guilt and grief over the sin in our lives… rather it pushes us farther and farther away from the redemptive grace of God.
Jesus invites us to come and confess… a simply putting aside of our own pride and prejudice to seek reconciliation with the Father! The One who is eager to forgive and restore…
‘Forgive us our debts’ are quite possibly the most important words that can come across our lips… because if we do NOT confess our sin we cannot experience God’s mercy and grace! BUT every man or woman who comes to God with a fertile heart ready to be groomed, molded and shaped by Him is bound to find forgiveness in Christ!
This is where God opens His arms open wide and welcomes you BACK to His arms, wiping all transgression from your record and restoring you back to your position within the kingdom. He says, “You are mine, you belong, you are FORGIVEN!”
This is the same reception given to the prodigal son by his father when he came home asking forgivness for his actions. What the prodigal did NOT realize is that before he ever came home… His father was willing to forgive him and restore him to the family.
Despite his actions, his father’s love and concern for him NEVER waned or shifted or changed… even thru all his disobedience and rebellion, the father remained true in his love for his son… even tho’ all others may have lost faith in him… his father was true in his love.
This picture of the prodigal son and his father is probably the most vivid illustration of God’s love for US! This is because the father’s love for his son was NOT contingent on his changing his actions or a resolve to ‘do better’… OR even a sense of remorse or contrition!
The father’s love was there simply because the father loved his son, regardless of his actions. He was willing to extend forgiveness and restoration immediately based on his love for his son, not based on the son’s actions. He willingness to forgive was ALWAYS there but was waiting on his son’s return seeking reconciliation.
You see the principle here is that we cannot receive forgiveness and reconciliation if we are not willing to come to God… if the son would not have come home, he would NEVER have experienced the forgiveness that was already his!
Jesus knew the human heart and He knew and understood that to ‘come’ to God with our petition of ‘…forgive my debts OR forgive my trespasses’ is a picture of the young prodigal returning home to receive the magnanimous love and redemption of the father.
To receive forgiveness and restoration in our relationship with God, we must turn to Him… there is NO forgiveness with the stubborn and hardened heart.
Forgiveness only comes to those who turn to God and with a sincere heart cry out, ‘forgive my debt… forgive my sin…’ THEN and only then can the believer experience the love, grace and redemption that is his all along, but cannot be experienced unless he COMES to God!
So are you still hanging back and NOT turning to God? Are you still harboring guilty and punishing yourself for your sinful life? All you need to do is turn to God and He has promised He will restore you and reconcile you to His bosom… ‘forgive us our debts’ reveals you willingness to turn to God and the frailty of your place before God!
Pray…
