The Most Important Choice you will ever make in your life...?
Pastor Glenn Newton ~ July 19th, 2015
Introduction:
This morning, the message I want to share with you has been on my mind and in my heart for a while….it’s always a part of what we do when we come together and share Gods Truth.
I need you to hear me clearly though this morning. This message isn’t for that person who didn’t make it here this morning. This message is for you. It’s for every one of us. If you’re a Christian this morning it’s for you. If you’re here this morning, investigating…wanting to know more about what it really means to be a Christian, you picked a great day…this message is for you too.
So, that includes all of us, kids this message, what I’m going to share…it’s for you… I want you to really listen, because at the end I want you to respond to what you hear, along with everyone else.
Text:
John 3:16-17 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Matthew 6:14-15
14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
The title of this message today is… “The Most Important choice you will make Ever, in your life…”
We make all kinds of important choices or decisions in our lives all the time….
Kids, how many of you picked out what clothes you were going to wear today?
Adults, we choices all the time…. Choices about Jobs; Choices on where we will spend our money, where we will spend our time, Who we will spend our lives with…. Our lives are full of choices…. Will I be in a good mood today, or will I be a living nightmare today for everyone who comes across my path…our choice.
Spiritually, we make choices also. Do I choose to believe that there is a God?
If God exists and I chose to believe that…..Will I choose to follow Him and find out what He wants for me?
Let me explain how I’m going to approach this idea of Forgiveness this morning.
There are two main roads that Forgiveness rolls down in our lives…. I believe to truly understand the second one…We have to Experience the First One…
Now in English…. To truly understand the importance and depth of Forgiving Other People…. I believe we need to first experience Forgiveness of our Own Sins….
There are lots of examples in life where we need to understand one concept before a second one makes sense to us…
Math example: White Board…. Multiplication problem….. 8 x 7 = ?
Division problem 56 / 7 = ?
The truth is, we teach math in a certain way, in a certain order because the more complex concepts build on the less complex….in other words…you really don’t get division until you master multiplication…believe me I know… I try to teach division to students who don’t know their multiplication facts…that is why I’m going bald….
1. 1st Choice in Forgiveness…. Ask Jesus to Forgive you of your Sin(s)…
John 3:16-17 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
1 John 1:9 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Maybe you are thinking… Preacher…I’m a good person, why do I need to ask for Forgiveness from God?
The Bible makes it clear that every person, all of us have sinned, we have been born with a nature that is selfish, that has been bent by the curse of sin to seek those things that we want first, instead of what God wants for us….this is what sin has done to us from the very beginning.
Have you ever seen a 2 year old in action….sin nature.
Have you ever lied? Have you ever coveted what your neighbor has? Have you ever used the Lord’s name in vain? Have you ever stolen? Lust, Hate…
Jesus teaches us, if you have broken just one of these, then you have broken them all…none of us can claim to be Righteous…none of us will qualify for Heaven… And the Father knew this….because Sin disqualifies you from living with Him.
Romans 3:22-24 22 This righteousness is given through faith in[a] Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
So the plan was made, God so loved you and me, He sent Jesus…His precious Son…the Only Holy Sacrifice that would satisfy the Righteous Requirement… and Jesus came and paid our penalty, He took our place…why? Because He loved us and now, today He offers us forgiveness for all the sins we have ever committed… Our choice is simple. In Faith, ask God to forgive you, and accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior…and God will Justify you by His Grace… it’s a promise.
1 John 1:9 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
In just a couple minutes, I’m going to give you a chance…an opportunity to make the greatest choice of your life….to confess to God, and accept His Forgiveness… All of Heaven will be rejoicing the Bible tells us….and so will we.
But there is a second part of Forgiveness that is so very important as we grow as Christians, as we move through the trials and tribulations of this life….if we don’t embrace Forgiveness in our lives for other people….we literally can lose our faith.. It’s serious business, it’s something that those of us in the church need to be willing to embrace….to choose Forgiveness.
2. 2nd Choice in Forgiveness…. Forgiving Others and setting myself Free…
Matthew 6:14-15
14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
Did you hear how important this concept, this command of forgiveness is?
Forgiveness is the key which unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hatred. It breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness. The forgiveness of Jesus not only takes away our sins, it makes them as if they had never been.
– Corrie ten Boom –
I’m going to just restate what Jesus said in Matthew 6 verse 15…. If you do not forgive others their sins (against you…or others)…, your Father will not forgive your sins…
Forgiveness is tough when someone has hurt you…whether it’s physical, emotional, or any other way… Forgiveness is not condoning a wrong that was done to you….it’s simply giving it to God and choosing to wipe the slate clean.
I’ve forgiven people, doesn’t mean I’ll give them the same amount of trust I once did…but in my heart I can say that God has allowed me to love them with His love.
My wife has been the greatest example of how forgiveness can set you free. I’ve shared before about an abusive relationship that she was in before we started dating… and there was a lot of hurt, a lot of anger, a lot of pain involved… But, God in His mercy and grace begin to heal Nola…and brought her to a specific day where He asked her to forgive the one who had hurt her…. She chose to say yes…and she forgave…and a miracle took place in her life…healing and hope…love and joy…peace and new life just poured into her life through Jesus.
I’ve seen the opposite also. I’ve watched people in the church, leaders even… who were holding onto past hurts…unforgiveness was destroying their Christian witness, it was destroying their health, it was coming out in so many subtle ways… I’ve watched it take people right out of the church and away from God. When I say I watched….I didn’t just watch them go….I went to them time and time again and pleaded with them to make amends…to forgive the person who they felt had wronged them….they chose to refuse.
Unforgiveness destroys you….not the person who you’re so angry with.
There is a reason Jesus is so strong with His words… As a Christian, who has been forgiven of so much, How can we dare not be willing to forgive….when Christ has forgiven us?
When we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior of our lives, we die to ourselves…in other words….my old life…they way I used to think and operate… I die to it… I chose to let Jesus live through me, and I will be able to love because Jesus is loving people through me.
Lake Hamilton Church of the Nazarene…today could be a turnaround day for us…. Maybe there are some today that will accept Jesus and repent of their sins and allow God to make them Free….that would be awesome.
Maybe…for those of us who are in the church, we can be totally honest with ourselves, with God…and today chose to give up and unforgiveness we might have… and ask God to forgive us…. And if we need to…ask others to forgive us.
The Holy Spirit is faithful to speak to each one of us today, individually about what our need is….what I would love for our church to do today is to come down to the front, to find a spot along our alter and pray….pray for yourself and if God is speaking, respond out of obedience to Him today.
If you want to respond and God puts someone on your heart that you need to ask forgiveness from….go to that person…and in love let’s do what God asks us to do today…let’s let Him have His way this morning.
As she plays…. Let the Forgiveness of God be unleashed in our church this morning, in your lives…let’s get Free so God can move through us.
