LOVE LIKE JESUS:
Jesus Forgives – We Forgive
Matthew 6:14-15
September 18, 2016
Has anyone ever hurt you or a loved one? I’m not talking about a simple incident which has been resolved. I’m talking about a real - big - ugly mess of a hurt! It was something which was devastating. It maybe altered your life, or changed you for a period of time. What do you do when that happens?
Last week, I spoke about forgiveness and wanted to couple last week with this week and move into a short 3 week series about loving like Jesus. We're going to look at three different images from Jesus. We are not just called to receive the love of Jesus, but we're to show the love of Jesus.
Next week, we will look at the image of Jesus washing feet, with a call for us to serve, then for communion, we’ll look at breaking bread and living in community.
We need to understand - - we're not only sinners who receive forgiveness, but we're sinners who are called by Jesus to love like Him and to forgive other sinners as well. It’s usually not easy to do! But, that's what we're going to talk about.
In Matthew 6:14-15, Jesus said this ~
14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,
15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. – Matthew 6:14-15
When you read that verse, some panic may set in. Someone may have committed the unpardonable and unforgiveable sin. Yet, Jesus makes this statement. How can you forgive someone who does something that seems absolutely unforgivable?
Now let’s look at what happens in Luke 23. We're going to see the most amazing display of forgiveness you could ever imagine - - while Jesus was hanging on the cross. Remember, Jesus was completely innocent, never sinned, hanging between two criminals.
In Luke 23:32, we read ~
32 Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with Jesus to be executed.
33 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified Him there, along with the criminals—one on the right, and the other on His left. – Luke 23:32-33
I don’t think people really understand just what was going on, on the cross. For one thing, we typically see Jesus or the other criminals hanging high up on a cross.
In reality, the cross was designed to torture, to bring extreme humiliation. It was reserved for the worst criminals, to make a statement to the others. They would drive the nails through hands and feet. Then they would hang on a cross, which had a little foot rest, which would cause more pain as you struggled to breathe. And rather than being way up, they would literally be a foot off the ground.
Whenever people would come by and mock them, they weren't looking up - - - they were looking at them eye to eye. People are yelling in their face and spitting on them.
This is exactly what was going on to Jesus. They were spitting on Him and mocking Him. And at that moment, when creation, the people, were at their worst, mocking the Creator in the flesh, Jesus prayed the most amazing prayer.
As they are in Jesus’ face, He looks up to the Father and in verse 34 prays ~
34 “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
Daddy, Father, forgive them . . . they don't even know what they are doing. They don’t understand, this is too big for them to get. Jesus was asking for forgiveness for those who were sinning against Him, in the moment forgiving something like that seemed totally and completely unforgivable.
We’re all going to get hurt deeply by somebody. In fact, many of you are carrying a significant wound. Someone abused you, took advantage of you, lied to you, cheated you. Someone hurt someone you love, someone hurt your child, your sibling, your parent, your best friend. It’s personal.
Someone who is a Christian didn't act very Christ-like to you. Some church you were a part of did something that devastated you. Someone gossiped about you and said something that was not true. Someone at work lied about you and you got in trouble. The boss didn’t like you and you lost your job and it was totally and completely unjustified and unfair.
Some of you were hurt by people who are no longer alive, and yet you're carrying the weight and the bitterness against them.
It may be that it’s not something which is really big, but it's just that person. Every time they’re around you, it’s like fingernails on the chalkboard. They say things and whatever you do is not good enough and they just make you crazy.
Maybe you’re angry at God. You ask, over and over, "God, why did you let this happen?" Maybe you need to change that prayer to “God, help me to serve you with what happened?”
Maybe it’s a need to let go of yourself. You can’t believe what you did, and you can’t undo it. You're carrying self-hatred and bitterness - - unforgiveness towards yourself. God has forgiven you, but you're unwilling to forgive you.
As we learn to love like Jesus . . . how do we forgive like Jesus? This is at the heart of the Gospel. Jesus came to forgive sinners, and as we are forgiven, He calls us to forgive sinners. The greatest way to demonstrate Christ to the world is by loving one another.
I want to give you a couple of thoughts, which sound great, but are not as easy to do. Jesus teaches us to pray for those who hurt us. That's what Jesus was doing on the cross.
In Luke 6:28, Jesus said, 28 Bless those who curse you. That’s pretty hard to do, but look at what He then said. It’s something we don’t want to read or hear!
He said ~ 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.
Bless those who curse you and do what, and pray for those who abuse you! No WAY!! And if I do pray for them . . .
I'll pray . . . they suffer. I’ll pray they never repent and burn in hell. Pray for something good for them? No way! What Jesus said was just shocking. Pray for those who hurt you. He also said this in Matthew 5. This was jaw-dropping, controversial, shocking! The Jews never heard anything like this. They had been taught the opposite.
Jesus said ~ 43 "You have heard that it was said - - - in other words, you've been taught this for your whole life.
43 You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
That’s what they were taught their whole lives. The Jews had always been taught an eye for an eye, a tooth for tooth, blood for blood. When someone wrongs you, you wrong them back. They take something from you, you take something back. They break a bone, you break a bone of theirs.
That’s how they lived their lives . . . and for many of us . . . that’s how we live our lives. But, Jesus was about to amend this by-law. He was going to say something which was jaw-droppingly shocking - - - -
44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you – Matthew 5:43-44
The moment Jesus said this, you would have been able to hear a pin drop. What? Did He just say what I thought He said? No, no way. How could He say that?
If you've been around the church for a while, you're like, yeah, yeah, love your enemies, okay? That's kind of easy to absorb until what? Until you've got an enemy, right? I'm talking about until someone hurts your child or spouse, when someone does something inconceivable to someone you love.
Let me put it this way, I love all of my enemies, until they become a real enemy, then I don't want to love my enemies.
Here's what I hope you're going to see. If you've been devastated by someone, let down by someone, lied about, someone gossiped about you, the first thing to do is - - - pray for them. We don't pray that something bad happens to them, we actually pray for good.
I believe a main reason why Jesus taught this was - - - a right attitude precedes a right action. When I’m overwhelmed with bitterness in my heart toward someone, there is no way I'm going to have a right action. If I'm praying for someone, what happens? My attitude slowly starts to change.
A right attitude will eventually lead to the right actions. If you're waiting for a feeling to forgive somebody who did something significantly wrong to you or someone you love, you may be waiting until Jesus returns and still not have that feeling. If you're waiting to be in the mood, you may never ever be in the mood.
Now, when you start praying for someone you don’t like, when you start praying for your enemies, when you start praying for those who persecute you, your prayer may or may not change them, but it will always change you. Let me say it again. Your prayer for others may not change them, but it will change you. God do something significant in his / her life and I pray your greatest blessings upon him. Jesus taught us to do this.
How do you love like Jesus? You don't just love those who love you and hate those who hate you. You pray for those who hurt you and you love your enemies.
And if you thought that was difficult, the next part stretches us to become more Christ like - - - we are to forgive as we have been forgiven. This is what is so important. Forgive as you have been forgiven.
In Colossians 3:13, Paul said 13 forgive each other; HOW!?!?!
as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. How do we forgive? We forgive as the Lord forgave us.
I know God has forgiven me a lot. I can't speak for any of you. I don't know what you've done, how many lies you've told, how many people you've hurt, how often you've lied to yourself, how often you’ve disobeyed and sinned against God. I can't speak for you, but I can tell you right now I’ve been forgiven a lot and I am to forgive others in the same manner that God has forgiven me. If He's forgiven me a lot, I am to forgive a lot.
You see, in our fleshly nature we may not have what it takes to forgive, but by the power of the Holy Spirit in us, we can learn to forgive like we have been forgiven. If you do that, who knows what may happen.
How do we forgive the unforgivable? How do we do it? We forgive as we have been forgiven. At some point you can make a choice and it will be a choice. I want to forgive. I'm not quite there yet, but I'm going to choose to do what God's word says and work toward it or you decide to remain bitter and angry.
Let's just walk down that road just for fun, just choose to be bitter all you want. Whenever I see that person, I’m going to be angry and bitter. I’m going to remember what they did to me or my loved one.
Every time I think about him, I'm going to get really mad. 3:00 in the morning, I'm going to be mad. They may not even know I'm mad, but I'm going to be bitter. I'm just going to be the best bitter person around. I'm going to be filled with hateful thoughts. I'm not going to forgive.
Every time I think of someone like them, I'm going to want to claw their eyes out. I'm going to want them to suffer. I'm just going to let that anger and bitterness fester inside me. If asked what I'm going to be, I'm going to be the best bitter person?
I read this quote ~ "Bitterness is like drinking poison and hoping the other person dies." Is that your game plan? What do you do? What do you do when you've been hurt? You start praying and you take it to God. Be honest with God. Tell, God, I don't want to do this. It's not right what they did. You take it to God in prayer!
You just make a choice. You choose faith over bitterness! You choose God’s power over impotence! You let go of the hurt and the bitterness.
In the same way that God forgave my sins. In the same way that Jesus shed His blood to forgive my sins - - - - so I could be forgiven — — I'm choosing by faith to let it go.
As hard as it is to let go - - - it may be the day you are truly set free. There may be a prisoner inside you who needs to be set free. The other person may not even be aware of what’s going on. When we can pray for the other person, even to ask God to bless them . . . and we forgive them . . . we become free and they no longer have power over us.
I don't know who is struggling with this right now. If we're going to be followers of Jesus, He calls us to a higher way of living. Glorifying Him!
The world tells us - - love those who love you and hate everybody who hates you! But Jesus said, if you follow me, then do life differently! Be unique! Be a radical! Live by faith!! Pray for those who persecute you. Love your enemies. Forgive as you have been forgiven.
That’s how good our God is! One day, maybe you’ll even have the opportunity to share Christ with that person. And even though you don’t think they deserve heaven because of their sin, neither do you, because of your sin . . . but only through the grace of a God who sent His Son, Jesus to the cross to die for us, did He also die for that other person!
Let’s change what Anne Lamott said - - instead of drinking that poison, hoping it kills the other person. Let’s drink in His love, grace, power and strength, and use that to love all people.
