Put That Down Before You Hurt Yourself

Matthew 18:21-35 (KJV)

21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?

22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.

23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.

24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.

25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.

26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.

28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.

29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.

31 So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.

32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:

33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?

34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.

35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brothers there trespasses

WHILE YOU`RE STILL STANDING REACH OVER AND SHAKE YOUR NEIGHBORS HAND

AND IF YOU DON`T KNOW THEM THE RIGHT THING TO DO IS INTRODUCE YOURSELF

AND TELL THEM -----NEIGHBOR YOU NEED TO

(PUT THAT DOWN BEFORE YOU HURT YOURSELF)

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS

VERY BRIEFLY THIS MORNING/EVENING

I want to spend a few moments dealing with a heavy load that each of have a problem with .

A heavy load that many of us have been carrying far too long;

A heavy load that causes us to be bitter and never really get better;

A heavy load that causes us to carry a grudge and harbor hatred in our heart;

A heavy load that has many Christians frustrated, depressed, and disgusted with life and living.

And It`s the heavy load of unforgiveness.

Let's be honest for a moment,

Forgiving people is not a easy thing to do?

Especially when the people that have tried to hurt you have not bothered to apologize.

And the truth of the matter is

Forgiveness can seem impossible when the person that caused the damage continues to do things that hurt you over and over again.

Have anybody ever been down that street before?

You see

This text before us is for those of us that's really struggling and just when you thought you could forgive

Something else happens and you know that unforgiveness for you is a heavy load.

This text is for Christians that knows the pain of a broken relationship.

We have been played like a video game and our emotions are torn and our feelings are hurt.

And, for us unforgiveness is a heavy load.

This text , is for Christians who say we love Jesus but have a hard time forgiving others.

And If you are the kind of person that can hold onto hatred

Like a sponge holds water and you are tired of your heavy load,

I stop by _____________ this morning /evening to encourage you

To "Put, That Down Before You Hurt Yourself!!!”

In the text before us

Jesus is teaching His disciples how to deal with a really heavy load.

Notice what Matthew says,

Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?

Till seven times?

Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, until seven times: but, until seventy times seven.

So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every

one his brother their trespasses.

But my question to you this morning/evening

Is forgiveness an area of struggle for you?

Have you been hurt and have found real forgiveness difficult to deal with?

Have you ever really struggled with the heavy load of unforgiveness?