The Debt Of Forgiveness (Revised)

This evening we live in a world that believes there are certain things that can influence your life. Those who put their confidence in astrology believe your life is planned out by:

· Pattern of the stars

· Positioning of the moon and sun

· The month you (or your spouse) were born in

Some folks rely heavily on:

· The “luck of the draw”(in life)

· The “odds of occurrence”

· “As fate would have it”

Believers of Christ know those things are not true. The month I was born has absolutely nothing to do with how I live my life.

There really is only two things in life that can influence how I live:

1. The sin in which I am born in

Psalm 51:5

Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

2. The forgiveness of Jesus Christ

II Cor. 5:21

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

I have a choice to make everyday of my life. I can live each day in the disappointments and heartaches of sin. Or, I can choose to live in the forgiveness of Jesus Christ.

Transition

The fact is this –

The habits of the sin in our lives do control who we are and how much we enjoy, or don’t enjoy, our lives.

It’s not the pattern of the stars, rather it is the pattern of our sins, and whether we are delivered from them.

If we were honest with ourselves, we often/sometimes make the same mistakes we have made all our lives.

I speak to you from the voice of experience. Unfortunately, I have been guilty of facing the same battles over and over (in my life).

For each of us, there are certain sinful things that keep repeating themselves in our lives. Some of us may need deliverance from these old feelings, these same old heartaches, and/or these same old habits.

It is God’s desire that we all become a new creature in Christ. I want us all to experience what the Bible tells us about in II Corinthians, Galatians 6 and Colossians 3.

That is –

· The newness of Christ,

· The newness of His covenant,

· The new wineskin (with the new wine),

· The new creation,

· The new commandment, (Jesus told His disciples about),

· Singing the new song (in Psalm 149),

· Waiting on the new heaven and the new earth (in Rev 21).

Jesus made you and I a promise in Rev 21:5 that should excite us:

"Behold, I make all things new."

I cannot speak for you, but I am just simple enough in my faith that I believe that can be true for any of us.

For Me - There was once a time in my life that I didn’t like myself. I didn’t like where my life was heading.

Somebody told me that I could become new.

Some Christians told me –

· That Jesus didn’t like the way I was living (in my sins).

· The Good News was that Jesus would take me just the way I was (with all of my old habits, and my old hurts and heartaches.)

For some of us, that was a long time ago. And yet, every once in a while, we see something from the old days. Some of our old ways just pop up out of nowhere.

When that happens, we are reminded of –

· The way we used to be,

· Who we used to be,

· And what we used to do.

This is not always a pretty sight…

This can be very disappointing.

I can remember that I really did want to experience this “new life”, and to be a “new creature in Christ.”

Transition

But it’s almost as if there is this spiritual DNA that is not right with God.

Overall, a person may not be too troubled about how they are living.

But the fact remains that you may find yourself cycling through the same old garbage of old feelings every once and while.

So what is the answer?

It all has to do with whether or not you really have forgiveness in your life. It is important that we are truly walking in the forgiveness of Christ.

Text: Matthew 6:9 thru 15

Christianity is all about forgiveness. And yet, many Christians don’t understand it. They understand how important it is to pray the “sinner’s prayer”, but they don’t always apply it to the rest of their lives.

You may be one of those who don’t want to forgive others for what they have done to you. This is common even among (so called) godly people.

Example:

There was once a man considered to be a prophet of the Lord: