14 " For if you forgive
others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also
forgive you. 15 "But if you do not forgive others, then your
Father will not forgive your transgressions. NASU
Introduction "How to Forgive"
The preacher, in his Sunday sermon,
used "Forgive Your Enemies" as
his subject. After a long sermon, he asked how many were willing
to forgive their enemies.
About half held up their hands.
Not satisfied, he continued on for another
twenty minutes, repeating his
question. This time he received a response of eighty percent.
Still unsatisfied, he lectured for fifteen
more minutes and repeated his
question. With thoughts of Sunday dinner, all responded except
one older gentleman in the rear.
"Mr. Jones, are you not willing to forgive
your enemies?"
"I don't have any," replied Mr. Jones.
"Mr. Jones, that is very unusual. How old
are you?"
"Eighty six years of age," was the reply.
"Mr. Jones, please come down in front and
tell the congregation how a
man can live to be eighty six and not have an enemy in the world."
The old man teetered down the aisle and
slowly turned around. "It's easy.
I just outlived the them all!"
1. The . . Demonstration
Consequence. Eph 4:31-32
NASU
A. We Will Not
Demonstrate Christlike . . Attitudes. 4:31
31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and
slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
B. We Will Not
Demonstrate Christlike . . Actions. 4:32a
32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each
other,. . . "
C. We Will Not
Demonstrate Christlike . . Appreciation. 4:32b ". . . just as
God in Christ also has forgiven you.
One Pastor said: We become more
like Satan, and less like Christ when we refuse to forgive others!
Illustration
Forgiveness of David with Saul 1 Sam 24:9-17
9 David said to Saul, "Why do you listen to the words of men,
saying, 'Behold, David seeks to harm you'? 10 " Behold, this day
your eyes have seen that the LORD had given you today into my
hand in the cave, and some said to kill you, but my eye had pity on
you; and I said, 'I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for
he is the LORD'S anointed.'
11 "Now, my
father, see! Indeed, see the edge of your robe in my
hand! For in that I cut off the edge of your robe and did not kill
you, know and perceive that there is no evil or rebellion in my
hands, and I have not sinned against you, though you are lying in
wait for my life to take it. 12 " May the LORD judge between you
and me, and may the LORD avenge me on you; but my hand shall
not be against you. 13 "As the proverb of the ancients says, ' Out of
the wicked comes forth wickedness'; but my hand shall not be
against you. 14 "After whom has the king of Israel come out?
Whom are you pursuing? A dead dog, a single flea? 15 " The
LORD therefore be judge and decide between you and me; and
may He see and plead my cause and deliver me from your hand." 16 When David had finished
speaking these words to Saul, Saul
said, " Is this your voice, my son David?" Then Saul lifted up his
voice and wept. 17 He said to David, "You are
more righteous than I; for you have
dealt well with me, while I have dealt wickedly with you. 18 "You
have declared today that you have done good to me, that the LORD
delivered me into your hand and yet you did not kill me. NASU
Application
Even David's Enemy
recognized David's righteousness.
It was DEMONSTRATED in
his actions because He stood over his enemy in A Position Of
Forgiveness.
2. The
. . Deprivation Consequence. Matt 6:14-15
A. We Will Be Deprived Of . . Fellowship. 6:14
14 " For if you forgive others for their
transgressions,your
heavenly Father will also forgive you. NASU
B. We Will Be
Deprived Of . . Forgiveness. 6:15
15 "But if you do not forgive others, then your
Father will not
forgive your transgressions. NASU
Illustration
A story from the life of the great British preacher, Brownlow North. He
had lived a wicked life before he was saved. One evening as he entered
a
church where he was to preach, a stranger walked up to him in a hurried
manner, and said, "Here is a letter for you of great importance, and
you
are requested to read before you preach tonight." Thinking that it
might
be a request for prayer, he immediately opened it, and found that it
contained a detail of some of the things he had done in the past. The
letter concluded with the words, "How dare you, being conscious of the
truth of all above, pray and speak to the people this evening, when you
are such a
vile sinner."
He put the letter in his
pocket and when it came time for him to preach; he pulled out the
letter and told the people what it said. He said to the crowded
congregation, "What is here said is true, and it is
a correct picture of the degraded sinner that I once was; and oh how
wonderful must the grace be that could quicken and raise me up from
such a death in trespasses and sins, and make me what I appear before
you tonight, a vessel of mercy, one who knows that all his past sins
have
been cleansed away through the atoning blood of the Lamb of God."
C. We Will Be Deprived
Of . . Freedom. Gal 5:1
It was for freedom that Christ set us free;
therefore keep standing
firm
and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.
D. We Will
Be Deprived Of . . Function. Luke 17:1-5
Luke 17:1-5 He said to
His disciples, " It is inevitable
that stumbling blocks come, but woe to him through whom they
come! 2 " It would be better for him if a millstone were hung
around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he
would cause one of these little ones to stumble. 3 " Be on your
guard! If your brother (against you) sins, rebuke him; and if he
repents, forgive him. 4 "And if he sins against you
seven times a
day, and returns to you seven times, saying, 'I repent,' forgive
him." 5 The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" 6 And
the Lord said, "If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say
to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and be planted in the sea'; and it
would obey you. NASU
1. Not Forgiving may make one a
stumbling block
Illustration
A former President of the Southern Baptist Convention Dr Tom Elliff
Told of a
Lady Whose Body Quit Making Blood. She Went to Doctors Etc.
During a visit to one
doctor He Asked Her If There Was Anyone She Had Not
Forgiven. She Said Yes. When She Forgave Them Her Body Started Making
Blood. Roy roycordle@bellsouth.net
Illustration
In the February 1994 issue of
Reader's Digest there is a story of how
God's Spirit helped one man fight the impulse to pass by on the other
side. On September 26, 1944, Ray Hamley, an RAF flying officer, and his
crew flying an American-built B-25, dropped bombs on the town of Kleve
just inside Germany's border with Holland. Ray was 21 years old, and
his
bombs that day hit the railroad station, a number of Nazi factories,
and
the town church. He had an inkling that day that one of his bombs hit
the
church, but war was war.
On the ground that day a young
woman in Kleve mourned not only the
loss of her church, but the loss of her parents who happened to live in
a
house next to the church. For the town of Kleve, 647 civilians and 879
military personnel would die before the Second World War was over.
Meanwhile, Ray Hamley went home to England after the war, married his
childhood sweetheart, and became the head of a primary school.
But then in 1983, someone handed
Ray a newspaper clipping that
showed how the people of a little town in Germany named Kleve were
rebuilding the Church of St. Mary that had been bombed during the war.
Something triggered in Ray's memory. He found his old logbook in the
attic, and suddenly realized that it had been his bomb that had
destroyed
the church back in 1944.
An impulse was born in his heart as he
thought about that tiny town, and
how the loss of their church must have touched those people. But then
came the temptation to pass by on the other side. He says he thought to
himself, "Come on, Ray, after all, the Nazis bombed innocent children
in
London and Warsaw; it was wartime; it was years ago; forget it, Ray,
and
get on with your life; it's not your concern." But thank God, Ray
Hamley
did not let those second thoughts win out. He wrote to the Mayor of
Kleve, asking for the forgiveness of the townspeople, and requesting
that
his letter be read by the priest at the dedication of the new church
building.
In 1984, Ray got a reply from the
people of Kleve, requesting that he and
his family come and see the new church building. But again, those
second thoughts attacked Ray, and he could not even answer the letter.
Once more the parish priest in Kleve wrote
to Ray, this time with a letter
signed by 500 parishioners offering their forgiveness in the name of
Jesus Christ! Ray Hamley went to Kleve. His visit not only healed old
wounds in his life, but has brought about an incredible reconciliation
between Ray's hometown in England and the people of Kleve in
Germany. And it all happened because by the power of God, Ray
Hamley was able to conquer his second thoughts, and not pass by on the
other side! For Ray Hamley, this was a turning point in his life.
Robert A. Beringer, Turning Points, CSS Publishing Company, 1995.
Adapted and Corrected.
Illustration Daily Devotion from Henry Blackaby
Because of sin, Adam and Eve
fell short of the perfection God intended for
them. Because of sin, the Israelites relinquished the glory they could
have
experienced as God's holy nation. Because of sin, Judas fell short of
the
opportunity to be an apostle of Jesus Christ. Sin will corrupt every
area of your
life that it touches. Sin will cause your marriage to fall short of the
promise it
held in the beginning. Sin will cause you to fall short as a parent, a
church
member, a worshiper, or a friend. Every area in your life is
susceptible to sin's
destruction.
The wonder of salvation
is that God completely dealt with sin. He did what we
could not do. Through Christ's sacrifice, God, by His grace, offered
His
salvation and canceled the penalty of our sin. By His grace, He takes a
life that
has fallen short of God's best and gives it meaning. He provides the
opportunity
to immediately confess our sin and to be cleansed from all
unrighteousness
(1 John 1:9).
He
mends a broken heart. His grace erases anger and bitterness. He
restores severed relationships. He takes a life devastated by sin and
makes it
whole. He takes our failures and produces something good.
Only God can heal sin's
devastation. Only He can bridge the gap between His
glory and your sin (Rom. 3:23).
You
must trust Him to do so. If you will ask
Him, He will free you from the bondage of your sin, reestablish your
relationship with Him, and restore you to wholeness. --Experiencing God
Day
by Day
We can be such
unforgiving Christians that our sinfulness discourages people
from seeking forgiveness from our God. We can show such disrespect for
God
as we worship Him that those observing lose their reverence of Him as
well.
Our supreme desire
should be to glorify the name of God by the way we live.
We ought to pray daily,
as Jesus taught us to, that God's name be treated as holy.
--Experiencing God Day by Day
IS THERE ANY HOPE FOR
ALL OF US? YES!
Illustration
There is a story of a man who was troubled with guilt. He was resting
behind a
hedge and soon heard two girls
talking. There were discussing a sermon
they heard. One of the
girls
said, "I heard him
preach once, and I shall never forget one thing that he said.
It gave me a big lift." The other girl asked what the preacher
said, and the girl replied,
"The world will always
say, You made your bed and you must lie in it!"
But One greater
than the world has said,
"Take up thy bed and walk. Thy
sins are forgiven.'"
The despairing man on the
other side of the hedge heard that good report, the
discouragement lifted, and he went on his way rejoicing. Gary Bowell p.
183,
184
So Can We In The Forgiveness Jesus Gives
