How
to Forgive People that are REALLY Hard to Forgive!
Matthew 18:21-35 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how
many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven
times?”
22Jesus answered, “I
tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
23 “Therefore, the
kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his
servants. 24 As he began the
settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought
to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he
and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
26 “The servant fell
on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back
everything.’ 27 The
servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
28 “But when that
servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred
denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he
demanded.
29 “His fellow
servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay
you back.’
30 “But he refused.
Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the
debt. 31 When the other
servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told
their master everything that had happened.
32 “Then the master
called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt
of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just
as I had on you?’ 34 In
anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should
pay back all he owed.
35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”
1. Don’t keep track of offenses against you (21-22)
1 Corinthians 13:5d Love…keeps no record of wrongs
2. Find forgiveness from God for your own sin (23-27)
Romans 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…
*When we feel UNFORGIVEN we tend to be unforgiving!
Ephesians 4:32 Be kind and compassionate to one another,
forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you.
Key: Recognize how much God forgives me everyday…
A
prayer to find forgiveness and begin a relationship with Christ: “Dear Jesus, I
need You in my life. I want to have a real relationship with You. Today, I have
realized that you created me to know you. I also realize today that I have
sinned against you. Please forgive me. I turn to you and ask you to be the
leader of my life. I give you my heart, my soul, my life, my past, and my
future. Thank you for dying for me.
Help me to live for you, now and forever. Amen.
3. The Kicker: Realize that the sin(s) this person
committed against you are nothing compared to what you have been forgiven for
(28-31)
Matthew 7:3-5 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in
your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’
when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5You
hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see
clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
4. Keep the right
perspective: We will all answer to God about how we did or didn’t forgive
people (32-35)
Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Matthew 6:14-15 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Do I need to forgive anyone?
· The blame test.
· The bitterness test.
· The behavior test.
· The “Better than thou” test
Two options for dealing with my hurts: I can either
REHEARSE them or RELEASE them!