FIRST OF ALL, I WANT TO TELL YOU WHAT AN
HONOR IT IS TO DELIVER WHAT I HOPE AND PRAY IS GOD’S MESSAGE
TO YOU THIS MORNING. MOST OF YOU KNOW ME AND KNOW THAT I
HAVE GROWN UP IN THIS CHURCH. THIS CHURCH HOLDS A VERY
SPECIAL PLACE IN MY HEART, JUST AS I KNOW IT HAS A SPECIAL
PLACE IN GOD’S HEART AS WELL.
WHEN PASTOR
DAVE ASKED ME IF I WOULD BE INTERESTED IN DELIVERING THE
MESSAGE TO YOU TODAY, I DID NOT ACCEPT RIGHT AWAY. I TOLD
HIM THAT I WANTED TO THINK ABOUT IT AND PRAY ABOUT IT.
ABOUT A WEEK LATER, I ACCEPTED DAVE’S OFFER.
WHEN I TOLD DAVE THAT I WOULD DO THIS, HE ASKED ME IF I
WANTED TO PLAN THE ENTIRE SERVICE; AND I MUST CONFESS THAT
AT THAT POINT I KINDA FELT LIKE THE 16 YEAR OLD WHO HAD JUST
BEEN GIVEN THE KEYS TO DAD’S CAR.
AS I STAND
HERE TODAY, I AM REMINDED OF THE STORY TOLD BY TONY CAMPOLO
ABOUT A MAN WHO WAS VISITING A CHURCH, AND AFTER THE SERVICE
WAS SPEAKING WITH AN OLDER WOMAN OF THE CONGREGATION, WHEN
THE MINISTERS SON RAN DOWN THE CENTER AISLE, BOLTED UP TO
THE PULPIT AND BLURTED OUT OVER THE LOUDSPEAKER, “LOOK
EVERYBODY! LOOK! I’M IN THE PULPIT! THE ELDERLY LADY THEN
SAID TO THE VISITOR –RATHER NONCHALANTLY, HIS FATHER DOES
THAT EVERY SUNDAY!”
I WILL DO MY
BEST TO RESIST THE TEMPTATION TO TRY BE THE CENTER OF
ATTENTION AND I PRAY THAT OUR ATTENTION WILL INSTEAD BE
CENTERED ON OUR LORD THIS MORNING. I DO CONSIDER MY
PRESENCE BEFORE YOU TO BE A SOLEMN HONOR, ONE HELD BY MANY
HONORABLE PERSONS BEFORE ME, AND I HOPE I DO NOT ABUSE THE
PRIVILEGE.
I WOULD LIKE
TO PRESENT THIS MESSAGE NOT AS SOMEONE PREACHING TO YOU OR
LECTURING TO YOU, BUT INSTEAD, I WOULD LIKE TO VISIT WITH
YOU LIKE FRIENDS SITTING DOWN OVER A CUP OF COFFEE, SO,
FRIENDS, LET’S TALK:
I WILL BEGIN
WITH MAKING A CONFESSION TO YOU. . . . . I CARRY A GRUDGE;
ACTUALLY I CARRY SEVERAL OF THEM, OF ALL SHAPES AND SIZES.
DO ANY OF YOU HAVE THIS PROBLEM? WE PICKUP AND CARRY
GRUDGES WHEN WE FAIL TO FORGIVE SOMEONE WHO HAS HURT US IN
SOME WAY. LIFE CAN BE VERY, VERY HARD AND WE ALL GET HURT.
SOME OF US MAY HAVE BEEN BETRAYED BY PEOPLE
WE HAVE TRUSTED WITH OUR INNERMOST DESIRES AND DREAMS, WHO
LATER TURNED ON US AND USED THIS INFORMATION TO HARM US
SOME OF US MAY HAVE BEEN PHYSICALLY HURT BY
OTHERS IN ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS
SOME OF US MAY HAVE BEEN BETRAYED BY AN
UNFAITHFUL SPOUSE
SOME OF US MAY BE HURT BECAUSE OUR FAMILIES
HAVE GROWN DISTANT
SOME OF US FEEL BETRAYED BECAUSE OUR CHURCH
IS NOT MEETING THEIR EXPECTATIONS
SOME OF US MAY HAVE BEEN HURT BY WHAT OUR
PASTOR HAS SAID OR WRITTEN SOMETHING WITH WHICH WE STRONGLY
DISAGREE. SOME OF US MAY HAVE BEEN HURT BECAUSE SOMEONE HAS
BEEN GOSSIPING ABOUT US TO OTHERS-AND ON AND ON.
THIS WORLD CAN
BE A VERY PAINFUL PLACE AND THERE IS A LOT OF HURT, WHICH
SADLY, IS FERTILE GROUND FOR THE GROWING AND RAISING OF
GRUDGES. WHEN WE GET HURT WE OFTEN BEGIN TO HARBOR
RESENTMENTS AGAINST THE PERSON WHO HURT US, WE BECOME
ISOLATED FROM THAT PERSON BECAUSE WE DO NOT WANT TO RISK
GETTING HURT AGAIN. SLOWLY, BUT SURELY, OVERTIME, GAPS
DEVELOP BETWEEN US AND THIS PERSON AND THESE GAPS WIDEN SO
THAT THERE IS A GREAT DISTANCE BETWEEN US. IT IS THROUGH
THIS RESENTMENT AND THIS DISTANCE THAT GRUDGES ARE BORN AND
RAISED.
JOHN ORTBERG-
MINISTER OF MENLO PARK PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH HAS NOTED THAT WE
OFTEN TALK ABOUT GRUDGES THE WAY WE TALK ABOUT BABIES OR OUR
GRANDCHILDREN- WE CAN HOLD A GRUDGE, CARRY A GRUDGE, WE EVEN
NURSE OUR GRUDGES SO THAT THEY WILL GROW INTO BIGGER AND
STRONGER GRUDGES. AFTER A WHILE WE MAY EVEN DECIDE TO
CARRY A FEW MORE GRUDGES, TWO, THREE OR MORE.
THE SAD THING IS THAT WE CARRY THESE GRUDGES
AROUND LIKE A GREAT WEIGHT OR BALL AND CHAIN IF YOU WILL.
WHICH KEEPS US FROM BEING ALL THAT GOD HAS PLANNED FOR US TO
BE; WE ARE LIKE EAGLES MEANT TO SOAR BUT WHO CANNOT LIFT OFF
THE GROUND.
NOW, NO ONE
WAKES UP ONE MORNING AND DECIDES THAT THEY WILL CARRY A
HEAVY BALL AND CHAIN AROUND WITH THEM 24/7 FOR THE REST OF
THEIR LIFE, BUT IT HAPPENS. IT HAPPENS EVERY DAY. IT IS
HAPPENING IN THIS ROOM RIGHT NOW, AND THAT IS NOT THE LIFE
GOD HAS CALLED FOR YOU AND ME.
THE NURSING
AND FEEDING OF GRUDGES CAN BE VERY SUBTLE AND WE MAY NOT
EVEN BE AWARE OF IT AT FIRST. WE START OFF WITH A SMALL
GRUDGE, WHICH IS RELATIVELY EASY TO MANAGE. IN FACT, IT MAY
EVEN MAKE US FEEL A LITTLE IMPORTANT, EVEN GOD-LIKE, OUR OWN
LITTLE APPLE IN OUR GARDEN OF EDEN. OVER TIME, THE GRUDGE
IS CONTINUOUSLY FED BY OUR UNRESOLVED BITTERNESS AND THE
GRUDGE GROWS. IT MAY BE GET A LITTLE HEAVIER, BUT WE DON’T
MIND, IT MAKES US FEEL LIKE WE ARE ALWAYS RIGHT, THAT WE ARE
IN CHARGE, THAT WE HAVE POWER.
SO WE CONTINUE
TO CARRY IT. OUR BITTERNESS CONTINUES TO FEED THE GRUDGE.
THE GRUDGE GROWS AND GROWS UNTIL IT IS A GREAT BURDEN TO
CARRY, BUT BECAUSE WE HAVE CARRIED IT SO LONG WE DONIT EVEN
NOTICE HOW IT IS SMOTHERING OUR SOULS.
A VICIOUS
CYCLE ENSUES, WE ENJOY THE FIRST ONE SO MUCH, WE MAY EVEN
PICK UP A SECOND ONE AND NURSE IT WITH OUR BITTERNESS AND
RESENTMENT TO ANOTHER PERSON, AND SO ON UNTIL ONE MORNING WE
WAKE UP, AND WE DO NOT RECOGNIZE THE PERSON LOOKING AT US IN
THE MIRROR - INSTEAD OF A WARM LOVING PERSON, SOARING WITH
GOD LIKE AN EAGLE, WE SEE A COLD UNCARING SELF-CENTERED
PERSON WITH AN IMPRISONED SOUL WEIGHTED DOWN SO THAT WE CAN
BARELY GO THROUGH THE MOTIONS OF LIFE, MUCH LIKE MARLEY WAS
DESCRIBED BY DICKENS IN A CHRISTMAS CAROL, CARRYING THE
PONDEROUS CHAIN HE FORGED IN LIFE. WE SEE A PERSON WHO IS
NOWHERE NEAR BEING WHAT GOD PLANNED FOR US.
HOW DO WE
BREAK THIS DEADLY CYCLE? HOW DO WE LET GO OF THE BALL AND
CHAIN OF GRUDGES THAT WE CARRY? WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW?
GOD HAS GIVEN US THE ANSWER. IN THE SCRIPTURES WE READ
EARLIER. WHAT SCRIPTURE SAYS IS THAT WE CAN ONLY BE SET
FREE OF THE BALL AND CHAIN OF GRUDGES BY COMMITTING WHAT
PHILLIP YANCEY HAS CALLED AN UNNATURAL ACT. THAT UNNATURAL
ACT IS THE ACT OF FORGIVENESS.
IN THE FIRST
READING THIS MORNING FROM GENESIS WE HEARD FROM A FELLOW
NAMED LAMECH- WHO MIGHT BE DESCRIBED AS THE CROWN PRINCE OF
GRUDGE. SOMEONE HAS HURT LAMECH, WE DON’T KNOW HOW. WHAT
WE DO KNOW IS THAT RESENTMENT AND BITTERNESS WERE WELLING UP
WITH HIM SO MUCH THAT HE PICKED UP A ROCK AND SAID IF CAIN
IS AVENGED SEVEN TIMES, THEN LAMECH WILL BE AVENGED
SEVENTY-SEVEN TIMES.
THAT WILL SHOW
THEM WON’T IT? NO ONE MESSES AROUND WITH LAMECH - NOTE THAT
HE WAS BASICALLY REFERRING TO THE FACT THAT GOD HAD SAID
EARLIER THAT ANYONE WHO HARMED CAIN WOULD BE AVENGED SEVEN
TIMES. LAMECH WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT HIS VENGEANCE WOULD
BE DEEP AND WIDE, 11 TIMES THAT OF CAIN- IF YOU HURT ME- I
WILL HURT YOU WORSE!
ONE SIDE NOTE-
DO YOU THINK 77 TIMES WOULD EVEN BE ENOUGH FOR LAMECH? IS
THERE EVER ENOUGH REVENGE? WE CAN DISMISS LAMECH’S CLAIM AS
BEING OVER THE TOP, AND THAT WE ARE NOT NEAR THAT VENGEFUL.
BUT ARE WE NOT BASICALLY THE SAME DEEP DOWN,
IN THE DARK CORNERS OF OUR HEARTS THAT WE DO NOT SHOW
OTHERS? YOU MAY NOT SEE MANY OF US IN THE STREET HOLDING UP
ROCKS DECLARING OUR VENGEANCE. INSTEAD WE SILENTLY HOLD
UP OUR ROCKS IN OUR HEARTS.
WHY IS IT THAT FORGIVENESS CAN BE SO HARD FOR
US MODERN DAY LAMECHS? IT MAY BE AS YANCEY SAID THAT THE
LAW OF NATURE ADMITS NO FORGIVENESS. HE NOTES THAT
SQUIRRELS DO NOT FORGIVE CATS FOR CHASING THEM, DOLPHINS DO
NOT FORGIVE SHARKS FOR EATING THEIR FRIENDS, NATIONS DO NOT
ASK FOR FORGIVENESS FOR INVADING OTHER NATIONS. IT’S A
DOG-EAT-DOG WORLD OUT THERE, NOT A DOG-FORGIVE-DOG WORLD.
FORGIVENESS
IS DEFINITELY NOT THE WAY OF THE WORLD- BUT IT IS THE WAY TO
WHICH WE ARE CALLED.
IN OUR SECOND
READING- THE PARABLE OF THE UNMERCIFUL SERVANT- THE PASSAGE
BEGINS WITH PETER ASKING JESUS HOW MANY TIMES HE SHOULD
FORGIVE SOMEONE WHO HAS HARMED HIM- PETER ASKS, “LORD, HOW
MANY TIMES SHALL I FORGIVE MY BROTHER WHEN HE SINS AGAINST
ME? UP TO SEVEN TIMES?”
IT SHOULD BE
NOTED AT THIS POINT THAT RABBINIC TEACHING STATED THAT A
PERSON MUST FORGIVE ANOTHER THREE TIMES. WILLIAM BARCLAY
NOTES IN HIS COMMENTARY THAT BASED ON PASSAGES IN THE BOOK
OF AMOS, IT HAS DEDUCED THAT GOD’S FORGIVENESS EXTENDED TO
THREE OFFENSES AND THAT HE VISITS THE SINNER WITH PUNISHMENT
ON THE FOURTH OFFENSE. IT WAS THOUGHT THAT PEOPLE CANNOT
BE MORE GRACIOUS THAN GOD, SO FORGIVENESS WAS LIMITED TO
THREE TIMES.
THEREFORE,
PETER MUST HAVE THOUGHT THAT HE WAS DOING PRETTY GOOD, AND
THAT JESUS WOULD BE MIGHTILY IMPRESSED WITH HIS
GRACIOUSNESS. HE BASICALLY TOOK THE THREE TIMES -DOUBLED IT
AND THEN ADDED ONE FOR GOOD MEASURE- HE WAS LIKELY EXPECTING
A WARM AFFIRMATION FROM JESUS.
HOWEVER, JESUS
RESPONDED, “ I TELL YOU NOT SEVEN TIMES, BUT SEVENTY-SEVEN
TIMES.” I AM SURE PETER MUST HAVE BEEN CREST-FALLEN; HOW
COULD HE FORGIVE SOMEONE 77 TIMES? HOW CAN WE FORGIVE
SOMEONE 77 TIMES? THE POINT HERE IS CLEAR. YOU DON’T EVER
STOP FORGIVING. JUST AS THERE ARE NO LIMITS TO GOD’S
FORGIVENESS, THERE SHOULD BE NO LIMITS TO OURS.
DID YOU NOTE THE NUMBER JESUS GAVE? DID IT
SOUND LIKE ANYTHING YOU MAY HAVE JUST HEARD FROM LAMECH WAY
BACK IN GENESIS? JESUS NO DOUBT WAS FAMILIAR WITH LAMECH’S
STATEMENT AND THIS WAS HIS WAY OF TURNING THE TABLES- HIS
WAY OF SAYING A NEW, BETTER KINGDOM HAS ARRIVED.
AT THAT POINT
JESUS WENT ON TO DESCRIBE THE NEW KINGDOM OF HEAVEN BY
TELLING THE PARABLE OF THE UNMERCIFUL SERVANT- AND IT STARTS
OUT RATHER NICE DOESN’T IT? A KING WANTED TO SETTLE HIS
ACCOUNTS. A MAN OR SERVANT WHO OWED HIM TEN THOUSAND
TALENTS WAS BROUGHT TO HIM- SINCE THE SERVANT WAS NOT ABLE
TO PAY, THE KING AT FIRST ORDERED THAT HE AND HIS WIFE AND
HIS CHILDREN AND ALL THAT HE HAD BE SOLD TO REPAY THE DEBT.
THE SERVANT
REALIZING THERE WAS NO WAY BE COULD PAY FELL ON HIS KNEES
ASKING THE KING TO BE PATIENT, BEGGING AND PROMISING THAT HE
WILL PAY BACK EVERYTHING- THE KING TOOK PITY ON HIM-
CANCELLED THE DEBT AND LET HIM GO- EVERYBODY FEELING PRETTY
GOOD ABOUT THAT? (A LITTLE BACKGROUND ON THIS PARABLE)
YOU MAY BE WONDERING HOW MUCH THIS MAN OWED; WHAT EXACTLY IS
A TALENT AND WHAT ARE TEN THOUSAND TALENTS? BASICALLY ONE
TALENT WAS THE EQUIVALENT OF 15 YEARS WAGES. SCHOLARS NOTE
THAT THIS WOULD BE AN INCREDIBLE HUGE DEBT. WILLIAM BARCLAY
NOTES THAT THE TOTAL REVENUE FOR THE ENTIRE PROVINCE OF
GALILEE, A VERY WEALTHY PROVINCE, WAS ONLY 300 TALENTS;
THUS, TEN THOUSAND TALENTS WAS A STAGGERING DEBT. OTHER
SCHOLARS HAVE NOTED THAT IN TODAYS MONEY- THIS DEBT WOULD BE
MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OR MORE, A DEBT HE COULD NO WAY PAY-
MUCH LIKE THE DEBT WE OWE GOD FOR OUR SIN. A DEBT WE ARE
NOT CAPABLE OF REPAYING.
JUST LIKE THE
SERVANT WE HAVE A GENEROUS KING WHO HAS GRANTED US A GREAT
GIFT, THE GIFT OF FORGIVENESS. WE HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN A
GREAT DEBT THAT WE COULD NOT PAY. WE HAVE RECEIVED A HUGE
GIFT FROM AN INCREDIBLY GENEROUS GOD. STILL FEELING PRETTY
GOOD?
IT’S NOW THAT
THE PARABLE TAKES A VERY DARK AND SOBERING TURN. THE
SERVANT WHO WAS GIVEN THIS UNIMAGINABLE GIFT OF FORGIVENESS
FOR HIS STAGGERING DEBTS THEN COMES ACROSS A FELLOW SERVANT
WHO OWES HIM A HUNDRED DENARI, THE EQUIVALENT TODAY OF A FEW
HUNDRED DOLLARS. JUST LIKE OUR FIRST SERVANT, THIS FELLOW
SERVANT BEGS FOR PATIENCE AND PROMISES THAT HE WILL REPAY
HIS DEBT. ( ALMOST THE EXACT SAME LANGUAGE USED BY THE
FIRST SERVANT WITH THE KING). ARE YOU WITH ME HERE?
BUT INSTEAD OF FORGIVING HIS FELLOW SERVANT LIKE HE HIMSELF
HAD BEEN FORGIVEN- HE HAS THE FELLOW SERVANT THROWN INTO
PRISON.
WORD GETS BACK TO THE KING- WHO CALLS THE
FIRST SERVANT BEFORE HIM AND SAYS, “YOU
WICKED SERVANT. I CANCELLED ALL THAT DEBT OF YOURS BECAUSE
YOU BEGGED ME TO. SHOULDN’T YOU HAVE HAD MERCY ON YOUR
FELLOW SERVANT JUST AS I HAD ON YOU? IN ANGER, THE KING
TURNED HIM OVER TO THE JAILERS TO BE TORTURED UNTIL HE
SHOULD PAY BACK ALL HE OWED.
AND THEN IF
THAT IS NOT PAINFULLY CLEAR ENOUGH, JESUS THEN CLOSES THE
PARABLE BY STATING, “THIS IS HOW MY HEAVENLY FATHER WILL
TREAT EACH OF YOU UNLESS YOU FORGIVE YOUR BROTHER FROM YOUR
HEART.
A VERY
SOBERING PARABLE. IF THAT’S NOT CLEAR ENOUGH- MATTHEW 6:
14-15 READS AS FOLLOWS:
“FOR IF YOU FORGIVE
MEN WHEN THEY SIN AGAINST YOU, YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER WILL
ALSO FORGIVE YOU, BUT IF YOU DO NOT FORGIVE MEN THEIR SINS,
YOUR FATHER WILL NOT FORGIVE YOUR SINS. THERE ARE VERY
SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES FOR KEEPING AN UNFORGIVEN HEART, FOR
KEEPING AND NURSING OUR GRUDGES. THE FORGIVENESS OF OUR
SINS IS DIRECTLY CONNECTED TO THE FORGIVENESS WE OFFER THOSE
WHO HAVE HURT US.
IF YOU TAKE
HOME WITH YOU NOTHING ELSE TODAY, PLEASE TAKE HOME THIS-
THE FORGIVENESS WE GIVE IS
THE FORGIVENESS WE HAVE RECEIVED - IF WE DO NOT
FORGIVE- WE ARE NOT FORGIVEN. PRETTY HARSH ISN’T IT? BUT
OUR LORD IS PAINFULLY CLEAR ON THIS.
PHILLIP YANCEY
NOTED THAT THE MOST TERRIFYING WORD IN THE BIBLE IS “AS”. AS
IN THE LORD’S PRAYER, JESUS TOLD US THAT WE ARE TO ASK GOD
TO FORGIVE OUR SINS (DEBTS) AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO SIN (OUR
DEBTORS) AGAINST US.
SO WHAT DO WE
DO? ARE WE DOOMED BY OUR UNFORGIVING HEARTS? DO WE HAVE
ANY HOPE?
ONE THING IS
FOR SURE- WE MUST CUT FREE OF THE BALL AND CHAIN OF GRUDGES,
BUT HOW DO WE DO THIS?
FORGIVENESS IS THE ANSWER, BUT FORGIVENESS IS
A VERY HARD THING TO DO; YET THIS IS SO CRITICAL, SO AT THE
HEART OF BEING A CHRISTIAN. C.S. LEWIS NOTES THAT TO BE A
CHRISTIAN MEANS TO FORGIVE THE INEXCUSABLE, BECAUSE GOD HAS
FORGIVEN THE INEXCUSABLE IN YOU.
ORTBERG NOTES
THAT A STUDY IN THE JOURNAL OF ADULT DEVELOPMENT FOUND THAT
75 PERCENT OF THOSE SURVEYED BELIEVE THEY HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN
BY GOD FOR PAST MISTAKES, BUT ONLY 52 PERCENT SAY THEY HAVE
FORGIVEN OTHERS; AND EVEN FEWER, 43 PERCENT, SAY THEY HAVE
ACTIVELY SOUGHT FORGIVENESS FOR HARMS THEY HAVE DONE TO
OTHERS.
WHAT IS
FORGIVENESS? FORGIVENESS IS NOT:
1. BEING A
DOORMAT WHO LETS PEOPLE WALK OVER US
2. IGNORING
OTHER’S WRONGS
3.
DISREGARDING EARTHLY JUSTICE
IF SOMEONE
COMMITS A CRIME, HE MUST FACE THE CONSEQUENCES- AND ACCEPT
RESPONSIBILITY FOR HIS/HER ACTIONS UNDER THE LAW.
4. DOESN’T
REQUIRE THE OTHER PERSON TO ACKNOWLEDGE THEIR WRONG- THAT
WOULD BE RECONCILIATION, WHICH IS ALWAYS BETTER, BUT NOT
REQUIRED FOR YOU TO FORGIVE SOMEONE.
FORGIVENESS IS
THE MEANS BY WHICH WE WON’T HOLD ANOTHER PERSONALLY
ACCOUNTABLE TO US FOR THEIR FAILURES, BUT INSTEAD WE WILL
CONTINUE TO RESPOND TO THEM WITH LOVE AND GRACE. WE ARE ALL
ACCOUNTABLE TO GOD AND WE SHOULD LEAVE JUDGMENT OF OTHER’S
SINS TO GOD.
WE ARE EACH CALLED TO MAKE A CHOICE. WE CAN
CHOOSE TO CONTINUE TO CARRY AND NURSE THE BALL AND CHAIN OF
OUR GRUDGES, TO PICK UP A ROCK AND FOLLOW IN THE PATH OF
LAMECH SEEKING VENGEANCE 77 TIMES; OR WE CAN CHOOSE TO
FOLLOW IN THE PATH OF OUR LORD, INSTEAD OF PICKING UP A
ROCK, PICKING UP OUR CROSS AND SAYING YES, WE TRUST YOU
LORD.
WE CAN CHOOSE TO GIVE OUR LIVES TO GOD
KNOWING THAT HE IS THERE WITH US, TO GIVE US THE STRENGTH
AND THE COURAGE TO FORGIVE AND TO FILL US WITH HIS LOVE SO
THAT FORGIVENESS COMES NATURALLY AND IS NO LONGER AN
UNNATURAL ACT.
OUR LORD SAYS
TO ASK AND IT WILL BE GIVEN TO YOU, SEEK AND YOU WILL FIND.
. . FOR EVERYONE WHO ASKS, RECEIVES, HE WHO SEEKS FINDS;
AND WE CAN EACH FIND FORGIVENESS AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS-
WHERE HE SHOWED US THE ULTIMATE FORGIVENESS. HE STILL
STANDS BEFORE US WITH ARMS OPEN SAYING, “COME TO ME THOSE
WHO ARE BURDENED AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST”.
SO HOW CAN WE
CHOOSE THE PATH OF OUR LORD? WHERE DO WE PICK UP OUR
CROSS? WE PICK UP OUR
CROSS WHEN WE CONTINUE TO ASK -CONTINUE TO
KNOCK- CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR HIS STRENGTH AND GUIDANCE. OUR
GOD IS A FAITHFUL AND GRACIOUS GOD, AND HE WILL NOT FAIL US
- HE WILL GIVE US THE STRENGTH WE NEED TO LET GO OF YOUR
GRUDGES, TO PUT DOWN OUR BALL AND CHAIN AND BEGIN A NEW LIFE
OF FORGIVENESS.
I WOULD LIKE
ALL OF US TO TAKE A FIRST STEP TOWARDS THIS NEW LIFE HERE
THIS MORNING. I WOULD LIKE FOR EACH OF YOU TO TAKE A PIECE
OF YOUR BULLETIN- AND WRITE ON IT A NAME OF A PERSON WHO
COMES TO YOUR MIND AS SOMEONE YOU NEED TO ASK FORGIVENESS
FROM OR SOMEONE YOU NEED TO FORGIVE- TAKE IT WITH YOU AND GO
TO THAT PERSON AND BEGIN YOUR NEW LIFE OF FORGIVENESS. YOU
DON’T NEED TO SHOW IT TO ANYONE. THIS IS SOMETHING JUST
BETWEEN YOU AND GOD, BUT I HOPE BY DOING THIS, IT WILL HELP
YOU TAKE THE FIRST STEP DOWN THE ROAD OF FORGIVENESS.
DOES ANYONE
EVER DREAM? I LIKE TO DREAM AND I WOULD LIKE FOR YOU TO
TAKE A MOMENT TO DREAM WITH ME. I WANT YOU TO DREAM AND
IMAGINE HOW OUR WORLD WOULD BE IF EACH OF US WENT OUT OF
HERE TODAY AND FORGAVE JUST ONE PERSON WHO HAD HURT US OR
ASKED FORGIVENESS FROM ONE PERSON WE HAVE HURT. IMAGINE HOW
OUR TOWN WOULD BE- IF EVERYONE IN RUSSELLVILLE FORGAVE JUST
ONE PERSON WHO HAD HURT THEM OR ASKED FORGIVENESS FROM ONE
PERSON THEY HAVE HURT- IMAGINE HOW CENTRAL PRESBYTERIAN
CHURCH WOULD BE IF EACH OF US WOULD GO TO ONE PERSON IN OUR
CHURCH FAMILY WHO HAD HURT THEM AND FORGAVE THEM OR IF EACH
OF US ASKED FORGIVENESS FROM ANOTHER MEMBER WE HAVE HURT.
BY DOING SO WE WOULD ALLOW THE GRACE AND FORGIVENESS WE HAVE
RECEIVED FROM GOD TO WASH AWAY SO MUCH BITTERNESS AND HURT
AND PAIN REVEALING THE JOY AND LOVES THAT COMES WITH A
FORGIVEN OR FORGIVING HEART.
IMAGINE THE LOVE THAT WOULD THEN GUSH FORTH
THROUGH THIS CHURCH.
WOULD YOU LIKE
TO SEE THIS DREAM BECOME A REALITY? GOD HAS BEEN HELPING
PEOPLE DO THIS FOR CENTURYS. IT CAN HAPPEN TO THIS CHURCH
TODAY. IT STARTS RIGHT HERE AND RIGHT NOW. IT STARTS WITH
YOU, IT STARTS WITH ME, IT STARTS WITH US.
I CANNOT WAIT
TO SEE IT HAPPEN- CAN YOU? SO WITH GOD’S HELP, LET’S MAKE
IT HAPPEN TOGETHER. AMEN