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THE LORD'S
PRAYER Part
5: "Forgive us...As we
Forgive" Psalm
51; Matthew 6: 12, 14, 15 February
20, 2000 It
is a lesson that we all must learn, again and again. Forgive! Peter
asked Jesus how many times he must forgive the fellow who offended him, seven
times? Jesus answered, "Seven times 70!" (Or, more than you can
imagine). Why?
Jesus knew something about us. Just
as we need food for our bodies, we need forgiveness for our souls.
FORGIVE - OR ELSE! Or else
what? Or else find our lives
turning sour. Unforgiveness keeps
the offender and the offended in a spiritual prison stronger than any in the
world. In
the 1970's, a foreign exchange student from Korea in was studying in
Philadelphia. One night he left his
dormitory room to mail a letter. He
never made it home. He was attacked
by some young men and killed at the letter box.
Many around the nation cried for justice to be done.
The death penalty should be exacted on the murderers.
A letter arrived later from the grieving parents that stunned the
community.
Our family has met together and we have decided to petition for the most
generous treatment be given to those who have committed this crime. We also have
started a fund to help in their education upon their release. We have dared
express our hope with a spirit received from the gospel of our Savior Jesus
Christ who died for our sins. (C. Myers) Startling
words! We hear of revenge exacted
on the streets of West Los Angeles. We
read reports of atrocities in Serbia between Christians and Moslems, who want
some kind of justice for their tragedies. Instead
of relief and release, ropes of anger, hatred and despair hold them down. Everyone
of us has had some kind of conflict with another person.
It goes with being alive. But
what do you do, when you have a choice: FORGIVE
- OR ELSE. "There are no
graduates with honors in the school of forgiveness....In fact any kind of
graduate is rare, for most of us are still learning the ABC's of
forgiveness." (Myers/Ritz) It
is good to re-enroll in the school of forgiveness. We come to the part in the Lord's Prayer that needed
explanation. We went from verse 12,
to 14 and 15, where forgiveness is conditional - God forgives us AS WE FORGIVE
THOSE WHO HAVE WRONGED US. Jesus
crafted this prayer to our basic needs: GIVE
US FOOD TODAY - FORGIVE US TODAY! As
food is to the body, forgiveness is to the soul for us all! Here
is the simple message: IF YOU WANT
TO LEARN TO FORGIVE, BEGIN WITH JESUS CHRIST - AT THE CROSS - THEN, CONTINUE TO
PRACTICE HIS FORGIVENESS LIKE IT IS EASTER!
Only at the cross will you grasp HOW MUCH YOU WERE FORGIVEN.
If Christ lives in your heart, you will be practising His forgiveness -
that means LIFE TO YOU - TO THOSE YOU TOUCH - HOPE AGAIN! FIRST,
be gripped by the forgiveness of God! Consider the first part of this phrase: FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS
(wrongs, trespasses, sins). We do
not have to read very far into the beginning of our Bible to find the need we
all have of forgiveness. Our
problem is us. Adam and Eve failed
God. Now they were hiding from Him.
"Where are you?" Guilty!
Caught, each blamed someone else! Sound
familiar? When
we need God to forgive us, we find out HE IS ALREADY LOOKING FOR US!
He wants fellowship with us. WHERE
ARE YOU? I WANT YOU TO BE RESTORED TO ME! Thanks a lot, Adam! We
all have his nature in us. We blow
it in life, and we hide from God. We
end up on a couch in some psychiatrist's office.
King David understood what he did wrong. He committed adultery, then killed her husband.
When
confronted with his sins, he did something everyone of us can do, too. He wrote,
"Against Thee, Thee only have I sinned, and have done what is evil in Thy
sight." He confessed!
He asked God to "Create in me a clean heart...renew a steadfast
spirit within me."(Ps. 51: 4, 10) Jesus
told of the father running toward his prodigal son, embracing him, and welcoming
him back to his home. That is the
way God the father is with all of us who know how to answer the question, where
are you? Here I am...forgive me! Come
with me to that "hill far away."
An old rugged cross held Jesus. From
there He released us: FATHER,
FORGIVE THEM, FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO (Luke 23); IT IS FINISHED (John 19)
Let's face it, FORGIVENESS IS COSTLY!
Paul summed up what happened on the cross:
HE WHO KNEW NO SIN, BECAME SIN FOR US, THAT WE MIGHT BECOME THE
RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD. He took our
place and paid our debt to God. This
is called GRACE: G od's R
iches A t
C hrist's E
xpense! He shed His blood. He substituted for us on the cross: ...FORGIVEN BY GOD! I can
tell you His forgiveness IS FREEDOM! RELEASE
AND RELIEF! AND JOY- FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD!...WHAT GOOD NEWS!
Upon the cross of Jesus, Mine eye at times can see,
The very dying form of One who suffered there for me;
And from my stricken heart with tears Two wonders I confess;
The wonders of Thy redeeming love, and my unworthiness. SECOND,
PRACTICE HIS FORGIVENESS LIKE IT IS EASTER!
Come to the second part of this phrase: AS WE FORGIVE EACH OTHER. Here is
where "the rubber meets the road." The test of forgiveness.
"Forgiving one another, just as God in Christ has forgiven
you." (Eph 4.32) Do not mis-read
this phrase...God will not forgive you, just because you forgave, BUT AS YOU
FORGAVE...were your words from your heart, or because you had to say them?
It is hard to forgive! A
small community in East Texas planned a passion play on the crucifixion of
Jesus. People from the town
committed to play the various roles. They
needed someone strong play Jesus, because the cross was huge.
A big, red-necked kind of fellow was recruited.
During his walk to the crucifixion, the townspeople really got into their
parts. They booed and shouted
against the Jesus of their play. One
fellow, carried away, spit on the actor. The
actor Jesus could be heard by those around him, "You just wait until after
the resurrection. I'll get you!" That
actor really needed the resurrection in his life. Jesus
Christ did not stay on the cross. Three
days later, God raised Jesus from the dead!
When you have hurt another, you need to remember, there is hope for you!
When you welcome Him into your life, you have the joy of releasing His
forgiveness to those who need their debts forgiven, too! There
might be some you know who believe there is no hope for healing. One woman
placed an ad in her local newspaper: WILL TRADE ONE WEDDING GOWN, NEVER USED,
FOR ONE 357-MAGNUM GUN. Forgiving
each other should be easy. It is
not. To give forgiveness means that
we are willing to let go of our power over another! To ask for it, means we risk their continued rejection.
But God wants us to forgive each other, as a THANK-YOU for what He did
for us! So,
let me give you a simple way to ask forgiveness..and to give forgiveness. Call
this, "FORGIVENESS-101, PRACTICUM"
Let's begin with the one who knows he needs to ask forgiveness. God
has revealed the need to restore the relationship. Take two steps: first,
ask God for His forgiveness and restoration.
Then, step two, telephone or see the one you offended face to face.
Say something like this: GOD
HAS CONVICTED ME OF ____ (what I did to you).
I ASKED HIS FORGIVENESS. COULD
YOU FORGIVE ME, TOO?
You are specific about the deed you know you did.
You explained it briefly and clearly to the one you are asking
forgiveness. Leave it to him to answer.
Make sure that if you say, "I'M SORRY," you still say, COULD
YOU PLEASE FORGIVE ME? YOU WANT
RELEASE!!! YOU GET IT ONLY WHEN YOU
ASK FORGIVENESS! To
the offended one. When someone
comes to you in this way, you can forgive, or else...keep them in their
prison...and you in yours. Here is
one very simple answer: I FORGIVE
YOU!
Please do not say, "Oh, it's all right." Or, "We all make
mistakes." You are not RELEASING them.
But when you say, I FORGIVE YOU, you are SENDING AWAY AND FAR FROM THEM,
THEIR SIN AGAINST YOU AND GOD. I
can tell you, you will have a party! If you both are saying this from your
heart, you will declare this part of the Lord's Prayer as a song of freedom! Let
me ask: ARE YOU GRIPPED BY THE
FORGIVENESS OF GOD? IF YOU NEED HIS FORGIVENESS, ASK HIM!
FROM THE CROSS HE GIVES LIFE...ARE YOU PRACTISING EASTER FORGIVENESS?
IT IS THE ONE THING YOU CAN GIVE ANOTHER TO HAVE HOPE ONE MORE TIME.
Given by Kenyon P. Kalvesmaki, Pastor
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