Matthew 6:12 And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
Well my Friends, it’s a new day, therefore God’s mercies have been renewed, including forgiveness of our sins. We spoke yesterday of God’s great compassion and His willingness to forgive our sins, but my people there are at least two other components to this major principle of forgiveness. Today we’ll deal with the second part; the spoke that Jesus put in our wheel when He taught His disciples how to pray. An important part of it dealt with forgiving; ‘And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.’ Yes my Friends, Jesus introduced a new wrinkle in the whole forgiveness scenario; that of forgiving others. Prior to that time, the Old Testament covenant dealt basically with God forgiving us, but when Jesus introduced His new covenant, He made forgiveness of each other an integral part of the agreement. He made us wise to the fact that forgiveness was not a one way, but very much a two way street. It didn’t only dwell in the Father, it also dwelt in us, and that we will be forgiven, just as much as we forgive. ‘For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.’ (Mat.6:14-15) And that makes a whole lotta sense my people, cause hopefully it will substantially reduce our selfish behaviour; wanting something from someone, but not willing to give the same thing to someone else. And remember, it takes two to tango, and one hand to wash the other. So we can’t really expect to receive God’s forgiveness without any strings attached, allowing us to be unforgiving to others while receiving His mercy. Our God doesn’t work like that. His world has been designed on an intricately balanced scale, and in every scene we have a part to play, and if we don’t, the whole scene falls apart, and to our detriment too. It’s the basic principle of God’s world, where if you don’t sow, you don’t reap, and whatever you sow, that’s what you’ll reap. You can’t plant peas and reap corn. It’s the same with giving and forgiving: You can’t get without giving, and the amount you receive is tied to the amount you give. And Jesus tied our forgiveness of each other’s faults to God’s forgiveness of ours to make us better understand and appreciate the magnitude of the Father’s mercy and His desire for justice. And if you don’t believe me, listen to Jesus. ‘Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive and ye shall be forgiven. Give, and it shall be given unto you: good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.’ (Luke 6:37-38) Yes my people, that’s Christianity in a nutshell: Do unto others as you want them to do to you. If we lived by that standard life would be so much better. Jesus took our forgiveness of each other to such lengths that when Peter asked if forgiving his brother seven time seven was sufficient, Jesus harrumphed on Peter. (smile) ‘I say not unto thee, until seven times seven: but until seventy times seven.’ (Mat.18:22) Yes my brethren, that’s how much importance our leader places on our forgiving each other. I guess He figures that we’re all sinners who do each other wrong, and if we can’t forgive other mortals, how can we expect the Most High God Jehovah, who’s way above our league, to forgive us. It’s like any hierarchy; you start at the bottom and work your way up as your skills improve. It’s the same with forgiveness, you’ve got to learn to forgive small and be forgiven small, before you move up the ladder. And have no doubts about it Friends, forgiveness is a learned behaviour which can only be developed through practice and hard earned experience. It’s certainly not an inherent part of man’s nature which leans more to the unforgiving, eye for eye, tooth for tooth philosophy. Jesus was so adamant about His followers being of a forgiving nature that He warned them: ‘Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him, and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.’ (Luke 17:3-4) Wow! That’s a bit much my people. But as I keep reminding us Jesus has high standards, and anyone wishing to be His true follower must also seek excellence in all aspects of their lives. Being His follower isn’t easy, but He’s always there ready to lend a helping hand through His indwelling Spirit in us. And remember, there’s no situation to which He leads us that He won’t provide a way out. And Friends, forgiveness is not rocket science, it’s just simple common sense and practicality, for if we forgive each other, even without God’s incentive, life becomes so much more pleasant and productive, cause it’s the unforgiving eye for eye, tooth for tooth revenge factor that has our world lathered right now in so much strife and violence. But let’s not forget either my people, that God said vengeance belonged to Him. He would repay the wrongs done to us. We are only to concern ourselves with forgiveness. That’s our priority. So please, let’s listen, let’s be obedient and forgive each other, much much more than we’re currently doing. In fact let’s start a forgiveness movement! (smile) It can only help to improve the terrible situation our world’s currently experiencing. Much LOVE!…to forgive…is to be obedient…and greatly improves our lives…
Well my Friends, it’s a new day, therefore God’s mercies have been renewed, including forgiveness of our sins. We spoke yesterday of God’s great compassion and His willingness to forgive our sins, but my people there are at least two other components to this major principle of forgiveness. Today we’ll deal with the second part; the spoke that Jesus put in our wheel when He taught His disciples how to pray. An important part of it dealt with forgiving; ‘And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.’ Yes my Friends, Jesus introduced a new wrinkle in the whole forgiveness scenario; that of forgiving others. Prior to that time, the Old Testament covenant dealt basically with God forgiving us, but when Jesus introduced His new covenant, He made forgiveness of each other an integral part of the agreement. He made us wise to the fact that forgiveness was not a one way, but very much a two way street. It didn’t only dwell in the Father, it also dwelt in us, and that we will be forgiven, just as much as we forgive. ‘For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.’ (Mat.6:14-15) And that makes a whole lotta sense my people, cause hopefully it will substantially reduce our selfish behaviour; wanting something from someone, but not willing to give the same thing to someone else. And remember, it takes two to tango, and one hand to wash the other. So we can’t really expect to receive God’s forgiveness without any strings attached, allowing us to be unforgiving to others while receiving His mercy. Our God doesn’t work like that. His world has been designed on an intricately balanced scale, and in every scene we have a part to play, and if we don’t, the whole scene falls apart, and to our detriment too. It’s the basic principle of God’s world, where if you don’t sow, you don’t reap, and whatever you sow, that’s what you’ll reap. You can’t plant peas and reap corn. It’s the same with giving and forgiving: You can’t get without giving, and the amount you receive is tied to the amount you give. And Jesus tied our forgiveness of each other’s faults to God’s forgiveness of ours to make us better understand and appreciate the magnitude of the Father’s mercy and His desire for justice. And if you don’t believe me, listen to Jesus. ‘Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive and ye shall be forgiven. Give, and it shall be given unto you: good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.’ (Luke 6:37-38) Yes my people, that’s Christianity in a nutshell: Do unto others as you want them to do to you. If we lived by that standard life would be so much better. Jesus took our forgiveness of each other to such lengths that when Peter asked if forgiving his brother seven time seven was sufficient, Jesus harrumphed on Peter. (smile) ‘I say not unto thee, until seven times seven: but until seventy times seven.’ (Mat.18:22) Yes my brethren, that’s how much importance our leader places on our forgiving each other. I guess He figures that we’re all sinners who do each other wrong, and if we can’t forgive other mortals, how can we expect the Most High God Jehovah, who’s way above our league, to forgive us. It’s like any hierarchy; you start at the bottom and work your way up as your skills improve. It’s the same with forgiveness, you’ve got to learn to forgive small and be forgiven small, before you move up the ladder. And have no doubts about it Friends, forgiveness is a learned behaviour which can only be developed through practice and hard earned experience. It’s certainly not an inherent part of man’s nature which leans more to the unforgiving, eye for eye, tooth for tooth philosophy. Jesus was so adamant about His followers being of a forgiving nature that He warned them: ‘Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him, and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.’ (Luke 17:3-4) Wow! That’s a bit much my people. But as I keep reminding us Jesus has high standards, and anyone wishing to be His true follower must also seek excellence in all aspects of their lives. Being His follower isn’t easy, but He’s always there ready to lend a helping hand through His indwelling Spirit in us. And remember, there’s no situation to which He leads us that He won’t provide a way out. And Friends, forgiveness is not rocket science, it’s just simple common sense and practicality, for if we forgive each other, even without God’s incentive, life becomes so much more pleasant and productive, cause it’s the unforgiving eye for eye, tooth for tooth revenge factor that has our world lathered right now in so much strife and violence. But let’s not forget either my people, that God said vengeance belonged to Him. He would repay the wrongs done to us. We are only to concern ourselves with forgiveness. That’s our priority. So please, let’s listen, let’s be obedient and forgive each other, much much more than we’re currently doing. In fact let’s start a forgiveness movement! (smile) It can only help to improve the terrible situation our world’s currently experiencing. Much LOVE!…to forgive…is to be obedient…and greatly improves our lives…
SCRIP-BITS 