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Notes: Rise Above the Noise When Forgiving
Pastor Shawn Williams
Central Church
Las Vegas
August, 16 2015
An Amish community in 2006 lost 5 girls by the gunshots of a killer.
The Amish community showed amazing grace, when they visited the killers family
and made sure they knew they were forgiven.
Colossians 4:6 NKJV
[6] Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that
you may know how you ought to answer each one.
Trust God even when it doesn't make sense.
Matthew 18:21 NKJV
[21] Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my
brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?"
In the cultural norm, it was three times to forgive someone.
Matthew 18:22 NKJV
[22] Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven
times, but up to seventy times seven.
Jesus basically is saying to never stop forgiving.
We need to instinctively forgive.
Matthew 18:23-27 NKJV
[23] Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who
wanted to settle accounts with his servants. [24] And when he had begun to
settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. [25]
But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his
wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. [26] The
servant therefore fell down before him, saying, 'Master, have patience with me,
and I will pay you all.' [27] Then the master of that servant was moved with
compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.
Principles of the story:
1. Forgiveness is costly.
The man had to give up getting paid back lots of money by forgiving
this debt.
We all find ourselves in debts we can not payback.
The story is showing our debt to God for our sins.
Jesus was sent to pay that debt for us.
God's gift did not cost us much, but cost God everything.
Forgiveness is not costly to the villain, it is costly to the
victim.
Matthew 18:28-30 NKJV
[28] "But that servant went out and found one of his fellow
servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him
by the throat, saying, 'Pay me what you owe!' [29] So his fellow servant fell
down at his feet and begged him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay
you all.' [30] And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he
should pay the debt.
It is impossible to be a forgiving person until you fully embrace
that you are a forgiven person.
Sometimes we have a hard time forgiving for small things, like a
stolen parking spot.
Then we have those huge things that are natural to not want to
forgive, like a cheating spouse or someone lying about us.
NOT forgiving can be even more costly.
Forgiveness is like the air in our lungs. We can take forgiveness in
like a breath, but not exhaling or giving forgiveness can suffocate us.
What does it look like to walk the path of forgiveness?
Matthew 18:31-33 NKJV
[31] So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were
very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. [32] Then
his master, after he had called him, said to him, 'You wicked servant! I
forgave you all that debt because you begged me. [33] Should you not also have
had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?'
We are to do unto others as God has done unto us.
We forgive because we are forgiven.
Forgiveness is the only payment that can eradicate emotional debts.
Forgiveness is taught intrinsically in the Amish community, they
practice forgiving the small debts everyday, so they know how to forgive the
big debts.
A life that rises above the noise is one that can forgive a debt
that can never be repaid.
