Forgiveness

Amen. I'm pleased to have a seat. And if you have a Bible, then please turn with me to Matthew chapter 6.

Matthew 6 · chapter mention

And let's pause for just a second and let's pray and let's still our hearts and ask that God would be so gracious

and teach us many wonderful things about him this morning. So let us pray as we come to Matthew chapter 6.

Matthew 6 · chapter mention

Father in heaven, as we come before you today, we recognize that we do so in the name of your son, Jesus Christ.

And it's our prayer through him that we ask as we return to your words now that your spirit would take these truths

and would apply them and plant them deep inside our hearts, that we would leave here changed,

that we would leave here with a bigger sense, a grander sense of who you are.

Father, we realize that our only hope is your grace. And so, Father, we fall at your feet this morning

and worship you for who you are, asking that you be with us now in Jesus' name. Amen.

Well, here we are then at the penultimate sermon of this little series that we've been in over the last little while,

thinking about the Lord's Prayer, this pattern prayer that Jesus taught his disciples to pray

so that their hearts would be aligned to the pattern of his kingdom.

And so in preparation for this morning, the figure that's been in my head all week is this figure on the screen.

Now, I really Googled so many times to make sure I had the amount of zeros correct in this,

so I hope that is correct. If not, you blame Google.

So the figure that's been in my head this week is 1.534 trillion.

I wonder if anyone's got any idea as to why that might be in my mind.

Well, it's the figure that according to research done by the money charity,

the figure that represents the cumulative debt of every single person in the UK.

So last year, if you took every single penny that every single person owed and you added it up,

apparently according to the money charity, you'd get to 1.524 trillion pounds.

That's a lot of money. A lot of money.

Remember working in the corporate sector for a few years,

you learn very quickly that our economy is based on borrowing, it's based on debt.

Every single one of us here is familiar with what it means to owe money.

Let me break that down for you, what that means.

It means the average family in the UK owes just over £56,000.

The average individual in the UK owes just over £30,000.

So whether that's mortgages, whether that's student loans,

whether that's borrowing money from banks,

whether that's even just borrowing a tenner from your friend,

that's what that figure is on the screen.

And this morning, Jesus is going to get us to think about debt.

He is, in particular, going to prompt us to consider the biggest debt that you and I owe.

And he's not just going to ask us to consider the biggest debt that you and I owe.

Actually, he's going to ask us to deal with our debts.

Here's the big idea for this morning.

To deal with our debts.

And of course, Jesus hasn't slipped into financial consultant mode.

What he's talking about is the reality of sin.

And all its messiness, sin that's working havoc in our lives and in the world in which we live.

Our sin against this holy God who made us rebelling against him.

Our sin, and we're going to be thinking about other people's sin against us.

Now, immediately you'll sense with those opening reflections,

you'll sense that we are at the sharp end of this prayer.

We are on sensitive turf with these words.

What I mean by that is that these are the words that probably in this prayer most touch our nerves and emotions

as Jesus goes in loving pursuit, all-out pursuit of our hearts and our minds.

Jesus wants all of us this morning.

And I'm sure as we travel through these verses together that God, through his Spirit,

as his Spirit does his work amongst us and in us,

for many of us we are going to be convicted.

And for many of us this might hurt.

And for some of us this might even bring back really painful memories,

whether it's recent or whether it's distant, of forgiveness.

But here's the promise why we should hang on.

Because if we listen, and if we take what Jesus is saying to heart,

then there is immense freedom, and there is immense joy to be found in his words.

Because remember, as we think about this whole area of forgiveness,

remember who is speaking here.

This is Jesus.

He is not like the demon headmaster.

If you were like me, you used to watch that show when you were young.

He's not like the demon headmaster that once he's found out what his pupils are doing,

he sends them to detention and watches them as he makes them write outlines.

Maybe that was my experience of detention.

He is not like that.

He is a loving saviour.

He is the king of his people.

And he's the great lover of souls.

And he is the great physician.

And when he dons the gown, and when he places his chair,

when he goes to do surgery on our hearts,

we have to understand and know that his knife is the one that brings life.

Jesus is going to operate on our hearts this morning.

And with all that as backdrop to get us thinking,

here's the words that Jesus tells his disciples to pray.

And forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors.

That's from the NIV.

Now immediately you'll see that when it comes to facing up to forgiveness,

this is what Jesus is prompting his disciples to do,

face up to forgiveness.

You'll see that Jesus wants his disciples to think along two axes.

There's the Godward axis, the first bit of that sentence.

And then there's the manward axis.

So all I want to do this morning is just to get us to think about those two axes

as it plays out in our lives.

So what I want to suggest is that there are five ways that praying this prayer

for the disciple should impact them.

Now, if you know me well enough, you'll know that I love to alliterate.

And these are all going to begin with C.

Now, if you have, I should have mentioned this at the start,

if you have one of these notices,

you'll notice that there's space for sermon notes on the back.

So please encourage me, write something down that I can see.

We're taking this away.

But this is how this is going to plan and play out in our lives.

Five ways that this is going to impact us.

Ready for this?

Give me something.

Yeah, ready for this.

Great.

Here is the Godward axis and the manward axis.

Here is the first way that this should impact us.

Firstly, it should confront us.

Friends, let me ask you, as you say,

sit here this afternoon.

When was the last time you stilled yourself and stopped yourself,

found yourself on your knees,

thinking about the gravity of your sin?

Because here is Jesus lovingly,

do you see what he's doing?

He's stopping his disciples in their tracks

and he's forcing them to face up for their need of forgiveness.

And what he's doing is he's seeking to create in his disciples,

if you like,

a pair of spiritual antennae

that are receptive to the spiritual battle that they are in

when it comes to sin.

And I wonder if some of us here this morning,

have we got too friendly and too comfortable with our sin?

I remember being at school when Steve Irwin came on the scene,

broke onto the scene.

Every boy in class wanted to be Steve Irwin.

If you remember him, Steve Irwin, the Australian zookeeper,

he had the show known as the Crocodile Hunter.

What is he doing?

He's doing crazy things with crocodiles.

He's feeding crocodiles.

He's poking crocodiles.

He's seeking crocodiles out on their terrain.

And he's trying to swim with crocodiles.

He's trying to wrestle with crocodiles.

And I'm watching this thinking,

does he know these are crocodiles?

I mean, honestly, did he skip that class in biology?

Did he not watch Crocodile Dundee?

Maybe even TikTok and Peter Pan could have got Steve Irwin

to that conclusion that these are not animals that you mess with.

What does he do when he gets bored of crocodiles?

He turns his attention to stingrays.

He goes swimming with stingrays.

And what happens?

One of them stings him in the heart and he dies, 2006.

Remember the shock in the media at the time,

this tragic death.

And it was a tragic death,

but the shock in the media at the time,

how could this have happened?

And we're sitting there thinking,

what else did you expect?

Friends, when it comes to sin,

let me ask you seriously,

there are some of us swimming with stingrays.

Do we understand what we're doing?

They may be little stingrays.

They may be big stingrays,

but a stingray is still a stingray.

And that sting will hurt.

Do you see how these words that Jesus is telling his disciples to pray

is forcing them to be constantly examining their hearts

and to be daily on their knees before their heavenly father,

saying,

Father,

I know that I have wandered to the water

and I know you have told me that it's not safe to go there.

Would you forgive me?

And would you help me to get out of the water?

These words should confront us,

friends,

as to the seriousness of our sin.

And secondly,

they should comfort us.

Because when we ask for forgiveness,

we have to understand and know that God has resoundingly

and finally given the answer to that question in Christ.

That if our trust is in him as our savior,

if we know him as the one who has taken our sin upon himself on the cross,

and as we know him as the one who credits us with his perfect God-honoring life

because our lives are hidden in him,

then we know that not only are we forgiven of our past sins,

of our present sins,

of our future sins because of his grace,

but more than that,

we are deemed righteous in God's sight

and God amazingly adopts us as his sons and daughters,

all because we are in Jesus Christ.

That is the gospel.

And it is incredible that you and I have added nothing to our salvation,

but God,

moved out of his sheer love,

has sent his son in our place to die for our sin.

And so we sing,

when Satan tempts me to despair

and he tells me of the guilt within,

that upward I look to the cross

and see him there who made an end

to all my sin

because the sinless Savior died.

My sinful soul is counted free

because God the just is satisfied

to look on him

and pardon me.

That is the gospel.

Do you not love singing about it?

Isn't there something wonderful about singing gospel truths

that gets them right down into our soul?

Friends, this is the gospel.

Some of us here today

and you feel like Satan has got you in a headlock

because of your guilt.

What we need to understand

is that Satan would have us look anywhere else,

Facebook,

Google,

anywhere else,

rather than at the cross.

Because the cross

is the power of God unto salvation.

The cross is where we find identity

and purpose

and forgiveness

and newness of life.

Do you need to recall

that glorious gospel truth

this morning?

Scottish preacher called Robert Murray McShane

from way back in the day

used to tell his congregation

that when they were feeling the burden of sin,

when they were feeling like

they were taking a few hits from Satan,

for every one look at their sin,

they had to take ten looks at Jesus on the cross.

Remember,

when I was young,

my mom always taught me

when I was having a tantrum

to go away and count to ten.

Do you remember

parents used to do that?

Well, it's what he was saying there.

When you feel that weight,

take a step back and count to ten.

Just look at the cross

again

and again

and again

and again

and again

and again

and again

and again

and again

and again

because Jesus paid it all

and all to him I owe.

Sin had left a crimson stain

but he washed it white as snow.

Friends,

we need to live in that truth

because if you are a Christian here this morning,

then the truth is that sin is not the thing

that identifies you.

Jesus is the one who defines you.

In Jesus,

we have a Savior

who ever holds us.

In Jesus,

we have a Savior

who ever stands for us.

In Jesus,

gloriously,

we have a Savior

who ever pleads for us

at the right hand of the Father.

And there is now,

therefore,

no condemnation

for those who are in Christ Jesus.

This is not

Romans 8,

Romans 8:1

verse 1,

not just for a tapestry

on the wall.

It's not just a truth

to emblazon

on the side of an Ikea coffee cup.

It is a truth to tattoo

on every single chamber

of our hearts.

In Christ we stand.

In Jesus,

our lives could not be

in better hands.

Now,

you might be asking the question

I was asking myself this week.

If Jesus has forever paid

for my sins,

then why bother praying

for forgiveness?

That's a good question.

Surely the answer

is that Jesus drives

his disciples

to this place

so that they can daily know

for themselves

the joy of forgiveness

and daily know

and experience

his transforming grace

and power

in their lives.

Perhaps you're here

this morning

and you wouldn't call

Jesus your king

or your saviour.

Friends,

it's delighted

that you're here

to think about

these things.

It's Jesus Christ,

the gospel is held out

to you this morning.

Let me ask you,

what are you going to do

with your guilt

and your wrongs?

Here is a saviour

who offers to take

your burdens

upon himself

and find rest

and peace

with God.

Know that in Jesus Christ

forgiveness and peace

are on offer

through him.

What a saviour we have.

These words should comfort us.

Thirdly,

they should change us.

As we experience

God's grace,

as we think about

the size of our sin debt

that he paid,

as we consider

the lengths that he went to

to make our redemption

possible,

you and I cannot

remain the same.

As we consider

the magnitude

of what it means

to be God's people

as those who have been

chosen and redeemed

by God,

that he has set apart

to live as what?

A city on a hill.

Salt and light

in the world.

Light to the nations.

A kingdom of fruit.

You can go on

and on and on.

It's interesting,

do you know what

the most common

New Testament word is

that describes God's people?

Saints.

Saints.

The world would see

and look into us

and see the greatness

of our God.

You see,

this prayer is

from the heart

of a child of God

that beats for holiness.

That says,

Lord,

I know my sinful heart.

Would you forgive me

for going my way?

And would you help me

by your spirit

who you have sent

because you love me

so much to live in me?

Would you help me

to go your way?

That your spirit,

as he works in me,

would help me say

no to my kingdom

and building my kingdom?

And would it say yes

to building your kingdom?

That the values

of that kingdom

would become mine.

And the fruit

of the spirit

would be evident

for all to see

in my life.

love,

joy,

peace,

patience,

kindness,

goodness,

faithfulness,

gentleness,

and self-control.

I tell you what,

that's the kind of tree

that I want to be.

I want people to be

seeing that truth

in my own life.

Beating for holiness.

Let me ask you,

particularly when it comes

to your character.

Friends,

how often

are you asking God

that by his grace

he would help you change?

To become more like Jesus?

Kevin DeYoung

in his great little book

that I really encourage

you to read,

he's got some spare time

over the summer,

it's called

The Hole in Our Holiness.

He writes this,

the best looking Christian,

great way to start

a quote,

isn't it?

The best looking Christian

is the one

who is growing

by the spirit

into the likeness

of Jesus.

Such a simple

and yet such a profound

truth.

His prayer should

confront us,

this prayer should

comfort us,

this prayer should

change us,

and so as we move

from thinking about

the Godward axis

of this prayer,

let's now turn

to consider the

manward axis

of this prayer.

As we also

have forgiven

our debtors.

that is hard.

And Jesus

asks his disciples

to examine

their own hearts,

having received

this forgiveness

from God,

knowing the forgiveness

in their lives,

to consider

their relationships

with other people.

And he draws

a direct link,

do you see it,

between the forgiveness

that we receive

from God

and the forgiveness

that we extend

to other people.

Because forgiveness

is right at the heart

of Jesus' kingdom.

Therefore,

forgiveness

is to be right

at the center

of the hearts

of his kingdom people.

And so as we think

about the natural

implications

that flow

from Jesus' words

there,

we have to conclude

that this is very hard.

As we think about

the challenge

that that brings

to our lives,

it should definitely

fall into the

I wish you just

hadn't said

that category.

Wouldn't it?

I think it's

the fourth thing

that as we pray

this prayer,

Jesus' words do to us,

they massively

challenge us

to face up

to forgiveness.

Now if you've got

your Bibles there,

Matthew 6,

let's do a little bit

digging in Matthew's

Gospel,

you'll see Jesus

underscore the point

at verse 15

and 14

of chapter 6.

And you can do

this in your own

time afterwards,

he further explains

and illustrates

that point

in chapter 18

as he tells

the parable

of the unforgiving

servant.

Now let me just

quickly walk us

through that parable

because it's so

important.

Peter asked Jesus,

Lord,

how often,

and this is a

cracking question,

how often do I

need to forgive

my brother who

sins against me?

His question is

essentially,

Jesus,

when can I

legitimately stop

with his whole

forgiveness game?

When Jerry Maguire

showed me the money,

Peter's saying,

show me the number.

When can I stop

showing forgiveness

to my brother?

Now given that the

rabbis of the day

are saying three,

you have to commend

Peter here.

What does he have

a shot at?

Seven.

What does Jesus say?

Blows him out of the

water.

He says 77

or 70 times 7.

We'll go for 77.

Talk about upping

the ante from Jesus.

Now there's Old

Testament significance

to that number,

the background of which

we just don't have time

to go into today,

except to say that

Jesus is saying that

if the world is so

often about revenge,

then the hearts of

the people of my

kingdom are to be

so radically and

contrastingly different

to that.

Jesus tells the story

of a servant

who owes a very

large debt.

The way he tells it

there, the way he

explains it,

is for us to

recognize that this

is not just an

astronomically big

debt, actually this

is a debt that he

has got zilch chance

of repaying.

He's got no chance

of repaying this

debt.

And so when it

comes to repaying

that debt to his

master, it is little

surprise that he is

in no position to

pay it.

And his master

does the expected

thing.

He tries to recoup

his losses.

He demands that his

servant and his

wife and children

be sold into

slavery.

And so when the

servant comes to

terms with that

terrifying possibility,

the servant does

what any one of us

would do if the

stakes were that

high.

Looks in his

coat pocket,

looks at the cards

that he's got left

to play, and he

realizes that the

only one that's

there is the

mercy card.

Master, would you

have mercy on me?

He falls at the

feet of his

master, pleads for

more time, because

he sees that's the

only card he's got

to play.

And the key

verse in chapter

18, the one that

says, and the

master had what?

Pity on him.

The master showed

him mercy.

And get your head

around this.

See, he doesn't

just give him one

more time.

He doesn't just

say you've got X

amount of time to

pay me back.

Actually, what he

does, he goes way

further than that.

He writes off the

debt.

Can you imagine the

sense of jubilation?

Can you imagine the

inner sense of

freedom that the

servant experiences as

he hears those

words?

Well, as the

servant leaves the

presence of the

master, lo and

behold, on the way

out, what does he

see?

He meets the guy who

owes him a lot of

money.

Now, it's nothing

compared to the debt

that he's been let

off from the

master.

But it's still a

debt.

He doesn't

show mercy to the

guy who owes him

debt.

When he realizes

that this isn't

going to be

repaid, he throws

him in prison.

And when the

master finds out, he

is absolutely

livid.

And then come the

crushing and

challenging words of

Jesus, the sting in

the tail to the

parable.

This is how my

heavenly father will

treat each of you

unless you forgive

your brother or

sister from the

heart.

And I fitted

some new light

bulbs in our

house last month.

Got the ladder

out, went up the

ladder, changed the

bulbs, took the

old ones off, put the

new ones on, flicked

on the switch, and I

was just about blinded

by the new bulbs, the

power in them.

I could feel myself

getting a tan at the

same time.

These were light

bulbs.

But what happened

is I went to Amazon,

went to my computer to

write, because I'm

British, I really

strongly worded

complaint to put it

on Amazon.

What happened is I

got to Amazon and

looked at what I'd

actually bought.

And what I'd bought

were these new LED

powerful and energy

efficient bulbs.

So I went back to

the ladder, up I

went, and I looked

out at what these

LED bulbs were

showing me about the

room.

And I looked in the

corner, all I could

see was the dirt that

I haven't hoovered up.

Now I take pride in

my cleanliness.

I looked at the

corner, couldn't

get away from the

dirt.

I looked up, all I

could see was the

cobwebs.

I looked at the

surfaces, all I

could see was the

dust.

Because the light

from these new

light bulbs, we

had got so used to

living with light

bulbs at this level.

When it got kicked

up, the light had

exposed all the

stuff in this room

that I needed to

deal with.

And I realized it

wasn't half as clean

as I thought it was.

This is what Jesus'

words here are doing.

This is the light

shining into every

corner of our

lives.

What is lurking in

there, says Jesus?

What do you see when

the light goes into

the corners?

What do you know that

you need to deal

with?

Let me ask this,

particularly as we

think about other

people, maybe even in

this room this morning.

When you look in your

hearts, when the light is

shining in those

corners, what do you

see?

Is there stuff in

there that you and I

need to deal with?

When it comes to being

right with our brothers

and sisters, when it

comes to being right

with those outside, are

there any deep-seated

thoughts?

Is there any bitterness

that's brewing?

Is there any harboring

hurts that are in

there, maybe against

other people?

To see how God, by

his goodness, because

he wants us to make

us more like Jesus, is

putting, maybe even

painfully, his finger on

particular people in our

lives this morning, is

through his word.

people that we need to

think about being

right with.

Because I think this is

the fifth and final thing

that these words do to

us, they compel us.

To move from facing up

to forgiveness, to

fighting for forgiveness.

And many of us, I know

that even the very

mention of those words

seem absolutely

terrifying.

Some of us will have

been hurt and betrayed

and scarred in ways I

do not even want to

stand up here and

pretend that I know

about.

But maybe this morning

Jesus would invite you

to take his hand and

to walk with him on

this long and sometimes

windy road towards

forgiveness.

Because not only does he

know what it is like to

be the sin against party

in ways that we will

never understand.

But he promises to be

a friend, one who

sticks and walks

closer than a brother

to all his children.

And in the father's

wisdom he has provided

us with a church family

like Paul was

mentioning earlier,

full of individuals

transformed by grace

who have committed

themselves to helping

one another walk this

road.

some of you might

remember the high

profile case that was

in the news a few

years ago of Christian

policeman, I think his

name was Stephen Oak.

He was killed while

trying to arrest an

Al-Qaeda terrorist in

2003 down in Manchester

and he left, tragically

he left a wife and

three kids behind.

And a while later the

whole family appeared

on the, if you remember

this, the Kilroy BBC

chat show that used to be

on.

And they explained that

while the pain for them

was so real and it was

so raw and it was so

excruciating, that not

only was their church

supporting them and

walking with them

through this time, but

Jesus was so near and

was helping them to walk

the long journey of

forgiveness that they

needed to show to this

man.

It was amazing, they

opened it up for

comments just afterwards

from other guests who'd

gone through similar

things who were not

Christians and the

contrast between what

the family were saying

and what the other

people on the show

were saying.

Forgiveness for them

wasn't just, it wasn't

even on the table as an

option.

Friend, do you see how

God is so glorified when

grace triumphs in our

hearts?

Do you see how Satan

rages and how the world

stands in shock when a

disciple of Jesus says

that bitterness and hurt

will not reign in this

heart, but Jesus will?

God is so, it's just

something you know that

you need to be right

with this morning for the

glory of God.

This prayer should

challenge us and this

prayer should compel us.

And as we bring it to a

close this morning, do you

see how Jesus Christ is

not only the solution to

our Godward debt?

Do you see how he is

actually the perfect model

of what it looks like to

forgive our debtors?

It's to him we look this

morning.

Wonderfully, do you see

what God is doing here?

This whole restoration

process, this whole

transformation process.

What he's doing in our

lives, what was the state

of Adam and Eve, their

relationship with God and

one another before the

fall, before sin entered

the human equation?

Adam and Eve, peace with

God.

Peace inside.

Adam and Eve, peace with

one another in creation.

See how God, as he works

this transformation process

in our lives, he is making

us into the whole reason

that he made us in the

first place.

To know that forgiveness,

to know that harmony, to

know that wholeness.

And so it's to Jesus Christ

that we look this morning as

the way that God is doing

that.

And one day it will be fully

realized in the new

creation because Jesus Christ

is the one who says, I am

making all things new.

And so it is to Jesus Christ

that we look this morning.

As we close, do you know

more than six million

Britons, and I take you

back to that number at the

start, more than six million

Britons don't ever believe

they will ever be debt free

in their lifetime.

Friends, when it comes to our

debt of sin, and when it

comes to the debts that

people owe us, do you see

how the gospel offers us a

wonderful alternative?

Just before I pray, why

don't we just have a

moment, just a minute of

silence.

And if there's been

anything that's been on

your heart this morning,

in any of those two

acts, then maybe now is

the time to bring your

prayer before the Lord.

Maybe even if you don't

know Jesus Christ as your

King and your Saviour,

maybe even this morning is

the time where you first

say, Jesus, Lord, I need

you.

And then I will pray as we

close.

O to grace, how great a

debtor, daily I'm

constrained to be.

Let thy goodness, like a

fetter, bind my wandering

heart to thee.

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel

it.

Prone to leave the God that I

love.

Here's my heart.

O take and seal it and

seal it for thy courts

above.

So, Father, thank you so

much for your great grace

that saw you send your

Son for us, for our sin.

And I pray that as your

Spirit continues to work in

our hearts off the back of

this morning, that you would

continue to be transforming

us more into the likeness of

Jesus Christ.

And so it's to him we look

this morning, and it's in

his name that we pray these

things.

In Jesus' name, amen.