The Kingdom That Matters - Week 4

We're gonna finish up our series today on the Kingdom

that Matters.

You know, I think a lot of people have have

resigned to the fact that everything is just okay now,

But I want to assure you the devil is still

alive and well and working against God's people. And we

need to understand how to operate as Kingdom citizens and

not just as Americans who go to church, because kingdom

citizenship trumps our earthly citizenship, and those are the principles

that we need to guide our life by. And today

I want to look at one and and take just

a quick deep dive into the area of forgiveness, because

forgiveness is the Kingdom prince that most of us struggle

with because we don't really understand what it means, because,

you know, we often think that those are contradictory principles,

that the Bible talks about justice, but it also talks

about forgiveness, and that those things contradict each other. But

I want to show you today that that's not actually

the case. So if you've got a Bible, go to

Matthew chapter eighteen. Matthew chapter eighteen. If you're there, say amen,

all right, We're just gonna go and you can catch up.

Matthew.

Chapter eighteen, verse twenty two, It says Jesus said to him,

I do not say to you up to seven, up

to seven times, but the seventy times seven. First of all,

let me just go ahead and clarify this. He is

not being literal. He is not actually talking about four

hundred and ninety times, like you're marking it down in

a pad somewhere, just waiting for four ninety one to happen.

Come on, somebody, he.

Said, listen, just extend yourself. Forgiveness is an extension. Forgiveness

is a sacrifice. Seven would be a lot. But don't

try to contextualize it, don't try to count it. Just

live in it and operate in it, because it is

the principle that unlocks so much in the kingdom. Therefore,

in verse twenty three, therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven is

like a certain king who went out to settle accounts

with his servants. And when he had begun to settle accounts,

one was brought to him, who.

Owed him ten thousand talents.

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.

The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, Master, have

patience with me, and I will pay you all. Then

the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released

it and forgave him the debt. And we keep reading

this passage of scripture. And this guy that just just

had ten thousand talents forgiven. He goes out on the

street and he bumps into a guy that owed him

a hundred denari. So I don't know, I mean, just

so y'all know, ten thousand is a lot more than

one hundred.

Come on, somebody. Maybe y'all don't do good zero math.

I don't know, but there's a lot more zeros in

ten thousand than in one hundred. And he runs into

this guy and he's like, hey, man, where's one hundred dollars?

He said, I don't have your hundred dollars. He says,

I want one hundred dollars. He said, I don't care

what you want. I ain't got a hundred dollars, so

you can't have one hundred dollars. If I had one

hundred dollars, I would go buy dinner. And he said, well, hey,

how about this. I'm calling the police, and you go

into jail. So he calls the police. They put the

man in jail, and then all of the servants who

knew that he had been forgiven ten thousand, got up

set and they went to the master and they said, hey,

this guy, this guy that you forgave ten thousand, and

you had such a great act of compassion on he

just threw a man in jail that owed him a hundred,

and that didn't set well with the person who issued

the forgiveness. And in verse thirty two of Matthew eighteen,

it says then his master, after he had called to him,

said to him, you, wicked servant, I forgave you all

that debt because you begged me. Should you not also

have compassion on your fellow servant, just as I.

Had pity on you. And his master was angry and.

Delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all

that was due to him. Father, I thank you for

your word. I thank you that it's the only change

agent on the of the planet. And I pray that

you illuminate our path today, that you allow us to

see what's there beyond our limited understanding and that it

be a principle that is seared into our hearts, that

we would operate.

In in Jesus' name. Amen.

So this person that owed this ten thousand dollars debt,

he comes and his master forgives it, and he goes

on his way. He doesn't forgive, and then the master's upset,

so he calls him back. And it gets really complicated

here because we see now that that now the master

has decided, oh yeah, that ten thousand you owe me,

you owe it to me again, and I'm going to

turn you over to be tortured until I get my

ten thousand. So let me ask you this, If he

forgave him the debt, how does he recall the debt

and then punish him for it? If he forgave him

the debt in the original sense, it's complicated, isn't it,

Because I mean, you know, it's like, can somebody even

do that?

Is that? Is that legal to say, oh, well, yeah.

You don't have to pay me, and then you haul

him into court and say he never paid me, so

now I want him to pay me. But the reality

is that forgiveness is not about the object, because when

we actually look at that passage of Scripture. The word

forgave that's used there is a word that indicates every

other place in Scripture that it's used, not the forgiveness

of loan, but the forgiveness of debt. I mean, not

the forgiveness of loan, but the forgiveness of sin. It's

the word for the forgiveness of sin. And most of

us struggle with this whole concept of forgiveness because we

think to reach a place where we forgive.

We're looking at.

The person that hurt us, the person that harmed us,

and we're saying, listen, your actions were okay, they don't

matter anymore. Now let me ask you how many of

you believe that Jesus was an intelligent man? Was Jesus

because I mean, we got the seven times seventy that

are leading this passage of scripture off right. Do you

really think Jesus is looking at this owner and he said, listen,

loan him money another four hundred and thirty nine times. No,

he's not saying keep loaning the god money. The God's

a snake. He takes advantage. Stop loaning you money, but

stop attaching yourself to him.

In the offense. It's what Jesus is saying.

Because forgiveness is about the supernatural bond that happens through.

Hurt and offense.

It's not about the actual thing that happens. Because you're

never going to be unable You're never going to be

able to undo the hurt that you suffered. You're never

going to be able to undo the.

Hurt that you cause. Those things are already done. Amen.

We don't have the ability to undo things. We have

the ability to persevere through those things, or we have

the ability to operate in forgiveness over those things. Jay's

come up here for just a second. Isaac, come up

here for just a second. Not in a weird way

that teenage boys think, but you guys, grab hands, Grab hands,

both of you looked that way. Square your shoulders again

a straight line, and stretch your arms out. So let's

just say in this scenario that Jase has done something

to hurt Isaac, He's caused him in an offense, and

Isaac has received this offense.

Now, this is not that message.

Maybe another time we're going to get in whether we

should receive an offense or not.

That's not what we're talking about.

So this trauma, whatever the hurt is causes a supern

the moment offense happens and it is received, a supernatural

connection happens between two people and you are dragging that

other person and their baggage around with you. That's what

happens when we receive an offense. An offense happens in

our heart and there is unforgiveness.

Stretch out. I meant, yep, yeah, that's much better.

You don't have to put front to hold that arm out.

That was That was weird that they were both doing it.

And we walk through lives and listen, we have all

of these different attachments through our hurt and our trauma

and the things that have happened, and we hold on

to them because we're justice oriented. All of us are

justice oriented. Now that justice is often misplaced because it's

self centered. Come on somebody or as a qualifier in

front of it. Anything that has a qualifier is not

real justice?

Is that? Can I say that? Is?

Every justice is justice and that's issued by God. Social

justice not real justice because it has a qualifier of

social in front of it.

Because justice is justice.

It doesn't matter how much money we have, where we live,

doesn't care what color we are doesn't care what language

we speak, doesn't care how we smell, doesn't care how

fat we are, how short we are.

None of that.

Justice is justice.

The moment we put.

A qualifier on it, it's not justice anymore.

So now there's this offense.

And jas literally is a weight to Isaac's life because

of this connection that's happening in the supernatural and the spiritual.

And Jesus says that we need to operate in forgiveness,

and it is and listen, it.

Doesn't matter just look at him and say it's okay.

That doesn't do anything, because the hurt is the hurt.

The trauma is the trauma. The offense is the offense,

and it can't be undone. Forgiveness is about realizing that

that supernatural weight, the sin that was committed, is the

thing that's affecting my life and the moment I look

into the invisible instead of the visible, because it's not

about the result, it's about the supernatural tie. I can

now step into forgiveness, and forgiveness breaks the bond. Forgiveness

breaks the supernatural tie because now I have forgiven the sin.

Jesus doesn't okay, Now listen to me. Now at this point,

I don't know if if he's asked Jesus to forgive

him of it or not. We're talking about the horizontal

relationship here, not the vertical relation.

He's got to make things right with Jesus.

But he can be free from the weight of the

trauma because he forgives him. And now that invisible bond

is broken. It's why this man said, listen, go. He

didn't say, you don't owe me ten grand anymore. He said,

I'm not calling it due right now because I see

in the I see the sin of not paying, and

I'm forgiving you of the sin of not paying.

But he still owed.

Him the ten thousand dollars no matter what. It's on

a ledger somewhere. So that's why when this man calls

him back, he says, now you owe me the ten

thousand because.

It's still on a leisure It's still on a ledger.

And then he called him into an account for the action.

But he wasn't bound by the weight that it carried

anymore and the offense that it carried anymore, and he

was free to operate.

Do you understand. Thank you? Guys give them a hand.

It takes a lot for two teenage boys to hold

hands on a stage. In Matthew chapter seven, it says,

judge not that you not be judged, for with what

judgment you judge, You will be judged.

With the measure you use, it will be measured back

to you.

And why do you look at the speck in your

brother's eye but do not consider the plank in your

own eye?

He says, Listen, why are.

You going through life holding on to all this stuff?

Why are you holding on to all this unforgiveness? Because

if you looked in.

A mirror instead of a magnifying glass, you know the

Kingdom is more about mirrors.

Than it is magnifying glasses.

I think that Heaven probably just has lots of mirrors

and no magnifying glasses. Instead of looking through a magnifying glass,

we look in a mirror and we see ourselves, and

we walk around with all of this unforgiveness, forgetting that

we have hurt people, and that we have done things wrong,

and that we've stepped across those boundaries, and that we

are also holding people under the weight and the prison

that we have committed those traumas. And Jesus says, hey,

how about this, How about look inside yourself and see

if there's some areas you need to go and say,

you know, I know I did that to you. Because see,

forgiveness works both ways, right, It's not just I'm hurt

now I forgive you, but it's also I hurt you,

and I want you to forgive me for hurting you.

I'm so I repent for hurting you. And we look

at our own lives because that's kingdom currency. Forgiveness is

kingdom currency, and we look at that and we say, hey, you.

Know what, I'm not as good as I thought.

I was probably not as bad as some people think

I am, but I'm probably not as good as And

because I know that I've committed traumas, I'm now going

to break those supernatural holes.

Listen, hurt people hurt people.

So break the cycle of hurt, break the cycle of

social degradation by breaking the hold that that unforgiveness has

on you, and learn to walk in some freedom that

you've never tasted before. Because you think you're trying to

tell somebody that it's okay what you've done. Listen, what

he did to you is wrong, but what you were

allowing him to continue to do to you by holding

on to unforgiveness is terrible.

So release that relief. Now, what does that look like?

Do you have to do? You have to call somebody

and say I forgive you.

It's a supernatural bond that lives in the invisible world

and the other person. As a matter of fact, Jesus

would probably say, listen, if you show up, they're gonna

hurt you again. Let me give it to you. In

Steve translation, don't be a dummy. If he took ten

thousand one time, don't give him one hundred thousand more.

But break the supernatural hold.

That the enemy has used to keep you in a prison,

because it will wreck your life. Clay, you guys can

come on back.

I told you all. I'm gonna keep you long on.

Chapter thirty seven, Verse twenty three says the steps of

a good man are ordered of the Lord, and he

delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not

be utterly cast down, for the Lord upholds him with

his hand.

For I've been young, I've been in.

A place where I just didn't have enough experience to

know how many of you you've been in You've been

in a place where you just didn't have enough experience

to know. Some of that's age, some of it's just stuff,

some of it's wisdom.

I've been young and now I'm old.

Yet I have not seen and here's the key word,

I have not seen the righteous forsaken nor his descendants

begging bread. That word righteous we struggle with because it's

one of those big spiritual words like sanctification, transubstantiation, all

the other ations. Right, It's just it's one of those

big words that we don't quite grasp the full weight

of it. Righteousness is a contract term. It means right standing.

It means that I'm in right standing with God. Everything

is good between me and God. Now, Scripture says that

you must forgive to be forgiven right.

Because our only tie of.

Account should be to God, our only tie of dependence

should be to God. And when we're walking around with unforgiveness,

just like jas and Isaac, they.

Were tied together, and there are other ties in our.

Life that God doesn't want there, and he says, get

right with me. Let me be the dependent connection on

your life. Let me be the lord of your whole life,

and get rid of unforgiveness. Break those tithes so that

you can be in right standing, because people who are

in right standing everything is okay. The reason you think

God has forsaken you is because you're operating in unforgiveness

and you've got all these other connections to people that

the whole.

Power and wait over you.

The reason you're hungering for more, it's because of all

these connections and this weight that's tied to you. And

you're never satisfied because it's not just.

You and God. It's you and.

That person that hurts you, and that person that hurts

you and.

Those people that you heard.

Trying to coexist in a relationship that's meant for an

individual in God. And the moment you operate in forgiveness,

the hunger vanishes.

And you're satisfied. There's peace, there's comfort in the arms

of Jesus. So here's the deal, Glenn.

If you guys will go and get communion ready as

soon as you getting ready to come back here, just

go ahead and start serving, Okay.

Mastor Clay, I'm pretty sure I can make an altar call.

People will come right.

But what I would rather do is give you homework.

I'll do that very often. What I'd rather do is.

To give you just a couple of minutes to work

on it in class, but then to go home and

just really search your heart. Think about those areas of

unforgiveness that exist, Think about those those areas where it's

it's not it's it's not right that I hold onto

those things. I need to break the power of that

whole in my life. And it doesn't matter how bad

the trauma is. Forgiveness will break the continual power it

has over your life. Some of you had something unto

you fifteen years ago and it is still as real

today as it was then because you haven't broken the

supernatural connection. But you know, as you're thinking about these things,

it's very possible that that it's not just going to be, Hey,

I hurt some people and I need to forgive them.

It's going to be yeah, I've hurt some people. I've

done some things that I shouldn't have done. See here's

the difference. That this may require some action in the

natural because they may not have heard this message today.

They may not know they can release that bond.

So you may need to go home this afternoon instead

of taking a nap some and all the courageous strength

you can and call that person you hurt say listen

to day. I was watching the Chiefs game and Pastor preached, and.

You know, I just.

I can't hold I can't hold this power over you anymore.

So I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry.

I'm sorry for the way I treated you. I'm sorry

for what I did, I'm sorry for whatever.

And I can't take it back.

But I want you to know I'm sorry, and that

extension can be enough to break that unforgiveness mind and

set that person free. So stop holding them in their

trauma and in their pain, and set them free by

calling and repenting and letting them know. Now, I know

there's some people in here saying were but it goes

both ways. They hurt me and I hurt them. Bless God,

get over yourself. It's not about fairness. It's about righteousness.

It's about righteousness. Let me say it one more time.

It's about righteousness. You know, as you're being served communion, Jesus,

Jesus forgave us of every sin and transgression.

Thank your brother. He offered no condition for frigi giveness

other than that we receive it Communion. It's about what

he did.

To enact that forgiveness in our life. That when he

knew his time was coming to an end. And I'm

just gonna be honest, I'm glad it was him and

not me, because I wouldn't roll as easy on y'all

as he does. If y'all beat me and stripped me

naked and beat a crown of thorns on my head and.

Hung me up on the cross, I'm not I'm.

Not getting over that very quick. I wish I could,

but I'm still I'm still in the discipleship process too.

Amen.

But because he is the banker of the currency of

the kingdom.

He flows in forgiveness.

He's the fabric that our forgiveness is cut from. And

as he was hanging there, your sin and my sin,

nailing him to the cross, Clint he looked into not

just that crowd, he looked today, he said, Father, I

love Clint. Forgiven and the hammer set he said, Old Clay.

He tries, but he still messes up. I forgive it.

I mean, nobody in the world would think that anything

was wrong with carry Father.

Forgive her too.

Forgive them, Father, they don't know, they don't know the

whole picture of what's happening.

They can't see into the invisible world. Father, I forgive them. Wow.

So as we dwelled on this concept of forgiveness, when

Jesus was sitting at that table that night, his last

night with his disciples before he was crucified, he took

that bread and he broke it. He said, this is

my body, guys, it's broken for you, and as often

as you eat it, I want you to remember me.

I want you to remember forgiveness. I want you to

remember to operate in it. I want you to remember

to lead the way in it.

I know you're gonna stumble, and I know you're gonna

mess up, but then quickly seek a forgiveness resolution.

Father, we thank you for the bread, so we receive

it in our bodies. Help us, help us, help us

to trust you and forgiveness like we never have can

Jesus name must take the bread together. Then he took

the cups.

He said, this is my body, this is my blood

shed for you. Hey, when you drink it, remember me.

I just want to tell you this opportunity right now

to say, hey, if I've hurt you, now listen, I'm

not knowing if I hurt your feelings by preaching the.

Word of God. I'm never going to apologize for that.

If I've ever hurt you, if I've ignored you, if

you feel like I have a beating, treated you fairly,

I said, I want you to know I'm sorry.

I repent for that. I'm sorry. I don't want to be.

Your stumbling block, and I'm sorry.

Jesus goes even further than that.

He said, my blood, it washes away every action of sin,

It cleanses it, and it's not there anymore.

We thank you for the cup.

Your blood, the most powerful substance in the universe. Lord,

We thank you, we praise you, and we receive your

forgiveness in our lives. And Jesus nay, let's receive the

cup together. Church, Let's worship to this last song. If

you've heard somebody in this building, go to them before

you leave, ask them to forgive you. And if they ask,

do it. Your righteousness depends on it body staying whom

you less worship together, Pastor Clay mm hmm