Forgiveness: The Oxygen of the Kingdom - Part 3: Forgiveness Sets You Free | Dr. Craig H.

Welcome to ECB's weekly sermon podcast. ECB is

an international church in Bangkok, Thailand,

with dozens of nationalities worshiping together.

We invite you to connect with us from wherever

you are through our website ecb .asia or our

mobile app. And now we pray that you are blessed

by this week's sermon. Good morning, my brothers.

My sisters, so glad to be in here with you, worshiping

our Lord and coming to his word. We're in a series

called oxygen, I may call forgiveness, the oxygen

of the kingdom. Now, in case of an emergency,

there will be oxygen masks that drop down above

you. And please put your mask on first before

trying to put the mask on of the person sitting

next to you. Everyone got that? How many times

have you heard that announcement before? Every

time you fly, right? It's interesting because

they tell you, don't try to put on the mask,

the oxygen mask of your child sitting next to

you or your elderly parents sitting next to you

first. You put your oxygen mask on and then you

help others to put their oxygen mask on. You

know, it's interesting because when we think

about forgiveness, What we think about is oftentimes

that we need to forgive someone for their sake.

But what we're going to learn this morning is

that actually we need to forgive others for our

sake as well. You see, we might think that we

only forgive someone if they repent, that we

only forgive someone if they're a believer in

Jesus Christ, but that's not what the Bible teaches.

The Bible teaches us that we are to forgive everyone.

And what we're going to learn this morning is

that we forgive because God wants us to be set

free. And so forgiveness sets us free. Now, as

we think about this, I want you to listen to

this quote from D .A. Carson in a book called

Love in Hard Places. He said, Christians are

called to abandon bitterness, to be forbearing,

to have a forgiving stance, meaning to stand

in forgiveness. Even where the repentance of

the offending party is conspicuous by its absence,

meaning no one's asked you to forgive them, and

maybe you forgive them and they don't even know

that you've forgiven them. On the other hand,

their God -centered passion for justice, their

concern for God's glory, ensure that the awful

odium of sin is not glossed over. You see, forgiveness

is not simply taking what someone has done against

us and sweeping it under the rug. We serve a

holy God. We serve a just God. And we know that

sin does not go unpunished. In fact, it's the

reason why Jesus, God himself, came to this earth,

became a man. And was crucified on the cross

because sin cannot go unpunished. And we're going

to look to Jesus this morning as we understand

that forgiveness sets us free. Now, it's interesting

because you might say from last week, you might

say, well, you know, it says, well, if you rebuke

your brother or your sister and they repent,

then forgive them. Does that mean that we only

forgive if someone repents? Well, it's interesting

from the context of that passage. It says that

even if they repent seven times because you continually

tell them how they've sinned against you and

they repent, but then they do it again. And then

you confront them and they repent and then they

do it again and you confront them and they repent.

Seven times a day, every day, you're still supposed

to forgive them. But you might think, well, what

if that person is not a believer? Well, here

in Hebrews 12, 14 through 15, it says, make every

effort to live in peace with everyone. Not just

some people, not just the people who repent,

not just the people who are believers, but actually

with everyone and to be holy. Because without

holiness, no one will see the Lord. See to it

that no one falls short of the grace of God and

that no bitter root grows up. You see, we're

supposed to make every effort to live in peace

with everyone. Now, in each one of our hearts,

I want to tell you that you might have a facility

that you didn't know that you have. And it's

not a facility that God made, but it's actually

a facility in your heart that comes because We

are, even though we are believers, we are simultaneously

saint and sinner. Meaning that when you trusted

Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you still

struggle with sin. Sure, God took some sin and

he just said, you know what, I'm going to wipe

that out and you don't have to struggle with

that anymore. But there are sins that all of

us still struggle with. We are simultaneously

saint and sinner. And we have this jail cell

that is within our hearts. that we lock people

up in. I can remember when I was a kid seeing

old movies because I'm old. All right, I'm going

to be 57 in three weeks. And I can remember like

50 years ago watching movies. Believe it or not,

television wasn't even in color in my house.

So I was watching black and white. But I remember

watching movies and watching television shows

where the town drunk or someone that did something

wrong would get locked up in a jail cell. And

they would be locked up in this old movie, and

they'd be locked up in the jail cell, and they'd

have maybe their cup in their tin cup where they

would drink water out of, and they'd be clanging

it on the bars, just making an awful noise, just

causing disruption to the point where the jailer's

just going, and you can just see the frustration

on the jailer's face. You see, the problem is

that when we lock people up within our hearts

because we choose not to forgive them, we choose

not to release them, what happens is they're

right in there clanging on the bars, waking us

up at night, making us think over and over again

about what that person said or what that person

did, and they may not even know that we have

them within the jail cells of our hearts. So

who's really getting punished here? Who's really

locked? up. You see, the truth is, here's the

truth of the bondage of bitterness, that when

you lock them up, it actually chains you down.

It chains me down. Now, I got to give credit

where credit's due. There was a person who helped

me create this cartoon -like image, and her name

is A. Her last name is I. And it's kind of amazing.

this image that she created. But it brings us

to this next passage before we get into our main

passage, because you still may say, you know,

I don't know if I should forgive everyone. What

if that person doesn't repent? I don't think

I should forgive them. What if that person's

not a Christian? I don't think I should forgive

them. But in Mark 11, 25, Jesus said, he said,

when you stand praying, or when you kneel praying,

or when you're praying, if you hold anything

against anyone, forgive them so that your Father

in heaven may forgive your sins. Now, what does

it mean to be praying? Well, it means in your

relationship with God, as you're talking with

God, realize that the reason why you're able

to talk with God is because of who you are in

Christ, that you are a sinner. who was saved

by grace, that I am a sinner who was saved by

grace, that while we were still enemies, that

Christ died for us. So when we're having this

relationship with God in which we have the privilege

to talk to God, the God and creator of the universe,

if we hold anything against anyone, whether they're

Christian or whether they're non -Christian,

whether they've repented or whether they haven't

repented, we are to do what? Let's say it out

loud. What are we to do? Forgive them. So that

your Father in heaven may forgive your sins.

And you think, well, is that conditional? The

point isn't that every time you forgive them,

then God forgives you. It's not a conditional

forgiveness. It's unconditional. But what it

means is, is that you actually understand that

your Father in heaven has forgiven your sins

and therefore... You can forgive others, but

it also is understanding that God has a heart

for every single one of his children and he doesn't

want us to be tormented by actually locking ourselves

up in our own jail cell because we can't stop

thinking about the person who's offended us.

In fact, in 1 Peter 4, 8, it says, above all,

love each other deeply because love covers over

a multitude of sins. There are a lot of things

that people have said to you. A hurtful comment

here. A sharp, biting comment there. And maybe

you find yourself, you know, going, well, you

know, usually this person doesn't say stuff like

that, but they said this to me, and boy, I just,

you know, it just keeps bouncing around in my

mind. Think about this verse. Love covers over

a multitude of sins. We don't need to be people

who every time someone does anything to us that

we have to confront them and rebuke them. That's

not what the Scripture teaches. But there are

times when we can just forgive someone and say,

you know what, that's not usually their behavior.

They don't usually make sarcastic comments to

me that hurt my feelings, and I'm just going

to forgive them. But there are times when someone

maybe is making a sarcastic comment towards you

over and over and over again. Maybe it's a person

you're married to. And you need to talk with

them because you're having a hard time forgiving

them. And out of love for them and out of love

for yourself, that relationship needs to be restored.

Or maybe it's someone in the church. Or maybe

it's a co -worker. Maybe it's even someone who

doesn't even know Christ. But they have no idea

how they're affecting others. in the office or

how they're affecting others at the school. So

let me say what forgiveness is not before we

look at what forgiveness is. And then before

we look at the main passage we're going to be

looking at, which is in Romans 12, as we talk

about being set free from the bondage of bitterness.

Forgiveness is not condoning the offender's behavior.

Remember, we've just sang a bunch of songs about

God's holiness. God is a holy and a just God.

And so When we forgive, we're not condoning the

offender's behavior. Whether it's something small

or whether it's a very serious offense. Let me

tell you what also forgiveness is not. Forgiveness

is not continuing in an abusive situation. God

calls us to forgive anyone and everyone. But

it doesn't mean that we need to remain in an

abusive situation. You know, the truth is is

that God's word speaks against abusive situations.

Let's, for instance, take marriage. What happens

when a wife is abused by her husband? Her husband

abuses his wife. I can remember Early on in my

ministry, and I served as a senior pastor, as

a lead pastor for 20 years before becoming a

missionary with Nexus International and focusing

on making disciple -making youth ministries.

In my early years, there was a woman who came

to me. She was in her late 30s. Her husband was

in his early 40s. He was 41. She said, my husband

is hitting me. He's abusing me. And he's also

calling me all kinds of names. And I feel about

this small. And I don't know what to do. And

I said, you know, I said, God sees you. And God

doesn't condone this behavior. In fact, he hates

this behavior. And I shared with her a passage

from the book of Malachi where it says that God

hates the man who covers his garment in violence.

What does that mean? Well, in many countries

today, they use wedding rings to symbolize that

a person's married. But in the Jewish culture

at the time, and remember Malachi is the book

right before the New Testament. It's the last

book in the Old Testament. In the Jewish times,

what a man would do during the wedding ceremony

is he would place a garment around his bride.

And that garment was to symbolize two things.

One, provision, that he was making a promise

to provide for her. But the second was protection,

that he was promising to protect her. And God

says that when a man covers his garment in violence,

that God hates that man. God hates the act of

a man that promises that he is going to protect

and provide his wife, but instead creates a situation

where he covers those promises in violence and

abuses his wife. And by the way, it's also not

okay for a wife to abuse her husband because

I've seen that happen too. I went and I talked

with that 41 -year -old man. I won't share with

you his name, but when I talked with him, I said,

look, I know what you're doing to your wife because

she shared it with me. And it's wrong, and here's

what God's word says. And he didn't change. He

claimed to know the Lord Jesus Christ, but he

didn't change. He kept abusing her. He kept hitting

her. He kept calling her names that he should

not have even allowed come out of his mouth.

So you can't tell me that God doesn't care about

a man's promise to protect and provide for his

wife. God does not call us to continue in abusive

situations. Now sure, are there times when we

do? Yes, I can give you examples in the scripture

where the Apostle Paul was abused, wrongly put

in prison, beaten as a Roman citizen. But he

did say, you know, I just want to let you know

I'm a Roman citizen. And they're like, uh -oh,

we've done something wrong. There were times

when Joseph was wrongly imprisoned for something

that he didn't do because His boss's wife said

that he raped her when he did no such thing and

he was put in prison for two years. But God had

plans for him. God had plans that he would become

second in Egypt. You see, if you find yourself

in an abusive situation, realize that God sympathizes

with you and he does not call you to... to continue

in that abusive relationship, that that abuse

needs to either go away or that relationship

needs to be dealt with. If you find yourself

in that situation, maybe as a man, and you say,

you know what? I don't want to do this, but I

do this. Or if you find yourself in a situation

as a woman where you're like, this is happening

to me. Or even as a man, this is happening to

me. There is help. In fact, you can email counseling

at ecb .asia. And this church has a passion for

helping couples. We have a marriage workshop

that's coming up. But please understand that

forgiveness is not continuing in an abusive relationship,

but we're always called to forgive. for our own

sakes. And that doesn't mean forgetting. You

see, it's not forgetting what happened and remaining

silent. Some people think in the church that

if someone does something wrong, that we'll just

handle it in -house, but there are some things

that aren't handled in -house. I know in my country,

as a pastor, if I hear of abuse of a child, it's

mandatory reporting, meaning I have to report

it. That's the law. There are churches that you've

seen throughout history that have had even their

leaders abusing children. And people have just,

the church has kept it silent. But that's not

to happen. You see, we know in the context of

the passage we're going to be looking at in Romans

12, that right after Romans 12 is Romans 13,

talking about governing authorities. And it says

that if someone's committing a crime, that government

authorities, don't bear the sword for nothing.

They're there because of God's ordained will

to help keep order in society and to make sure

things like this don't happen. You see, it's

not forgetting what happened and remaining silent,

but it's also not turning a blind eye to justice

because we serve a holy God. who is a just God,

who has chosen to pay for our sins through the

person of his Son, so that rather than seeing

our sin, he sees his perfect Son for every person

who believes in him and trusts in him. But God

also calls us to holiness, and he calls us to

be transformed as we behold the glory of the

Lord as seen in the face of Jesus. But I can

tell you that forgiveness is also not this. It's

also not easy. And there is hope for not only

releasing people from the bondage of bitterness

in this jail cell that we've locked them up in

in our hearts, but also releasing ourselves when

we release them and when we trust God to deal

with them. And we're going to be talking about

that. So what is forgiveness? Well, Phil shared

with you a definition. During the first week,

and I reiterated that definition last week, but

forgiveness is this. Biblical forgiveness is

the grace -enabled decision to release someone

from my personal right to collect the debt they

owe me because God, through the substitutionary

suffering and payment of Jesus Christ, has released

me from my debt. Why do we love? Because God

first loved us. Why do we forgive? Because God

has forgiven us. And if we can't forgive someone

else, then you have to question, do I really

understand God's forgiveness of me and am I really

trusting in him? Do I really see my own sin?

And do I see that while I was still an enemy,

that Christ died for me? You see, forgiveness

gives us both the emotional humility and the

emotional wealth to rise above the bitterness

that so easily entangles us. and weighs us down

by providing us power to overcome the revenge

culture that plagues our fallen world. You know,

there was a code a long time ago called Hammurabi's

Code. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,

and that's how many people operated. And yet,

there was a very famous person by the name of

Gandhi who said, an eye for an eye and the whole

world goes blind. And whether you're a Christian

or not, you can see that revenge and an eye for

an eye is not ever helpful. Because it's a culture,

this revenge culture that plagues our fallen

world. And so God calls us to forgive. And when

we forgive, it gives us both emotional humility

and it gives us emotional wealth. It gives us

emotional humility in the sense that we realize

that We all have sinned and fall short of the

glory of God. And in fact, in the Greek, Romans

3 .23 says, we all have sinned and keep on falling

short of the glory of God. And in chapter 6,

for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift

of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus. And what

we see is that we are simultaneously saint and

sinner. Paul said, what I want to do, I don't

do. And what I don't want to do, I do. He called

himself the chief of sinners. And if Paul calls

himself the chief of sinners, can't we have the

emotional humility to see how much God has forgiven

us so that we can forgive others? That doesn't

mean there isn't going to be consequences. When

it's a serious sin, there needs to be consequences.

But forgiveness gives us emotional humility,

but it also gives us emotional wealth. Now let

me explain that because when I realize who I

am in Christ and when you realize who you are

in Christ, it gives incredible emotional wealth

because it empowers us to forgive by helping

us to understand that we are completely known

by God. In fact, God knows every thought that

you think through your head. Every thought you've

ever thought, every thought you think now, and

every thought you're going to think in the future,

God knows every thought and he knows everything

you do. He sees everything you do. Every time

you've sinned against God, every time you've

cheated and thought that no one else saw, every

time you've been dishonest and you think, well,

I don't think anyone will figure it out, God

saw it. And God knows. Every time you've gossiped

about someone, God knows. We are completely known.

He knows our fears. He knows our anxieties. He

knows everything about us. We are completely

known. But we are also, in Christ, fully loved.

You see, that's real. That's real love. Because

if we were not completely known, but we were

fully loved by God, that would just be superficial.

Or if we were completely known by God, but we

weren't fully loved, that would be the scariest

thing on earth. But because we're completely

known and fully loved, it means that God has

forgiven us in the person of Jesus Christ to

the point where if we really understand that

and we have that kind of emotional wealth, that

we can forgive others. Now, forgiveness sets

you free. That sounds a lot like something else.

It sounds like Red Bull gives you wings. And

so I asked my friend A, create for me an image,

and I told her what image I'd like her to create,

and she created this. Forgiveness gives you wings.

Red Bull, to rise above revenge. Actually, red

blood of Jesus Christ gives us forgiveness that

allows us to forgive. And when we forgive, it

gives us wings to rise above revenge. Now, in

today's message, we're going to be focusing on

Romans 12, verses 17 through 21. And God is actually

Romans 12:17–21

going to teach us. In this passage, how to rise

above revenge and be set free from the bondage

of bitterness. As we forgive those who have sinned

against us by learning how to transfer our offenders

from our system of justice to God's system of

justice in Jesus. You see, you may think that

there's no other option, that that person has

to get locked up within that jail cell of your

heart. And so you are on call and on duty 24

hours a day. Seven days a week, 365 days a year,

because if you don't take care of them, then

who is going to take care of them? If you don't

keep them locked up, who is going to keep them

locked up? But when we understand that we can

transfer a person from our system of justice,

from the jail cell within our hearts, and transfer

them to God's system of justice, it actually

gives us the power to forgive. Because we understand

that we're transferring them to the system of

justice of a holy and perfect, just God. And

by understanding the principle that we're going

to be looking at in this particular passage,

we are going to be empowered to forgive in ways

that maybe we haven't been able to forgive in

the past. So how can forgiveness set us free

from the bondage of bitterness? Well, number

one, Never return evil for evil. We're going

to see that in this passage that if we are simultaneously

saint and sinner, that we can never return evil

for evil. But you know who doesn't ever return

evil for evil? God. You see, the truth is, is

as a person who is simultaneously saint and sinner,

many times I do return evil for evil. I'll be

honest with you. Someone gossips against me,

I'm going to make sure I gossip against them.

Someone hurts me, I'm going to hurt someone worse.

And what God says to me is, Craig, that's not

right. That's not what followers of Jesus do.

Because followers of Jesus never return evil

for evil, even though oftentimes they do. So

I can't, I can't not return evil for evil. Because

there's still part of me that, like Paul said,

wants to do right but does wrong. And the wrong

that I don't want to do, I wind up doing. And

I think probably you feel the same way and you

look and say, how in the world could I never

return evil for evil? You know, the passage says

in Romans 12, 17, do not repay anyone evil for

evil. This isn't rocket science. The scriptures

say that when Jesus was on the cross, they cast

insults on him, but when they reviled him and

cast insults on him, he did not return insults.

When they did evil to Jesus by crucifying the

creator of this world, who did nothing but love

people, who did nothing but heal people, who

did nothing but say yes to God and no to sin,

Jesus never repaid evil for evil. He could have

come off that cross and he could have destroyed

the whole world and it wouldn't have been evil.

Because in his justice, he could have done that.

But he actually chose, even in his justice, to

pay for our sins by inwardly absorbing our sin

into himself and upon himself when he was being

crucified on the cross. Number two, always do

what is right. You think, always do what is right.

That seems impossible. And yet the scripture

tells us and Paul teaches us, be careful to do

what is right in the eyes of everyone. Do you

realize that not only God is always watching,

but did you know that someone else is always

watching you? Do you know that there are cameras

all over this world? And they're always watching

you. And I don't think we even recognize that.

I'll give you an example. I lost my phone here

in Thailand. And I knew where I lost it. And

I went to the police department and I said, yeah,

I lost my phone here. And they actually pulled

up on the screen the time that I lost it, the

place that I lost it. I had no idea there were

cameras. And all of a sudden they go, yep, that's

your phone. You lost it because you put it on

your motorbike seat and it fell off when you

got on your motorbike. And then someone came

along and they picked it up and here's their

license plate number. And the Thai police called

that person and got my phone back. That's how

amazing the Thai police are. But it just goes

to show you, you're being watched. And thank

God Thailand uses that for good. But I want to

tell you that others are watching you as well.

Your children are watching you. Your parents

are watching you. Your non -believing friends

are watching you. Those who are younger in the

faith are watching you. We need to be careful

to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.

Because Jesus said, they will know you are my

disciples if you what? If you love one another.

And when we have an unforgiving spirit, it's

very evident. When we come into contact with

that person, we might find ourselves not being

able to engage in what we're supposed to be engaged

with because we're always thinking about someone

who hurt us or something that happened to us.

But we need to be careful to do what is right

in the eyes of everyone. And yet we don't, but

there's one who did. Jesus always said yes to

God and always said no to sin. And he did that

because oftentimes we say no to God and say yes

to sin. Jesus died for not just the sins that

we committed in the past, but the sins that you

will commit today and the sins that you will

commit in the future. Not because you want to

commit those sins, but because Jesus had to die

for every single one of our sins in order for

us to be saved. Now, number three, live at peace

with everyone. It's interesting, we already looked

at Hebrews 12, 14 and 15 that says make every

effort to live in peace with everyone. So this

isn't the only time that this is said. In fact,

it's said many times throughout the scriptures

and we think about peace and we think about Romans

12, 18 that says if it is possible, as far as

it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

Now we know that sometimes that's not possible

because a person absolutely refuses to live at

peace with us. And yet, the scripture teaches

us, if it is possible, in your context, in your

situation, as far as it depends on you, live

at peace with everyone. That's a tall order.

And yet, who is the prince of peace? It's Jesus

Christ. And he came to this world and did what

he did. He lived a perfect life that you and

I could never live in order to give us his righteousness,

in order to every time he said yes to God and

no to sin, to give that righteousness to us and

put that righteousness upon us for every person

who trusts in him. But he came to die for our

sins so that we could actually be at peace with

God. And so if he has enabled us to be at peace

with God because of what Christ did, then I'd

read this passage and say if it is possible,

as far as it depends on you, live at peace with

everyone. When we see what Jesus has done for

us so that we can be at peace with God, is there

anyone that we ourselves cannot be at peace with

as far as it depends on us? But what if they're

our enemy? What if they're doing things that

are constantly hurting us? Well, while we were

still enemies, Christ died for us. Maybe in God's

sovereignty, he wants us to love our enemies

and pray for those who persecute us because they

will see our love and see the peace that we have

with God that we've extended to them and that

God will somehow open their eyes to the beauty

of Jesus and they'll be transformed. Number four,

never avenge yourself. We don't have the right

to avenge anyone because we ourselves are sinners.

And if we think we have the right to avenge someone,

it's because we think that somehow we're not

as bad as they are. But in Romans 12, 19 through

20, it says, Do not take revenge, my friends,

but leave room for God's wrath. For it is written,

it is mine to avenge. I will repay, says the

Lord. It's interesting because when we look at

this passage, do not take revenge, my friends,

but leave room for God's wrath. If God avenges,

he has every right to avenge because he is a

holy and a just God and he is without sin. We

don't have any right to avenge. But here's what's

so beautiful that sets us free. When we understand

God's system of justice that I don't have the

right to lock people up within the jail cell

of my heart. But when I transfer that person

from my system of justice to a holy God and a

just God who he has the right to avenge, then

all of a sudden that makes forgiveness a little

bit easier because I realize that I don't have

to keep that person under my watch 24 hours a

day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Instead,

I can say, you know what, God? You're a holy,

you're a just God. You know far better than me.

And so I'm going to transfer and I'm going to

take them out of my jail and I'm going to put

them in Jesus' jail. But you know what I'm going

to do? I'm actually going to pray. I'm going

to love my enemies and I'm going to pray for

those who persecute me so that they might come

to know the same forgiveness in Christ and the

same transformation in Christ that I've experienced

in my own life. That's what God calls us to do.

But if they don't, you don't have to worry because

God is a holy and just God and if they don't

allow Jesus to pay for their sins and to transform

their lives, then guess what? God will avenge

you. Leave room for God's wrath. Because if you

try to exercise wrath, we learned last week,

what's it gonna do? Like a wreath, it's gonna

twist you. Like a wraith, it's gonna haunt you.

And they're not the ones who are gonna be punished.

It's actually gonna be you because of your own

sin of unforgiveness. But when we forgive, it

sets us free. It gives us wings to love our enemies

and to pray for those who persecute us. And then

there's the final command that God gives us through

the Apostle Paul in Romans 12, 21, overcome evil

with good. And we think, isn't that what Jesus

did on the cross? Didn't he overcome evil with

good? It says, do not be overcome by evil, but

overcome evil with good. How do we do good? Well,

in the verse right before that, you saw up on

the screen, verse 20, it says, on the contrary,

if your enemy is hungry, feed him. And if he's

thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing

this, you'll heap burning coals on his head.

I don't know if you've ever experienced this

before, but I've had people just be nasty to

me. Even some Christians being nasty to me. I

mean, where all of a sudden I'm just being peaceful

and they're just coming at me. Maybe it's over

the discussion of the Bible. And I just go, you

know what? Jesus doesn't want me to insult someone

even if they're insulting me. In fact, he's called

me to the opposite. And you know what happens

every single time? If I keep my calm and I'm

respectful towards them, every single time, for

some reason, one day later, two days later, they

come back and say, you know, I'm so sorry. I

was so disrespectful to you. But every single

time that when they've shoved me, I've shoved

them, or when they've been insulting to me, I've

insulted them. Every single time, guess what?

I'm the one that has to go back to them and say,

I'm so sorry. I reacted in an unholy and ungodly

way and I should have been loving and kind and

I should have been peaceful and patient and gentle

rather than being harsh and I'm sorry. And sometimes,

they look at you and they just say, well, yeah,

you should be sorry. And you're just like, okay.

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil

with good. And that's what Jesus did on the cross.

He died on the cross for our sins. He lived a

perfect life for our righteousness. So that...

When God looks at us, rather than seeing our

sin, he sees his perfect son. You see, forgiveness

can set us free from the bondage of bitterness

when we transfer those who have sinned against

us from our system of justice to God's system

of justice. When we realize that God is a holy

and just God, and you know what? He will take

care of unrepentant people. He will take care

of people who we look at and say, how can I forgive

those people? And when we see and we think about

that, we say, you know what, I've got to love

my enemy. I have to pray for those who persecute

me because I wouldn't want, I want them to experience

what I've experienced, forgiveness. I don't want

them to have to pay the penalty for all of their

sins. Can we fast forward the slide? Let me see

here. Did it go backward? Okay. You see, that's

the bondage of bitterness. When I lock them up,

it chains me down. Again. Next slide. Therefore,

I must release my offenders from the jail cell

within my heart and transfer my offenders to

the justice system of Jesus. And what happens

when I do this? I got a final graphic for you

here. Can you advance the slide? And here's the

picture that I want you to see. That when we

release someone from our system of justice and

we transfer them to God's system of justice in

Jesus, when we actually love our enemies and

pray for those who persecute us, we want for

them what Jesus has done for us. That they would

trust in Jesus and that he would welcome them

into his arms and have a relationship with him.

that is so powerful that it transforms their

life to the point where we can actually walk

together as fellow believers, as brothers and

sisters in Christ, in a way in which we can love

each other in the way that Christ has loved us.

You see, forgiveness doesn't mean ignoring justice.

It entrusts it. to the one who can actually do

it right. We are incapable of doing justice right.

But God is perfectly capable with the things

that we experience in our imperfections. So the

forgiveness of Jesus, well, it gives us wings.

It really does. It helps us to rise above revenge.

The forgiveness of Jesus sets us free to love

others like Jesus has loved us. Let's pray. Heavenly

Father, we come before you and we thank you for

loving us so intensely that you are willing to

send your only begotten son to experience this

world that is marred by sin. To live a perfect

life. on our behalf to say yes to God every single

time and say no to sin. So that he could place

upon us his righteousness so that when you look

at us rather than seeing our sin you see your

perfect son. But he also died on the cross in

order to forgive us so that all of our sins could

be piled upon him. And that while we were still

enemies, that Christ died for us so that we could

experience the forgiveness of God and we could

be set free from the penalty of our own sin by

allowing God himself to pay the price for justice

and to pay the price for our wrongdoing. We thank

you. We thank you. for setting us free. Please

help us in our hearts to set others free, knowing

that you will do it right, that if they trust

you, their lives can be transformed. And I pray

that if there's someone here this morning that

doesn't know Jesus, that they would turn to you

and they would say, I want to know more. Please

reveal to me who this Jesus is because I want

to trust him. I want to receive him as the forgiver

of my sins and the leader of my life. I pray

that all of us would experience this love and

this grace that only Jesus can give. And I pray

that you would allow us to forgive. so that we

can be set free to love others like Jesus has

loved us. And we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

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And remember to join us next week. God bless

you.