The Fruit of the Spirit Week 5 • Matthew 18:21-35

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Well, good morning, Willow Ridge Church.

If you've got your Bibles, go ahead and open them up to Matthew chapter 18, is where we're

Matthew 18 · chapter mention

going to be this morning.

Just to reiterate and to remind of some other announcements, I want to really encourage

you guys on that Sunday, July 10th, to be here with us, with Rick and Tina, to hear all that

God's done and all that we look to see what God's going to do as they continue in their

calling as missionaries.

It's going to be a wonderful night of celebrating the work of what God has been a part of in

their life, to hear their story, and to see all that God has done and moved in their life.

And so I want to encourage you.

I know typically on Sunday nights, we don't have things like this in the summertime, but

it's just a wonderful time before they literally, the next day, go to their next place of ministry

and service.

And so I want to encourage you to be there.

We'll have some refreshments, some light snacks.

Bring the kids, right?

This is a wonderful opportunity for all the family as a whole to come and to be a part

of this.

And then also in track with missions, you've heard about our middle schoolers going to

Black Mountain.

We've already got our high schoolers that are signed up to go to Utah with us in July as

well.

And after the service, we're going to have a brief parents' meeting just to give you

guys some information for the Utah trip for our high schoolers.

So we'll be over in building two in room 200.

How do I know that it's going to be brief?

I know it's going to be brief, number one, because I'm leading it.

And you chuckle because you know when I start talking, I'm not necessarily brief.

But number two, if you saw my truck this morning, you know that we're packed up and we're ready

to go to the beach.

All right.

So after that meeting, my family's heading on a week's vacation.

So we're ready to get going.

So we're going to go over everything we have to do and get you guys out of here.

You will still beat every other church to the restaurant.

All right.

And then lastly, I had the privilege and honor to go with a group of students and adults

to Somersault last week for our youth camp and had a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful time.

You know, being 43 years old and being a long time, number one, since I was a participant

as a student in youth camp, right?

It took me back to some days of what that was like.

And number two, it's even been a long time as a youth pastor since I've been there.

But I did learn a couple of powerful lessons during that week.

Number one, I did learn that your middle schoolers can live and thrive off of Mountain Dew and pizza

for five days, right?

That's what I learned in the cafeteria.

They're like steamed vegetables and grilled chicken.

No, 24-hour pizza bar.

Yeah, we'll hit that up, right?

And so that's what they did for that.

And number two, I learned if you've got any extra money and you want to know where you can invest

and get a good return for your money, Axe Body Spray, all right?

Because it was the fragrance of the week, and so you can definitely have that.

But no, it was a wonderful, wonderful time.

We saw God working in so many different ways.

One of the things, Brent Hawkins was one of our chaperones that went,

and Brent said this to our group the last night there.

You know, we have a unique dynamic, I think, within our church and where our church is positioned

and where many of you come from, you know, it's not unheard of to think in our student ministry

that at least only in high schools that we can represent up to eight high schools

at any different point in time amongst our student ministry.

So what that means is a lot of our kids don't see each other, don't interact with each other

on a day-in, day-out basis in their neighborhoods and at their schools.

And what Brent pointed out to this group of students was something that we had all talked about

as the chaperones throughout the week.

It was watching those groups who their paths might not have crossed a whole lot

and just really forming and building those relationships and loving on each other

and pouring into each other.

And so that was just a blessing for all of us to see.

Parents, if your kids were there and you haven't had the opportunity to do so,

man, just sit down and debrief with them, unpack the week, hear all that the Lord did in their life

and in the life of others.

It was a wonderful, wonderful time.

And I know with all of the churches combined, as far as for repentance, for salvation and calls to ministry,

there was over 85 decisions that were made that week at camp.

And so it was just a wonderful time for us to be at Somersault together.

So let's go ahead.

We're going to continue on in our study on the fruit of the Spirit.

So let's look at Galatians 5, 22 through 23 to be on the screen.

Paul writes and says, but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,

and what I'm going to preach on this morning, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

gentleness, self-control against such things.

There is no law.

So when we look at these different words that we've been looking at over the course of all the weeks,

and if you're new here, basically we're taking a word a week as we move through the fruit of the Spirit.

And when you look at the different ones, I don't exactly remember off the top of my head for joy,

but I know that both love and peace are mentioned over 80 times each in the New Testament.

So that's a common word that we're going to see and read through.

In fact, both of those words are listed in every book in the New Testament.

So as you read through, you'll see that joy is at a higher end for that as well,

and I believe it is listed in every book in the New Testament except for one.

But patience is a little different.

But you're probably thinking to yourself, well, when I read and look through Scripture and I see patience,

that's often found in Scripture.

And that's true.

When we read it in English, we'll see that.

But there's two words in the Greek for the word patience.

And the first one I'm going to share with you is used a little bit more often.

And this patience that's used a little bit more often means to bear up or to remain under a burden.

And so an example would be to have patience in suffering, to have patience in a difficult situation,

to have patience so that you know that as you endure, that it will come to an end,

whether it's an end of the moment or return of Christ, that that's the patience that we see.

Now, this is not the patience referred to in Galatians 5.22,

even though that's a biblical command that we see.

We are to be patient as we suffer well.

We are to be patient as we wait on the returning of the Lord.

But the one that we see is a word that is used 14 times in the New Testament in its entirety.

And it's a word called macrothrumia.

And it's a compound word.

And the word is macros, which means long, and thumos, which means temper.

And so it means to be long temper.

And it's a description of a person who is able to hold their temper for a long time,

especially with dealing with people.

Now, here's what I want you to do.

Raise your hand.

Join me.

All right?

I was one of these.

Raise your hand if you were a difficult child growing up.

We're going to reference this here later.

I want to see.

All right, everybody, leave your hands up.

Everybody look around.

Let's see the difficult people in the room.

All right, I could be a difficult child.

All right?

Now, I wasn't mean.

All right?

I didn't, I wasn't a bully.

I didn't do things like that.

But I was difficult to parent.

For an example, I love the game Hide and Go Seek.

I really love that game at department stores.

All right?

Now, for the teenagers in the room, what you see right now when you go into a department store

is tables, or you see like small, like four-armed racks that hold like six shirts.

But what I grew up with, what your mom and dad grew up with, what your grandparents grew

up with, were these wonderful, large, round displays where they would pack literally 5,000

shirts onto one.

And if there was that moment that your mom or your dad had to go through to look for a size, that was your moment to break free.

All right?

We didn't have a phone to look at, so we had to entertain ourselves.

And we entertained ourselves by hiding in clothes.

And so I would break out and I would go.

Now, this is hard to believe, but I was painfully skinny for all of my life until I reached about the age of 19 years old.

And so what I knew about myself was I could get into the very center and just kind of duck down a little bit.

And even if my mom looked through, she could miss me.

And so we'd go to a store, and all of a sudden, where did he go?

I remember the day when I knew it was going to be bad, when I'm hiding in the store, and I can hear my mom.

And most days, it was like I'll let her call out for a couple minutes, and then I'll pop my head out, right?

And she'll hit me with her flip-flop, and we'll go home, right?

That was the 80s.

All right.

So I'm hiding there in the middle, and all of a sudden, I hear this voice.

Bo Bradbury, please report to the customer service desk.

And I knew in that moment, I'm about to die, right?

Like, this is it.

I was a difficult kid.

A phrase that was used often with me by both of my parents is this wonderful phrase,

and I will be willing to bet if you're a parent here in this room, you've used this at some point in time.

My patience is wearing thin, all right?

My patience is wearing thin.

And here's what that means.

You're about to get the wrath, right?

That's the last warning, kids, because my patience is wearing thin.

Now, with that in your mind, whether you're a person who heard that constantly, like me,

or you're a person who uses that expression constantly with other people, let's look at patience.

All right.

Number one, I want us to start off with God's patience with us.

We'll get to Matthew 18 here in just a little bit, but I want to look at 2 Peter.

And it says in 2 Peter 3, 9,

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you,

not willing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

So Peter here is speaking about the returning of the Lord.

And he's speaking in context of all of the believers, of what they're having to face, and the persecution, and the difficulty of life.

And there were those in the church who were longing for Jesus to return.

Now, that's a good thing.

Like when you and I, when we're going through the difficulties of this world,

when you and I are going through difficulties with people,

when you and I are facing the circumstances of life,

there should be this within us as believers,

this surmounting just kind of momentum or desire in our hearts for,

Jesus, come quickly.

Jesus, we need you now.

And not just need you now in the moment, but I'm ready to be set free.

I'm ready for the pain and the hurt and all that we know in this world to be gone.

And I'm ready to be before you.

And Peter here says,

as you long for that, know this.

God's not being slow.

God's not being lazy.

God's not being unwilling to do what he says he's going to do.

But he's being patient with us.

As he longs for man to repent.

He's being patient with us, right?

It's not that God isn't doing what he said he would do.

He isn't ignoring sin.

He isn't ignoring pain.

He isn't ignoring suffering.

He is simply being patient.

Now, drop down to verse 14.

Peter writes, he says,

Therefore, beloved, since you were waiting for these,

be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish and at peace.

And count the patience of our Lord as salvation,

just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him,

as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters.

And so, as God is being patient, we wait.

We wait.

We wait for the return of Jesus.

But for us, waiting for the Lord is not like waiting in a waiting room

where we sit by idly trying to please and satisfy the immediate cravings of our mind

with a cell phone or with a magazine or a quick nap.

It's this active waiting that we see.

It's the Great Commission.

It's what we're called.

But in here, what Peter focuses in, he says,

So we are patient as we are diligent to be found without spot or blemish and at peace.

And so what Peter's talking about is as we are waiting,

as God is continually to be patient,

what we do is we work on some things.

We begin to delve into our faith.

We begin to work out our personal sanctification process.

We're seeing sin.

We're killing it.

We're slaughtering it.

We're surrendering it before the Lord.

And that in that, that what we're becoming more and more is the people of peace

so that we can be ministers of reconciliation like Paul called us to.

And so there's this active waiting that you and I have as God is graciously patient

so that the gospel can be carried,

so that we can grow in our faith,

and so that we can be people of peace.

And so as we continue on, we see God's patience,

but I want us to look at the purpose of patience.

In 1 Timothy 1.15, and we've already seen some of this,

but just to reiterate, the saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance,

that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners of whom I am foremost.

But I receive mercy for this, that in me, as the foremost,

Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience.

As an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.

To the king of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God,

be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

And what Paul writes here to Timothy, we see Jesus' purpose of patience.

Right?

Like, I can't tell you, like, you know, it would be great

if in our moment of salvation, selfishly.

Like, I think oftentimes, like, man, it would be great,

like, God saves me, and then, like, boom, I'm gone, right?

But he's working. He's working for a greater good.

He's not doing it for mine. He's doing it for his.

And so we see the purpose in patience.

Jesus' purpose, the way he came to, to seek and save the lost.

Right?

Now, I talked earlier and asked how many of you were difficult kids.

Right?

Another show of hands to the group of people in the room

that people like me just don't understand.

Right?

How many of you were really good and easy kids?

Raise your hand.

Keep those hands up.

We want to see this.

I'm going to take pictures and ask your parents.

All right?

Now, right?

One of the things that I've noticed as, you know, social media,

you run into people that you've seen, you interact.

One of the things that, let me say this first.

If you were a difficult kid and God blessed you with a difficult kid,

you understand you're a difficult kid, right?

You get that.

Now, if you were like me and you're a difficult kid

and you married someone who was a good kid, right?

You're shaking your head no.

No, I think you were.

At least you were better than me.

Let's give it that.

All right?

All right?

All right?

All right?

All right?

When you see those who were good kids get difficult kids,

they don't know what to do with that, right?

They're like, they're broke.

Like, how do we take them back?

Like, what in the world is going on?

And I'm like, no, no, no, no, no.

I get this.

Like, the good kid, I struggle with.

I don't know what to do with it.

I think they're trying to trick me all the time.

The bad kid, it's getting caught, kid.

Like, I get that, right?

So, they don't know what to do with this.

And here, Paul says this.

We got to think of this.

Like, in the term of sin, like, you and I before the Lord,

we're all bad kids.

We're all bad kids.

And Paul understands this.

And it understands the patience of the Lord

to save sinners who he said,

of whom I am foremost.

He gets it.

He grasps it.

And for you and I, as followers of Jesus,

this is what we've got to let resonate within us.

We're going to see the depth of depravity here

in just a minute of what it looks like

as God is patient with all of us, right?

Look back at verse 16.

Paul says, but I received mercy for this reason.

That in me, as the foremost Jesus Christ,

might display his perfect patience

as an example to those who were to believe in him

for eternal life.

So, Paul says,

if you want to understand what God can do,

if you want to understand God's patience

with the rebellious heart,

then look at me.

Look at the grace and the mercy that I live in.

And then as that,

what you and I are displaying

is not our own self-righteous goodness,

but what you and I are displaying

is the fact that we were broken,

beaten, busted up, sinful people,

and God in his patience

and his goodness and his kindness

loved us and saved us anyway.

That's it.

That's it.

You know that parent

and you're behind them at the store

and you're thinking,

if that were my kid,

right?

Right?

We are that kid.

We are that kid.

And God is patient

and kind

and good to us.

Right?

So let's look at Matthew 18.

Turn there.

We'll finish up in here.

God displays

his patience.

My mom had

tells.

Right?

Of her patience.

She'd get the really sweet voice.

Right?

She would

tap.

Right?

And that's when I knew

in this moment

my mom is

displaying

patience

with me.

Well,

God displays his patience.

And he displays

his patience

by forgiveness.

Right?

Chapter 18 of Matthew

verse 21.

And then Peter

came up

and said to him,

Lord,

how often

will my brother

sin against me

and I forgive him?

As many as seven times?

And Jesus said to him,

I do not say to you

seven times,

but 77 times.

Peter here

asks Jesus

about personal forgiveness.

You see,

during the time of Christ,

the rabbis taught

that if the person

committed

a sin against you,

if that same person

sinned against you

in the same manner,

in the same way,

three times

you were required

to forgive

and on the fourth,

you're set free

from that.

You no longer

have to forgive him.

So,

so Peter

comes to Jesus

and I'll be honest

with you,

I don't know

if it was ego

or grace

that drove the question.

I don't know

and I don't,

I don't know

that it matters.

But he says,

Lord,

would seven

be sufficient?

And there's a lot

of speculation

about why he chose

seven.

I don't know,

I think it's,

for me,

it's just more.

It's just more.

Like when it comes

to forgive,

like the standard

is here,

but what if I forgive

them here?

And Jesus answers

Peter.

And we can

get there

and it can be

about the number.

What I read

out of the ESV

today said

77 times.

And so if you're

like me,

then let's get

a tracker,

right?

Like forgiveness

one,

forgiveness two.

You're getting

close,

right?

Like boom,

boom,

boom,

boom,

boom,

boom,

boom.

But it's not

about the number.

Instead,

some translations

say seven times

70.

This one says

77.

But instead,

it is about

continual

forgiveness.

How often do I

forgive them?

You forgive them.

How often do I

forgive them?

You forgive them.

How often do I

forgive them?

You forgive them.

How's seven

looking?

No,

it's more than

that.

And you just

keep on,

and you keep

on,

and you keep

on.

And so what

Jesus is going

to do,

what we're

going to look

at,

is Jesus

is going

to teach

a parable.

And in the

parable,

he's going

to connect

a kingdom

practice,

what God

does,

with practical

living,

how we are

called to be.

So we

are to

emulate,

and to

show,

and to

demonstrate

this type

of forgiveness.

We're to

show people

what God

does,

and who

God is,

with repeated

personal forgiveness.

So let's start,

we're going to read

verses 23 through 27,

and then pause

for a moment.

It says,

therefore the kingdom

of heaven may

be compared

to a king

who wished to

settle accounts

with his servants.

When he began

to settle,

one was brought

to him who

owed him

ten thousand

talents.

And since he

could not pay,

his master

ordered him

to be sold

with his wife

and his children

and all that he

had in payment

to be made.

So the servant

fell on his knees

imploring him,

here it is,

have patience

with me

and I will

pay you

everything.

And out of pity

for him,

the master

of the servant

released him,

get this,

and forgave him

the debt.

Forgave him

the debt.

So let's talk

about this.

We got some

money here.

Let's translate

that.

Ten thousand

talents

in today's

market.

Y'all already

excited for this?

Three point

four eight

billion.

Now,

what do you

think Dave Ramsey

would do with

that, right?

Like he owes

three point

four eight

billion dollars.

Let me give you

some perspective.

With three point

four eight

billion dollars,

you could not

only buy the

Boston Red Sox,

but you could have

ten million left

over.

That's a good

day, right?

That's a good

day.

If you got

three point

four eight

billion,

we'd love to

see that tithe

come in.

I'm just going

to lay it out

there, right?

This is what we

got.

Three point

four eight

billion is what

he owes.

And when he

can't pay it

back, the

master orders

that his

family be

sold into

slavery.

Now, and

when a slave's

value on an

average end

was one

tenth of a

talent, he

owed ten

thousand and the

value of each

member of his

family on

average was

one tenth of

a talent and

the master

says, sell

them.

And so the

master is not

recouping what

he is owed.

When the sale

happens, it

wouldn't be

everything balances

out.

He's not going

to receive what

he is owed.

So look at

verse 26.

So the servant

fell on his

knees, imploring

him, have

patience with me

and I will

pay you

everything.

Now, the

master knows he

can't repay

him.

Like, just

imagine, like

you come home

and you open up

that bill and

you think there's

like a thousand

dollars on the

credit card and

there's 3.48

billion on the

credit card,

right?

Like, in that

moment you go,

I'm not even

trying.

You know what I

mean?

Like, the

master knows he

can't repay.

And so when he

pleads with him,

be patient with

me, I will pay

you everything,

the master looks

at him and out

of pity for him,

verse 27 says,

the master of

that servant

released him and

forgave him the

debt.

And so it's not

not get to me

what you can,

not here's the

payment plan for

you, it's no,

here's how my

patience is shown

to you, my

patience is shown

to you by

forgiveness.

And I don't know

about you, but I'd

probably be high

stepping out of

there, jumping up

and down,

celebrating,

letting everybody

know what

happened and took

place.

Like, can you

imagine the burden

of that debt,

3.48 billion,

gone, gone.

Look at verse

28.

But when that

same servant went

out, he found

one of his fellow

servants who owed

him a hundred

denarii.

In seizing him,

he began to choke

him, saying,

pay what you owe.

So his fellow

servant fell down

and pleaded with

him, have

patience with

me, and I

will pay you.

And he refused

and went up and

put him in a

prison until he

should pay the

debt.

And when his

fellow servants

saw what had

taken place, they

were greatly

distressed, and

they went and

reported to their

master all that

had taken place.

So, a denarii.

He's owed a hundred.

What does this

mean?

One denarii was

equal to one

day's wage for a

citizen in the time

of Christ.

So translate it over

here for us in South

Carolina.

The average one-day

income for a person

working in the state

of South Carolina is

$147.

So if we translate

that over for us,

a hundred denarii

would be roughly

$14,794.

So he owed, get

this, $3.48 billion

and was forgiven.

And unwilling to

forgive under $15,000.

Now, if you're like a

normal human being in

this world, right,

we can all yes and

amen that $15,000 is

a significant amount

of money, right?

Like, if anyone's

handing that out in

the parking lot, like,

let's pray, let's go,

right, let's go get

that.

Like, that's

significant.

But in the course of

$3.48 billion, it's

pocket change.

It's pocket change.

Elon Musk kind of

has that hanging out

in his couch cushion,

you know?

It's pocket change.

One debt, forgiven,

huge, cannot be paid

back, but yet a debt

that could, a debt

that could be paid

back, the unwillingness

to show what they had

experienced.

Let's look at verse

32.

Then his master

summoned him and said

to him, you wicked

servant, I forgave you

all that debt because

you pleaded with me.

And should not you

have mercy on your

fellow servant as I

had on you?

And his anger, his

master, delivered him

to the jailers until he

should pay all the debt.

So also my heavenly

father will do to

every one of you if you

do not forgive your

brother from your

heart.

These are Jesus' words.

I want to wrap up and

talk and look at when it

comes to patience with

forgiveness with others.

Our ability to forgive and

to show patience, Scripture

tells us, is a mark of

salvation.

Those of us who

understand that we

owe so much and

Jesus said it's

forgiven.

Like what you and I

have done make 3.48

billion look like pocket

change.

Pocket change.

And Jesus forgives.

Not in part and then go

figure it out.

Not up to the point and

then go do it all right.

Jesus says it's a part of

it.

And our willingness and

desire to forgive, right,

is a mark of salvation.

And our maturity to grow

in it.

Second thing I want to say

about forgiveness.

Forgiveness isn't

ignoring sin.

It's forgiving it.

The master called him.

You owe to debt.

I'm not saying to you or

to myself that your hurt

isn't real and

legitimate.

It is.

I'm not saying to you

that what they did to you

is okay.

It's not.

Just as my sin

isn't okay.

Not a moment

before the Lord.

And he doesn't

ignore it.

He works

through it.

He

disciples me

and disciplines

me

graciously

through it.

He builds

and works

in me

through it.

And he forgives

me.

So that when I do it

again

I can come back

to that sweet

sweet spot

of repentance

because of

who he is.

Number three

forgive radically.

Forgive radically.

When it comes

down to it

I'm going to

all my cards

out.

Those painful

toxic

destructive

abusive

people

in my life

are less

than 1%.

They're less

than a fraction

of a fraction

but yet

I want

to choose

to use

them

as the

standard.

When

scripture

has me

radically

radically

radically

forgive.

Seven

times

70

77

radically

forgive.

And so

even that

within that

the fraction

of the fraction

of the people

I forgive.

And it's

a display

of God's

goodness

and God's

grace

and God's

love

and God's

compassion.

Lastly

this is

the conversation

that I think

I have

as a

pastor

more than

any.

What if

you can't?

Yes

amen

let's do

that

and then

you walk

out of

here.

What if

you can't?

What if

you're

trying

but every

time you

see him

right

it's the

gut

punch.

Every

time you

see him

the anger

and the

resentment

begins

to build

and build

and build.

What if

you can't?

Years

ago

it's the

journey

that I

walked on.

I could

hold a

grudge

like I

was hanging

off the

side of

a cliff.

Right?

And God

brought into

my life

just some

practices.

And I

want to

encourage you

with them.

The first

thing if you

can't forgive

seek to

serve.

seek to

serve.

Serve

them.

Serve

them in

a way

that leaves

them wrecked

and confused

about why

you are doing

what you're

doing.

Because then

right?

We are

who Paul

called us

to be.

So we

seek to

serve.

Jesus

came to

serve is

what he

tells us.

Who did

Jesus

serve?

Everyone who

nailed him

to the

cross.

Everyone.

seek to

serve.

Number two.

Number two.

Pray for

your heart.

Pray for

your heart.

So many

times we

want to

start off

with praying

for them.

Pray for

you.

Lord in

your spirit

and in

your power

do in

me what

cannot be

done.

Lord as

you parted

the waters,

as you

healed the

blind,

Lord build

into my

life an

ability to

forgive those

that I

cannot forgive

in myself.

Some people

believe miracles

don't exist.

I do.

And there's

no greater

miracle than

when God

takes our

heart of

stone against

someone and

softens it

to let us

forgive.

And then

lastly,

and we'll

close with

this.

Pray for

them.

Pray for

them.

But here's

what I would

encourage you

to pray.

Pray for

God's best

for them.

All right?

Not,

God,

I know the

whole wrath

thing and

Billy really

needs to

experience that

today,

right?

that's not

it.

God,

may you

bless them

and may

they be

blessed.

Lord,

may they

know your

will and

their passion

and your

passion and

your pursuit

for their

life.

Lord,

may they

know how

much you

love them

and you

value them.

Lord,

would you

bless them

and bless

their family?

Lord,

would you

heal them

of all

they are

battling and

going

through?

Lord,

would you

bring peace

into their

life where

there seems

not to be

any peace?

And Lord,

could you be

glorified in

all who they

are and

all that

they do?

I'm just

going to

tell you,

you get on

your knees

before the

Lord and

you begin

to pray for

God's best

for others

and it

takes that

heart and

it just

softens it

and softens

it.

And you

do all

of this

so that

people will

see in

you the

patience of

our Savior

and Creator

who,

praise the

Lord,

is patient

with us.

Let's

pray.

Let's pray.

God, I

thank you for

your patience

with me

every day

moment by

moment.

Lord, I

thank you that

in my life

of rebellion

as I ran

from you,

Lord, that you

pursued me.

I thank you

that as my

heart bowed

down and

worshipped the

idols and the

sin that I

had, Lord,

you still

loved me

and you

sent Jesus

to die

for me.

Lord, I

thank you that

I understand

your patience,

not because I

can see it

lived out in

the life of

others, but

Lord, because I

see it lived

out in my

life all the

time.

Lord, I

pray if there's

anyone here

and today

what they

understand is

your patience

with them.

They understand

their rebellion,

they understand

their impact

of sin,

they understand

who they

are, and

they've been

trying to pay

back a debt

that they

cannot pay.

Lord, I

wish my debt

were 3.48

billion, but

I know, Lord,

it was much,

much, much

greater than

that when you

paid it for

us.

Lord, I

pray that for

them this

morning, they

can understand

that the

payment of

their debt

comes from

Jesus, and

his death on

the cross.

Lord, and

that his

calling on

them, and

the

receivement of

that payment,

Lord, is to

place their

faith, their

hope, and

trust in

Jesus, your

son.

God, I

pray for all

of us in

this room.

We've all

got somebody

that we need

to forgive,

someone who

we can show

your patience

to.

Lord, may

we do so.

May we not

wait for them

to make it

right.

May we not

wait for them

to get

better, but

could we

just forgive?

Could we

seek to

serve them?

Could we

pray for our

own hearts of

bitterness and

resentment?

Lord, could we

desire your

best for

them?

Because, Lord,

we know they

don't deserve

it, but we

also know that

neither do

we.

We're all

just broken,

busted,

beaten

sinners

who receive

your grace

sinners.

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