Hope Of The World: Hope of Forgiveness | Ps Luke Harrison

If you're joining us, we're about to

kick off our Easter series at Elevation

called Hope of the World.

Very simply, that's Jesus. Here ends my

message. But in all seriousness, we are

going to be preaching over the next five

weeks on Hope of the World. And every

week, um, a different communicator will

come up and and unpack what that

actually means. Right now, could you

make the decision to be in the room for

the next four weeks? I believe God's got

a word in season for us individually and

as a church. And so would you make the

decision week upon week we will we'll

start building upon uh the premise that

Jesus is the hope of the world. And we

encourage you to be in church. Make a

conscious decision to be in church.

Bring your family. Invite people. Um

I'll speak about this later, but I

believe it's a season. Pastor Ben

mentioned it already for us to invite

people in and around our world. We have

a world dying for hope. We know who that

is. It's grounded in the person of

Jesus. Would you invite people in your

world to join us as we navigate uh the

Easter season together? So, hope of

forgiveness

today specifically, oh sorry, hope of

the world. Today specifically, we're

talking about hope of forgiveness. So,

we're going to pray and then we are

going to jump straight into it. Jesus,

we just thank you, Lord. What a

privilege and honor it is just to gather

around your name under the teaching of

your word. Lord, I pray that your word

would go out, that it won't return void,

but it will break chains and restore

hearts. Jesus, would you speak to us all

individually? You know where we are. You

know what it is that our heart needs.

You know what it takes for us to take

that next step of obedience as we follow

you. So Lord, would you speak to us? But

Jesus, ultimately, like your word says

that today is the day of salvation.

Would you bring people into right

standing with you? And so we just thank

you, Lord. Would you speak to us today

in Jesus mighty name? name. Everybody

said, "Amen." Hope of the world. And so,

we'll dive into the book of Colossians

and unpack how unpack at least how

Christ calls us to live as a people

reconciled back to him.

How do we live in the promise of Isaiah

Isaiah 1:18

1:18? Scholars tell us Isaiah 1:18 is a

Isaiah 1:18

foreshadow

of the way that we will be viewed thanks

to the sacrifice of Christ. Isaiah 1:18

Isaiah 1:18

says this. Says, "Come now, let us

reason together, says the Lord. Though

your sins are like scarlet,

they shall be as white as snow. Though

they are red like crimson, they shall

become like wool." Hope in forgiveness.

As a pastor pastoring both here in

Australia and in South Africa for a

season, I noticed something that many

people both believers and people who

haven't accepted the Lord Lord Jesus as

their savior um understand that there's

forgiveness on offer.

Many people I see understand the John

John 3:16

3:16 message and so logically

it comprehends with them. But I watch

time and time again as people don't walk

into the fullness of the forgiveness

that God has on offer for them.

We know that Jesus being the ultimate

sacrifice gives us this gift of

forgiveness on offer.

But time and time again, I just watch as

not only those who don't know Christ,

but as as believers, we walk out of the

church not living in the fullness of

what he's called us to.

You see, this hope

of forgiveness

calls us not just to acknowledge that we

are forgiven, but rather that we have an

opportunity

to live in the fullness of his

forgiveness and gives us this confidence

and boldness

to allow us to live in the fullness of

his forgiveness. This confidence and

boldness to enter the throne room of

grace. Hebrews 4:14-16

Hebrews 4:14–16

speaks about that. I jump to verse 15

which says this. For we do not have a

high priest who is unable to sympathize

with our weaknesses but one who in every

respect has been tempted as we are yet

without sin. And here it is. Let us then

with confidence draw near to the throne

room of grace that we may receive mercy

and find grace to help in time of need.

hope of forgiveness. I want to tell you

a story.

I was about seven years old

and my parents

made a decision

to clean the roofs and gutters of the

house and then put a fresh coat of paint

on the walls. Right. Fairly standard. So

they got somebody there pressure hosing

the uh the roofs and the walls and the

gutters painted it. Now prior to this

event I had watched a movie that had in

inspired an action in my life. The movie

was simply this guy who found a stick

and took a ball of clay and put it on

top of this thing and flung it at people

and would knock them out.

So, I thought as a seven-year-old, I

might need to perfect this skill, per

se. I needed to protect myself as a

seven-year-old.

So, I watched the mud drop down from the

gutter in the roof, and I said, "Wow,

that looks like good consistency mud."

So, I picked some up and I found a nice

pliable stick and I made a ball and

splat.

And I thought, man,

I'm good at this. I should try it again.

So, I did it again

and again,

noting the newly painted walls.

However, as a seven-year-old, I thought

to myself, self, don't worry. There's a

host pipe. You'll be able to clean it.

So, I pick up the host pipe and I start

hosing down the wall.

The problem was

it started to leave a bit of a mark.

That mark would have been okay if I did

it once, but considering that I thought

I needed to be a professional, the newly

painted wall had all these brown marks

that I couldn't get rid of. And now my

parents weren't there and so I knew that

I needed to fess up. But who knows? The

weight between, you know, doing

something wrong and needing to tell

somebody is almost the worst part of

like the consequence. I'm like, just get

home already. Like, I want to tell you

and fess up. The waiting, I'm like, oh,

let me just tell you. Anyways, my folks

came home and I had to fess up and there

were obviously consequences.

My parents did forgive me, though.

They didn't ever give me a reason to

think that I wouldn't be forgiven. In

actual fact, they went out with me and

helped me remove the marks of the

actions I did in the past.

you know, help me understand why what I

did was not right for myself and for

others.

The problem with this is they kind of

went on with the evening,

but instead of embracing the forgiveness

that was on hand to us, I started to

walk around like an injured Bambi,

wallowing in my sorrow

and actually isolating myself from

relationship,

not because they didn't give me

forgiveness, but because I didn't live

in the fullness and understanding of

that forgiveness. And I know that's a

funny story and hopefully no kids in

here get ideas to do that to their

parents' uh walls,

but I think so often so many of us act

like a seven-year-old Luke in response

to the forgiveness that God has on offer

for us. Time and time again, we know

that we've been forgiven. However, we

don't live in the fullness of the

forgiveness. We allow the words of the

enemy and of our past to make us believe

that we don't deserve it. And then we

start isolating ourselves from the

relationship that's possible

because we're not living in the fullness

of the gift that's on offer to us.

You see, as I mentioned, I missed out on

the relationship with them not because

not because they didn't offer the

forgiveness, but it's because I couldn't

accept it.

As a pastor, so often we hear, you know,

or watch people come to the altar, lay

things down, and walk out here and just

go back to to where they've come from,

the sin and the shame and the pain.

We allow the lie of the enemy to play in

our mind. Enemy tells you, you don't

deserve the forgiveness.

actual fact is right.

We don't deserve it.

But the Bible says, "For the hope set

before him, Jesus endured the cross with

you in mind." And so we have access to

enter the throne room of grace so

confidently and boldly thanks to the

sacrifice of Jesus. But we don't live in

the fullness

of this forgiveness. So my question for

us very simply today is what's holding

you back from living in the fullness of

forgiveness? What's stopping you from

outliving the hope of forgiveness? CS

Lewis, if you know me when I preach, you

got to have a good CS Lewis quote. CS

Lewis says this, "I think that if God

forgives us, we must forgive ourselves.

Otherwise, it is almost like setting up

ourselves as a higher tribunal than

him."

And so what we're going to do over the

next few minutes together is we're going

to unpack a few word few verses out of

scripture out of Colossians 1 that helps

us understand how we outwork the living

in the fullness of forgiveness.

Why has God called us to be reconciled

back to him?

And so contextually what's important to

note is Paul is writing this letter to

the church of Colossia

from prison. A fairly uncomfortable

situation I would say.

And he's writing it to who? To the

church to the believers because he's

identified areas in their lives that he

needs to address. One of them being the

idea that they've been reconciled back

to Christ and helping them understand

now how they can outlive the fullness of

that forgiveness.

So if you're taking notes, here's my

first point that I see in Colossians 1.

When we live as forgiven people, God is

exalted.

Throughout Colossians, Paul continuously

reminds people that it's because of God

that we've been reconciled.

Colossians 1:12-14 says, "Giving thanks

Colossians 1:12–14

to the Father who has qualified you,

it's him who's qualified you, to share

in the inheritance of the saints in

light. He has delivered us from the

domain of darkness and transferred us to

the kingdom of his beloved son in whom

we have redemption, the forgiveness of

sin." When we live life as forgiven

people, God has exalted exalted by

establishing his authority in our life.

Matthew uh Matthew 9:1-7 um tells us of

Matthew 9:1–7

a story when a paralytic is brought to

the feet of Jesus. Jesus looks at the

paralytic and says, "Your your sins are

forgiven." What happens next is the

Pharisees throw their nose up and go,

"Who's this man forgiving sins?

Blasphemy!" they shout. But Jesus

responds,

"For which is easier to say, your sins

are forgiven," or to say, "Rise and

walk?" but that you may know that the

Son of Man has authority on earth to

forgive sins. He then said to the

paralytic, "Rise, pick up your bed, and

go home." And he rose and went home.

When the crowd saw it, they were afraid,

and they glorified God, who had given

such authority to men.

God's exalted by establishing his

authority in your life. He's also

exalted by displaying his unmeasured

grace. Romans 3:23 says, "For all have

Romans 3:23

sinned and fallen short of the glory of

God." Ephesians 2 um uh 8-10 goes on and

tells us for it's by grace you have been

saved through faith.

And this is not on your own doing. It is

the gift of God, not a result of works.

It's that gift of forgiveness that's

sitting there waiting for you to grab

hold of it. And when we grab hold of it

and live in the fullness of that

forgiveness, God is exalted.

And some of you are sitting here, well,

why does that matter?

Why does it matter that I embrace the

fullness of his forgiveness? Why does it

matter that I live in the fullness of

his forgiveness? Why does it matter that

this is not just head knowledge, but

it's something that's outworked through

my heart into my life so other people

may know? Because 2 Corinthians 3 2-4

reminds us that we are letters from

Christ delivered written not with ink

but with the spirit of the living God

not on tablets of stone but on tablets

of human hearts. My question to us all

today is what will your letter say to

the world?

Have you accepted the gift? And when

people look at your life, they can

acknowledge the person who's been

brought from a past that looks so

separated from God into a new light and

they look at your life and they look at

your letter and they go, "This is

somebody who's accepted the grace and

the gift of God or do they see the

opposite and they see somebody who says

that they're Christian, but their life

doesn't necessarily display that.

So that's my first point. When we live

as forgiven people,

God is exalted. Here's the second thing

I see in Colossians. When we live as

forgiven people, we are set free.

Colossians 1:21-23 says, "And you who

Colossians 1:21–23

once were alienated and hostile in mind,

doing evil deeds, he is now reconciled

in his body of flesh by reconciled in

his body of flesh by his death, in order

to present you holy and blameless and

above reproach before him. If indeed you

continue in faith, stable and steadfast,

not shifting from the hope of the gospel

that you heard, which has been

proclaimed in all creation under heaven

and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

When we live as forgiven people, we are

set free. We are no longer alienated.

The reality is accepting the forgiveness

ensures we no longer are tethered to sin

and the effects of sin in our life time

and time again. And this is not a

pointing fingers. I'm not saying it's

only you because all of us do this. But

we find ourselves tethered to the sin or

the shame or the hurt of our past that

stops us from living in the fullness of

forgiveness.

Time and time again, I watch as if

people have been tethered to cinder

blocks and they walk through life just

dragging the shame and the hurt and the

pain and their past and it stops them

from living in the fullness of the

forgiveness that God has on offer to

you.

But when we live as forgiven people,

it's imperative that we understand that

we are called to be set free.

Know that Jesus calls you to live free

and the acceptance of his forgiveness

allows you to be presented blameless

before the father. Martin Luther Luther,

the uh German theologian says this and I

love this quote. It says, "When the

devil throws your sins in your face and

declares that you deserve death and

hell, tell him this. I admit that I

deserve death and hell. What of it? For

I know one who suffered and made

satisfaction on my behalf, and his name

is Jesus Christ. hope of the world. John

83, John 8:36 says, "So who the son set

John 8:36

free is free indeed?" My question for us

is, what do you need to be set free from

today? What do you need to acknowledge

about your past that keeps tripping you

up and feels like you can't get rid of

in your life?

So the question, why does it matter?

Why does it matter that we're called to

live as forgiven people and called to

live as though we're set free? Because

Galatians 5:1 says, freedom Christ has

Galatians 5:1

set you free. Stand firm, therefore, now

listen. It says, "And do not submit

again."

Do not submit again to a yoke of

slavery. So many of us go back to that

yoke of slavery. We find ourselves

tethered

to sin, to shame, to hurt.

Prevents us from bringing that letter we

spoke about in the first point.

Now

important part caveat asterisk note this

part freedom does not mean no

consequences

it's not a license to sin

see true freedom creates in us this

juxiposition

whereby it says I'm saved by grace from

everything but not does not give me a

license to do anything.

The more freedom we get, the less

liabilities we take. No, less liberties

we take. Don't take liabilities.

It requires responsibility

and discipline. When we live as forgiven

people and we truly understand how to

embrace the fullness of his forgiveness,

were able to live a life set free.

Here's my third point and this is the

one I really want to land.

When we live as forgiven people, we

become servants of grace to other

people.

Colossians 1:24-29

Colossians 1:24–29

Paul's writing from where? from prison

writes this to the church in Colossia

says now I rejoice in my sufferings for

your sake and in my flesh I am filling

up what is lacking in Christ's

afflictions for the sake of his body

that is the church of which I became a

minister according to the stewardship

from God that was given to me for you to

make the word of God fully known the

mystery hidden for ages and generations

but now revealed to his saints to them

God chose to make known How great among

the Gentiles are the riches of the glory

of his mystery, which is Christ in you,

the hope of glory. And here it is, him

we proclaim, warning everyone and

teaching everyone with all wisdom that

we may present everyone mature in

Christ. For this, Paul writes, I toil,

struggling with all his energy that he

powerfully works within me. Paul

understood in order to embrace the

forgiveness and live in the fullness of

the forgiveness, he needed to live

beyond his own nose.

You see, if you don't know the story of

Paul,

know that a couple of years prior to

this, Paul was on mission to destroy the

gospel, destroy the church.

Paul was on mission to ensure that

people

would not know who Christ is. Paul was

on mission to ensure

that his role, he believed, was to stop

the gospel from being preached. And so

he went around ordering the killing of

Christians. But on the road to Damascus,

Paul encounters forgiveness in the

person of Jesus. Not only does he

encounter that forgiveness, but he makes

a decision to live in the fullness of

that forgiveness. Imagine Paul made a

decision not to take that next step.

Not only did he accept but he understood

that he was called to be a servant of

grace to other people.

And you know um the question is why why

does that matter Luke? I said this

earlier and you'll probably keep hearing

me say it for the next well at least 10

months at least.

But make room. I am so stirred by this

word

and believe in my heart that that's not

just a word over our church, but a word

for individuals within our church that I

will not allow us just to look at a

fancy banner and a fancy screen and go,

"Ah, that's nice." And then on a Monday

and a Saturday, not outlive that.

Because I believe that God's calling us

all to live in a manner that's making

room ultimately for him, for his name to

be glorified.

And there are going to be so many

aspects of making room this year that

we're going to speak about. But I feel

that it starts with us making a decision

that we have a willingness to be

uncomfortable.

John 15:13 says this says, "Greater love

John 15:13

has no one than this that someone lay

down his life for his friends."

Romans 8:14-17

Romans 8:14–17

says, "For all who are led by the spirit

of God are sons of God, for you did not

receive the spirit of slavery to fall

back into fear, but you have received

the spirit of adoption as sons whom we

cry, "Aba, Father." The Spirit himself

bears witness with our spirit that we

are children of God. And if children and

hes of God and fellow hes with Christ,

provided we suffer with him in order

that we may also be glorified with him.

Hope of forgiveness calls us to live a

life

as forgiven people to glorify and exalt

the name of God. to live a life that

shows people that we are set free and

we're not held back from bondage, but

ultimately to live a life as servants of

grace to other people. I said this this

morning and it's something that over the

last few weeks really sort of gave me a

gut punch.

I heard someone say recently this

evangelism is merely the continuation of

a conversation that Holy Spirit is

having with somebody.

I remember somebody once told me,

now I said this in the first, you can't

be upset with me. This is not what I

said. I'm just relaying the message back

to you. But he said this to me. He said,

"You cannot call someone friend

if you're not willing to tell them about

what you believe is the best decision

you've ever made in your life."

How can you say my friend

and watch them sink on a lifeboat

while you know

that you've got access to eternal life?

It was a challenging thought for me

because how many times how many people

in my life do I say friend my friend

but how many opportunities have I missed

to tell them about the hope of the world

that's all this is this Easter

a world that is dying to encounter a

hope people broken

people lost people yearning for a touch

from heaven would we have the courage

and the willing willingness to be

uncomfortable and just say,

"I know of a hope." And it's grounded in

the name of Jesus.

We're called to live as a people

forgiven in the fullness of forgiven

forgiveness, to exalt the name of God,

to be set free from bondage, but to be

servants of grace to other people. As a

church, as Elevation, if you call this

place home, we will always be about more

than just these four walls.

You heard it earlier. Our missions

team's going out to put these invites in

the hands of people because we are a

church that believes that God called us

not just to change the lives of

individuals in this room, but to change

the lives of individuals in our

communities, in our schools, and in our

nations. Would you have the courage and

the willingness to be uncomfortable

and to accept the fullness of his

forgiveness?

So, I want to pray for two groups of

people

as we wrap up the service.

The first group, you're saying, Luke,

to be honest, I've never accepted the

fullness of Christ and the forgiveness

of Christ because I've never accepted

Jesus as my Lord and Savior.

Well, then in a moment, what I want to

do is give you an opportunity to say yes

to him today,

either for the first time or you know in

your heart that you've walked away from

Christ and you're not living in the

fullness of his forgiveness. So, with

every head bow and every eye closed,

just to give people a moment of privacy,

I don't want to embarrass you. I'm not

going to call you forward, but on the

count of three, if that's you, you want

to say yes to Jesus today to invite him

to be Lord and Savior of your life.

Would you raise your hand just high

enough and long enough for me to see you

can slip your hand back down? And as a

church family, we're going to pray a

prayer out together alongside you

because we believe in the power of doing

life and church together. So, if that's

you on the count of three, you're saying

yes to Jesus either for the first time

or you're recommitting your life to

Jesus already. Hands going up at the

back of the room. Come on, praise Jesus

one. Have the courage to say yes to him

today. Two, if that's you, would you say

yes to him? Have the courage to say yes

to him. Three, that's you. Hands going

up.

You're not responding to me, friends.

You're responding to Jesus.

Give you a few more minutes. You want to

say yes to Jesus either for the first

time

or you want to recommmit your life to

the Lord.

Come on, why don't we celebrate with

those people? We believe at church this

is the best decision you can make for

your life. And as a church family, we

want to understand how we can serve you.

But it starts by this. We're going to

say a prayer where you get to accept the

Lord Jesus as your savior. So with every

Well, well, you don't have to bow your

head because I'm not going to ask you to

put your hand up, okay? But we're going

to say this out together. So, will you

repeat it after me? Say, "Dear Lord

Jesus, come on. We can do better." Say,

"Dear Lord Jesus,

>> thank you for dying on the cross for me.

I pray you'd forgive me of my sins,

restore my heart, and help me understand

how I can live in the fullness

of your forgiveness in Jesus mighty

name. And everybody said, "Amen." Come

on, why don't we celebrate with those

people

very quickly? Second group of people I

want to pray for before we wrap up the

service. again just one more time to

give people a moment of privacy with

every head bowed and eye c closed. I

believe for Christians sitting in the

room, you that say, "I know Jesus." And

Luke, I've got to be honest. I've not

been walking in the fullness of his

forgiveness. Whether it's thing of

things of my past, the hurt, the shame,

the pain, whether it's because I've been

tethered to sin and I'm struggling to

release it. Then right now, I believe

it's an opportunity for you to draw a

line in the sand. If you want me to

include you in that prayer, say, "Luke,

include me in the prayer." Would you be

bold enough just to slip your hand up

just so I know who I'm praying for?

Hands up again. Going up all across the

room. people saying, "Luke, include me

in that prayer. I want to live in the

fullness of his forgiveness." All across

the room, hands going up. Jesus, you see

every hand and you see every heart,

Lord. Lord, would you give us today the

confidence and the boldness to walk in

the fullness of the forgiveness.

Allow us, Lord, to embrace the gift.

Not only to have a head knowledge, Lord,

that you've forgiven us, Lord, but to

outwork our heart's position,

to ultimately exalt your name, to live

as set free, but to be servants of grace

to others. So Jesus, would you speak to

our hearts? Give us the confidence and

the boldness to walk in that in Jesus

mighty name. Everybody said, "Amen." And

I