How To Handle Being Defrauded

I was so blessed this morning in the prayer meeting.

Um, I just had to stop bowing down bowing my head down and I had to look at everybody and everybody's praying and and just watching the Saints here, the church here praying.

Um, I was just amazed. I was amazed. What a privilege I thought to myself. What a privilege it was to be in the assembly of the Saints. What a privilege it was to hear the Saints pray to the Lord in unity and it's like, how did this happen?

How did this happen? I thought to myself on these like this is the best place on the world.

It's the best place in the world I hear to be with God's people praying to the God I love and you can hear the voices of the Saints. They love Jesus. They love the Lord. They're they're looking to the Lord for help.

And when Jacqueline, Jared prayed, I couldn't help but cry. I was like, please, Lord, help Jesse.

And Thailand.

Was I said, you're going to help her. We're praying.

It's the end of the year and I am so grateful for Grace Bible Church.

I'm so thankful for you.

You're you're prize jewel and Conway Argystol and from wherever you travel into this is not something for us to take lightly.

In this dark evil world in the age that we live in.

This church.

God's people is not to take lightly.

I let us endeavor with all of our hearts to love one another.

Let's endeavor all of our hearts to not me well bitterness to grow up.

I see easy to find faults in a church.

But I believe because of the blood of Jesus Christ when the Lord looks down upon us and I was thinking as he's looking down on us when we're praying.

That the prayers were a sweet savor aroma coming from this place into heaven.

And that the Lord was pleased is pleased with his people coming together to worship you.

To love you know.

And to love.

The ones that he loves.

I was reminded thinking this morning that after Peter fell miserably denied Christ.

When he come from Christ confronted him.

It wasn't shame on you Peter wasn't the words that Christ used.

How dare you do that to me you denied me I needed you.

He says if you love me.

Love my people.

If you love me love the broken people.

And beloved the Lord Jesus.

Beloved the Lord Jesus.

I know he's perfect.

He's easy to love.

Then love us.

Love the imperfect Saint.

I also was reminded of just thinking through.

The Gospels how there's a verse in Luke that says that we are disciples of Christ and it is the will of the father that the disciples of Christ become like Christ.

And the end goal the end goal.

For all of us.

No matter where we're at in our stages of sanctification.

The end goal for you.

And you and me and so we look around at one another is like well.

Here's the imperfections of each other know the end goal is holiness for all of us.

We will all by the grace of God be victorious in Christ Jesus.

Well when I was younger I heard one of my mentors actually Greg Stevens and Ingrid Stevens mentor when their old pastors and one of the men that was so instrumental my young life as a young minister man named Conrad.

Moral heard him preach once and he says it is wonderful to be taken advantage of.

And I've always contemplated that phrase because I didn't know if I understood what he was talking about.

It's wonderful to be taken advantage of.

Now how many do of you feel that way?

I love being taken advantage of.

I delight in people mistreating me and taking me for granted.

I don't think we naturally enjoy that we don't it's not normal for us when someone defrauds us or wrongs us for us to rejoice and delight in the occasions of being defrauded.

This morning I want to talk to you about how to handle being defrauded from 1 Corinthians 6 verses 1 to 7 how to handle this and I thought about toppling this message the glory of being defrauded the glory of being taken advantage of and I hope it's challenging to us and we will see the beauty of it when we're done and now the world will tell you this is ugly in every dimension and there is an aspect that it is ugly.

1 Corinthians 6:1–7

When someone sins against you, it's not pleasant.

And so I'm not trying to make the whole thing beautiful.

There is a side to it.

That's very sinful and very wrong and God does not enjoy a delight in evil.

He doesn't so don't misunderstand me, but there's another side of being defrauded and wrong taking advantage of ill-spoken of that is glorious.

And I hope that we can see the glory of that and I want to try to paint it if you would the glory of Jesus Christ and how he was taken advantage of by everyone and by you and I will even go as far as say we still take advantage of Jesus.

We still take advantage of him.

And he continues to love us.

He continues to give care for us.

What a glorious Savior and we want to be like him and I think there's another.

Scenario that can make you shine like the Lord Jesus Christ and how you can respond when someone takes advantage of you how you can respond when someone wrongs you and speaks ill of you and defraud you.

Let's go to the Lord in prayer before we read our text.

Dear God, we want to be just like Jesus and we want to obey his commands and follow his example.

Show us Christ so we can marvel.

Lord show us our sins so we can repent of them and give us grace to follow you until you come and get us this we pray in your son's name.

Amen.

Now being wronged is not fun.

No one enjoys it and it's not meant to be enjoyed.

So when someone sins against you or defraud you or steals from you or speaks ill of you.

Is inherently difficult. It's not enjoyable to say the least and we all know what it feels like to be betrayed.

It's one thing to be betrayed by someone outside the church or an unbeliever.

We somewhat expect that from unbelievers to be ill-spoken of and we know the Lord says woe to you if everyone speaks good of you.

So sometimes it's an honor and few would for unbelievers to speak ill of you for your righteousness.

So we understand that but what about when church members or other Christians wrong us that hurts all the more.

In fact, it's very difficult to handle when Christians are fellow church members do us wrong.

And.

Hurt us in some fashion it it wounds us and it's a deep wound and is the emotional pain is really what matters.

I mean, it's really what's difficult.

It's someone take something from you or someone's doesn't respond to a gift by the way a lot of you gave me gifts and here's my thank you for that.

Thank you forever with all the gifts I got over Christmas, you know, but what if you don't when you give a gift someone never said thank you and it's like well there do they even appreciate me and sometimes it hurts to be.

Forgotten sometimes it's unintentional.

Some people will overlook us unintentionally.

They're not meaning to hurt us.

But sometimes it's very intentional.

Sometimes people despitefully purposefully take advantage of us.

Now that is even more difficult to handle and most of all when it comes from within the people that should be our family should be the ones that care about us most.

Now this is what's going on in the Church of Corinth as we look at this third problem.

They're dealing with.

They're dealing with lawsuits within the church.

Let's begin reading in verse 1.

When one of you have a grievous a grievance against another does he dare go to law before the unrighteous and said of the Saints.

Or do you not know that Saints will judge the world and the world is to be judged by you.

Are you incompetent to try trivial cases.

Do you not know that we are to judge angels how much more than matters pertaining pertaining to this life.

So if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church.

I say this to your shame.

Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers.

But brother goes against law.

Against a brother and that not and that before unbelievers.

Now this is the verse I want to focus on verse 7 to have lawsuits.

At all with one another is already a defeat for you.

Here's the phrase.

Why not rather suffer wrong?

Why not rather be defrauded?

Rather than seeking justice or revenge or even just your property back or your good name back and trying to get all things right.

Going to court.

Why not just suffer the wrong?

Take it on the chin.

Just endure it.

Why not do that?

Why not just patiently endure wrongdoing?

And being defrauded.

Why not do that?

It's like wow, what are you talking about?

That seems so wrong.

To be willingly taken advantage of.

To not seek to clear the case and settle the books but rather saying hey, I'm going to.

Let that go.

I'm going to suffer the lost.

Why not do that?

Well, here's how to handle when you're defrauded or wrong by a brother or a sister in the church or a family member.

In fact, we can apply this to almost anybody.

The first thing we're not to do is to go to court.

Do not sue, especially if it's a church member.

We see in verse 1 when one of you have a grievance against another.

Does he dare go to the law before the unrighteous and said of the Saints?

Look at verse 6.

But brother goes to law against brother and that before unbelievers to have lawsuits.

And all with one another is already a defeat for you.

So what's going on?

We don't know these two brothers in the church of Corinth.

They're fighting about something someone wrong.

The other person and the other person is not admitting to it and not confessing it.

And so a brother took a church member to court suing them.

And Paul said this is a defeat for you.

This is wrong.

You don't sue brothers and sisters.

You don't take people to court.

Especially Christians.

You don't air out your dirty laundry before the world deceived.

John tells us in 1st John that this is how we the world's going to know that I've come into the world that you love one another.

But your love for one another how you look past people's failures and faults and wrongdoings that's going to exhibit the love of Christ.

That's going to show the world that Christ is indeed come into this world not by petty fighting imputing and bringing the fights and feuds into the world.

So the world can see it's a very disgraceful and it doesn't depict the love of Christ at all.

This is wrong.

I love is.

And it's not following the instructions of Jesus and it says someone has something issue go to him probably if they don't hear you bring it to the church.

So don't go to the world to settle these issues come to church and say that's what we see.

Secondly, if someone in the church wrongs you or grieves you or upsets you in some way or defraud you in some way take it to the church.

We see that in verse 1.

When one of you has a grievance against another does he dare go to law before the unrighteous and said of the saints and it gives us several reasons why we should settle the issue within the house of God one because the Saints the church is going to be the ones that judges the world.

Look at verse 2.

Or do you not know that the Saints will judge the world and the world is to be judged by you.

Are you incompetent to try trivial cases?

Are you incompetent to try little matters within the church?

This is an argument from the greater to the lesser if we're going to actually judge on the last day the world while we go into the world for them to judge us.

It's backwards.

God has made us rule with Christ on the day of judgment.

He's going to set us with him and we're going to take place.

We're going to be a part of that judging the world.

And if we're going to judge the world then what are these earthly he calls them minor trivial grievances.

What is that?

Are we not competent to handle such issues within the house of God?

We are ever competent to judge the world.

Secondly, we're not going to just judge the world.

We're going to judge angels.

We see them verse 3.

Do you not know that we are to judge angels?

How much more than matters pertaining to this lie?

Now, I don't understand what that looks like on that great day.

When the world is set before us and we're going to judge the world and judge.

I think he's talking about the demons and we're going to bring sin is upon them.

I don't know what that quite looks like, but apparently that's what's going to happen on the great day.

And if we're competent to do that, how much more are we competent to settle matters that we're dealing with here below?

You see, it's a shame.

We see in verse 4 through 6 is shame to go to court to go to the world for judgment.

Let me see in verse 4.

So if you have such a case, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church?

I say this to your shame.

Can it be that there's no one among you wise enough to settle dispute between the brothers for brothers goes to law against brother and that before unbelievers.

I mean, you can imagine.

I don't know what it was, but maybe they were neighbors.

They're fighting over property lines or they're someone's got some type of they feel like someone stole something from them and they're not acknowledging that and they're saying, hey, you have to owe me you owe me.

I learned you a hundred bucks or five hundred or five thousand dollars and you never paid me back and you got to pay me back.

You said you would and I'm going to sue you if you don't whatever the case was, they're going to settle the matter outside the church.

And this is as we said is shameful.

So we're not to do that.

It's a command for us to not do such a thing.

But here's the thing I want to focus on in verse 7 is that it's preferable that we just suffer the wrong.

We suffer the wrong look at verse 7 to have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you.

Why not rather suffer wrong?

Why not rather be defrauded?

Now this word defrauded means to be cheated out of something that rightfully belongs to you.

It applies to personal property as such as being cheated from wealth or goods or money or Mark 19 Mark 10 verse 19 speaks of this word defrauded as being defrauded of your honor or your name of your someone's speaking heel of you and you know our reputation means a lot to us.

Mark 10:19

Sometimes people start gossiping about us and our reputation takes a hit and it's not fun.

It's not pleasant when you know this brother is saying this or this sister saying that about something about your character and you come to church and you feel like all people are talking about me and people think less of me and that hurts.

It wounds deeply when you know that people think less of you and you want to go.

This is just not right.

It in fact is not right.

It's a form of betrayal.

Especially when it comes from a brother it hurts and the closer the friendship closer the ties the more it stings.

A more notable calls of action is allowing yourself to be defrauded than seeking justice for yourself.

To suffer wrong means to endure it patiently without seeking revenge restoration or recovery.

It's hard.

We want to set the record straight.

We want a property back.

We want things to be settled.

It's the intuitive nature.

I don't like my name or my property being defrauded from me.

We all want the books to be settled.

We sometimes pray Lord vindicate me.

I'll need vindication.

We want vindication.

But to suffer wrong is to take it on the chin to suffer the loss willfully willingly.

I mean who wants to do that?

I mean that's not our natural intuitive.

I want to suffer loss.

I want people to think less of me.

I want people to take what belongs to me.

I want to have less.

It's not natural for us to respond gracefully.

It's not natural for us not to want to settle the books on the matter and get everything straightened up and restore our honor.

We want to take it back in our own hands.

Do we not?

We tend to want to do that.

I know I do.

To suffer wrong means to give the thief what he has stolen.

Now think about that.

To give to the thief what he has stolen.

I mean someone steals from something for you.

You don't want to give it to him.

You want it back.

Oh you can have that you stole that.

Oh you can have that.

I give it to you.

Wait, you can't give it to me.

I already stole it.

No, I'm going to give it to you.

Doesn't make sense.

It's a double injustice.

You know, it's one thing to just to give to someone who hasn't stolen from you.

You're like, yes, it's living without sacrificing something that belongs to you.

So you could have this.

You could have this money.

You can take that you, you know, you're barred my book and didn't bring it back.

Okay, I'm going to give it to you and I'm going to give it to you. It's a double wrong because it's one thing to give to those who have given to you or to give to those who haven't stolen from you, but it's another thing to give to the very thief that has stolen from you.

To bless those who are cursing you.

That's a whole different level of difficulty.

How hard is this command to willfully endure suffering to willfully be defrauded to suffer wrong purposefully is very hard.

Let's not kid ourselves about this.

It can be hard enough to give a gift.

I mean, I think there's an Ebenezer Scrooge in all of us.

Right?

I mean think about it.

Have me psych.

Well, no, I love giving.

Well, evaluate honestly, I'm not I evaluate my own self here.

How hard is it for us to get?

When you get your statement back for the year, how much you gave?

I mean, how hard is it to get?

It's very hard.

It's very hard to give to good causes.

Very hard to give to good needs things you think.

Hey, this is a good cause.

Let me give to that.

Even that there's a there's a side of us that says, Oh, not too much or let me I can I can do without this and but I have plans here.

I got a vacation.

I got that.

You know, it's hard to let things go in the end to good people.

It's hard to get.

Is it not?

I mean think of the words of Jesus when he says the children of this world are wiser than the children of the kingdom.

They know how to invest for the future.

But if we were wise, we would give generously and liberally and lay up ourselves treasures in heaven.

We would we would give more and more to the calls of God if we understood the words of Christ.

We would be we think in our New Year's resolution is how do I expand my giving?

How do I not just to the church?

I'm not trying to make that the point here to helping people and say how can I you know, see people need and help the poor and help those who have not how do I expand that and give more and the Lord says that he was going to abundantly reward that.

He's promised these things, but we have a hard time believing it because the but that Scrooge inside of us it says no, I need that money.

We're tight-fisted and it's just hard to get it.

And it's if it's hard to give to the Lord Jesus Christ and if it's hard to give to good people and if it's hard to give to those who are truly in need that we have pity upon and compassion upon if it's hard to give to that how much harder is it to give to bad people?

I mean, it's very difficult to give to people that we don't like or to cause us.

We don't think there's that good.

But it's all together more difficult to give to people that are stealing from us.

Now think about that.

You know, it's like when someone steals from me is like oh, how can I bless that person?

How can I enrich that person?

I mean, they're taking advantage of me now.

I want to bless them.

I mean, that's not normal.

It's not natural for us to do that.

Is it?

It's hard.

Jesus is invited to a rich man's house who held it said a great a great banquet.

And a lot of guests came.

And the Lord Jesus Christ had the boldness to look at his host and while they're eating the host is the one providing the meal and it was it's a wonderful meal and during this supper or dinner as they're reclining at the table.

Jesus looks at the host and says when you have a banquet don't invite the rich don't invite those who can bite you back and give to you bite the poor the needy the have nots that can't repay and then you'll have treasures in Heaven.

You'll have riches in Heaven.

So that's difficult.

It's easier to give to those who we like and enjoy their company.

It's harder to give to those that have nothing to give to us in return.

But it was the hardest of all is to give to the irresponsible people.

How many times that there was a real need but you said to yourself all they're going to misuse that money.

I know they're going to misuse it because they're irresponsible.

They're in the poverty because they are not good stewards of their wealth and though they're hungry and though they need something they're foolish and they've been foolish and they're reaping what they saw and I'm not going to give them anything that I've worked with my heart and worked hard for and I've been responsible.

Why should I help the irresponsible people?

It's very difficult to do that.

But sometimes we hinder ourselves or keep ourselves from giving to poor people because we view them as being irresponsible and unworthy of help.

We talk ourselves out of help helping beggars.

Claim that they're just bombs.

Why should we help those who have mismanaged their resources?

We say to ourselves.

I tell you what though that be very difficult.

The hardest and most difficult gift to give to the one who's despitefully using you.

Wronging you to thieves.

Those who have stolen from us again.

This is a double injustice one.

We lose what we have.

Rotly obtained for ourselves.

We're defrauded.

That's unjust.

But it seems a double injustice to give to the one who deserves justice to bless those who deserves punishment.

To reward those who deserves imprisonment.

You know, it's like well that doesn't seem right.

You know, imagine someone coming to your house and you catch them and they stole the TV and they're walking out with your television.

Imagine that.

And you go wait a minute.

You forgot the DVD player.

Here's the surround sound.

You need that to go with it.

I mean you think that's almost crazy.

Do you not?

And all of you do.

I know I do.

And none of us would do that.

Would we?

Someone's stole your your cloak.

You wouldn't go.

How ho where's my tunic?

You forgot my tunic.

I mean, I want to bless you.

No, I want to persecute you.

I'm going to take you to court.

I'm going to call the police.

I'm going to I'm going to get my my stuff back.

I mean, that's the knee-jerk reaction.

That's the natural reaction.

And we want to take the words of Christ and we will say we want to qualify the words of Christ to death until they don't mean what they mean.

You're already doing it in your head.

You're already going well that doesn't mean that that doesn't mean that.

And you're justifying a response.

But what does it mean then?

What does it mean when someone steal something of yours?

The Lord says give them something in addition to what they stole.

What does that mean when the Lord says if someone comes in says I want you to walk a mile with me because you're obligated to carry my sword and my shield and you're you're obligated by Roman law and you go hey, I'm going to walk two miles with you.

Let me go beyond what you're asking me to do.

I mean, we don't think that way.

It's not natural for us to do that.

You say well who does this?

Jesus Christ every day.

He does it.

He did it.

We can just look and read the Gospels ago.

He did this.

He lived it out.

He didn't just teach us.

He showed us.

He showed us how to live.

He didn't just give us great instructions and not do it himself.

He wasn't a hypocrite.

He wasn't like the Pharisees.

He truly lived this out.

Matthew 5 verse 43 you have heard that it was said you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.

Matthew 5:43

But I say do you love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you so that you may be sons of your father who is in heaven.

Pre makes his son to rise on the evil and on the good and sins rain on the just and the unjust.

For if you love those who love you what reward do you have?

Do not even the tax collectors do the same?

And if you greet one another only your brothers, what more do you doing than others?

Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

You therefore must be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect.

You see God blesses his enemies every day.

He sends rain upon the undeserving.

He makes their crops come up.

Those who don't even think them we bless the Lord.

They Lord for food is how many billions of people don't recognize God before they eat never think the Lord ungrateful and God still feeds them the next meal and the next meal and the next meal is gracious.

He gives them food and shelter continues to bless the undeserving.

You know what else he does.

He offers these same people salvation.

Can you believe that?

Who does that?

Luke 6 says love your enemies and do good and Lynn expecting nothing in return and your reward will be great and you will be sons of the Most High for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.

He's kind to the evil people.

He's kind to the ungrateful people.

Can you imagine that?

I mean, I ungrateful.

This is a terrible sin.

It's hard to continue to give to ungrateful people who never say thanks.

But the Lord does every day.

He says be merciful even as your father is merciful.

You know, he died for for you.

Not after you said thank you.

Not after you cleaned up yourself.

Not after you repented and said you were sorry.

He died for you while you were yet sinners.

He gave he blessed.

I mean his life is an example of giving the cloak after you stole the tunic.

That's his life.

And you've been recipients you and I have been recipients of this constant good will towards us and kindness towards us in much of our ungratefulness and much of our taken advantage of him.

You say I don't do that.

When was the last time you complained?

About Providence.

You know, probably wasn't that long ago.

And does God still work all things out for your good?

It's like well, I mean if he's going to treat you the way you deserve then all things wouldn't work out for your good anymore.

But we mess up.

You know, and how often do we say things in fact, it's impossible brothers and sisters for us.

It's impossible for us.

To be grateful enough.

There's billions of blessings that we have every day and we don't even have the capacity to recognize it.

We can't we inherently take advantage of God's mercies and kindness and grace and we can't do otherwise.

And God still is gracious.

He's kind to you and to me.

The Lord lived his life sacrificially giving to those who despise and rejected him.

His whole life is a life of giving.

He gave, he gave, he gave and got nothing in return and he gave to those who are ill deserving, undeserving those who did not appreciate him.

He went to Nazareth his hometown.

And they tried to kill him.

They try to kill him.

They rejected him within the year.

He's back there preaching the gospel of mercy to them again.

He came back a second time.

You think he was just like lead Nazareth alone.

But he comes back and offers them salvation after they despised and kicked him out of the town and said leave us.

Imagine this as he was being accused rejected in the crowds crying out crucify him crucify him crucify him.

In the very act of being mistreated.

He says forgive them father.

I mean that's when your television is being stolen and you're going forgive the person.

I want to bless them.

As we mistreated him in the very act of wronging Christ.

He's thinking good will towards us.

That's how much he loves you.

And if you don't know the Lord if you don't know the Lord and you're here and you're and you're here and you you're every moment you're living your it's ungrateful moment.

You're not surrendering your life to the Lord.

You're not bowing down and giving him praise and worship and you're not giving your life back to him which he owns and deserves all that you have.

But he still said I love you gives you hope of salvation.

He's done that for all of us now.

For a moment.

For a moment worship Jesus for a moment.

For a moment.

Stop and go.

Isn't that glorious?

Is it not glorious our Savior's love for us?

Giving us his cloak his tunic and all that he has.

And we take more and more he says here take more and more.

He blesses us beyond measure.

He gives us eternal life.

He gives us righteousness that does not belong to ourself.

He gives us peace.

He gives us riches in heaven.

And what have we done?

We have mistreated him.

We have been ungrateful.

But the Lord continues to love us and love us and kindness to us.

And if you have a brother or sister that's wronged you he loves that brother and sister.

He still loves that brother and sister.

You can love that brother and sister too.

So I don't know if I can love that person anymore.

Not the way they gossip about me or maybe the way they talked about me.

I don't know if I could look at them anymore.

I don't know if I could be around them anymore with Lord Jesus Christ remains your friend.

And remains the friend of all his people.

It's one thing for someone to unknowingly take advantage of us happens all the time.

Happens all the time.

We unknowingly take advantage of other people.

We do and sometimes it's just we don't mean to its unfoughtfulness.

It's not intentional and it's hard to overlook, you know, being left out or overlooked.

That's hard.

But it, you know, is harder when someone despitefully uses us.

Purposefully leaves us out intentionally.

Wrongs us very wounding to say the least.

You see Christ gave us an example, but he also gave us commands.

Luke 6 says, but I say to you who hear love your enemies and do good to those who hate you.

Bless those who curse you pray for those who abuse you to one who strikes your on the cheek off for the other also and for the one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either.

Give I mean we qualify this phrase a lot give to everyone who begs from you.

And from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back.

These are those who hate you.

These are those who strike you on the cheek.

These are the ones who purposely steal from you.

Matthew 5 54 Jesus said on the Sermon on the Mount, but I say unto you love your enemies bless those who curse you.

Do good to them that hate you and pray for them who despitefully use you and persecute you.

You know what it is to curse someone it means to speak ill of you.

Gossip about you defame your name tear down your character.

What are you to do return?

Speak good of them.

Especially in the church now, that's a brother who loves the Lord.

That's a sister's called by God's grace.

The Lord when he was avowed against he didn't revile back.

He didn't curse back.

He didn't speak ill back.

1 Peter 3 9 do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult but with blessing because this you were called so that you might inherit a blessing.

We are called to walk the extra mile.

We are called to give the tunic to the one who stole our cloak.

We're called to bless those who speak evil of us.

Why?

So we can be like our Heavenly Father.

We can be like Jesus Christ our example.

Who are we after we have been released from a debt that we could not pay?

You know, we had such a debt over our head all of us a debt over our head that we were so in bondage to this debt that we're in debtors prison and there was no hope to get out of that prison.

And then the Lord looked at us.

He says you're free of all of it.

What about I could pay a penny or two.

No, you're don't owe me a dime.

You're free.

Now after we have been liberated from the debt we could not pay a eternal debt.

Who are we to go to our brothers and sisters that pay me back what you stole?

Pay me back what you owe me.

I demand justice here.

Well our debt is so trivial.

Our our offenses against us are so minor in comparison to our offenses to Christ.

You see we are called to a high standard.

We're called to be like the father above.

We're called to be like Jesus our master our teacher our Lord our Savior and this as I conclude is the glory of being defrauded.

It's a glorious thing to be put in a particular situation where you can show the love of Christ in a way that demonstrates such grace and kindness and forgiveness that the world does not know anything.

Now think about this before we close the sermon and let me buy the Holy Spirit.

My whole spirit speak to us all.

Whatever offenses that are standing against you.

How many are fits is that you hold against others that is may you release them in your heart.

Hold no bitterness.

Don't hold a grudge.

Remind yourself of the great debt that has been forgiven on your behalf.

See when you're wronged when someone takes advantage of you.

It gives you an opportunity to bless them.

Do good to them pray for them help them in a way that will bring so much.

Glory to God.

It puts you in a unique situation.

You don't have to be a missionary to China to do great things for the Lord.

You don't have to have a be a preacher or have all these great opportunities.

If you just have this opportunity of being defrauded.

You have an opportunity to show the love of Christ.

And the way that the world does not know.

You see God will take care of the ones that are wronged you if they're a brother or sister the Lord knows how to correct those who belong to him.

Romans 12 20 says if your enemy is hungry feed him if he's thirsty give him a drink for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head if he's an unbeliever God's going to take care of that person and just on the day of judgment the books will be settled.

You know God taking care of justice so you don't have to worry about it is either at the cross on the day of judgment.

So it's not our concern to seek revenge or justice or restitution.

That's the way of the world.

We can release people of their debts.

And more than this God says he'll bless you.

If someone stills a hundred dollars from you and you can give it to him maybe give him an extra hundred how much reward will that be for you in heaven?

I promise you it's more than $200.

I promise you that.

Love your enemies Luke 635 says do good to them and lend to them expecting nothing in return.

Then your reward will be great.

Luke 638 forgive and you will be forgiven give and it will be given to you good measure press down shaken together running over will be put into your lap for with the measure you use it it would be measured back to you.

It's like this is the illustration.

Jesus is given as you do good to those who persecute you and you bless those who curse you and you walk that extra mile and you're giving your VCR to the one who stole your television and you're trying to help those who are hurting you. The Lord says he's going to reward you in a way that he's going to press it in.

You know, he's like I'm going to give you as much.

I'm going to press it down.

I'm going to fill it up more is going to be overbounding and the measure that you're doing and giving God's going to give it back to you.

God's going to reward you.

You see you don't have to worry about.

Vindicating your name.

God will vindicate it.

You don't have to worry about getting your property back.

God's going to return it.

Maybe if not in this life, he'll return it in the life to come. So here's the lessons we learn in this text one church members can wrong us.

This is not just unbelievers offending us.

This happens within the church.

It's a clear case where church members can do us wrong.

Second, wrongs in the church should be dealt with in the church.

But we see the glory the glory of being taken advantage of the blessing.

What a blessing it is to be able to bless those who curse us.

This is the life of Jesus Christ has set for us may we worship him for that example and seek to mimic it ourselves.

Let's pray.

The Lord my heart is enlarged just thinking about my Savior.

To him alone me the glory and Lord, whatever gifts that you would give us give it to him.

Reward him.

Bless your son.

We bow down on our hearts to him and say thank you and sorry for all of our ungrateful.

We're grateful for this truth of our Savior his love for us.

This we pray in your son's name.

Amen.

[ Serience ]