Our Rule of Life - Forgiveness Pt1

Okay, so this is where we're going today.

Our rule of life, forgiveness, loving our brothers and sisters with mercy.

Woo, here we go.

All right.

This that I'm about to read is a prayer written by Desmond Tutu and

his daughter from their book on the topic of forgiveness, and if ever

there was an expert on the topic of forgiveness, it is Desmond Tutu.

And if you don't know his journey in forgiveness and the impact it has

had on a whole nation, uh, go and read his story or grab this book.

All right, this is a prayer he writes at the beginning of his book: I want to

be willing to forgive, but I dare not ask for the will to forgive in case you

give it to me, and I am not yet ready.

I am not yet ready for my heart to soften.

I am not yet ready to be vulnerable again.

Not yet ready to see that there is humanity in my tormentors' eyes or that

the one who hurt me may also have cried.

I am not yet ready for the journey.

I am not yet interested in the path.

I am at the prayer before the prayer of forgiveness.

Grant me the will to want to forgive.

Grant it to me, not yet, but soon.

Can I even form the words, "Forgive me"?

Dare I even look?

Do I dare to see the hurt I have caused?

I can glimpse all the shattered pieces of that fragile thing, that soul trying

to rise on the broken wings of hope, but only out of the corner of my eye.

I am afraid of it, and if I am afraid to see, how can I not

be afraid to say, "Forgive me"?

Is there a place where we can meet, you and me?

The place in the middle, the no man's land where we straddle the lines, where

you are right and I am right, too, and both of us are wrong and wronged.

Can we meet there and look for the place where the path begins, the

path that ends when we forgive?

It's an honest prayer, isn't it?

And maybe it resonates deeply with some of you.

I doubt there's a person in this room this morning for whom the topic of

forgiveness is not a deeply relevant one.

And so maybe as I shared that prayer with you this morning, maybe a

situation, a person came to mind for you And so I'd encourage you

just to hold that as a thought.

Maybe your prayer this morning is that prayer around willingness, or maybe you

resonate with what this prayer testified to, a desire to want to be willing,

but a fear to be willing as well.

It is a messy and a hard and a gritty place, this place of forgiveness,

this practice of forgiveness.

But it is one that the follower of Jesus must indeed wrestle with because

Jesus did not mix His words when it comes to this topic of forgiveness.

So let's read now our scripture for today.

It's from Matthew's gospel, chapter 18, and it is the parable

of the unmerciful servant.

Let's read it together.

"Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, 'Lord, how many times shall I forgive my

brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?' Jesus answered, 'I tell

you, not seven times, but 77 times.'"

Or 70 times seven, depending on your translation.

"'Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to

settle accounts with his servants.

As he began the settlement, a man who owed him 10,000 bags

of gold was brought to him.

Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his

wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

At this, the servant fell on his knees before him.

'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' The

servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt, and let him go.

But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants

who owed him 100 silver coins.

He grabbed him and began to choke him.

'Pay back what you owe me,' he demanded.

His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me,

and I will pay it back.' But he refused.

Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison

until he could pay the debt.

When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged

and went and told their master everything that had happened.

Then the master called the servant in.

'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of

yours because you begged me to.

Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had on you?'

In anger, his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured until

he should pay back all he owed."

And then Jesus says this profoundly sobering line.

"'This is how my Heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your

brother or sister from the heart.'" Oof.

Dear Lord, we just come before you.

We lay our hearts and our lives before you, our willingness, our unwillingness,

our unforgiveness, our struggle in this place, our humanity, our brokenness.

And Lord, we come before you now and we submit ourselves

to the work of your Spirit.

Would you do a work in us, a work of deep healing, liberation, conviction,

whatever it may be this morning, for wherever we are, our Holy Spirit would

you come, and would you minister to us through this word today for the

glory of your name and for the good of the world around us, and just for the

freedom of our own hearts, Lord, we pray.

Amen.

All right.

A question to consider in light of this passage that we have just read.

Let me ask you this: What good does unforgiveness do?

What good does it do you?

You would think with the depth of devotion that many of us hang on to

it, that surely it must be doing some good that we would cling to it as

much as, uh, we have a tendency to do.

What good does it do?

What good does bitterness, unforgiveness, resentment do?

I woke up yesterday morning with this very melancholy state, uh, but with

this somewhat liberating revelation.

Some of you might find it liberating, others of you might

just find it downright depressing.

But, uh, I woke up with this thought, "I'll be dead soon."

I was sharing this with Vera, you know?

Vera and I were shedding a tear this morning about you just, you know how

sad it is that these guys are moving on.

But then I said to Vera, "Vera, we're gonna be dead soon." Then

we'll be with the Lord together.

And so this is just a short and momentary thing.

And, and it is, whether I live another five minutes or another

five decades, in the span of human history, eternity, I will be dead soon.

So what good does it do me to hold bitterness, resentment, unforgiveness?

What on earth is the point?

In this little momentary life that I have, where in a couple

of generations my name will be forgotten, no one will remember me.

And some of you might find that a horrible thought.

I find it downright liberating, right?

You know, I am unlikely to leave some major, uh, history

book making mark on the world.

And even if I did, well, it's probably not gonna be told in its full truth anyway.

Uh, but you know what?

I will leave ripples in this life, and they might be faceless

ripples, they might be unnamed ripples, but I will leave ripples.

And what kind of ripples in this life will I leave?

Will they be ones that, uh, move in harmony with the creator

of this world who is love?

Will they be ripples that move in harmony with love?

Or will they be ripples that go against the grain, bringing splinters

to myself and those around me?

And so, yes, while I may not leave a, uh, centuries-long legacy

where my name will be known and revered, I will leave ripples.

And what kind of ripples will I leave?

And so I just submit that kind of pondering before you this morning.

I find those melancholy ponderings quite helpful to put things

into perspective sometimes.

And so let's just go through this passage that we've read this morning.

My impulse, my unction, as I've been preparing this word, is to really

just allow the Word of God to speak for itself this morning, because

I think it's pretty clear, really.

We could try and do some gymnastics around here, but I think

Jesus makes this pretty clear.

So let's begin with this first part of this passage, where it says Peter

comes to Jesus and he asks, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother

or sister who sins against me?" Like Peter here is going, when he says

seven times, Peter's thinking, "I am being pretty darn generous here.

I'm starting to catch on to how Jesus rolls.

You know, I've heard the Sermon on the Mount.

I know he kind of takes things a little bit further than what we're used to."

So the general consensus was, in the time for Jewish people, that three

times was a good number to forgive, to practice forgiving brothers and sisters.

So J- so Peter offering seven here, he's going, "I'm, I'm, I'm starting

to get this, right?" And then Jesus goes, "Hmm, not seven times, but

seventy-seven," or 70 times seven.

It's, it's a little tri- tricky to translate in the Greek.

So firstly, the context here.

He says, "My brother or sister." And, uh, so we can talk about forgiveness

generally, you know, with, with everybody that we cross paths with.

But Peter is really asking about brothers and sisters.

He's talking about the body.

He's talking about those we are in fellowship with,

brothers and sisters in Christ.

And so I would really like to bring it to that place this morning, too,

and let's set it in that context.

I know we have a myriad of relational challenges that go on in our world,

but let's center it within the body of Christ, 'cause Jesus makes it very

clear it is how we love one another that is meant to be our chief witness to

the world around of who Christ is, and there's no way we can love each other

without being people who are deeply devoted to the practice of forgiveness.

And so Jesus here want... Um, Peter here wants to know the limits

on forgiveness, and, uh, Jesus really blows it out of the water.

And the number seven is significant, isn't it?

It's the number of completion.

So basically Jesus is saying, "Well, you forgive until it's done." You

forgive them until it's complete.

And, uh, it's, um, it's interesting actually.

This what, this phrase Jesus uses here, "I tell you not seven times,

but 77 times," this actually appears somewhere else in scripture.

This is so interesting.

It actually appears in Genesis 4.

And so when Cain murders Abel, and, uh, he kinda cries out to mercy,

uh, from God, and God says, "Anybody that harms you, you'll have a mark.

Anybody who harms you will, you'll be avenged seven times over." And then

one of Cain's descendants, a man, a delightful fellow by the name of Lamech,

there's this quote in there from Lamech to his wives. Must've been a joy to be

married to him. And he's boasting here, and he says, "I have killed a man for

wounding me, a young man for injuring me.

If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech, I am avenged 77 times." And

so what we have here in this picture in Genesis 4 is just this cycle of

vengeance that starts with the fall, and then just is accelerating as it...

and expanding until it gets to Cain.

And it's here, it's just like this, the curse is just exploding

out in this form of vengeance.

You know, he's killing people just for injuring him, for wounding

him, and this cycle of vengeance is being testified here too.

So when Jesus says 70 times seven, he's saying, "I have come to reverse the

curse." And so have you, my people.

And so we now stand as those who've been charged with this ministry of

reconciliation to reverse this cycle of even- of vengeance by becoming those who

walk in the completion of forgiveness.

And so the next part of this parable says this, "Therefore, the kingdom

of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.

As he began the settlement, a man who owed him 10,000 bags

of gold was brought before him.

He could not pay because," this is like billions of dollars in, uh, modern-day

terminology, "and since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that

he and his wife and his children and all he had be sold to repay the debt."

And so Jesus is just brilliant here, right?

Because he's put out this idea of complete forgiveness to Peter's question.

And you can always, you s- you know, feel the resistance in Peter.

So Jesus goes for a parable, he goes for the story, right?

He doesn't give a lecture on forgiveness.

And I think this is where sometimes we can get, in the best of intentions,

but so often when we hear t- um, forgiveness taught on in church, it can

be taught about, you know, why you need to forgive because it's good for you,

and, um, and it's good for the world around you, and it's kind of treated

as this, um, in a psychological way.

But Jesus goes for a story here, right?

And this is telling, because this has got to hit the heart, right?

For us to actually walk according to what Jesus is saying here,

it has got to pierce our hearts.

So he doesn't just give a didactic teaching, he actually goes for

a story, and he clearly is going for the heart because that's how

he ends the parable, doesn't he?

And so he meets Peter's resistance, and resistance that no doubt many of

us have when we hear this story, and he brings, he brings it to the heart.

And this is about the kingdom.

This is what it is to be people of the kingdom.

This is how people of the kingdom are to seek to live out this life.

And so the king is calling in this debt, this unpayable debt, and

it's time to settle the account.

It's a time of reckoning for the servant.

And so this next part, the servant falls on his knees.

He says, "Be patient with me," he begs, "and I'll pay back everything." And the

king, the master, takes pity on him, and he cancels the debt and he lets him go.

So that word pity, pity doesn't really capture it, okay?

It's, when you look at the... It's this great word in the Greek that I'm not gonna

really attempt to say because it sounds like I'm kind of vomiting or something.

Um, but it's talking about this deep feeling from, like, this part of your

being, this deep, uh, compassion, this deep empathy, this deep tenderness and

affection, and this is what the king has for the servant who can't pay his debt.

So out of this heart of mercy and compassion, he forgives and he

sets him free, completely free.

Right?

Doesn't put him on a nice convenient payment plan, doesn't just remove

the interest, completely cancels it.

Reconciled by mercy, no payment required.

Now there is scope for relational unity.

Freed from an unpayable burden, the cost absorbed by the king.

So it's not hard to see the gospel on display here, is it?

We don't have to stir up our imaginations too much to understand

how this is a picture of the gospel.

How when we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

And so the next part, the servants goes out, oh, finds a fellow servant

who owes him mere cents worth in comparison, begins to choke him.

Poor form.

"Pay back what you owe me," he demanded.

And his fellow servant begs him with the same words that he had just begged

the king with, "Be patient, I'm gonna pay it back." But this unmerciful

servant refuses, and he goes off, and he has the man thrown into prison

until he could pay back the debt.

How on earth do you pay back a debt from prison?

When the other servants saw what had happened, they're outraged,

and they go and tell the master, they go and tell the king.

So this person's just received this amazing demonstration of mercy and

grace, forgiveness from debt, who's now walking in complete freedom, no

debt owed, complete and utter freedom.

He goes out, and he begins to choke somebody who owes him a

few cents worth in comparison.

And so when it says here that the other servants were outraged, that's

not like our modern-day outrage, okay?

They didn't get on their little keyboards on social media and... That

word outrage there is actually grieved.

This is a cry for justice.

They are grieved by what they have seen.

This is deeply unethical.

It's so interesting, isn't it?

It is deeply unethical, yet

This guy owed, did owe him money.

Did he not have a right to call in the debt?

Well, technically, yeah.

Yet isn't it amazing how right we can be and yet how wrong we can be?

Yes, I have a right to do this, but is it ethical in the Kingdom of God?

Does it submit to the ethics of the kingdom where there's an ethic of love

and mercy and grace and compassion?

Maybe you're right technically, yeah, but you're so wrong before a merciful

God and the mercy that you have received.

And the consequences of that, according to this parable, are

pretty weighty, aren't they?

And so then the master calls the servant in, says that he is wicked, and that

is to say he is deeply unethical.

And he says, "I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me. Shouldn't

you have had the same mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had on you?" And in his

anger, he hands him over to the jailers.

So it's a fairly, uh, damning consequence upon this one who failed to show

the same mercy that he had received.

And Jesus here is really teaching a relationally based morality.

It's not a law-based morality.

It is one that is deeply based in relationship, and

this should not surprise us.

Should it?

Because Jesus came to make us one with the Father and with one another

So shouldn't you have mercy on your fellow servant just as I had

on you compassion and forgiveness?

Show unto the one whom it is within your power to punish or harm.

Oh, the way of Jesus is indeed narrow, is it not?

The unmerciful servant had a right to call in the debt.

But in the kingdom, the ways of the kingdom, and according the

mercy had been shown, it was wrong of him to enact that right.

Oof.

And the king punishes.

And what does he show us?

There is a time for mercy, but there is a time for judgment as well.

And you know, it is God's kindness that is meant to lead us towards

repentance, and God is patient, longing for all to come to repentance.

But that time is not infinite.

There does come a time for judgment as well.

And so there should be, because God would not be a God of love if

he did not ultimately reconcile and judge all that is evil.

So this is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive

your brother or sister from your heart.

Oh, Jesus goes for the heart, and the heart is the inner center of

our being, the place where our desires and thoughts and worship

and choices and loves originate.

Forgive, release, let go of your right to call in the debt.

Why?

Because of unity, because of harmony, because of love, because of oneness,

because of life, witness, and freedom, and because you're gonna be dead soon.

And what kind of ripples do you want to leave in this world?

What kind of ripples?

You want to be in the way of Lamech, the way of vengeance?

Or do you want to be in the way of Christ, the way of mercy and forgiveness?

All right.

So perhaps as we've gone through that parable, although I would, I would think

within our community here this morning, there's different responses going on.

You know, for some of you, oh man, some of the stories within

this church of forgiveness humble the living daylights out of me.

It's just like, you know, we want, you know, see all these

amazing healing miracles.

Let me tell you, some of the stories of forgiveness in this church w-

go light years beyond somebody miraculously having a limb restored.

How could you walk in forgiveness after that depth of betrayal and hurt?

And yet they do.

So some of you here, you are mature saints, and you've got your testimony,

and you have walked this narrow road with Jesus, and you know the

goodness and the liberating freedom that lies on the other side of this,

and your life is a testimony to it.

And I'm so grateful for you because you are such an encouragement to me and to

those around you who have witnessed you

And just the way you have submitted to Christ in the most deeply painful places.

And maybe some of you here this morning, you're convicted and you're willing.

You know there's a journey to go on here, uh, and you're willing to take

the Lord's hand and to walk this out.

And maybe some of you here, you're deeply resistant, and you just

wanna take that stone that's in your hand and lob it at me right now.

Don't shoot the messenger.

Don't stone the messenger.

You know, anger and bitterness and resentment and self-righteousness

and hatred and pride grip our hearts.

This is why, you know, scripture says, "Let no bitter root grow up

to defile many," 'cause once it gets in there, man, it can blind you.

And yous... There's, uh, in the Psalms, I think David says, you know, um, he

uses this phrase, you know, "Lord, when I was in my sin and I didn't see it,

I was like a brute beast before you." You know, Fred's just talking about

sowing seeds, and for some, oh my gosh.

Yeah, I feel for you because this is just bouncing off.

You know, I, you're so resistant.

Um, so, uh, so wounded, in so much pain and so much hurt, blinded by it,

that it's really hard for this seed.

But Holy Spirit is able to do amazing things.

And maybe like that prayer, maybe just be willing to be willing.

Could I just encourage you into that space if you're finding deep resistance,

if that, uh, you know, that de- defense, that little, uh, defensive player in

your heart is, like, rising up right now.

Just maybe go, "Lord, I'm willing to be willing." Maybe start there.

And so the implications of this passage though, ultimately, if you're not willing

to freely give mercy, what it's saying is you haven't actually received it.

Ooh.

The mercy and forgiveness of God when received, it will transform us

into people of mercy and forgiveness, and if that's not happening, maybe

you just need to go, "Lord, I've forgotten your mercy," or, "Maybe

I've never actually even received it.

Maybe I've received it intellectually, but maybe it's never actually pierced

my heart." And, uh, you know, one of our greatest challenges when it comes

to this space and, um, and I know this, well, this is for me, and maybe

some of you will resonate with this.

I think at our core our problem is pride We can be so, so prideful, uh,

so good at pointing out the faults in others, um, and so good at letting

our own good selves off the hook.

You know, Jesus, uh, in his Sermon on the Mount, you know,

he says, you know, "Don't judge.

The measure you use to be judged will be measured back to you.

First, go take the plank out of your own eye before you attempt to take the speck

out of your brother's eye." Again, we can find ourselves deeply resistant to this

practice that Jesus, uh, very clearly lays out for us bec- because we're so good

at judging ourselves by our intentions and other peoples by their actions.

And, uh, we get stuck in self-righteous pride, and we get stuck believing that

God is on our side and he loves us but not them because, you know, we're

so much better behaved than they are.

Oh, and this is what pride does to us, and, uh, it is good to have it exposed.

You know, the conversations like we're having this morning, they're not easy.

Oh my gosh, so much nicer if I could just talk about joy this morning, right?

But man, there is joy when you come out the other side of this journey.

There is no joy in walking a road of bitterness and

resentment and unforgiveness.

So if there's pride in you, just, like, go on a journey with the Lord about it.

Ask, "Lord, deliver me from my self-righteousness.

Deliver me.

This is not freedom.

This is not the life that you died to give me." You know, Jesus came to what?

Give us life and life abundantly.

How on Earth can we have an abundant life?

How can we Earth be... How on Earth can we be a testimony to the

world around us when we're bound up by bitterness and unforgiveness?

And you know, the Lord's Prayer makes, ma- man, it puts forgiveness

pretty front and center, doesn't it?

Forgive as we have been forgiven.

Have mercy on us as we have mercy on others.

For if you forgive, as it says at the lor- end of the Lord's Prayer,

if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your Heavenly

Father will also forgive you.

But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father

will not forgive your sins.

And you m- might go, "Oh, but isn't this a works-based righteousness?" No, no, no.

Okay, what it is, it's, what it's saying is if you are not giving

mercy, you haven't received it.

If you're not giving forgiveness, you haven't received it.

And it's meant to be like breathing.

You know, when Jesus gives the Lord's Prayer, we are meant to be people who

just breathe it in, breathe it out.

In a way, to be a follower of Jesus is to become like a air

filter in the world around us.

We take in the toxic fumes of the world around us, and in the Spirit of Christ,

who's, it's Pentecost Sunday, through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit within

us, we, we find it purified within us.

We absorb it into ourselves, just like the King absorbed the debt into himself.

We then are to be like air pur- purifiers in this world around us, and we take

in the toxicity of the world around us, the bitterness, the vengefulness,

the way of Lamech, and we breathe out forgiveness, and we breathe out mercy.

Oh, this is a weighty thing, right?

And it's not easy, but man, it's good.

Oh, is this not ultimate freedom?

To be so bound up in the love and the mercy of God that it's like,

all right, I will take in your hate.

I will take in your bitterness, and I will breathe out love.

And we don't arrive in this place like that.

This is a journey of learning how to practice this.

But it's a question of are we willing?

Oh, no, it cannot be that time.

All right.

In John chapter 8, there is a story where teachers of the law are Pharisees.

John 8 · chapter mention

They bring a woman caught in adultery before Jesus, and they

make her stand before the group.

And they say, "This woman's been caught in adultery, and the law of Moses

commanded us to stone such women.

Where's the man?

I wanna know.

Why is he not standing there ready to get stoned as well?

Now, what do you say, Jesus?" They're trying to trap Jesus,

and we know this story well.

It's such a profound and beautiful story.

Jesus kneels down, and he writes in the dirt

And he says, "Let any one of you who is without sin be the

first to throw a stone at her."

And it says the older ones first, they walk away, until ultimately

it's just Jesus and the woman who are left, and Jesus says, "Hmm, has no one

condemned you?" "No one, sir," she says.

"Then neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin." My

friends, for you who are here this morning bound up in unforgiveness,

what right do you have to this- throw this stone that you are holding?

What right have you taken up?

'Cause what this story says is none of us have the right.

Of course, we are to correct sinfulness in each other, but we are meant to do

it with grace and kindness and mercy.

The stone that you have, who do you wanna throw it at?

Who are you condemning right now, and what right do you have to that?

And I say this not to be unkind.

I know some of you are in deeply painful situations.

Throwing that stone is not gonna do you any good.

It's not gonna answer any of that pain in your heart

It's just gonna make things worse.

And so just practically, how do we practice forgiveness and mercy?

There's a, uh, professor of psychology by the name of Everett Worthington,

and he has this very simple practice.

This is it.

It's called REACH.

It's good to have some tools, right?

To know how we practice this, 'cause we are framing forgiveness as a

practice, something that we need to get strong in, to build up our muscle in.

So he begins his... This is a really p- deeply researched practice, one

that has been tried and tested.

So it begins with recalling the hurt, empathizing with the offender,

offering the altruistic gift of forgiveness, committing to forgive,

and then holding on to forgiveness.

So let's just quickly go through each one of these.

Just the next slide.

So recall the hurt.

To heal, you have to face the fact that you've been hurt.

Some of us are really good at pretending like we haven't, "Oh, no,

I'm fine. I'm fine." No, you're not.

Just, just own it.

You're hurt.

Your heart is hurting.

And, uh, make up your mind to not be snarky, nasty, or hurtful, not to

treat yourself like a victim, and not to treat the other person as a jerk.

Make a decision to forgive.

Decide that you are not going to pursue payback, but you will treat

the person as a valuable person.

Next one, empathize with the other.

So empathy is putting yourself in the other person's chair.

It's powerful.

It's humbling.

Pretend that the other person is in an empty chair across from you.

Talk to them.

Pour your heart out.

Then when you've had your say, sit in their chair.

Talk back to the imaginary you in a way that helps you see why the

other person might have wronged you.

This builds empathy, and even if you can't empathize, you might feel more

sympathy, compassion, or love, which will help you heal from the hurt,

and this is what allows you to give the altruistic gift of forgiveness.

And so forgiveness has an unselfish altruistic gift.

What do we mean by altruistic?

Definition down the bottom, showing a selfless concern for

the wellbeing of others without care for one's own interests.

Unselfish.

So we can all remember when we were wrong- when we wronged

someone, and the person forgave us.

We felt light and free, and we didn't want to disappoint that

person by doing wrong again.

By forgiving unselfishly, you can give that same gift to someone who hurt you.

Next, commit.

Once you've forgiven, write a note to yourself, something as simple

as, "Today I forgive," and put in the person's name, "for hurting me."

This helps your forgiveness last.

And then hold onto forgiveness.

We write notes of commitment because we will almost surely be tempted

to doubt that we really forgave.

We can reread our note.

We have forgiven.

And so this is important to know, 'cause sometimes we just want it

to be like this and it's done.

But so often it's something we have to, oh, that's right, no, practice

again and again until ultimately our hearts have been set free.

You know, there's this, the story of Joseph in the Old

Testament is a testament to this.

You know, it's a beautiful story of forgiveness.

Joseph forgives his brothers for selling him into slavery.

They sell him into slavery.

He has a pretty wild ride in Egypt until ultimately he, uh, ends up being

second in charge over all of Egypt, and he's confronted one day with his

brothers who'd sold him into slavery.

And what does he do?

He faces the betrayal, but he doesn't seek revenge when he has the power to.

And if you don't know the story, go read it towards the end of... It's

incredibly detailed story actually.

When a lot of scripture doesn't give a lot of detail, this is

an incredibly detailed story

And he tests, he tests them in different ways whether repentance has occurred.

He deeply feels the pain.

He weeps a lot throughout this story.

And then ultimately, he reframes the story through God's providence.

What you intended for harm, God intended for good for the saving of many lives.

So he realizes that God's hand is at work within all of it.

He releases them from their debt.

He pursues reconciliation.

It is a powerful story of forgiveness, and it's one that testifies to the true nature

of it, not just as a, "Hoo, I've just waved my magic wand, and now I'm walking

in complete freedom in this space."

It testifies to the journey, the process of this.

So Joseph becomes a living contrast to the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18.

The unforgiving servant receives mercy but weaponizes power against others.

Joseph receives God's sustaining mercy and uses power to restore rather than crush.

So my friends, will you be one who takes up the ministry of

reconciliation, reversing the curse that we see demonstrated in Lamech,

the curse, the cycle of vengeance?

Hmm.

Or not.

Will you walk in this ministry of reconciliation empowered by the

Spirit, walking this narrow, yes, hard road, and be one who reverses

the curse, who sends out ripples of love and grace and mercy into the

world, into the fabric of this world?

Or will you walk in the way of vengeance?

Hmm, two roads.

I'm just reminded of the passage from, uh, Deuteronomy, where God says to his

people, "See today I set before you life and death, blessing and cursing.

Choose life, that it may go well with you and your descendants." And so maybe

that choice is before you all today.

And so just in a point of reflection, as you consider this rock that you

are holding in your hand right now, what are you gonna do with your stone?

Is it your rock of remembrance of God's mercy to you?

You go, "Oh Lord, help me as I hold onto this. Remind me of your mercy towards

me that I would be merciful to those around me." Is it your prayer for healing

and deliverance from unforgiveness?

Lord, help me.

My heart is so stuck in this place.

Lord, would you help me?

Is this a person that you know you need to forgive, and so this

rock is your reminder to pray

Help me to forgive, Lord.

Help me to forgive.

Or is it the rock of condemnation toward another that you actually

need to come and to lay down?

And I know time is not on my side this morning, but, uh, what I would really

love the opportunity to do is, um...

Worship team, would you be willing to come up?

And if we could do that last song that we did in the worship set.

Is that okay?

Yeah?

All right.

'Cause that was really quite beautiful and powerful.

Um, as we consider, oh, it starts, that song starts with, "You are the

medicine. You are the medicine. The only cure for everything I feel within."

And, uh, I want you to consider those questions.

I want you to consider this stone.

And if you know this is something you know you need to lay down, just come

forward during this song and lay it down.

Lay down this desperate right that you are clinging to to stone another for the hurt.

You're only binding yourself at the end of the day, and the

Lord wants to set you free.

And there can be something powerful sometimes in enacting things and

actually walking out in a step of faith.

And so in this song, if that is you, then you can come forward and lay it down.

Maybe you're like, "Actually, I need more rocks."

Not because you need to lay down a whole heaping pile of rocks, but maybe

you're like, "No, I need the mercy.

You know, I need the reminder to pray for the person.

But I also need to lay down because I know I've been walking as one who

just is throwing stones, and I don't wanna be that." So whatever you need

in this moment, right, to cement what the Lord has been saying to you

this morning, come grab more rocks.

Come put your rock in the basket.

Just don't throw the rock at anyone, all right?

So look, how about you stand?

How about you stand

Lord Jesus, thank you for forgiving us.

When we owed you an unpayable debt, with a heart of compassion and mercy,

you forgave us and you set us free.

Lord, may we be pierced to the core by the beauty of your forgiveness towards us.

Lord, remind us again where we have lost our way, where we have allowed

self-righteousness and pride to grip our heart, and we are picking up stones

and we're throwing them at each other.

Oh, and we look just like the world around us.

Let us not walk in the way of Lamech, but let us walk in your way.

Lord, help us to have the courage and the humility to take up your call to

be ministers of reconciliation in the world, to walk in your way of truth

and humility and mercy and forgiveness.

Lord, make us willing, we pray.

In Jesus' name, Lord.

Thanks, guys