MGD: Forgiveness Has No Calculator

Shalom, beloved. You are warmly welcome to today's morning glory

devotion from the Harvest Chapel International, Denyame Kumasi. Let us

kindly share a word of prayer. Our loving Father, we

thank you for the blessing of today. and for the

privilege to gather in your presence. We pray that our

time spent here with you will bring the impact you

have planned for our lives. In Jesus' mighty name. Amen.

Let us kindly take our confession for today from Joshua

Joshua 1:8

chapter 1 verse 8. Joshua chapter 1 verse 8. This

Joshua 1:8

book of the law shall not depart from my mouth,

But I shall meditate in it day and night, that

I may observe to do according to all that is

written in it. For then I will make my way prosperous,

and then I will have good success. Amen. Today's message

is titled, Forgiveness Has No Calculator. Forgiveness Has No Calculator.

The script was written by Mr. and Dr. Mrs. Achampone J.

Our scripture reading shall be taken from Matthew chapter 18,

Matthew 18 · chapter mention

the verse 21 to 35. Matthew 18 from 21 to 35.

I will be reading from the New King James Version.

The parable of the unforgiving servant. Then Peter came to

him and said, Lord, How often shall my brother sin

against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?

Jesus said to him, I do not say to you

up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king

who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. And when

he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to

him who owed him ten thousand talents, but he was

not able to pay. His master commanded that he be sold,

with his wife and children and all that he had,

and that payment be made. The servants therefore fell down

before him, saying, Master, have patience with me, and I

will pay you all. Then the master of that servant

was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.

But that servant went out and found one of his

fellow servants, who owed him a hundred denarii. And he

laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying,

Pay me what you owe. So his fellow servant fell

down at his feet and begged him, saying, Have patience

with me, and I will pay you all. And he

would not, but went and threw him into prison till

he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants

saw what had been done, they were very grieved and

came and told their master all that had been done.

Then his master, after he had called him, said to him,

You wicked servant, I forgive you all that debt because

you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion

on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?

And his master was angry and delivered him to the

torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.

So my Heavenly Father also will do to you if

each of you from his heart does not forgive his

brother his trespasses. The Lord add his blessings to the

reading and hearing of this word. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Most of us do not struggle to forgive once. We

struggle when the same person hurts us again. The first

offense may receive forgiveness. The second receives caution. But after

repeated disappointments, we begin to ask, how much longer must

I keep forgiving? Eventually, everyone reaches a point where they

feel they have been merciful enough. I believe that is

exactly where the Apostle Peter found himself. He was not

asking whether he should forgive. He wanted to know where

forgiveness should end. There had to be a point where

enough was enough. Jesus answered, not seven times, but seventy

times seven. Was Jesus introducing a new number to count?

I don't think so. I believe he was abolishing the

calculator altogether. Think about it. No one can realistically keep

track of 490 offenses from the same person. If you

are counting that carefully, your heart has already stopped forgiving.

Jesus deliberately used an impossible figure to teach that forgiveness

is never meant to be measured by numbers. The kingdom

of God does not operate on the mathematics of revenge,

but on the abundance of grace. To make his point unforgettable,

Jesus told the story of a servant whose impossible debt

was completely cancelled. The king asked for nothing in return

except that the mercy he had received would become the

mercy he gave. Instead, the servant walked away from forgiveness unchanged.

He demanded justice from someone who owed him far less

than he had been forgiven. That is the warning of

this passage. It is possible to receive God's mercy without

allowing his mercy to reshape our hearts. We can celebrate

the cross on Sunday, yet keep a ledger of offenses

on Monday. We can pray, forgive us our trespasses, while

refusing to forgive those who trespass against us. The question

Jesus leaves with us is not, how many times have

people failed you? The real question is, has the forgiveness

of God changed the way you treat people? Every time

we remember the immeasurable debt Christ cancelled for us, the

offenses committed against us should begin to look different and

very small. The cross should become the place where our

right to revenge is surrendered and where mercy triumphs over resentment.

Ephesians chapter 4 verse 32 says, Beloved, we cannot truly

Ephesians 4:32

grasp the death of God's forgiveness and remain unwilling to

forgive others. May the forgiveness we have received from Christ

become the forgiveness we we extend to those who hurt us. Amen.

Let us kindly take our memory verse for today. Our

memory verse is taken from Matthew 18, verse 22. Matthew 18,

Matthew 18:22 Matthew 18:22

verse 22. I will be reading from the New King

James Version. Jesus said to him, I do not say

to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy

times seven, Jesus said to him, I do not say

to you up to seven times, but up to seventy

times seven. Amen. Let us kindly share a word of prayer.

Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for cancelling the debts

we could never repay. Please keep our hearts from counting

offences when you have stopped counting ours. Please teach us

to forgive not because people deserve it, but because your

grace has transformed our lives. In Jesus' name. Amen. Beloved,

the kingdom of God does not operate on the mathematics

of revenge, but on the abundance of God's grace. Let

us throw away the calculator and forgive others just as

Christ has forgiven us. Amen. God richly bless you for

staying all through today's morning glory devotion. Kindly join us

again for another episode tomorrow morning by God's grace at

the very same time. Stay tuned to Radio HCI today

for more Spirit-filled content. Stay blessed. Shalom.