Pastor Dwight Hicks on Forgiveness at Living Word Church

The importance of forgiveness in Christian life

Forgiveness is instant and not something to be earned or worked for

Forgiveness is essential in relationships and can be applied between individuals

The Bible provides guidance on how to handle conflicts and seek forgiveness

well we've been talking about forgiveness but uh the lord just spoke to karen during praise and worship and karen i'd just like you to come and just read that out that would be wonderful i love how the lord just uh confirms things and that i just think it's brilliant you know karen and i don't talk about things or anything like that the lord just does what he does doesn't he karen We just ignore each other. Thank you, Karen. Go for it. This is what God said. I don't see you as you see you. You see the limitations, the stops, the hindrances. But I, I see your grace, your beauty, your potential. For my grace is upon you. a grace that turns ashes into beauty. So look not at the ashes, at what you believe should have been but look to me, the author and the finisher of your faith. For I am the way, the truth and the life the life that flows through you because you are part of me and I am in you for you, with you. So do not be afraid. Step out past the past to the bright illuminated light and that light means not heavy so I'll read that again. Past the past to the bright illuminated light future that I have prepared for you. And fly on eagle's wings for I am the wind that lifts you above life's trials to stand free and weather the storm. Be free in my hope, my light, my future for you. Amen. Praise the Lord. Thank you, Karen. Could you, Karen, just maybe give that to Katie. I'd like that just to go on the newsletter this coming week instead of my little blurb. I'd like you to put that one in just so that we can read over it and over again. We've been talking about forgiveness, haven't we? And, right. Yeah, let's just pray for a while. If you only walk by as far as you can see, you only walk very small paces moving forward. And if all of a sudden a roadblock comes up, you can't see any further. So then you stop and you wonder and you start to question yourself. You start to question the direction that you walk in. This is not to question yourself because faith causes you to have eyes to see the invisible path of righteousness. Faith causes you to see past what is present and see your future. and if you declare what the word of God says about you it crystallizes and materializes your future. It brings to pass the desires that God has for you. The truth or your own path is in your own hands or really in your own lips. But what has happened is that you've said I've done that. I've spoke that but things don't seem to change so after you speak the word of God and after you have declared your future then you look at the circumstances to see if it's coming to pass well that's not faith that's not faith that's walking by what you can see walking by what you can feel and if you will take your eyes off of the wall if you'll take your eyes off of the block all the time that comes up in your life continually and see the grace of God and the power of God in your life it's not a feeling, it's a declaration it's not a natural sensing, it's a knowing in your heart who you are in him and as you declare who you are in him every day him who is in you will declare your path for you it is the agreeing of the confession of heaven and the agreeing of your confession on the earth and you'll see it come to pass yes you will amen praise God well bless the Lord well that was Roxy if you don't know who Roxy was that came up, that's Joshua's wife of course. She's very selfish when it comes to food. We just found out. So, you know, stay away from it when it comes to food I'd say. Anyhow, if you, oh moving on. Anyhow, but we do welcome Joshua and Roxy. They've been ministering down for over 10 years down there with the parents and church down there and also Michael and that. And they felt led in the Lord to come up to sunny Queensland. Amen. And we've known them for years. They've been part of our family for, wow, what, nearly 20 years? Have to be getting close to that. And we love their mum and dad. All the family worked for our building industry there for a short while while they were up here going to Rhema and that. And we just appreciate them, their faith. they're steadfast in God and that and Joshua's going to be preaching next Sunday and because Jeremy and Katie will be away on on the holidays just for a week and that for a couple of Sundays so where Jeremy normally fills in Joshua's going to preach so well I'm enjoying looking forward to that. See our whole ministry is about raising up young men and women that's really what it's all about not just to preach but just raising up young men and women just so that they will be greater and when we leave the earth they'll still be here in Jesus name amen it's good to leave a stain a good stain behind we've been looking at forgiveness haven't we what is forgiveness I read these things out last week in that that they came through a time of tongues and interpretation of my own private life and I love when God does this I couldn't think of all these things if I tried. But forgiveness, forgiveness cannot be purchased or paid for. Forgiveness cannot be earned or worked for. Forgiveness is not a debt that one owes to repay. Forgiveness cannot be sacrificed for. Forgiveness cannot be prayed through to receive. Forgiveness is instant. forgiveness is not a feeling on our senses forgiveness cannot be served to received forgiveness doesn't have a value to it forgiveness doesn't have a time frame to it forgiveness had a beginning but it has no ending to it forgiveness doesn't lose its power or its effectiveness forgiveness doesn't fluctuate forgiveness doesn't show favoritism forgiveness doesn't respond to offense if it is treated with contempt forgiveness doesn't look for a reason to respond forgiveness is just like the word says it's forgiveness we've been looking at you know God's forgiveness to us of course we know that that's grace but also we've been looking at it as far as that forgiveness that we live between each other because it's very very important there's more about there's more about forgiving each other than just about any other topic in the whole Bible there's loads of topics and teachings in the Bible but forgiveness is very very important I want to take you to a passage in Matthew let's just see where we go with this this morning I've got a few things in my mind rambling around there and I'll just see which one I touch on in Matthew 18 it's an interesting passage and it's a passage that we do know and we're familiar with but it's a passage we'll read from verse 15 even though I said 18 to those that are putting it up from verse 15 because that's where it talks about as far as people who sin against us or our brother or our sisters and Jesus said this in red print moreover if your brother sins against you go and tell him his fault between you and him alone that means just deal with it internally amen you know if there is if there is a issue deal with it then it says here if he hears you you have gained your brother but but if he will not hear you take with you one or two or more that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established So it's pretty important here where it's saying that to fix up any difficulty or any animosity between two of us, it's important that it's fixed up. So important that we're going to involve some other people if the issue isn't resolved. it seems like that just going to God and God saying even though we know this is true where it says in the epistle of john says he says if you see a brother's sin a sin that's not under death there is a sin that is under death but I've seen my brother's sin a sin that's not under death that I can ask forgiveness it seems like that there's this friction that is between these two men two women or a group or families or whatever has been going on for a while and the issue hasn't been resolved and then he says on but if he refuses to hear them tell it to the church well we just trust that we never ever get to that stage amen that's we should say amen but if he refuses even then to hear the church let him be to you like a heathen or a tax collector yeah that just means hate his guts no it doesn't mean that it means you know how do you how do you treat her in relation to the people here he's talking about a heathen or a tax player they're two of the worst people out and they are really despised well how would you treat him? well you'd pray for him wouldn't he? and you'd continue to pray and you'd continue to believe that's how important it is here and then he says here and we found this in Mark 11 also where it went down to verse 25 and 26 when it said there that after yes we light the prayer of faith and yes it is the prayer of faith is for us today so 25 and 26 must verse 25 and 26 must be important because it says when you stand praying you're to make sure that there's no animosity or fault between between two people but because it says that as far as forgiveness is concerned it's so important and we know if we are people of grace and faith we know God has forgiven us from Calvary then how possibly what is happening here when Jesus is saying well if you don't forgive your brother I won't forgive you wow don't I just think that you know that knowing most people you know they just if there's a if there's a problem between they just move on to other people friends of other people but it's so so important here that Jesus is saying that that if you don't forgive you brother i won't forgive you what what's he saying there we did look at this a little bit but what's he saying there well we know from the scripture is there that if we continue to sow now remember that there are laws now god established the laws but god doesn't have to keep a law going to to make it happen exactly like sowing and reaping you know we say god doesn't come down oh you've been a good sower i'll give back to you no it's a law just like gravity god doesn't have to speak to gravity every morning and say gravity make sure you're there otherwise they're all going to float off the planet doesn't have it's a law and faith is a law and giving is a law and forgiveness also is is part of the old testament law but very very much part of our new testament life so much so much that if we sow unforgiveness it's a law then unforgiveness comes back to us and I don't want that to happen in my life just as much as I don't want it to happen in your life. We found out last week that unforgiveness actually destroys our future and I don't want my future destroyed. It's difficult enough in an ordinary world that we live to keep things on a straight and narrow path without having not the devil but our own stupidity, if I can say it that way, hindering us also and putting things as roadblocks. But he says here now in relation to prayer. He says in verse 19 again, sorry, verse 18, Assuredly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven. And whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. And again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth as touching anything, that they shall ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. for where two or three are gathered together in my name I am there in our midst so I need you to agree with me when it comes to prayer we prayed for people this morning we want you to agree with our prayers we pray for individuals and when you're not well or whatever the situation the church is agreeing we don't want any hindrances do we? we don't want any roadblocks and unforgiveness is a roadblock he's plonked it right here in the center of this issue in relation to the love between two brothers and two sisters and it says here then interesting Peter Peter must know what Jesus is up to here then Peter came to him and said Lord Lord okay you've just given us this great dissertation of this thing and that he says you know he says okay let's Lord how often shall my brother sin against me that's a pretty reasonable question isn't it how often do I have to put up with this jerk doing these things to me all the time and he says I forgive him up seven times now it's interesting to as far as why he said seven times well it's part of an Old Testament teaching as far as seven times are concerned but more than that the Jews had reduced it the Jews the rabbis taught as far as the teaching of forgiveness was concerned that you would only forgive a brother for three times. The moment he did it the fourth time, you could just beat the crap out of him. That's not very forgiving, is it? That's not the nicest way. So the rabbi said, OK, three things can be done by one person, but the moment it's the fourth time, you don't have to forgive him anymore. Just treat him as a tax collector, treat him as unsaved, treat him as this. Well, you don't want to treat each other like that, do you? that's not going to work is it so Peter is asking Jesus Jesus comes along because Jesus is Captain El Smarty he really is he is Jehovah El Know It All and it says here Jesus said to them now I do not say to you up to seven times but up to seven times seven therefore the kingdom of heaven is likened under a certain king now he's saying this is the principle of the kingdom of heaven and it hasn't changed This is the principle here. And he's using this issue with two people that owed the king some money. And you know the story. Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is likened to a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. And when he had begun to settle accounts, one brought to him who owed him 10,000 talents. Now that's a lot of money if you were to bring it in today's language. But as he was not able to pay his master command that he shall be sold with his wife and children and all that he had and that payment be made. Man, if the kingdom of heaven is like that today, wow, you know, we're in trouble if that's what he's saying, if that's what he's trying to get across to us that we better have things right when we come to God because if we don't have things right I'll tell you what you're just going to get God's not going to forgive you this is what it says here in this passage but is this what it's saying in this passage in relation to this we take passages like Mark 11, 23 and 24 leave out verses 25 and 26 of course because that's not really nice it's conditional well you might say well I didn't think grace I didn't think that things were conditional as far as God was concerned well you see understanding as far as conditional is concerned salvation is conditional it's true isn't it the reason why Jesus died on the cross for the whole world but salvation is conditional what is the condition the condition you get born again well that's pretty the make a blatant bland statement like that yes it is But how does one get born again? Well, the condition of salvation is that one believes in his heart and confesses with his mouth that the Lord Jesus Christ. He has the attitude then that Jesus Christ is his Lord. Will he make mistakes from that moment on? Yes, but the condition was that he's received forgiveness. That was the condition by believing in his heart and by confessing with his mouth. So in this situation here, he's saying here, yes, there are conditions. There are conditions. If I want to be blessed financially, I must sow. But I don't sow to be blessed. I sow because I love God. Does he then look at me and say, well, if you don't sow, I'm not going to bless you? No. Remember, we're talking about laws. and a verbal expression of what's in our heart and in our mouth creates a law for us to live by. Are you listening? So if I'm a generous man, I don't have to go to God and say, God, I've been really generous. I've been really, really a good boy this week. Are you going to be generous back to me No I don have to do that And I don have to go and ask for forgiveness all the time because forgiveness is something that i received when i asked jesus into my life i do have to repent of my sin i've got to wake up to my sin and recognize that i've done wrong and the condition is is that i i want my relationship between you and me because that's what talking about to be right How am I to establish that or affirm that with you? Well, number one is that we are to tell each other that we do love each other a lot. What does that mean? I am living in a life of a law that commands a blessing to me, just like gravity is, and just like sowing and reaping is. Yes, there are conditions. Yes, grace is conditional. What do you mean grace is conditional? Grace was conditional that Jesus Christ die on the cross. If Jesus Christ didn't die on the cross, then grace wouldn't be able to be shed abroad so openly and so freely to us. There was a condition to it. And there are conditions. If we want things to go right in our life, then we should endeavor to do things right in our life. The condition is that if I fulfill the condition, the things will work right. God's word is the same. Put my hand on my heart. Am I living right for God? Yes, I am. Am I doing things perfect for God? No, I'm not. But I am learning to do things and he is showing me because that's the Holy Spirit in me doing it. That's the condition. The condition is that I do love the Lord with all my heart, but I don't live 100% for God all the time. You might say, you don't? No, I don't because I don't have the ability to. I don't have the ability for my mind to be 100% thinking on God all the time because I'm not a robot like when you're filling out things. Are you a robot? No, I'm not a robot. I make choices and my choice is to serve God. But sometimes obstacles come along to challenge the choice that I have made. and I take that challenge then I take that challenge then as an ability to be able to grow so I want to grow for God I've got chinks in my armour you all have because in our physical body we have chinks that's just what happens to our physical bodies we have Achilles heels you might say does the enemy know our Achilles heels no the devil is not smart enough to that but because there is a law because what happens is a law exposes us the law of salvation or the law of grace it exposes us that we are different from the world we are in the world but we are different from the world it exposes us we we don't carelessly wake up and live for ourselves every moment of our day yes we must live for ourselves but we don't carelessly and just aggressively live for ourselves we're actually living for our families if we're married we're living for our boss if we have a boss of that because we're doing things and because we do things right there is a more chance of things working right for us it's a law it all has to do with forgiveness so if i live a life of forgiveness if i sin against my brother or my brother sins against me. I don't just forgive my brother for sinning. I have to forgive me. And most of the problems of life is that people don't grow because they don't use the power of forgiveness for themselves to grow. They have trouble forgiving themselves. And some of our mistakes are real blunders. And they've hurt a lot of people. and our mind, our old mind that is just not 100% for God at this present moment, it reminds us of our faults. It reminds us of our failures at that. But I don't, from this moment here, I don't have a failure or a fault that has not been dealt with. You might say, really? You don't either. But the enemy does want to remind you. He wants to remind you of the faults of your past or issues and you might say well if I've forgiven that person then I won't remember it. No, no, no. You don't have the ability to be able to forget. You don't. God does. He can forget and cast your sins as far as the east is away from the west and I will not remember them. But you will remember. That's the reason why there are some things you've forgotten presently but you do have the ability to remember them it's just the way your brain is and sometimes something will happen and you remember something that happened a real long ago you say oh man i must have i must have dealt with no that's just what the devil wants you to do because the remembering is is the remembering is in the present he wants to bring the past to the present that's the reason why paul says forget those things that are behind now he wasn't talking about his life it talked he was talking about forgetting those things that are behind that that you that that were a stumbling block to you that damaged your life in your life but Paul remembered him when it came to salvation because his testimonials of what he had did to the church and to people of that but Paul didn't live in a condemnation of that and that's the key today unforgiveness forgiveness not living in the condemnation that that that comes. Now you might say, oh that's the devil. The devil doesn't condemn you of sin. The Bible says the law condemns you of sin. The law. It condemns you of sin. It tells you that you are a sinner. The strength of sin, it says, is the law. You wouldn't know if you didn't have the law you wouldn't know that you had sinned because that's what the Bible says. I find it hard to believe but I believe it because the Bible says it. I find a lot of things hard to believe in my mind but I do believe them because the Bible says it. Do I have any proof? I don't need proof of visual perception or understanding to say that the Bible is true. I don't have to understand something. I don't understand how my... I used to understand how a car worked. I don't understand anymore. Lift the bonnet up. There's two things I'm allowed to touch. they actually colour code them for me. Yellow. And just in case you were a fiddler and you touched things that you shouldn't touch in motor cars now they've got a big plastic thing that goes over everything and you can't touch it except the two little yellow things. And the reason why is because you will damage what's there because you don't know how it functions. so I don't know how a lot of things function in my Christian life but I do believe in God that makes them function for me I don't know how faith works but I do know how to make faith work you understand I don't know how a lot of things when the Bible says things that I'm to believe that I am the healed even when I'm sick and even when I'm well it's a complicated statement for my mind I'm in pain I'm really hurting and the Bible says that we can say God says it and the Bible says well then let the weak say that you're strong let the poor say that you're rich so the power of our verbal confession as James says is very important in our Christian life you might think something but thinking doesn't have the power to do anything until you say it. Anyone can think they're saved but unless they've said that they're saved and received Jesus they're not saved. So he says they're in this situation here and it seems like a lot of condemnation is going to come out of this passage because I can't read it without feeling condemned but it is only a feeling that I don't go by anyway. but he says here he was not able to pay his master commanded that he be sold and his wife and the children all that he had and that payment be made now this is what this is what had to happen in the law payment had to be made for breaking the law had to be made so we're looking at it in a time frame it is impossible for us to be able to to live right or to live better to get God's favour. Are you listening? It's impossible for me to be able to do enough goodness for a good God to reward me. But I do know that if I do enough badness, it won't be God that will reward me. It won't be the devil that will reward me. It will be me. Because if it was the devil, then it would be his fault. And it would be wrong. how could God judge me for something that I've done when really it was the devil? And Paul said, no, it's not the devil, and no, it's not God. It's actually the strength of sin that is in every individual, and it's the law. And what is the law? That I have to be something to get something. That I have to do something to get something from God or to get things to happen. I don't have to do anything, but by faith I believe what Calvary has done for me. so he says here he commanded him to be sold what happened was that the servant therefore fell down before him and said master have patience with me and I will pay you all then the master of the servant was moved with compassion released him and forgave him his debt he was very forgiving and very very godlike in this situation verse 28 but the servant went out a servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denner one of those things denner sounds like a cough mixture doesn't it and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat saying pay me what you owe me pay me what you owe me 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 he went and he threw him into prison until he should pay the debt Now remember that the issue here on this is sowing or reaping what you're sowing. What was given to this man was forgiveness, but he was not going to sow it. We have been given grace. It's important that we sow it. And we continue to sow it. Pay me, verse 29. so the servant fell down at his feet and begged him saying have patience with me and I will pay you all and he will not but went through him into a prison until he shall pay the whole debt I don't know anyone who can pay anything in prison so when his fellow servants saw what he had done they were grieved and came and told their master all that they had done tittle tattles then his master had called him and he called him and said you wicked servant I forgave you all that debt because you begged me should not you also have compassion on your fellow servant just as I had pity on you and his master was angry and delivered him to the torturers well not only getting thrown in now you're going to be tortured until he should pay all that duty and what was he going to do? sell his organs it's a sobering passage but the answer to the sobering passage is don't be an idiot don't be an idiot forgive people and do your best to live a life of forgiveness and if you have issues with forgiving someone deal with it it seems like you deal with it what do you mean deal with it? deal with it as the Bible says to deal with it but not in a law way but in a gracious way Paul in Ephesians just as we're rounding it up here in Ephesians he says here in Ephesians verse 425 and it says here therefore putting away lying let each one of you speak truth with his neighbour for we are members one of another so it's talking about the church the body together we are together speak truth of his name what would be speaking truth I would be speaking the goodness and the blessing of God on someone that I believe has harmed me or caused something ill to me that I would hold something against him or be unforgiving for we are members of one another now be angry and do not sin don't let the sun go down on your wrath it just means that if you've got a problem deal with it before the son goes down. If you can't get to the person, make a phone call. Nor give place to the devil. It seems to be here that giving place to the devil can be unforgiveness. But let him who stole steal no longer, but let him rather labour working with his own hands, that which is good, that he may have something to give to him who has need. No corrupt communication out of your mouth, which is good for necessary edification that it imparted grace to the hearers. So he is sort of glancing over all other things here but he's actually spending time on this thing about but living at peace with each other. And then he says, And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed of the day of redemption and let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice and then he comes on and it says here and and we quite often when we say we go somewhere and you know someone will say something about Geraldine and I and that you know it's oh well we've been married 48 years and you know and that's oh 48 years well what's your secret to it and Geraldine will always say always be fair she says we've learned to be kind to each other and that's the key you know if you want to make life easy for yourself just be kind man if you want the whole bible wrapped up in one word just be kind to each other be kind to your family members be kind to your brothers and sisters just be kind that doesn't mean running around after church just slobbering everyone you know and trying to be you know kind no opportunity will arise for you to be kind amen I would say open the door but the door opens itself for us here so the door is being kind to us be kind to one another tender hearted forgiving one another even as Christ even as God in Christ has forgiven you and therefore he says just be imitators of God as dear children and walk in love as Christ also has loved us and given himself for us an offering it is difficult but try with the best of your heart to be an offering to people but be in charge of the offering you know what I mean by that don't you James 4 it says there's a bit it's an issue with this with the enemy again he says here in James 4 verse 6 it says that but he gives more grace therefore he says God resists the proud I don't want to be a proud person but gives grace to the humble. I want to be a humble person. A humble person is teachable. I don't mind being teachable as long as you're not trying to tell me what to do. Well, that's not being humble or teachable, is it? Verse 7 says, Therefore submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you. It says, draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. It says, cleanse your hands, you sinners. It's very easy. It's talking to the church. Very easy to cleanse our hands. It's just living a life of being kind and correcting ourselves. That's the key to life. It's not not making mistakes. It's correcting ourselves when we do make mistakes. He goes down on verse 10 here. It says, humble yourself in the sight of God and he will lift you up. And he says, do not speak evil of one another. But everyone, you know, it just seems to be that people just as easy to say something nasty nasty than say something nice or find a mistake or something about someone we don't want to be like that we don't want to speak evil of our brother we don't want to be judges of our brother or anything like that because what happens just as i close what happens is when we judge each other we're actually judging ourselves hello arabella we are that i paid her five bucks the manifest for me, that to be kind, that we are actually causing our future to be kind to us. And when people are not kind to us, it's not our problem. If you are the one that has caused the situation, we'll then fix it up. But you know, not everyone's going to love you. You're not as lovable as you thought. You know that, don't you? I know, it's an awe, but not everyone sees us as we see ourselves in the mirror. Perfect. Okay, you don't see yourself in the mirror. Perfect. But you know you can forgive because forgiveness is a choice. Kindness is a choice. It was a choice that God made. God made a choice if God makes choices he made a choice to be kind to us he could have not sent Jesus but he did send Jesus he loved you and I so much that he sent Jesus so that we could receive him and we could be kind to each other. Without Jesus we don't have the ability to be kind or to be forgiving and if you have trouble with forgiving well then that's what the holy spirit is for he he shows us how to be forgiving you can ask him lord you know i'm just having difficult with this person could you just set it up do you know what god god is the biggest setter up out god he really really is you know and if you won't deal with it he will put you in a situation where you have to deal with it or you'll be more inclined to deal with it he will leave you get to your worst and then set you up again so that you can be the author of your life you can be the prophet of your own life because you are amen i declare the goodness of god over everyone jeraldine and i do it all the time we do it ourselves we do it over our children we do it Thank you.

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