Kingdom Instructions Pt 2

All right, good morning. Good to see you guys. Would you go ahead and stand with me? We'll pray and we'll get started. Heavenly Father, God, thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord, for the beautiful day that you provided for us, Lord. And I just pray as we come to you this morning, Lord, I just pray that you'd prepare our hearts, Lord, to receive from you, Lord, and help us to position our hearts rightly, Lord, before you, Lord, and help us to lift a joyful

noise to you. Help us to glorify you this morning. Lord, we love you, God. We thank you. We praise you in Jesus' name. Amen. Have a seat if you'd like, and we'll continue on.

Lord, I know that there are a lot of people here, God, and maybe at home, online, watching, Lord, that are hurting, God, that maybe feel they have no hope or they feel hopeless.

So many people these days have been told that there is no hope, Lord, and that's just simply not true, Lord. There is hope in you. There's hope in you, Jesus. Hope for a new life. Hope for a future. Hope for an eternity with you, Lord. And Lord, I just pray that today be the day that for those people to discover you, to discover your hope, the hope that we have in you. Lord, I pray that this morning as Pastor Ryan comes to bring the

word, God, I pray that your word go out with power. Do your mighty work in our heart. Let your Holy Spirit come to us. Lord, I pray that you would bring the word to us. Lord, I pray that you work mightily in our lives this morning. Lord, we love you, God. We thank you. We praise you. We pray these things in your precious and holy name. All of God's people said? Amen. Amen. Why don't

you go ahead and take some time in fellowship with one another. Good morning. If you could begin the process of locating your seat, grab a bulletin. We'll get ready to go over some announcements. Glad you can be with us this morning. The things on the left-hand side of your bulletin are the things that you're going to be reading this morning. The things that you're

are taking place this week. We're back in action with normal life, so find one of those spots to get plugged into and jump back in with us. Over in the middle section of your bulletin, the biggest thing that I have to point out, there will be some more stuff coming, but quite frankly, VBS was this week. As far as I know, that's the only thing that happened in life. We have a pastors and leaders

conference at Calvary Chapel of Johnson County that's coming up August 4th through the 6th. It is a free conference. You just have to provide your own lodging, but it is a good time to get together with people from the area. You don't have to be a pastor or leader to go. I don't know why they call it that, but anyway, anybody can go. It's a great time. If you have any questions about it,

you can come talk to me afterwards. A couple of things that are not in your bulletin. Number one, there are extra VBS t-shirts out there, both for kids and adults. If your kids are like, I want an extra VBS shirt, then go grab them one. It's going to be great. They're sitting on the table right as you came in the door. The other thing is that we have the sell sheet for the shirt that I was wearing last week,

the one that says your life has value. Again, there'll be $20, right? Is that how much the cost of the t-shirts are? $20. And any of the proceeds that we make off of that will go to, as a fundraiser for Family Life Services, Crisis Pregnancy Center. So that sign up sheet or that sell sheet is out there in the lobby. So that being said, speaking of the fact that your life, yeah, that's what it looks like right there. Speaking of the

fact that your life has value, that's exactly what our VBS was themed. If today's your first day, it doesn't always look like we're on a game show or a concert from 1978. This is because of the VBS stuff that was up. It was so much fun and we had an incredible amount of kids. We had about 90 kids, kind of averaging throughout the three nights. And so it was mildly, mildly, mildly,

chaotic, but it was really fun. It was an organized chaos. We'll call it that. And so we put together a little video. And when I say we, I mean, Glenn Bliss put together a little video for us to watch a little slideshow having to do with VBS. So roll the tape. As you can tell, our ratio was not terrible. I think we had about 50 volunteers that were here, 45, 50 volunteers that were here during the week. So it was great. I can't begin to thank

all of them enough because there's no way you can wrangle that many kids without at least, that many adults. And then of course, there were people that served that you didn't see on the video there because they were building decorations and all that kind of stuff. So very blessed as to how well everything went. And can I just say how happy I am that that little video of Tripp made it in there? He was the little guy that was crying because we saw that and we saw her take a picture

and we're like, please, I hope that makes it in because that was super funny. So, okay, those are the announcements. If you would make sure that your mobile device is silenced for our responsive reading this morning, we are going to be in Psalm. Psalm 100. Psalm 100. Looking at the new American standards so we all sound the same. And then afterwards, if you need to go back to using a different translation, no problem. If you need

a copy, there should be one in your row. And as you're turning to Psalm 100, if you would stand in the honor of the reading of God's word. Psalm 100. I will read the odd verses if you will follow along with Pastor Allen and the even verses. Psalm 100, a psalm of thanksgiving. Shout joyfully to the Lord. The earth. Serve the Lord with gladness. Come before him with joyful singing. Know that the Lord

himself is God. It is he who has made us and not we ourselves. We are his people and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him. Bless his name. And read verse five with me. For the Lord is good. His loving kindness is everlasting. And his love is everlasting. And his love is everlasting. And his love is everlasting.

And his faithfulness to all generations. And Father, we do thank you for who you are, Lord, that you are everlasting. Your kindness is everlasting and you are always good to us. And so Father, as we spend time in your word now, I just ask that you would minister to us in the way that only your Holy Spirit can speak to us in the places in our hearts where we need to be spoken to. And may our hearts and our minds be open to whatever it is that your Holy Spirit

wants to do this morning. In Jesus name. Amen. You may be seated. And if you would open up in your Bibles to the gospel of Matthew chapter 18. Matthew chapter 18. We said that we, as we looked at Matthew's chapter eight, Matthew chapters 18 through 20, that we would move into a new series called Kingdom Instructions. And so this is part two of the Kingdom Instructions. The specific thing that we'll look at today as far

as the Kingdom Instructions is concerned, though, is two subjects that I think very much go hand in hand. And the two subjects are the kingdom instructions and the kingdom instructions. And the two subjects are restoration and forgiveness. Because those two very much work together. Now, you may remember that as we closed out the last section on what it looks like to be a part of the

kingdom, who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, we talked about the fact that you must become childlike. Not childish, but childlike. Childlike in our humble dependence upon who God is. And then Jesus began to warn us against doing anything that would stumble one of the little ones, because he takes that very seriously. But knowing that stumblings or failings would come

in the lives of these little ones, he talked to us about just how much he cares about every single one of them. That if there's a hundred sheep that the shepherd owns, and one of them goes astray, he'll leave the 99 to go after the one. And when he finds the one, there is rejoicing more over that one that has been found than over the 99 that never left. With that as a segue, he moves into this next part of dealing with restoration. And he starts off with confronting a sinning

brother. Let's pick up in verse 15 here of chapter 18. It says, If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private. If he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses, every fact may be confirmed. If he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you,

he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven. And whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven. Again, I say to you that if two of you agree on earth about anything

that they may ask, it shall be done for them by my Father who is in heaven. For where two or three have gathered together in my name, I am there in their midst. And so, as I said, he starts off with confronting a sinning brother. Now, before we get into the steps that we're to take, I had some questions about this. And so, I want to mention these questions to you. Number one, why do we do this? Why do we take time to confront a sinning brother

instead of just letting them do their own thing? After all, it's their life. Right? But I think that there's a couple of really important reasons why we do this. The first reason is because of the one that strays. What did Jesus just tell the disciples previously? He said, if I have a hundred sheep and one of them strays away, then I will leave the ninety-nine on the mountain and I will go and I will seek after the one. So, when we have a

brother who is sinning, whether it be sinning against us, to where it affects us, or whether it offends us personally, or we see them caught up in some kind of a sin, like what Paul talks about in Galatians, we should restore such a one. Because if Jesus has that kind of a heart for the one sheep that strays, then you and I, as the other sheep, should have the same kind of heart for that one that strays. The second reason why we should confront a sinning brother is for the purpose of restoration. This is something I bring up at funerals a lot when I speak at funerals. If you think about life, life is really made up of relationships. All of life

is about relationship, right? And I always say there's two main relationships that you have in life. There's the relationship that you have with your creator and the relationships that you have with everyone else. And life is always too short for bad relationships. Therefore, we confront for the purpose of restoration, for the purpose of my relationship with you being restored to where God would want for it to be, and my desire to see your

relationship with your creator restored to the place where it's supposed to be. So why do we confront? Because we should care about the one that strays, and we should have a desire to see relationships restored. Well, there's a second question that came up. What do you confront? Now, I think this is an important question that should be asked, because notice what it says.

If your brother sins, and if you're reading the New King James, it says, if your brother sins against you, then you go to them. What are you supposed to confront in someone's life? What you are supposed to confront in someone's life is sin. I bring that up because there are some things that people do that might annoy you. That's not what you're supposed to confront in someone's life. There are things that sometimes we just need to learn to be patient with

about each other, because sometimes telling people the truth is not the right thing to do. truth in some of those areas, let me take that back and say it in a better way. Sometimes confronting someone in some of those areas actually does you no good. It actually just creates an enemy. But when there is sin that you can prove scripturally, then you go and you confront them.

It's an important distinction that needs to be made and an important test of our heart before I go blabbing my feelings towards somebody else. Is what I'm upset with sin or is what I'm upset with personality? So what do we confront? We confront sin. But then the third question that I had is, how do you confront? Because I don't know about you, but I don't have the gift of

confrontation. It's not natural to me. As a matter of fact, if I go to somebody with something that bothers me, it has taken me months to get there, if not years. Because it's very not natural to me. I would rather just let it go and move on. And so the question that lies before us is, if it's that hard for us to do, and I don't think I'm completely unnatural, anytime somebody says, I have the gift of confrontation, I want to ask

them, is it because you like to confront sin or is it because you just like to tell everybody how you feel? Because oftentimes when somebody says, well, I have the gift of confrontation, it just means they just like to say how they feel and they don't care about other people's feelings. So when you confront sin, you don't have the gift of confrontation. You don't have the gift of confrontation. You don't have the gift of confrontation. You don't have the gift of confrontation.

So how are we to confront other people? We are to confront other people with a heart of restoration. In the same way that we confront for the purpose of restoration, we confront with a heart of restoration. If I see a sin in your life or you have sinned against me and all I want to do is prove you wrong so that I can display your sin for all to see, I had better keep my mouth shut because that's the wrong heart to go to somebody with. And I will actually harm

the work of the gospel more than help the work of the gospel. But if what you've done to me or what I see taking place in your life is causing me to say, I want our relationship to be good and I want your relationship to be good with the Father, then I have the right kind of heart in the way that I'm going to approach. Because at that point in time, I will do what Paul says to do. I will speak the truth in love because I will speak the truth for the purpose of restoration.

Restoration. I actually think a lot of confrontation could be solved if it's done with the right heart. And so then he begins to give us the steps. What does it look like with that kind of a backdrop? What does it look like to confront someone? He says in verse 15, if your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private. If he listens to you, you have won your brother. I want you to notice the first step that's to be taken.

The first step that's to be taken is to go to them in private, where no one will be able to see you. Nobody else can hear the conversation that's going on between the two of you. That doesn't mean the whole way of the church right after church on Sunday. You know why? Because that's not in private and other people can hear what's going on. Also, what it doesn't mean is that I spend most of my time gossiping before I go and talk to this

person in private. It doesn't mean that I build myself a following before I go and talk to this person in private. It doesn't mean that I've shared it with half of the church before I go to this person in private. It doesn't mean that I've shared it with half of the church before I go to this person in private. It doesn't mean that I've shared it with half of the church before I go to

this person in private. It doesn't mean that I've shared it with half of the church before I go to this person in private. It means that the first thing that I do when that has bothered me, after I have answered those questions to make sure that I'm confronting in the proper manner, I pull you aside where nobody else knows what's going on. And I say, I don't know if you're aware of this or not, but this is what you did. Or this is what I've seen. Or this is what's been going on.

And you know, in the Bible, it says this about what you're doing right now. And I want our relationship to be right. And I want you to be right with God. And I'll do anything I can to help you walk through this. But I had to bring it up because the Holy Spirit wouldn't let me stop. Because the Holy Spirit wouldn't let me out of it. And I've gone to you in private. He then

goes on to give the results. If he hears you, and I think that that's important. Remember how many times Jesus said, I'm going to help you. I'm going to help you. I'm going to help you. I'm going to help you. He who has an ear to hear, let him hear. Same idea is given here when he says, if he hears you. In other words, if he has a desire at that point in time to repent and understand what's

going on, then you have won your brother. That does not mean that that person will not still struggle with that sin. That does not mean that that person may not end up falling back into that sin again or doing that same thing to you again. And we need to understand that. We'll deal with that in the second part when it comes to faith. We'll deal with that in the second part when it

comes to forgiveness. But it does mean you've won your brother because what God desires in repentance is the willing heart to be repentant and he'll deal with it from there. But if your brother does not listen to you, then there's a second step that's to be taken. Notice what it says, verse 16. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you so that by the mouth

of two or three witnesses, every fact may be confirmed. If they still won't listen to you at that point in time, if they're like, listen, I'm happy living the way that I'm living. I think you're twisting scripture. I think you're being too sensitive. I think this, I think that. Then you politely, okay, I understand, but I'm not going to give up on this. You then go and find two or three people. Listen, if you're going to

find two or three people, these better be two or three trusted people. Two or three trusted people that you know are not failing in this exact same area. Two or three trusted people, that you know are not going to go take this to everybody else in the world. Because at this point in time, this has become a serious issue and you need people you can trust. But take with you two

or three people to confront this individual. Why? Because he says by the mouth of two or three witnesses, a thing is confirmed. Jesus at this point in time quotes Deuteronomy chapter 19, verse 15, which may I say, having witnesses is a really important thing to have. A really good rule of life to live by. That if you're going to have to start dealing with serious things, you better have a witness with you. Because we know in this world that we live in

how an accusation does not need truth behind it. It just needs legs to carry it, right? And so he says, take two or three witnesses. Why? Well, for accountability purposes, accountability for you, and accountability for the other. And so he says, take two or three witnesses. Why? Well, for accountability for them so that they know, hey, somebody else knows that

this situation is going on. But then also for enforcement. You see, it's nice to have a body of believers with you that can stand and say, we agree with him. Because what he's telling you right now is biblical. What he's telling you right now lines up with what scripture says. The one confronting you is not the one in the wrong. You're the one in the wrong. And we want

to see you restored. But if someone still will not be able to see you, we want to see you restored. If someone still will not listen, drastic measures have to be taken. It says, if he refuses to listen to them, then tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, then let him be to you as a Gentile and as a tax collector. Step three is you take it before the church. What

that looks like, I think, depends on your church context. That may mean getting up in front of the entire church body and saying, this is what's going on. It may be alerting other people in the church to know what's going on. It may be alerting other people in the church to know what's going on. It may be alerting other people in the church to know what's going on. It may be alerting

but somehow the church is informed. And if at that point in time, the knowledge of the church knowing what's going on in that person's life and multiple people confronting and they're still not repentance, then there's what's called church discipline. And church discipline means you treat them, Jesus says, as a Gentile and as a tax collector. What does he mean by that? It means

they become like a stranger to you. I think that there can be some debate and conjecture as to whether or not the person should be completely kicked out of the church. Jesus doesn't say specifically that's what's supposed to happen, although we are given an indication that perhaps that is what should happen depending on the level of the sin, depending on the level of what's taking place. But there is definitely a level to which the church's relationship to that individual is not the same. There is an isolation.

And what you'll find is that when somebody is under an aspect of church discipline like that, they tend to isolate themselves because the things that they're doing are not the same. The things that they're doing don't fall in line with what the rest of the church is doing. Isolation happens to us sometimes when we live a godly life amongst worldly people. I've experienced this in my own life. I remember working one summer at Shawnee Mission Park when I

lived in Johnson County, Kansas. And all the guys that worked there were about my age and they all partied and we all got along really well. But you know what? When we all clocked out at 3.30, I didn't go to church. I didn't go to church. I didn't go to church. I didn't go to church. I didn't go to church. One of them even said, and I considered him a good friend while I was there. If I ran into him

today, we would probably talk for a really long time. He said, man, if you partied, you'd be with us every night. But I know that that's not your thing. Isolation happens to a believer with worldly people because you're completely different. And it's no different when someone who is living in sin is amongst God's people. They're isolated. Why? Because they're living a completely different life.

We'd invite you with us, but the life you're living is not lining up with the life that we live. We don't want to do the things you want to do. Now, in that process, I think it's incredibly important that we understand that the entire time that somebody is under some aspect of church discipline, that the arms of love and forgiveness are always ready to take them in the moment that they're ready to repent. That's kind of why Paul had to write part of what he wrote in 2 Corinthians.

In 1 Corinthians, they had allowed sin in the church. And he said, you need to deal with that. You need to turn them over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh. But what they had done had worked. And this guy was repentant. In 2 Corinthians, he said, welcome the dude back, right? He's repented. Bring him back in. Have yourselves a potluck to celebrate the situation because this is a great day. He's come home.

So when that happens, we need to always have those arms of forgiveness and love and restoration ready for the repentant sinner. But until they're willing to turn from their sin, our relationship with them can just not be the same. There has to be some form of separation. And then Jesus goes on to speak about the results that come about when this happens. He says,

when you take these steps, I want you to understand verse 18. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. It's the same idea that he gave to Peter. He says there's authority within the church to do this kind of thing. There's authority within the church to, have this kind of an effect that if you have bound that situation, if you have bound them under some

form of church discipline, it's already been taken place in heaven. And if you loose them from that because they've repented, they're already forgiven in heaven. He goes on to speak more about this authority. He says, again, I say to you that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by my father who is in heaven. Typically, this is used

as the prayer verse, right? And I do think there's a little bit of a difference between the two of us. And I do think there's a little bit of a difference between the two of us. And I do think there's a aspect of that. There's a side aspect of that. That's true that when two of us agree in prayer, there's power in that prayer, but that's not the context of what's being used here.

The context that's being used here is of discipline of a sinner, discipline of a brother or sister in Christ who is not repenting from their sin. And if you are isolating them for that purpose, understand that the Holy Spirit is backing you because if two of you are agreeing, then you have that authority. He goes on, So he gives us the principles of what is supposed to take place if we are to restore someone. It always starts with confronting the sin. Listen, we need to understand something as believers in

Jesus Christ, because again, this is a failure I can sometimes have in my life. There could be no restoration unless there is first confrontation. I wish there was a different way to do it. I have prayed and asked for their help. I have prayed and asked for their help. I have prayed and asked for there to be a different way to do it, but there's no other way to do it. There has to somehow be a

confrontation of an issue in order for it to be resolved. But once that issue is resolved, there must be immense amounts of forgiveness given. There must be massive forgiveness poured out on that individual. And that brings us to the second part of our message today, and that's the message of forgiveness, because this prompts a question in the mind of Peter. Notice what it says, verse 21.

Jesus said to him, First, I do not say to you up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. For this reason, the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with the slaves. When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him 10,000 talents was brought to him. But since he did not have the means to repay, his Lord commanded him to be sold along with his wife and children and all that he had and repayment to be made. So the slave fell to the ground,

prostrated himself before him saying, have patience with me and I will repay you everything. The Lord said, the Lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt. But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him 100 denarii and he seized him and began to choke him saying, pay back what you owe. So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him saying, have patience with me and I will repay you. But he was

unwilling and went and threw him into prison until he should pay back what was owed. So when his fellow slaves saw him, they said, have patience with me and I will repay you. And he said, have patience with me and I will repay you. And they saw what had happened. They were deeply grieved and came and reported to their Lord all that had happened. Then summoning him, his Lord said to

him, you wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave in the same way that I had mercy on you? And his Lord was moved with anger and handed him over to the torturers until he should repay him all that was owed him. My heavenly father will also do the same to you. If each of you does not forgive his brother from his heart.

It all starts with a question. Peter has a question for Jesus. After hearing all of this about Jesus's love for the one that strayed, how he has heard about confrontation and the importance of restoration, Peter is the first one to ask the question. Again, I bet they all had it. He was the only one brave enough to say it. But Peter comes to Jesus and he says, so how many times

shall I forgive my brother when he says, I will not forgive you. And he says, I will not forgive you. And he says, I will not forgive you. And he says, I will not forgive you. And he says, I will not forgive you. And he says, I will not forgive you. And he says, I will not forgive you. And he says, against me. Now, I think Peter, what he's about to say is a genuine, I think I'm growing on the

part of Peter, because when he asks this question, he gives a suggestion. How many times should I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times. Now we've heard this taught and probably read this so many times that we know Jesus is going to say this fantastic number that comes up next. But we have to understand that when Peter said this, he was genuinely sensing

growth in himself. Because the rabbis of that day said you had to forgive someone only three times when they sinned against you. Three strikes and you're out. And so when Peter looks at Jesus and says, how many times shall I forgive him? Up to seven times? I'm going to choose not to be too hard on Peter at this point in time and say, he just doesn't get it.

And I'm going to say, I think he's starting to get it. But like you and me, when we start growing in the Lord, we gain a certain amount of understanding. And Jesus is like, you're close. Jesus, we're just not there yet. And so let me show you exactly what I do mean. And that's what Jesus does with Peter. Because you know what Jesus doesn't do with Peter in this question?

He does not, doesn't rebuke him. I think this is actually some growth on the part of Peter at this point in time. Because after all, Peter's the fisherman who I think probably had a tendency to fly off the handle and get a little gruff at times. So we're seeing growth and Jesus says, that's good, but let's go further. And so Jesus answers him. He says, I do not say to you up to seven times.

And at that point in time, all of the disciples went, see, I told you that was too many. Right? And then Jesus goes on to say, I say to you up to 70 times seven. Now, if we were literalists at this point in time, we would say 70 times seven is 490. Therefore, I will keep a book. Now, that sounds funny. And we think it's ridiculous, right? But do you know there are some people in their minds, whether they want to admit it or not, they keep a book.

That's one. Right? There are some of us that do that. And whether we intend to or not, we keep a list. But Jesus, what he really intends here is that your forgiveness for your brother who sins against you should be limitless. There should be no end to the amount of forgiveness that you offer to somebody. And so I have a question for you before we move on. What's your limit?

All right. Brian, Jesus says it's limitless. So I feel the same way. No, you don't. You're human. You have a limit. What's your limit? Because Jesus wants to expand that. I guarantee at some point in time, what has run through your mind is, I just don't know how many more times I can forgive them. I just don't know how much longer I can take that. Now, listen.

There's a difference between forgiveness. And we'll talk about that towards the end. Because you can forgive someone even though they don't repent, but you don't have to restore them until repentance takes place. I've had people ask me that question before. Well, if they haven't apologized, do I have to forgive them? Yes. But I don't want to. I don't care. At that point in time, you're doing it for you, not them.

I'm kind of getting ahead of myself here. But what's your limit? Because Jesus wants to stretch that. And in order to illustrate exactly what he meant, he tells this story. It's a story that's very familiar to all of us. You've probably heard it before. You've probably told it before. But let's go through it. He says, There was a king. The kingdom of heaven may be compared to this king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves.

In other words, he was looking and going, You know, I need to balance out my books. I need to figure out who owes me money so that I can get this whole thing balanced out. Because I just don't think I want to deal with this. I don't want to deal with this any longer. I'm going to settle all of the accounts. But then there was this one poor slave. Let's call this slave Larry.

Larry owed 10,000 talents. And Larry was brought to him with that amount of talents. Now, we hear 10,000 talents and we go, So let's understand something. A talent was the largest monetary unit of that day. The absolute largest monetary unit that they had. And it wasn't just one of the largest monetary units that they had. It was 10,000 of them. Now, some commentators will tell you about $12 million.

But I'm thinking with inflation. No, I'm just kidding. But I was reading R. Kent Hughes on this. And I really appreciated what R. Kent Hughes had to say. Because he gave some historical backing. And to it as well. He said it was the largest monetary unit of the day. And there were 10,000 of them. He said, Jesus was giving the most ridiculous number he could possibly give.

So if we were to put it in today's language. We would say that Larry owes zillions of dollars. An amount that not only he could not repay because he didn't have it. But if he worked. Every day for the next 1,000 years. He would never. In a bunch of lifetimes. Ever be able to repay the debt. Jesus uses this ridiculous amount. Because that's the way it is with us and our sin.

Our sin was so great. That in a million lifetimes. We could never do enough to repay the debt. That we owed because of our sin. And so what does this man do? Says verse 25. But since he did not have the means to repay. His Lord commanded him to be sold. Along with his wife and children. And all that he had. And repayment to be made. So the slave fell to the ground.

Prostrated himself before him saying. Have patience. With me. And I will repay you. Everything. So the king responds. The Lord of that slave felt compassion. And released him. And forgave him the debt. So he has no ability to repay this. In the amount of time possible. And so what does he do? He humbles himself before his Lord. Interesting words here. He humbles himself before his Lord.

He bows down on his face. And says please have mercy on me. And I will repay you. All of the debt. That I owe. I again appreciated what R. Kent Hughes said about this. He said if you will. He just prayed the sinner's prayer. He said I owe a debt. I can't pay. All I'm asking is for mercy. And then I'll do everything I can. To live for you. After that. And like many of us.

It was an ignorant prayer. Because there's nothing he could have done to ever repay this. But like many of us when we come to Jesus. We don't fully understand grace. We don't fully understand salvation. All we know is. We owe a debt that we can't pay. We want to find mercy. And we want to repay back that mercy to the best of our ability. I think it's really good for us to remember.

That when somebody comes to Jesus for the first time. They don't know come here from sick as far as grace is concerned. And that's okay. They'll grow into that understanding. They usually only know two things. And I love it. Because sometimes I'm like. And maybe that's how we should continue to be. They only know two things. I owe a great debt. I really need mercy.

And so they cry out for those things. And then as you walk with Jesus. You understand there's no way I could ever repay it. Even if I wanted to. I'm just going to rest in the payment he's already made for me. And of course the Lord. The Lord of this servant. This king. It says in verse 27 felt compassion. It's interesting. I've got this computer program called Olive Tree Bible.

And I can. I have Strong's tagged Bible. So I can look up different words. And that word compassion is kind of interesting. Because if you click on compassion. And you click for where it's used. Other places in scripture. You know where it's always used in scripture. It's always used in the book of Matthew. And it's always used of Jesus. Remember all the times it said Jesus felt compassion.

For the people. He was moved with compassion for the people. Same Greek word used right here. Isn't that kind of interesting? It's almost as if Jesus is talking about himself here. He says the Lord of that slave felt compassion. And he released him. And he forgave him of the debt. Oh man. I don't know. All I can think of this morning when we were singing that first song.

Oh happy day. Was the beginning of this. Right? Like that's how he had to have felt. Right? Clicking his heels as he's running down the yellow brick road. Because he finally gets to go home. Right? He's just so much excitement. So overjoyed that his debt has been forgiven. And you would think at this point in time. He would go out. And anybody who owed him anything.

He would say you're forgiven. And you're forgiven. And you're forgiven. Right? He's just handing that out. Like he's Oprah. And but that's not what happens. Notice what happens. But that slave. Verse 28. Went out and found one of his fellow slaves. Who owed him 100 denarii. He seized him and began to choke him saying. Pay back what you owe. So now we come to the story of the second slave.

We'll call him Tom. Tom and Larry. Right? So Larry goes and he finds Tom. And he's like bro. You owe me 100 denarii. Right? It's a few thousand dollars probably. Let's say $10. A debt. Yes. Compared to his. No. Right? It wasn't that he hadn't been wronged. He'd been wronged. But he'd also been forgiven of so much. He goes out and he finds Tom. He slaps around a little bit.

And he says. Hey. You owe me 100 denarii. Pay it back now. Pay it back now. The guy responds. And he says. His fellow slave. Verse 29. Fell to the ground. And he began to plead with him saying. Have patience with me. And I will repay you. Sound familiar? That's almost word for word. What old Larry had said when he was looking for forgiveness. Right? Almost exactly the same words.

He goes on to say. But he was unwilling. And went. And threw him in prison. Until he should pay back. What was owed. This is an unfortunate scene we've just come across here. You see someone who had been shown so much grace. Who had been shown. So much mercy. And who had been shown so much forgiveness. Was unwilling to extend. Forgiveness. Grace. And mercy.

To his fellow man. Well the other slaves heard what had happened. Notice what it says. Verse 31. So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened. They were deeply grieved. They came and reported it to their Lord. Came and reported to their Lord. All that happened. Then summoning him. His Lord said to him. You wicked slave. I forgave you that debt. Because you pleaded with me.

Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave. In the same way that I had mercy on you. So the other slaves that go. And they tell their master. Like listen. I know what happened in this other case. And how much you forgave him. That same guy just went out and found a buddy. That owed him a few thousand dollars. And he's thrown him into prison for it.

I don't know what you think about this. Because we're just slaves. But that sure feels wrong. Feels like that's a real wrong. That's been committed there. And you can imagine the king kind of welling up with anger. You mean to tell me. After what I did for him. He's going to act that way. Towards somebody else. And so he pulls him in. And he confronts him about it.

And if you're a person who likes to underline in your Bible. I would underline verse 33. Because that principle should be stamped on our hearts. Should you not also have had mercy. On your fellow slave. In the same way that I had mercy on you. You see that principle should be imprinted. On the very fabric of your life. On the very fabric of our lives. Because if we really understand.

What we have been forgiven of. Then how can we ever in a million years. Hold any sin against anyone else. How can we ever do that. Should we not. Extend the same kind of mercy. To everyone else. That the king has shown to me. That the king has shown to you. That principle should be what we live by. And as a matter of fact. If we as the church. I'm not talking about the world.

Right now. If we as the church. Lived by this principle. I think we would be a much more powerful church. If we as a church. Lived by this principle. I think that the world would find. That they are drawn to that kind of a church. If we as the church in general. Lived by this kind of principle. I just wonder what the power of the gospel. Would be like going out into the world.

But you know what most of the world. Looks at the church and sees. They see a bunch of people that sue each other. They see a bunch of people that are angry with each other. They see a bunch of people that hold sins against each other. That are bitter and talk about. About each other all the time. And you know what they say. We can get that in the world. And I can still smoke pot.

Right? Like why not just live the way I am right now. If the church doesn't look any different. Than what I'm doing right now. What's the point? I like to sleep in on Sundays.

Goes on from there to say. Verse 34. And his Lord moved with anger. Interesting. And the first time he talked with him. It says his Lord was moved with compassion. This time it says. The Lord was moved with anger. He handed him over to the torturers. Until he should repay all. That was owed him. He comes to the conclusion here. When he says. My heavenly father.

Will also do the same to you. If each of you does not forgive. His brother. From his heart. I suppose if you're an underliner again. That might be a good one. Because if you can't imprint the first one on your heart. You can't. I'm afraid you may have to imprint the second one on your heart.

Jesus brings about some very hard truths. To the lives of these disciples. And it brings up some really hard truth. For us. Because forgiveness is not natural to us. Why? Because we are so full of pride. I don't know any other way to put it. I wish I could put it in a nice gentle kind of way. But I can't. Because that's the thing that keeps us from forgiving someone.

Is pride. And we say. How dare they do that to me. I understand why they do that to somebody else. But to me. After everything I've done for them. After the way I have treated them. After the kindness I have shown them. And they're going to turn around and do that to me. And that pride keeps us from forgiving. Well. Let's kind of bring this to a close. With a little bit of takeaway.

I learned that that's Australian. For food that you get to take home. So here's our takeaway. Four things. Four things that I think that we need to take away. Three questions and one statement. These are some questions that when I've taught on forgiveness in the past. People have come to me to ask. And so I think that they're important ones for us to deal with.

And then one final statement. Number one. Is our salvation dependent upon forgiving others? Because what he just said there seemed pretty harsh. Am I right? That if you don't forgive others from your heart. Neither will your father forgive you. So it brings up a question. Is our salvation dependent upon our forgiving of others? And I would say. And I would say.

And I would say. And I would say. And I would say. And I would say. And I would say. And I would say. And I would say. And I would answer. No, it is not. Our salvation is not dependent upon forgiving others. Otherwise, the whole rest of scripture you'd have to throw out. However, I will say this. Forgiving others is reflective of whether or not we are saved.

And if you cannot find it in your heart to forgive others. Then I need you to ask yourself a really, really important searching question. Do I really know Jesus? And I intend for that to cause a little bit of alarm in your heart. Because if I can't forgive someone else, then I need to question whether or not I've been forgiven myself. Because forgiveness that flows from me is reflective of what Jesus has already done in

my heart and in my life. And if you can answer that question, no, I know for sure I've come to a relationship with Jesus Christ, then you need to ask yourself, then why can't I forgive someone else? Because it sounds like something needs to happen in your heart. Number two. What if the person has passed away? What if there's somebody that has sinned against you at some point in time, and you harbored

bitterness your entire life, but now you're ready to forgive, but now they're gone? They're home with Jesus. And there's nothing I can do about it now. I can't go to them and make that right. I can't go to them and forgive them and offer that forgiveness to them the way that I was supposed to. What do I do if the person that has wronged me is not forgiven? wronged me has passed away. Well, there's really only one thing that you can do now. The only thing

that you can do now is forgive them in your heart and confess your sin to the Lord. Forgive them in your heart because it has to take place. Remember what we said earlier? Do I have to forgive someone even if they're not repentant? And I said, yes, I think you do. Some say you don't. I think you do. Forgive them in your heart and then give it to the Lord. And that's all you can do.

And at that point in time, you say, the mistakes I've made the past 20, 30 years of my life, I can't go back and redo because listen, we can't choose our consequences. And sometimes those are the consequences that we have to live with in our lives, but we can have a right heart before the Lord about it. Number three, how can I forgive the terrible things that have been done to me? Friends, this is a real question. This is a real question that I know some of us in here

face. Because anytime I've ever taught on forgiveness, somebody comes up to me afterwards and tells me a story that breaks my heart. A story of abuse, a story of mistrust, a story of dishonesty, something that someone has done to them or someone very close to them. And they're going, I don't know if I can forgive the terrible thing that they've done to me. Do I have to forgive them? Again, like I asked,

even if they're not repentant. And the answer to that is you have to first of all take that hurt to the Lord because oftentimes our hurt is what's holding us back. But the hurt is what Jesus wants to heal. Because I'm here to tell you right now, even if that person comes to you and repents and you give them forgiveness, it doesn't mean that you won't still hurt because those are the consequences of sin. Sometimes even other people sin. You have to take that hurt to the Lord and

you have to come to the Lord with a heart that's willing. We have to come to God with a heart that's willing. My favorite line in Andrew Murray's book, Absolute Surrender is, Lord, make me willing to be willing to be surrendered to you. Because all Jesus needs in our hearts is that tiniest little bit of a willing heart. And if we can come to him with just that little bit of a willing heart to

say, Lord, I want to forgive them. I'm having a really hard time because they have destroyed my life with what they did. They have altered the very fabric of who I am because of what they did. But I know you want me to forgive and I want to obey. Listen, we forgive people that are not repentant, not so that we can set them free from their prison, but so that we can set ourselves free from our own prison. Because

that's exactly what unforgiveness leads us to in our lives, is it puts us in prison. There's a book that we read on our way to and from Florida, which should tell you how long the book is, but it's really good nonetheless. It's called Unbroken, the story of Louis Zamperini. And if you've watched the movie, I'm sorry, read the book. Okay, get it on tape or on Audible and just, you know, the rest

of this summer, read that book. It's amazing. It's hard to listen to at times because of the things that he went through, the way that he was treated when he was in a World War II prison camp in Japan. But when it comes to the very end, you find that the only place he could have of any kind of peace in his life was when he finally forgave. When he finally forgave the man who tortured him. He even wrote him a letter to let him know

that he had forgiven him. There's old interviews that you can go and watch Louis Zamperini on, and it's amazing to watch old interviews with him from the 90s, right before, He ended up carrying the Olympic torch to the 98 Winter Olympics in Japan. And they asked him, how can you do this? How can you live your life with joy now, knowing everything that's taken place in your life?

And you know what he said? I forgave him. And now I'm not living in prison anymore. Brothers and sisters, I know that there are some people that some terrible things have happened to. But the only way you'll find freedom is in forgiving them. And that leads me to number four. Forgiveness flows from a heart that has been forgiven. I don't think there's any limit to which you should be asking the Lord to reveal to you just how much grace he's shown you in your life.

Just how much forgiveness he's shown you in your life. He is so faithful to do that. Because as he, through the power of his holiness, through the Holy Spirit, through the word of God, makes real to you the forgiveness that he's brought into your life, that you will find that naturally the only way you can respond is by forgiving other people. The only way that you can respond is by offering that same forgiveness to other people.

Because Jesus is so good at impressing upon you the fact that, but don't you remember all of the things that I forgave you of? Don't you know who you would be apart from me? And the minute that that thought pops into my mind, I'm like, I mean, how mad can I get, right? Like how upset with you can I be knowing what Jesus forgave me from? Be pretty hypocritical of me.

Forgiveness flows from a heart that's been forgiven. And that brings up a really good question. If you're here this morning and you've never asked Jesus into your heart, if you're watching online and you've never accepted Jesus into your heart, I need you to understand you'll never be able to forgive anybody else of anything that they've ever done. Because you will harbor that bitterness in your heart forever.

Because ultimately who you're really upset with is yourself. Because you have guilt in your heart from sins that have been committed. You have guilt in your heart because of things that have been done wrong. And may I say, believer in Jesus Christ, if you're here this morning and you've either been harboring bitterness or unforgiveness towards someone else, today is the day to reach out to Jesus and seek His grace in your life.

To confess that to Him so that He can begin to do that work in you. Come to Him and say, Lord, I'm willing that you'd make me willing to forgive. This is kingdom living. These are instructions for what it looks like to live as a part of the kingdom of God. It's not easy, but it's definitely worth it. Amen? Let's all stand.

As the worship team comes up and sings this last song, I would ask that you would just allow the Lord to search your heart and to do the work that only His Holy Spirit can do. Father, I come before you and thank you for the time that we've had in your word this morning. I thank you for how faithful you are to us. Thank you for how gracious you are towards us.

And Lord, that the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses all sins continues to cleanse us over and over and over again. We just thank you, Father. Be with us as we go out from this place. And may your spirit continue the work that you've begun here. In Jesus' name. Amen. Be blessed.

How great is your love, Lord. How awesome is the love that was sinned your son to die for us, Lord. To pay the price for our sins.

To pay the consequences that we deserve. What an amazing love that is, God. If there is any here this morning, God, any watching online, God, that have never experienced that kind of love, today would be that day.

Lord, let your, let your amazing and powerful love just wash through our lives.

Forgiveness where there needs forgiveness, Lord. Conviction where there needs conviction. We thank you and we praise you. In your precious and holy name. Amen. You guys have a wonderful week. Be blessed.