Matthew 6:12. This message originally delivered on June 23, 1996PM.
Your Bible is turned to Matthew chapter six, as we continue our study there's our view of life going to be that God revolves around us or that we revolve around God. And certainly what is taught in this prayer is that we are to be God centered we are to revolve around God, the heart cry of the believer, the point of true prayer is to pray for God to pray for his name, to be hallowed for His kingdom to come for his will to be done. And then when we come to pray for ourselves, we even learn what Jesus wants us to learn in regards to prayer in the right way. And so in regards to these three requests that are on the second half of the table, and that is the requests that have to do with us, it's Give us this day, our daily bread, our present condition, and about our physical needs in our body. It's about our past, forgive us our debts, as we forgive those indebted to us. And please don't forget this. It's Give us this day, our daily bread, and forgive us our debts. So it's a daily prayer, as we studied this morning. Now this that is so daily, you are to be considering about your relationship with Father, how's it going with father? Along with that you're supposed to be thinking with this? How's it going with my brothers and sisters? How's it going with dad? How's it going with the family regularly, continually, day after day over and over? This has to be the heart of your prayer, it's very important that we would understand this. Now lead us not into temptation, of course, is dealing with sin and the future sin. I think it's very interesting of the three requests that we make about ourselves. Two of them deal with sin. That is amazing. To me, Jesus is the master teacher, maybe he's going to transform our prayer life, we start praying the way he says we should. Now the big question asked, then is this Kim, if it's true, that we have been justified, that all of our sins have been canceled out that when you're born again, Christian, you're forgiven of everything past present future? Why then do you have to pray again and again for God's forgiveness? And the reason? For instance, before I say the reason, for instance, who will bring any charges against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died more than that, who was raised to life is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Many verses talk about the fact that there is nothing that can be condemned against us who can charge make any charge against this liquid all that God has done for us? Why would we be worried about sin? And there's a popular teaching today that I went over about as thoroughly as I could go over this morning in the service is a popular teaching today that once you become a Christian, you don't need to confess your sins anymore. Absolutely wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. The reason it's so wrong, and I think it's done so much damage is there is a tremendous misunderstanding, the judicial relationship before God, the judge has brought down the gavel and has declared you righteous before him. That's the only way people will view the Christian life that had that view. They will look at it only in the terms of the Pauline epistles, and they will not look at it as Jesus does hear that he is our Father, and you can offend your father, I gave an illustration for getting my dad on Father's Day and I could tell he was hurt. I gave an illustration of two years ago getting into big fight with my dad, man. I was grieved. It was hurt. Our relationship was broken for a time. But my friends it did not mean when I called him up. He didn't know who I was. I was still a son. But there was some need for forgiveness. And Jesus says, Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts. We weren't learned what the word debts are the word debts they're ours is the word for sin. Forgive us our sins on a regular basis were to be consistent beseeching God for the forgiveness of sins. Here's one quote that we didn't see this morning that might help us. Here rather is what our Lord speaks of in John 13. You remember that he washed the disciples feet and Peter said to Him, Lord, not my feet only but also my hands in my head. No said Christ, He that is washed, neat. It's not safe to wash his feet, but it's what is it saying there? I'm gonna read it off here. All right, but it's clean every whit. There is only one washing of the entire person. That is our justification. But having been justified as we walk through this world we become soiled and tarnished by sin. That is true of every Christian, though we know we have been forgiven. We need forgiveness still, for particular sins and failures. It is all stated briefly in chapter one of John's first epistle where he sees that the Christian though walking in the life of faith may yet fall into sin. What are we to do about it? John tells us to confess our sins if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness John without a question is talking to Christians there he goes on to say many things which show you money now little children. He talks about abiding and now a little children walk in him and now we have a propitiation for our sins. This is a sense for believers. Now, if we confess No, we John is not writing to unbelievers, it's a letter to believers, he is writing to Christians and our Lord was speaking to believers here. The point being just as Peter did not need to have his entire body wash just his feet. So that's maybe an illustration to help you understand the difference between parental and judicial forgiveness. And just one quick time I want you to remember this, I won't read it, all of this, let you look at it. This is judicial forgiveness, some people get so over on this side, that's all they can talk about. That's all they can think about. That's all they can see. And by the way, I don't mean to undermine it, we preach this gladly here, we are very excited about our justification. We were thrilled to death that we stand righteous before God based on the merits of Christ, we are very happy that we're accepted in the Beloved, it is a wonderful thing to know that we've been saved from the torments of hell, that is a once and for all coming to Christ that covers all of our sins, past, present, and future. We're thrilled to death about that. But that is not the judicial relationship is not the only relationship that the Bible calls for. There's also this parental side of things where you can grieve the Holy Spirit of God, you can offend him, you can hurt the Heavenly Father, and you need to ask for forgiveness. Now it's in light of this that I want you to look down to see verses 14 and 15 of chapter six. Look what it says here in 614, and 15. It says in verse 12, forgive us our debts, as we forgive those indebted to us. And now look at verse 14. For if you forgive men, when they sinned against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, their sins, your father will not forgive your sins. There Jesus is talking to the disciples, these men already knew him, they were going to have eternal life, it was already given to him and they knew that. Now he says, Look, if you don't forgive men, you're not forgiven. The point friends is this Christians that go through life, holding grudges, and only bitterness is in this kinds of things. They're not going to be in fellowship with God. In other words, when you go to God on a daily basis, you're to be concerned about keeping your parental relationship, right, keeping it pure, keeping it holy, keeping it clean. And as you're doing that, you're also gonna be looking out to see how brothers and sisters are doing. That is to be a regular continual theme in your life. Righteousness. You know, what I do? Just grieves me, I see Christians. I'm gonna do covers this week. I know all the all kinds of things about issues. You know what if issues are bigger to you, or even principles are bigger than you than relationships, you don't understand the New Testament. The New Testament is about here it is. It's just what the Old Testament is about love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. This sums up the whole testament. That's what it's about. So as we make this prayer, I don't want us as we study now, as we forgive those indebted to us on a daily basis, Give us this day, our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, is to be the regular daily prayer regularly daily, as we're looking this way. We look this way first, and then it flows out this way. And this is a principle all through the scriptures. Something we need to ask ourselves is this. Is this just some intellectual thing that we know about? And yet we can say give us their deliberate in other words, as you examine that prayer is us honestly make that prayer regularly, continually. There should be reconciliation with the Father and regularly and continually you should be reconciling with your brothers and sisters. I know I've said that, how many times now in the short sermon, but that's the heart and soul of this. Now, I mentioned in the first service, or I mentioned this morning, it has been a bad week. But it's there's always bad weeks, the ministry there's always something bad about and always something good about it in the ministry. But just particularly grieving to me to see people that call themselves Christians not be able to get along. It hurts deeply. Hear about people who named the name of Christ breaking up. I know situations where family members are not talking to one another, in some cases for years. Where there's some kind of bitterness between people and yet, they serve on Deacon boards, elder boards, not necessarily at this church. They may lead worship, they may be big time Bible teachers. And yet they can't get along with the people they're closest to. If you talk to them, they're nice and courteous. But there's that lacking of the warmth and the love that the Bible calls for. If I get up and speak against drunkenness, get them pastor get him. Speak on drunkenness. When I talk about this, you've got to forgive this person you must get along with them. They don't want to hear about it seems like people are suing each other. Seems like this group is mad at that group. It seems that churches split over all kinds of unbelievable things. Because we don't understand the heart and soul of Christianity. If you want to know what it's about, it's about being right with God and being right with your fellow man. That's what it's about. I've talked with people that have told me stories, and I thought, Oh, my goodness, when did this happen? And I get the look in their eye. It happened 10 years ago, 15 years ago. missionaries, the number one reason missionaries come home from the field is because they can't get along with people. They can't get along with people. Well, here's Lesson number one by Jesus on prayer. When you pray on a regular daily basis, you pray so that you keep your relationship this way, right. And this way, you're asking God for forgiveness, and you're saying this and as you grant me forgiveness, Father so that we can be reconciled on granting forgiveness this way, regularly, continually, over and over keeping short accounts with God and with our fellow man. Listen, friends, you want to just absolutely ruin your marriage. Then do what Paul don't do what Paul says. Paul says in chapter four Ephesians, do not let the sun go down upon your wrath. Don't let the day end angry. If you do, you'll give the devil a foothold. You want to give the devil a foothold in your life, then don't solve today's problems today. In what Jesus is teaching the same thing here, Jesus in every morning Imagine getting out of bed and you've gone through the holiness of God in His name, and you've praised him, and you've gone through his kingdom being furthered and you're committed to do His will joyfully and you've asked him for provision for daily bread. And now you're going into this now it's relationship time. How am I doing with you father, and how am I doing with my brothers and sisters? Now does that make our father make a little more sense? When man I consider Bible scholar says this. The world is not a forgiving community it is a condoning one. The word acceptance much more closely describes the world's attitude than forgiveness. The two words are actually opposites. Acceptance is non judgmental reception of a person as he is, it amounts to condoning sins. Forgiveness On the contrary, judges each one calling sin sin, refusing to condone sin or ignore it but gladly forgiving it on repentance. It is easier to ignore or condone sin and to forgive it. That was That is why the world adopts this stance. Those who ignore or condone sin, need make no judgment about the sinner. Those who forgive hold him guilty, rebuke him call him to repentance and on the confession of sin promise never to bring up the matter again, for givers. In contrast to can donors become deeply involved with the center at the very point of the sin. They seek to do them good at great cost of themselves. Forgiving is not easy. It costs. Thomas Watson said this in his book, The Beatitudes were as you say, you cannot forgive. Think of your sin. Your neighbor is not so bad in defending you as you are in not forgiving him. Your neighbor and offending you but trespasses against a man but you Refusing to forgive him trespasses against God. 10 commandments, verse four, this way, last six this way, Jesus's summary of the Old Testament this way, this way, read the Beatitudes this way. They're this way. The entire Bible is this relationship first. It means this relationship next. I mean it's absolutely absolutely a call for this church to repent if there's people you're not getting along with. It's absolutely wrong. To get it loud and clear it's not enough just to keep your slate clean between you and God. You must stay right daily with your fellow man on this subject, your pastor when I shouldn't describe it like this because it's could make you make misunderstand me but there is a swelling in my heart on this subject. On this subject, there's something deep inside of me that just comes out and it's it is something that is so burdensome that sometimes I can hardly stand it. And it's just simply this it is plainly and simply the application Have the gospel to your life that makes you get along with people. That's all it is. We should be the Most Gracious, the Most Loving, the most forgiving the most kind, the most non judgmental people in the entire universe because that's how God treats us in the Gospel of a Son Jesus Christ. This prayer rightly shows that the love for God with all you have means that you fight the good fight of faith, to keep all of your relationships right. Now, there seems to be an attitude in the church. And I hear this in my mind a lot. And it goes like this. Do you want to serve the Lord and get involved in the church brother? And I, you know, we want that I just talked you about nursery workers removed ago. But my friends, in a church of 5000 people, if in the most active Church of 5000 people, for all the people to run all of the programs of the church is fully functioning it takes 744 people. That's 15% of the congregation. What are the other 85% supposed to do? I will tell you right here. The other 85% along with the other 15% Is this get along with your fellow man. Love your neighbor, love your spouse, love your kids love the people you work with love the people that are around you get along with them. That's the heart of this prayer. I want you to see you say all Kim, you're making a big deal about it. Is it really that big a deal. All right, just back up to chapter five. I want to just survey you through Matthew, look at this. Matthew chapter five. Look with me starting with verse seven. Actually, look at verse six shoes we actually look at verse five first, blessing are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. What's meekness? It's relational. It's dealing with people. Look down to verse seven. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Look down to verse nine. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they are called the sons of God. Now go over to chapter five and look at verse 23. Therefore, if you're offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother than coming off for your gift. settle matters quickly with your adversary who's taking you to court. Do it while you're still with them on the way they may hand you over to the judge and the judgment in Georgia jail. Relational, go to chapter five and look at verse 43. Look at what Jesus teaches. You have heard that it was said love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his son to rise on the evil and on the good. He sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get are not even tax collectors doing that. And if you agree only your brothers What are you doing more than others? Don't even pagans do that? Be perfect in regards to relationships as your heavenly Father is perfect in regards to relationships. Look at chapter six and verse we've already looked down and but looking again at verse 314, and 15, read them quickly. Look at chapter seven with me. Look at verse one. Do not judge or you too will be judged. In the same way you judge others you will be judged and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, let me take the speck out of your eye. When all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite. First take the plank out of your own plank out of your own eye and then you'll be able to clearly see it remove the speck from your brother's eye. Again, and again and again and again in this sermon, the sermon on the mount the greatest sermon ever preached by Jesus Christ. And what's it about relationships? Making sure that you're right with people. Don't be judgmental. If you go to worship, settle matters before you do being blessed are the merciful Blessed are the peacemakers are not now this is the one I told you about this morning that I almost feel bad to have to bring up but go to the 18th chapter of Matthew I want you to see something else in Matthew chapter 18 Look at this. Now this is amazing. Especially you gotta you know by the way, Matthew wrote the entire Gospel, and Matthew was not he was inspired by the whole Holy Spirit, but he also was able to use his own intellect and abilities. And so he's got a point to what he's doing. And when he uses the same word again and again throughout this book, there's a point to it. And one thing I want you to see here in Matthew chapter 18, look at verse 21. Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me up to seven times? Remember, you got to forgive or you're not forgiven. Jesus answered, I tell you, not seven times, but 77 times. Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who Odium $11 million was brought to him, since he was not able to pay the master order that he and by the way, the word owed him, by the way, is the same word debt in chapter six and our prayer, forgive us our debts as we forgive those who are indebted to us. Since he was not able to pay the master order that he and his wife and his children all that he had be sold to repay the debt. The servant fell on his knees before Him be patient with me, he begged no pay back everything. servants master took pity on him cancel the debt and let them go. But when the server went out, he found one of his fellow servants owed him 100, an area he grabbed him and began to choke him, pay back what you owe me. He demanded, no gratitude in his art you know, the rest of the story. You can read it if you don't. There it is. For instance, is so important. If you want to have a right relationship with God, there are there are so many churches, here's what they do, they split and this group goes here, that group goes there. And this group says, Oh, we've got God on our side and that group, we've got God on our side, and they're both and they're gonna, we're gonna go do our things. Friends, stop and think about it. They're not even forgiven with the Father. They're out of fellowship until they get things right. Both groups. This is not something that you can get mad and leave and that's it. You've got to solve your problems. Think about that. Think how crucial it is that we get along with people. It's Major John MacArthur makes this statement. Nothing in the Christian life is more important than forgiveness or forgiveness of others and God's forgiveness of us. In the matter of forgiveness. God deals with us. As we deal with others we are to forgive others as freely and graciously as God forgives us. The Puritan writer Thomas Manton said there is none so tender to others as they wish it received mercy themselves for the know how gently God deal with with them. shall love that because it reflects God's own gracious forgiveness, that forgiving of another person's sin expresses the highest virtue of man. Jonathan Edwards said this. A true and faithful Christian does not make holy living a mere incidental thing. It is his great concern. As the businesses of the soldier is the fight so the business of the Christian is to be like Christ. What did Christ do? While hanging on the cross, people wagging their heads bitterly at him spitting at him cursing his name, mocking him as he was naked there on the cross. Jesus said, Father forgive them, for they know not what they do. You want to be like Jesus Christ, we've got to be forgiving people. You know, the dream I have for College Park people and people have asked me and our newcomers class, we've been having some great times in there. And people said to me all times, what's your vision for College Park. And I've never ever once had a vision of buildings here. I've never I've never been able to even when before we had the when we first got the property. I never drive by and see a building. The vision I have of College Park is a group of people so full of tenderness, so full of kindness, so full of compassion. So full of a willingness to love to be gentle with each other, not bitter or quick to judge or quickly angry. But people that are extraordinarily hard to offend. People that are very long suffering and patience, constantly applying the gospel to their own lives filled with humility, filled with grace filled with kindness. forgiving others there's something at this point in the sermon I've got to say that you must understand and this is because it's taught the scriptures and otherwise it would be out of balance. And we'll be done in just a minute. But it's the old 90% rule. She wears that in Scripture. The Bible says this a love covered love covers a multitude of sins. So the very outlook of the Christian is to be gracious, to be kind, to be tender to be big hearted. Which means this when your husband leaves his clothes in the bathroom for you say, love covers a multitude of sins as you pick them up and put them away. Anybody here listening? When when the car when the car is left on empty, and you get it and you're in a hurry to go someplace in there, the car left and empty, and you specifically asked your wife not to do that. It's the 90% rule, you just say love covers a multitude of sins, I won't even bother with that. When you forgot to pay the bill or whatever, when the toothpaste is squeezed at the top, rather than the bottom, you just say the old 90% rule here. And that's the way life should be, especially with those you're very close to 90% of the time, you just say I'm going to be big hearted about this and forget it. In other words, I'm not going to go through church discipline process over the way the toothpaste tube was squeezed. You don't come to me and say pastor, he wants to add squeezing the toothpaste, you know, I don't want to hear that. Okay, you just say 90% rule. But then there is a 10% rule. And the 10% rule is when you've been lied to when there's adultery in the marriage when someone has slandered you, then it's a different story. And I must tell you, here's what you've got to do. You've got to go to the person and you've got to say you what you've done is wrong. It's sin. There's something between us, I cannot forgive unless you repent. Because God does not forgive, unless we repent. So I'm asking you to repent. And then that's the basis of Christian reconciliation. The person says, I see what you're saying. The Spirit of God deals with them as they're confronted, and they say, Oh, would you please forgive me? I didn't even realize that you took it that way. Or oh, I was so wrong. And what I did, oh, please forgive me. And then there's the sweetness of reconciliation. And you know what I love about College Park, we're now 11 years old. And you know what's happened now, we've got people in this church, that we've offended each other. We've worked through it, we've reconciled and now the relationships like a bone that's been broken and reset. It's better than it was before. A lot of times, I'm dealing with couples, and I just realized, you know what, here, it's just plain and simple. You guys have not that you guys have violated the 90% rule, you've applied it 100% of the time, and there's a 10% You guys gotta go deal with and you need to come with some clean closure here. You need to follow through and deal with this thing. So we're going to close very unusually, we're going to close the service very unusually, by perusing the scriptures on how important right relationships are. So let's stand together. We're going to read some of these together. Then somebody while we're doing this with somebody get a really good song to sing some think of a good song. All right. Where's one of our good song people around here? Somebody think of a good song, try to come up with something. All right. Here we go. Let's read these together. It's gonna hit it from several different angles. That's sort of hard to read, isn't it? Can we? You can do your best, can't you? Okay, here we go. A man's wisdom gives him patience. It is His glory to overlook and offense. Now think about this one. Ready? Let's go. Do not pay attention to every word people say. You may hear your servant cursing you. That's something to think about. That's when you don't get it first. You gotta meditate on at a minute. Here we go. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. But Love your enemies, do good to them and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful just as your Father is merciful. So watch yourselves if your brother sins rebuke him, and a if he repents forgive him if he sins against you seven times in a day and seven times comes back to you and says, I repent, forgive him. Paul says, we work hard with our hands when we are cursed We bless. When we are persecuted, we endure it. When we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuge of the world. Here's one every couple should memorize together. Ready? Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other. Just as in Christ, God forgave you. Here's another one, every couple should memorize together, bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts since as members of one body you are called to peace. Peter says, Finally, all of you live in harmony with one another, be sympathetic lovers brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing. Because to this, you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. This one if you don't know the story, it might not make that much sense. But you should know the story. Let's read it. But Joseph said to them, don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done the saving of many lives. So then do not be afraid. I will provide for you and your children. And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them. That's something last one, right. Bless those who persecute you bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. What's the song 371 Let's turn their 371 Okay, good song, because it's a good way to end our service.
Unknown:Here we go.
Kimber Kauffman:And I'd like to close with a prayer with this charge to you. If you want to live close in fellowship with the Father, you must forgive those that have sinned against you. And I know that a room this size, there are people that know know that you need to forgive some people. And I will pray as your pastor that you will have strengthened wisdom to do that this week. That would be the righteous thing to do is pray. Father in heaven we beseech you together I'm leading this flock to you in prayer to specifically ask that You would help us live righteous lives here on Earth. That joyfully even though it would be very difficult in some cases, joyfully, we would be willing to forgive those that have sinned against us. And it would be because we appreciate what you have done for us. That you have forgiven us the $11 million and in comparison, anything that anyone has done to us can't be that big and Lord if we don't see that tonight is because our view of the gospel is skewed and we beseech you to fill our hearts with the gospel make it bigger. Truly, how will your name so that we would be people generous and willing and loving to forgive help those that have to go talk to somebody maybe tonight or or start dealing with that this week. Give them great grace work righteousness Father, Jesus name we pray. Amen. Here's the benediction, if possible, as much as it depends upon you live at peace with all men.