When Unforgiveness is Not a Good Option

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant
Matthew 18:21-35

The Parable
We know that this story illustrates a kingdom principle of forgiveness and judgment. It shows how the character of God interrelates with men based on the way men interrelate with God and one another.

Peter in Verse 21 asks the question, “How many times may my brother sin against me and I forgive him and let it go? [As many as] up to seven times?

Peter is asking the question in regard to the previous teaching on conflict resolution and your brother wronging you found in verse 15.

I also think Peter may be trying to show out a little here by coming up with the question and the answer in the same breath. In Peter’s mind, 7 forgiveness's is a large number. It may be a large number in some of our minds today as well.

Hypothetically imagine if your boss decided not to pay you for a weeks work and came and apologized from his heart and did this for 7 consecutive weeks, how many of us could truly forgive our boss from our heart?

Jesus completely blows Peter out of the water with his answer. You think 7 is a big number but I tell you that you must forgive your brother 70 times 7 times. This is practically the number 490 but I believe it represents something more infinite.

There is a key to taking on a merciful personality found in this parable.
There is an excellent and logical reason why some people are very critical and judgmental of others. We’ll see why in just a minute.

In verse 23, The parable of a human king correlates nicely with Jesus being the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who will one day settle accounts with his subjects or attendants.

In the parable the debt is financial but in our lives our debt is a sin debt. The Bible is very clear that every human owes God a sin debt. Every sin needs to be paid for or atoned for.

Romans 3:23 says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Each one of us has a huge sin debt that is owed to a holy, just and righteous God.

The financial illustration is a great way to understand the ratio of our debt compared to the debt other people owe us. The amplified Bible describes the debt of sin we owe the king as 10,000 talents or the equivalent of $10,000,000.

Because the man could not pay in v. 25, his master ordered him to be sold into slavery, with his wife and his children and every thing that he possessed and payment to be made.

This could be considered the wages of sin in this life being destruction ultimately followed by physical death.

Proverbs 13:15Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard.
Galatians 6:7Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.

This can also be looked at as eternal punishment for a debt that cannot be paid and due to God’s holy and just nature he must judge sin.

Both understandings are correct and we need to deal with both realities.

The Servant’s Response to the King
The servant fell on his knees, begging the king, “Have patience with me and I will pay you everything.”

The servant’s words in V. 26 indicate that he feels a sense of responsibility to pay back the debt even though it’s impossible to pay back. He begs for patience.

The King’s Response to his Servant
Because of the man’s approach and heart condition, the King’s heart was moved with compassion, and he released him and forgave him [canceling the debt.]

Wow, a $10,000,000 debt cancelled simply because he asked for patience and mercy. This speaks volumes about the heart of God toward us.

James 2:13because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!

God’s nature is Just and Merciful all at once. These two character qualities seem unreconcilable.

The only way these two character qualities can be expressed simultaneously is when there is an advocate or a scapegoat to take the punishment thus satisfying God’s demand for justice and a recipient of mercy, satisfying God’s merciful character.

We see a beautiful illustration of this in the Cross. Jesus (God himself) taking our punishment, the ultimate in mercy so he can maintain his integrity expressing justice and mercy simultaneously.

The First Servant’s Response to the Second Servant
In v. 28 the same attendant, as he went out, found one of his fellow attendants who owed him a hundred denarii [about 20 dollars]; and he caught him by the throat and said, Pay what you owe!

The illustration is a simple one. The servant receives a tremendous bail out package from the king and then goes out immediately and demands justice when he’s been shown mercy.

And the contrast financially is a sharp one. This illustrates the debt of sin people can owe us.

Have you ever been hurt by a person?
Verbally
Physically
Even maybe sexually abused?
Maybe it’s much less severe. Is their ANYTHING in your heart against someone?

So his fellow servant did the same thing he did when he obtained mercy from the King. He fell down in v. 29 and begged him earnestly to give him time and he would pay all!

A Sharp Contrast between the King and the First Servant
The first servant who’d received mercy from the king was unwilling to give his fellow servant time to pay the debt in v. 30. He had him imprisoned until he could pay off the debt of 20 dollars!

Who have you put into your heart prison. Is there someone you haven’t forgiven. Yes they’ve hurt you but is it really even close to the hurt you’ve inflicted on God?
People who hold grudges and bitterness either haven’t been forgiven by the king or they have forgotten what it is like to be forgiven by the king.
When the Love of the king comes in and forgives you your debt it’s impossible to hold a petty grudge (of $20) against your brother or sister in Christ.

So you’ve got to ask yourself. If you’re carrying some unforgiveness against a brother or sister. Am I forgiven? Or am I just disconnected from the revelation of that forgiveness?

Bring in Some Balance
Does God forgive people if they don’t repent and ask for forgiveness? NO
Should you?

Well, Yes if you can. Do it to free yourself from lingering in the past. Those memories if not dealt with can be toxic to your present time.

Romans 12:19
19Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay,“ says the Lord.

However, if they genuinely, from their heart, ask you to forgive them, you HAVE to forgive them if you expect forgiveness from the King of Heaven for yourself.

Listen to what the King now says to the first servant.
V. 32 You contemptible and wicked attendant! I forgave and cancelled all that [great] debt of yours because you begged me to.

V. 33 And should you not have had pity and mercy on your fellow attendant, as I had pity and mercy on you?

V. 34 and in wrath his master turned him over to the torturers (the jailers), till he should pay all that he owed.

Again I believe this has a dual meaning.

It effects your here and now (what are some practical ways that unforgiveness is like being tortured or jailed?)
It effects your eternity.

V 35 So also My heavenly Father will deal with every one of you if you do not freely forgive your brother from your heart his offenses.

Sometimes holding a grudge only effects you! The person who’s offended you doesn’t even know! LET IT GO!! Take it to the king and let that person free from your heart prison! It’ll make you feel better!

Some may say, “Pastor I can’t forgive what they did to me, I tried and I just can’t.” Well I would say to you that you need to catch a glimpse of God’s forgiveness for you again.

If they’ve asked for forgiveness it’s imperative that you do this. If they haven’t it’s important for your future.

Jubilee Family Church

The Kingdom of Heaven Part 5; Receiving the Keys to the Kingdom

To watch the video of this lesson click here.

Matthew 16:19
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

Notice what Jesus says about Peter's insight and future role as a result of his revelatory reply in Matthew 16:17-19

1. Peter received this revelation from God.
2. Jesus will build his church upon this revelatory word.
3. The gates of Hell shall not prevail against this church.
4. Peter will receive "keys" which will enable him to "bind" and "loose."

So, what is this that Christ has promised Peter and not the other disciples? It is impossible to say with absolute certainty, but it would appear that Peter's powerful ministry exploits in the Book of Acts were empowered as a result of Peter’s obedience and Jesus’ response to Peter’s proclamation about His divinity.

1. When the Jews received the Word along with the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2, Peter was ministering.
2. When the Samaritans received the baptism in the Holy Spirit for the first time in Acts 8:9-25, Peter was again ministering.
3. When the Gentiles, in Acts 10:24-48, likewise, received the Word along with the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, Peter was there again.

It appears that on all three occasions Peter was exercising the "keys" which had been presented to him in this passage of scripture. As a result, three separate categories of people, Jews, Samaritans and Gentiles were formally inducted into the newly-founded church, the Body of Christ. Those are some pretty powerful keys. There can be no question; Peter was set apart for special service on this occasion.

If we do the same things Peter did in regard to revelation knowledge are we also privileged with the keys to the kingdom?

Revelation Knowledge

Revelation knowledge is how we get the keys to the kingdom. Kingdom keys open kingdom doors.

Knowledge is great but knowledge that is not acted on is theoretical at best and valueless at worst.

The key to making knowledge beneficial is to have the courage to act on the knowledge that you have.

We’ve probably all met people who are really “book smart” but don’t seem to have the fabric in themselves to make decisions that will bring about the benefit of that knowledge.

Revelation knowledge is knowledge that is not revealed to you by man but is revealed to you by your heavenly Father.

Learning from men is not wrong but there is more to learning than just listening to things on a surface level. God can speak to you through men and if you have spiritual ears to hear you can discern when the Lords voice is speaking to you through a man. An interesting dynamic of God’s word is found in Hebrews 4:12. The word of God, being living and active. God can speak by revelation to one person, and another person, sitting right next to you, is simply hearing earthly information.

The Quakers believed that the Bible was written in layers and that the majority of the scriptures had different and deeper meanings. This is the underlying reason for John Bunyan's classic, “Pilgrims Progress”. The entire content of the book is allegorical. This means the characters in the story always represent something else with a deeper meaning.

One of the Dictionary definitions of allegorical is to have hidden spiritual meaning that transcends the literal sense of a sacred text.

I don’t believe the entire Bible is allegorical but I believe some of it is. When it’s allegorical we need to read and interpret it as such. Sometimes we can get out of balance and miss the simple meaning that is laid out in scripture searching for a deeper meaning.

It’s wise to understand the surface meaning first before plunging to some secret meaning.

Revelation knowledge

Peter took what he knew about Jesus from the natural things he’d seen, what he knew about the Bible and what he felt like God was confirming in his heart and makes the declaration that, “Jesus was the Christ, the son of the Living God.” This is how we also receive revelation knowledge. Our declaration can be action of some kind also.

Because we know, we act.

Wisdom from the Spirit

1 Corinthians 2:9 However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"—

How many of us can quote verse 9 but forget about verse 10?

10but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.

Jeremiah 33:3
'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.'

In Christ is the fullness of Wisdom

Colossians 2:2-4

2My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.

What does it mean to be bound on Earth and bound in heaven? How do we bind and loose?

1. Revelation

We’ve already discussed revelation knowledge being foundational to binding and loosing.

2. Confronting Conflicts

Matthew 18:15-17

15 "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. 16But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.‘ 17If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

Conflict Resolution, or the lack their of causes binding and loosing.

The Scripture before the passage on binding and loosing is in regard to conflict resolution.

The Scripture after the passage on binding and loosing is in regard to the prayer of agreement.

3. The Prayer of Agreement

The prayer of agreement binds and looses heavenly things.

Matthew 18:19-20

19"Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."

In Conclusion

1. Revelation Knowledge with action is the foundation upon which the church is built and creates a binding and loosing environment for the person that’s walking in this type of knowledge.

2. Forgiveness, conflict resolution and church discipline also activate the kingdom dynamic of binding and loosing.

3. The prayer of agreement also activates binding and loosing.

Happy Thanksgiving

I wanted to remind everyone that thankfulness is directly proportional to prosperity. Thankful people are typically more prosperous because their appreciation for the source of things allows them to comprehend how blessings come.

Remember the story of the 10 lepers?

Luke 17:11-17
11Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!" 14When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed. 15One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. 17Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" 19Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well."

The leper who returned to give thanks received not just a physical healing but his thankfulness showed that his soul had been healed of sin by the cleansing power of Jesus.

Announcement:
We won't be having our usual Wednesday evening services on November 26^th in observance of the Thanksgiving Holiday. Have a great Thanksgiving and don't eat too much turkey!


Blessings on you and your loved ones!
Pastor Tony

The Kingdom of Heaven Part 4

I shared this Sunday from Matthew 13 and the kingdom parable of the net. Jesus is going to wrap this age up and when he does you definitely want to be considered righteous. Receive Jesus today so when that day comes you are ready!

The Parable of the Net - Matthew 13:47-51
47"Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. 48When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. 49This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous 50and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 51"Have you understood all these things?" Jesus asked. "Yes," they replied.

Click here to watch the video

Jubilee Family Church

What's Happening this Week at Jubilee Family Church

Wednesday night we have services at 6:30 PM
The youth are meeting at the parsonage, children are meeting upstairs, and the adults are in the sanctuary. Coffee Provided!

Thursday the worship team will be practicing at 5:30 PM

All you little league soccer fans out there. Taylor plays at 10:15 AM and Nate plays at 12:45 PM.

We have the much anticipated Men's Breakfast at Ron and Carlotta's house on Saturday morning at 8:30 AM.

And the grand finale is Church this Sunday morning. Adult Sunday school is at 9:00 AM Worship starts at 10:00 AM and the preaching of the word starts around 11:00 AM. We'll see you on Sunday.

Jubilee Family Church