Our Duty to Forgive, Part 2

It truly is good to have you with us this morning as we worship the Lord together, and I trust that your heart's prepared to receive what God has for you. And if you have your Bible, turn me to Luke chapter 17. Luke chapter 17. And as you're turning to Luke 17, I want to read to you just a couple of verses from the book of Genesis. It says in Genesis 41, verse number 50. Now, before the year of famine came, two sons were born, excuse me, before the year of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph.

Whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphar, priest of Onn, bore to him. And Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh. For he said, God has made me forget all my trouble, and all my father's household. He named the second Ephraim.

For he said, God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction. Joseph's two boys, born to him on this day, in Genesis chapter 41, were two boys that tell the story of Joseph's life. One, God has caused me to forget. And because God had caused him to forget, God had caused him to be fruitful. And the whole story of Joseph is centered around this one point. In order to be fruitful in the present, you must forget your past. And very few people can do that. To forget your past, you must be one who forgives.

Joseph was the great forgiver in the Old Testament. Because he was a man of forgiveness, he could forget the pain. Did he forget his brothers? No. Did he forget that they hated him? No. Did he forget that they had lied about him and sold him into slavery? No. He didn't forget any of the events that took place in his life. He just forgot the pain surrounding the events. And so he was able then to be fruitful in the present and into the future because he would not live in the past. So many people can't be fruitful today because of what has taken place in their past.

They can't forget it. They won't forgive it. One author said, When someone says I can forgive but cannot forget, it's only another way of saying I will not forgive. And he's right. And Joseph was that man who was able to be fruitful in the present and in the future because of his desire to move on and serve his God. My prayer for you today is that you won't get stuck in the past. So you just remain there. Your heart becomes cold and calloused. You become bitter, resentful, and never experience the fruitfulness of God.

But note the text says in Genesis 41, God has caused me to forget. God has caused me to be fruitful. Only God can do that. Nobody else can. It was Andrew Jackson who was being interviewed for church membership. When the pastor asked him, General, there is one more question which I must ask you. Can you forgive all your enemies? Andrew Jackson was silent as he recalled his stormy life of bitter fighting. Then he responded, my political enemies I can freely forgive. But as for those who attacked me for serving my country and those who slandered my wife, doctor, I cannot forgive them.

The pastor then said to Mr. Jackson, before you can become a member of the church and partake of the broken bread in the cup, this hatred and bitterness must be confessed and dealt with before God. There was an awkward silence. Then Jackson affirmed that if God would help him, he would forgive his enemies. God will help you forgive your enemies because God has made forgiveness not optional, but absolutely essential for your Christian life. That's a fact of scripture that very few people can swallow and digest, but it's the truth.

I want you to think of that one person that you have encountered in your life that you have a hard time forgiving. Maybe it's just not a person. Maybe it's a family. It could be an employer. It could be an employee. It could be a coach, a teacher, a doctor, a pastor. It could be a father, a mother, a son or daughter. It could very well be someone sitting next to you today in church. I pray that that would not be the case, but it could be. Think of that one person that you cannot, or should I say you will not, forgive.

Because God has brought you here, not by accident, but by divine appointment. That you might understand what his word says for you this day. God is so good. Just so good to be able to give us his word. Listen to what the Bible says.

Proverbs 19, 11, the discretion of a man deferred his anger. It is his glory to pass over a transgression. Isn't that good? It is his glory to pass over a transgression. Proverbs 24, 17 says, Rejoice not when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles. Boy, that's a hard one, isn't it? When the enemy falls, we're kind of like, oh yeah, gotcha. But we understand that the Bible says, when your enemy falls, don't rejoice.

When he stumbles, don't be glad. Why? Because you could be in that same boat one day. You gotta be careful. The Bible says, Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.

For if we forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly father will also forgive you. But if you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your father forgive you your trespasses. That's Matthew chapter six, verses 14 and 15, along with verse number 12. The Bible also says in 1 Peter 4, 7, Have fervent love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins. Today, we look at a passage of scripture that really isn't preached on very much unless, of course, you go through the book of Luke.

Nobody chooses to preach on this passage necessarily because of what it requires, not only of those who preach it, but of those who hear it. And yet, it comes to us from the words of our Lord, helping us understand our duty to forgive. Let me read to you those 10 verses in Luke chapter 17.

You're already there. And it says this. He said to his disciples, It is inevitable that stumbling blocks should come, but woe to him through whom they come. It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to stumble. Be on your guard. If your brother sins, rebuke him. And if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times a day and returns to you seven times saying, I repent, forgive him.

And the apostle said to the Lord, increase our faith. The Lord said, if you have faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, be uprooted, be planted in the sea, and it would obey you. But which of you having a slave, plowing or tending sheep will say to him when he has come in from the field, come immediately and sit down to eat. But will he not say to him, prepare something for me to eat and properly clothe yourself and serve me until I have eaten and drunk. And afterwards you will eat and drink.

He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he? So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded, you say, we are unworthy slaves. We have done only that which we ought to have done. Five things I want you to see. The first is the problem every one of us faces.

The second is a process of forgiveness. The third is the plea for faith. Fifth or fourth is the parable on faithfulness. And fifth is the principle that will forever change your feelings. The principle that will forever change your feelings. Because in all reality, nobody feels forgiving. We don't feel like forgiving people who have offended us. Yet forgiveness is not about how you feel. It's a matter of obedience to what God has said. And in this parable, obedience comes easier when you understand your identity to the king.

Once you understand your identity, you can freely forgive. Once you freely forgive, you will fully forget. Once you fully forget, you will be as Joseph, doubly fruitful in your future. Don't you want that? Sure you do. We all do. So let's see what the Bible says.

It begins with the problem every one of us faces. It falls into two categories. One, being offended, or two, being the offender. We're in one of those two categories. You're either going to be offended or you're going to be the one who does the offending. Jesus says, it's inevitable that stumbling blocks should come.

You cannot go through life without facing offenses, stumbling blocks. A scandalon is what the text says. A scandalon is translated a death trap. It's a death trap. It's impossible for you to go through life and not experience a trap that you wish you were dead than being involved in. It's a death trap. Jesus says, you're going to go through life.

It's impossible for you not to be offended, not to experience a death trap, because you live in a sinful world with sinful people and you're going to face them. If you don't want to face those, then the only out is to go to heaven, because while you're alive on earth, you're going to face stumbling blocks. It's inevitable that they're going to come. It's impossible for you to escape them. They're going to come your way. So when you are offended, when you are facing a stumbling block, a death like death trap, then you need to wake up and say, I knew it was coming because Jesus said it was going to come.

And so whether it's through verbal abuse, whether it's through physical abuse, whether it's through some kind of accident that took place in your life where someone took something from you, whether it's some kind of horrific experience that you have gone through, it's going to happen. You can't bypass it. Jesus says it's going to come.

And then he says these words, but woe to him through whom they come. Not only is it impossible for you not to be offended, it is possible that you might be the offender. And woe to the man, cursed be the man that causes one of these little ones to stumble. Who are the little ones? Well, that takes you all the way back to Luke chapter 15, because all these things happened in the same day. All the things that Jesus has said already. And these are the tax gatherers and sinners that are saved. Matthew 18 talks about these little ones who had this childlike faith that come into the kingdom.

And Christ says, it's impossible for you to escape an offense. They're going to come your way. Just make sure you're not the offender. Make sure you're not the one who puts people into a death trap because of the way you act or the things you say or the things you do. Because it would be better for you that a millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the depths of the sea. In other words, it would be better for you to die a horrible death. Have you ever, ever experienced a drowning accident?

Someone drowning? You ever seen a millstone? Those of you who've gone to Israel with me have seen millstones there in Capernaum. They're huge. Picture one of those around your neck being thrown into the depths of the sea. You're not coming back up. You're going down. And the struggle in terms of drowning is horrific. Jesus says, it'd be better for you to die a horrible death, a horrific death, than to offend one of my little ones.

Matthew 18 talks about the fact that the angels always behold the face of their Father in heaven in order that they might be dispatched to minister to the little ones when they experience a death trap incident. And so you deal with the problem we all face because once you're offended, what will you do? If you're the offender, what do you do? Jesus says, be on your guard.

Stand alert. Be watchful. Be aware. Make sure you understand all that's taking place because you have a responsibility. The phrase, be on your guard or take heed, used 24 times in the New Testament. Being continually aware of what Satan is doing, continually aware of what sinners are doing, continually aware of hypocrisy and its leaven and how it permeates the church and people's lives. And it's used over and over again that somehow the Christian might stand on guard, always alert, always watching, always aware of what's happening around them.

It's going to happen. Be careful. If your brother sins, rebuke him. This is the process of forgiveness because offenses are going to come. What are you going to do? Are you going to become bitter, angry, resentful, vengeful? What will you do? Be on your guard. If your brother sins against you, you need to go and rebuke him. Now this becomes very important because very few people ever get this. We go to somebody because my feelings were hurt. That's not why you rebuke somebody. Because your feelings being hurt is not the criteria for rebuking your brother.

We think it is because someone could do something to you. Your feelings get hurt. Do the exact same thing to somebody else. Their feelings not get hurt because you're feeling offended. It's more about you than it is the offender. So, be careful there. We live in a society that emphasizes your feelings. The Bible doesn't do that. The Bible emphasizes the truth and our responsibility to that truth. And Jesus says, if your brother offends, what you do is you are to rebuke him.

To rebuke him. Again, very important. Because we come to this place in our lives where we say, you know what? I don't deserve this. You ever said that? I don't deserve this. You best not say that. Because what you deserve is hell. But by God's grace, you get heaven. Every one of us deserves hell. Every one of us deserves to die when we sin. For the wages of sin is death. But because of the grace of God, the mercy of God, and forgiveness of God, we get heaven. So, be careful about saying, I don't deserve this.

And so, when you truly are offended because someone has caused you to stumble, because they have sinned against you, how do you judge that? By understanding what it means when Jesus says, go and rebuke him.

Because when you rebuke somebody, there are two things that are present based on 2 Timothy 4.2. You reprove, you rebuke with all long-suffering, number one, and instruction.

So, if you've been offended, it's because somebody has violated the instruction of God's word. And because you are long-suffering, it takes a long time for you to boil. That's the criteria for your rebuking someone else. So, you can't go when you're angry because that would violate the rebuking process. But a lot of times we want to get at someone when we're angry. Sometimes you just got to sit back and mellow out, chill out, and then go to that person because you have to be a long-suffering. And you go to them and rebuke them with instruction.

In other words, you say, you have violated what God said in his word. And because I am concerned about your spiritual condition more than I am about my emotional health, I go to you based on what God's word says. See that? It's not about your emotional health, it's about their spiritual condition because they have violated the known instruction of God's word. So, you rebuke them based on what God's word says. And you do it with all long-suffering, all patience, taking a long time to boil. That's the process of forgiveness.

Your brother offends you, you rebuke him. If he repents, you forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, you forgive him. Now, we told you that's about every two hours and 15 minutes in a normal 24-hour period where you sleep eight hours and awake 16 hours. He offends you every two hours and 15 minutes. You say, well, if he does that, could it be said that he really wasn't truly repentant? If he does the same thing seven times in a day, come on, do I have to keep going back and saying, oh, yeah, I forgive you.

Oh, yes, I forgive you. Oh, yes, I forgive you. It seems to me it'd be a little redundant. He wasn't that serious about his repentance. Let me ask you a question.

How many times a day do you sin against God and God say, you know what? I'm not so sure you're serious about this. I'm not forgiving you. Does he ever say that? No, he doesn't. Why? Because, listen to this, forgiveness is to go beyond the bounds of all human reasonability. That's why. Forgiveness goes way beyond what we think is reasonable because we are to demonstrate the character of Christ to those who have offended us. And it might be that that person wasn't really serious in their repentance, but you're not the judge of that.

God is. Your job is to forgive. Your job is to extend forgiveness to the repentant heart. And even though that person might say it flippantly or they might say it with an insincere heart, your responsibility is to forgive. Now you're thinking, that's ridiculous. That's the exact same thing the disciples thought. So what did they say? Oh, increase our faith. We can't do that. We, in order for us to do that, we must have more faith. So you move from the problem that all of us face to the process of forgiveness, to the plea for faith.

We can't do that because they're sitting there thinking, you know, Lord, that's kind of way out there someplace. And if we're going to do that, we need more faith. And Jesus responds this way. If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, be uprooted and be planted in the sea. And it would obey you. What is Jesus saying? This is not about faith because in order to forgive, you don't need a lot of faith. You need a teeny bit of faith. It's not about faith. See, this was their excuse.

If you come to me and you've offended me and I can't forgive you, it's because God didn't give me enough faith to forgive you. If God would grant me the faith, I'd forgive you. But because God didn't grant me the faith, I can't forgive you. That was their excuse. They just couched it in nice little sweet biblical terms. And Jesus comes back and flips it on them and says, oh no, it's not about faith. Not at all. Because you don't need a lot of faith to forgive. You just need a little teeny, itsy bitsy, little bit of faith to forgive.

Because forgiveness is not about faith. It's about being faithful to what I've already said. And that's where the rubber meets the road, see? That's where it gets really hard. It's not easy. And Jesus wants to debunk the idea that somehow if God doesn't give me the faith, I can't do it. No, no. No, you can do it if you choose to do it based on what God has already done. And so you move from the problem we face to the process of forgiveness because God simply commands His disciples to forgive beyond human capability.

And then He says, so they say, Lord, we need more faith. And then Jesus gives a parable. Unfaithfulness. And this is where it gets really convicting. The Lord is so good about what He says and how He says it. Hold on to your seats. Here it goes. But which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he is coming from the field, come immediately and sit down to eat. But will you not say to him, prepare something for me to eat and properly clothe yourself and serve me until I have eaten and drunk.

And afterward you will eat and drink. Doesn't thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he? This is a great story because everybody understands the story. If you're a Jew and you're living in Israel this time, you understand this. It's rooted in the slave-master relationship. And in those days, masters purchased slaves. And a slave was obedient to his master. And the master could do anything he wanted to a slave. It'd be okay. If you wanted to kill a slave, it's okay. Why?

Because he bought the slave. The slave was his. He could do whatever he wanted with the slave. So if you wanted to kill him, he could kill him. So you had this master-slave relationship to working relationship in the days of Israel. And the slave was out working in the field. He'd been out all day, been a hot day. He's tired, he's worn out, he's dirty, dusty, needs a shower, would like to rest. And when the slave comes in, the master doesn't say, wow, you must've had a hard day. You look really beat up today.

I mean, I am so sorry. It was like a hundred degrees today and you were out in the hot sun and you were plowing out there and you're full of dirt. And it's just a hard, you know what? Sit down. Just sit down right here. Put up your feet. We'll put on the ESPN. You can watch the football game. You can take it easy. I'll get you a cold drink. It'll be okay. I'll take care of you. Jesus says, do you know a master who did that for a slave?

Because they wouldn't. They wouldn't do that. Instead, the slave would come in and he would say, you know what? I'm hungry and I'm thirsty and I'm tired. The master would say, before you do anything, you fix me my food. You get me a drink. You take care of me. And the slave had one responsibility, only one, obey. That's it. Just simply obey. And Jesus then even adds this caveat, which says, in which master would even reach out and say, thank you. You know what? You've had a hard day. Thank you so much for plowing my field.

Thank you so much for tending to the flocks in the field. I want to thank you for doing that for me. Why? Because no master would do that. Because that was a slave's job. It's like you go into work every day from nine to five and your boss come in and you say, you know what? I'm so glad you're here every day at nine and you stay to five. I am so thankful that you come in at nine and stay to five. I don't know what I would do if he didn't come in and stay that long. When it's in your contract, that's how long you should be there.

And thank you for that because that's your job, right? That's what you're required to do. Now, if he does say thank you, it's a, it's an extra, extra kudo, but bosses don't do that because your job is to be there at nine. Your job is to work till five and to get things done between nine to five. So when the slave comes in from the field, the master didn't say, you know what? Thank you so very much for all you did today. Don't do that because he's the master and they're the slaves because the whole point of what Jesus has to say is to get them to realize the importance of obedience.

The whole point of the parable is this. Obedience for slaves is not optional. It is essential. Obedience for the Christian, not optional. It's essential. And what Jesus wants them to see is their identity in Christ and their responsibility to Him as their master. So here comes the principle, the principle that will forever change your feelings about forgiveness. Here it is. Verse 10. So you too. So you too what? When you do all the things which are commended, you say, we are unworthy slaves. We have done only that which we ought to have done.

So you too. So you too. When you do that which I have commanded you to do, what has he commanded them to do? To forgive. When you've done all that I've commanded you to do, you need to still say, I am an unworthy slave for I've only done that which my master has told me to do. Boy, that is just so good. So good. You see, we forget this. You know, we go through the Bible and we understand the pictures in the Bible. If I was to say that we are the branches, we would say that Christ is what? Divine, right?

If I was to say that we are the body, we'd say that Christ is the head. We get that, right? If we were to say that in the scriptures as it's portrayed that Christ himself truly is a shepherd, what are we? We're the sheep. We get that. We love that sheep shepherd analogy, right? That vine branch analogy. We like that head body analogy. We like the bride, bridegroom analogy. We like that one, don't we? But we don't like the master slave analogy. We don't like that one because that requires us to do something.

We hate it, but it's the biblical truth. It's what God prescribes for his children. He's the master. We are the slaves. We are slaves of God. We forget that. In fact, that's how Paul saw himself as a bondservant, a slave of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's how Peter saw himself. That's how Jude saw himself. That's how John saw himself. Jesus wants his men to see themselves locked into this slave master relationship. Jesus said, a slave is not above his master, is he? If they persecuted me, they will persecute you.

Who's the slave in the relationship? We are. Who's the master? He is. You see, it's something that Christ emphasized over and over and over again. But it's one we cringe at. We don't like to be told what to do. That's part of our arrogant, prideful nature. We don't want anybody telling us, we don't want God telling us what to do. But he's the master and he has told us what to do. That's why we emphasized on Wednesday night, David kept seeing himself as a slave 10 times in his prayer. I'm a slave.

I'm a slave. I'm a slave. I'm a slave. I'm a slave. That's why he could respond to the no answer because he knew that God was the master. He was a slave. His responsibility is to do what? Just obey. That's it. We forget that we are the slaves of God. And the slaves, God expects and demands only one thing, obedience. That's it. In fact, it was Moses who said in Deuteronomy 13, walk after God, obey his voice, serve him well all the days of your life. What did Samuel say to Saul in the first Samuel 15?

To obey is better than sacrifice. In Acts 13, when you look at the life of David, Paul in the synagogue in Antioch summed up David's life this way, for David, after he had served the purposes of God in his own generation, he fell asleep and was laid among his fathers.

He could have used anything to describe David's life. That's how he described it. He served God's purposes in his generation. David saw himself as a servant, as a slave of almighty God. Listen, if you're going to do anything great for God, you must see yourself as a slave of God. Listen to what the Bible says.

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who was in you, whom you have from God and that you are not your own for you have been bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body. 1 Corinthians 6, 19 and 20. You are no longer your own. You've been bought with a price. The price was the precious blood of the Lamb of God. He purchased you from the slave market of sin. God owns you. He bought you. He's the master and you are the slave. And Jesus says, so you too.

Drawing a parallel between in the parable of the master and slave. So you too, just like the slave in the parable, when you have done that which is your duty to do, he says, you are still unworthy. You are still unprofitable. Don't be thinking that you're some icon because you were able to forgive somebody who put you in a death trap. You've only done that which was required of you. See, we, in our society, that's about self-esteem. It's about you and how you feel. My feelings, my way, my joy. Christ comes and talks about self-denial, sacrifice, submission.

Christianity goes against the grain of society. It goes against everything we learn from society. And yet we are so enamored with what society says. We have adopted as our lifestyle that we think we deserve something. We think we have a right. Slaves have no rights. None. None. Why do we get off thinking I have rights? Really? Jesus says, so you too.

When you've done that which is your duty to do, you're still unworthy. You're still unprofitable. Because you've just done that which was commanded you. That's it. Boy, you know, every time I read this, I'm just taken down about 10 notches. Zoom. Right to the bottom. Because I am unworthy. So we read this and we come to the conclusion that we are slaves of God. And as slaves, God's demands obedience. Now, here's this. Even though we're slaves of God, he never treats us like slaves. He never does.

He's the master. We are the slaves. But he never treats us like slaves. Why? Because he rewards us. One day he will say, well done, now good and faithful servant. One day he will praise us. Masters don't do that to slaves. But because we're his slaves and he's the master, we are fortunate enough that he doesn't treat us like slaves. Hebrews 6 verse number 10, that God always sees your work. Always. That you have done. He sees it all and will one day reward you incredibly. He did it with Joseph. That's why Joseph could say, God has caused me to forget.

God has caused me to be fruitful. Why? Because fruitfulness in the present is directly related to forgetfulness of your past, which requires you to forgive. And if you expect to be fruitful today and tomorrow, it all depends on how willing you are to forgive those who have offended you. Wow. What a powerful testimony to the work of God. That's what God wants in every single one of us. And see, here's the principle. Here's the principle that will forever change your feelings. I am God's slave. He is my master and he requires I forgive whether I feel like it or not.

Because a slave doesn't come in from the field and say, you know what? I don't feel like fixing your meal. I don't feel, I feel tired. I want to rest. I want to shower. Let me take care of myself first and then I'll take care of you master.

Doesn't say that. He can't say that. The master would kill him. He'd be dead. He dare not say that. And the principle is this. When we do what God says, feelings of joy will always abound.

They will. Because obedience always produces joy in the life of the believer. Because joy is that intercontentment that God gives to those who follow his word. And so by way of principle, God says, listen, so you too.

If you just do what I say, you're still an unprofitable servant. You're still unworthy. Okay. You can't go around commending yourself saying, look how good I am. Look how great I am. Look how wonderful I am. I forgave you because you're a slave. You're still unworthy. And yet God as our master, doesn't treat us like slaves because he rewards us in such wonderful ways. And today I wonder that person you thought of earlier that you can't forgive, that you have a hard time with. Wouldn't it be good to release them?

Better yet to release yourself from the bondage, the burden you find yourself under. Try to freely forgive that person for their offense. The story is told of John Wesley, who conquered England through his preaching. Riding on horseback from city to city, village to village. So many times sick, but having to preach the gospel to people who need to hear the truth. And when asked, why would you do this? His response was the assurance given to him that Christ had taken away all his sins. You see forgiveness experienced experienced is forgiveness enjoyed and forgiveness experienced and enjoyed is always extended.

If you have a hard time extending forgiveness, it could be you have not experienced God's forgiveness. I'll leave with that. Let's pray. Father, we thank you Lord for this day and the truth of your word. It truly is powerful and hits to the heart of all of us. Our prayer is that we would be obedient to your word and that we'd realize that you have so much much to give your children. We're grateful Lord for your forgiveness of us. And we recognize who are we not to extend that forgiveness to others who have offended us.

And our prayer is that that would be our response and that we would experience as Joseph experienced fruitfulness today that leads us to tomorrow. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.