Amen. I'm pleased to have a seat. And if you have a Bible, then please turn with me to Matthew chapter 6.
And let's pause for just a second and let's pray and let's still our hearts and ask that God would be so gracious
and teach us many wonderful things about him this morning. So let us pray as we come to Matthew chapter 6.
Father in heaven, as we come before you today, we recognize that we do so in the name of your son, Jesus Christ.
And it's our prayer through him that we ask as we return to your words now that your spirit would take these truths
and would apply them and plant them deep inside our hearts, that we would leave here changed,
that we would leave here with a bigger sense, a grander sense of who you are.
Father, we realize that our only hope is your grace. And so, Father, we fall at your feet this morning
and worship you for who you are, asking that you be with us now in Jesus' name. Amen.
Well, here we are then at the penultimate sermon of this little series that we've been in over the last little while,
thinking about the Lord's Prayer, this pattern prayer that Jesus taught his disciples to pray
so that their hearts would be aligned to the pattern of his kingdom.
And so in preparation for this morning, the figure that's been in my head all week is this figure on the screen.
Now, I really Googled so many times to make sure I had the amount of zeros correct in this,
so I hope that is correct. If not, you blame Google.
So the figure that's been in my head this week is 1.534 trillion.
I wonder if anyone's got any idea as to why that might be in my mind.
Well, it's the figure that according to research done by the money charity,
the figure that represents the cumulative debt of every single person in the UK.
So last year, if you took every single penny that every single person owed and you added it up,
apparently according to the money charity, you'd get to 1.524 trillion pounds.
That's a lot of money. A lot of money.
Remember working in the corporate sector for a few years,
you learn very quickly that our economy is based on borrowing, it's based on debt.
Every single one of us here is familiar with what it means to owe money.
Let me break that down for you, what that means.
It means the average family in the UK owes just over £56,000.
The average individual in the UK owes just over £30,000.
So whether that's mortgages, whether that's student loans,
whether that's borrowing money from banks,
whether that's even just borrowing a tenner from your friend,
that's what that figure is on the screen.
And this morning, Jesus is going to get us to think about debt.
He is, in particular, going to prompt us to consider the biggest debt that you and I owe.
And he's not just going to ask us to consider the biggest debt that you and I owe.
Actually, he's going to ask us to deal with our debts.
Here's the big idea for this morning.
To deal with our debts.
And of course, Jesus hasn't slipped into financial consultant mode.
What he's talking about is the reality of sin.
And all its messiness, sin that's working havoc in our lives and in the world in which we live.
Our sin against this holy God who made us rebelling against him.
Our sin, and we're going to be thinking about other people's sin against us.
Now, immediately you'll sense with those opening reflections,
you'll sense that we are at the sharp end of this prayer.
We are on sensitive turf with these words.
What I mean by that is that these are the words that probably in this prayer most touch our nerves and emotions
as Jesus goes in loving pursuit, all-out pursuit of our hearts and our minds.
Jesus wants all of us this morning.
And I'm sure as we travel through these verses together that God, through his Spirit,
as his Spirit does his work amongst us and in us,
for many of us we are going to be convicted.
And for many of us this might hurt.
And for some of us this might even bring back really painful memories,
whether it's recent or whether it's distant, of forgiveness.
But here's the promise why we should hang on.
Because if we listen, and if we take what Jesus is saying to heart,
then there is immense freedom, and there is immense joy to be found in his words.
Because remember, as we think about this whole area of forgiveness,
remember who is speaking here.
This is Jesus.
He is not like the demon headmaster.
If you were like me, you used to watch that show when you were young.
He's not like the demon headmaster that once he's found out what his pupils are doing,
he sends them to detention and watches them as he makes them write outlines.
Maybe that was my experience of detention.
He is not like that.
He is a loving saviour.
He is the king of his people.
And he's the great lover of souls.
And he is the great physician.
And when he dons the gown, and when he places his chair,
when he goes to do surgery on our hearts,
we have to understand and know that his knife is the one that brings life.
Jesus is going to operate on our hearts this morning.
And with all that as backdrop to get us thinking,
here's the words that Jesus tells his disciples to pray.
And forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors.
That's from the NIV.
Now immediately you'll see that when it comes to facing up to forgiveness,
this is what Jesus is prompting his disciples to do,
face up to forgiveness.
You'll see that Jesus wants his disciples to think along two axes.
There's the Godward axis, the first bit of that sentence.
And then there's the manward axis.
So all I want to do this morning is just to get us to think about those two axes
as it plays out in our lives.
So what I want to suggest is that there are five ways that praying this prayer
for the disciple should impact them.
Now, if you know me well enough, you'll know that I love to alliterate.
And these are all going to begin with C.
Now, if you have, I should have mentioned this at the start,
if you have one of these notices,
you'll notice that there's space for sermon notes on the back.
So please encourage me, write something down that I can see.
We're taking this away.
But this is how this is going to plan and play out in our lives.
Five ways that this is going to impact us.
Ready for this?
Give me something.
Yeah, ready for this.
Great.
Here is the Godward axis and the manward axis.
Here is the first way that this should impact us.
Firstly, it should confront us.
Friends, let me ask you, as you say,
sit here this afternoon.
When was the last time you stilled yourself and stopped yourself,
found yourself on your knees,
thinking about the gravity of your sin?
Because here is Jesus lovingly,
do you see what he's doing?
He's stopping his disciples in their tracks
and he's forcing them to face up for their need of forgiveness.
And what he's doing is he's seeking to create in his disciples,
if you like,
a pair of spiritual antennae
that are receptive to the spiritual battle that they are in
when it comes to sin.
And I wonder if some of us here this morning,
have we got too friendly and too comfortable with our sin?
I remember being at school when Steve Irwin came on the scene,
broke onto the scene.
Every boy in class wanted to be Steve Irwin.
If you remember him, Steve Irwin, the Australian zookeeper,
he had the show known as the Crocodile Hunter.
What is he doing?
He's doing crazy things with crocodiles.
He's feeding crocodiles.
He's poking crocodiles.
He's seeking crocodiles out on their terrain.
And he's trying to swim with crocodiles.
He's trying to wrestle with crocodiles.
And I'm watching this thinking,
does he know these are crocodiles?
I mean, honestly, did he skip that class in biology?
Did he not watch Crocodile Dundee?
Maybe even TikTok and Peter Pan could have got Steve Irwin
to that conclusion that these are not animals that you mess with.
What does he do when he gets bored of crocodiles?
He turns his attention to stingrays.
He goes swimming with stingrays.
And what happens?
One of them stings him in the heart and he dies, 2006.
Remember the shock in the media at the time,
this tragic death.
And it was a tragic death,
but the shock in the media at the time,
how could this have happened?
And we're sitting there thinking,
what else did you expect?
Friends, when it comes to sin,
let me ask you seriously,
there are some of us swimming with stingrays.
Do we understand what we're doing?
They may be little stingrays.
They may be big stingrays,
but a stingray is still a stingray.
And that sting will hurt.
Do you see how these words that Jesus is telling his disciples to pray
is forcing them to be constantly examining their hearts
and to be daily on their knees before their heavenly father,
saying,
Father,
I know that I have wandered to the water
and I know you have told me that it's not safe to go there.
Would you forgive me?
And would you help me to get out of the water?
These words should confront us,
friends,
as to the seriousness of our sin.
And secondly,
they should comfort us.
Because when we ask for forgiveness,
we have to understand and know that God has resoundingly
and finally given the answer to that question in Christ.
That if our trust is in him as our savior,
if we know him as the one who has taken our sin upon himself on the cross,
and as we know him as the one who credits us with his perfect God-honoring life
because our lives are hidden in him,
then we know that not only are we forgiven of our past sins,
of our present sins,
of our future sins because of his grace,
but more than that,
we are deemed righteous in God's sight
and God amazingly adopts us as his sons and daughters,
all because we are in Jesus Christ.
That is the gospel.
And it is incredible that you and I have added nothing to our salvation,
but God,
moved out of his sheer love,
has sent his son in our place to die for our sin.
And so we sing,
when Satan tempts me to despair
and he tells me of the guilt within,
that upward I look to the cross
and see him there who made an end
to all my sin
because the sinless Savior died.
My sinful soul is counted free
because God the just is satisfied
to look on him
and pardon me.
That is the gospel.
Do you not love singing about it?
Isn't there something wonderful about singing gospel truths
that gets them right down into our soul?
Friends, this is the gospel.
Some of us here today
and you feel like Satan has got you in a headlock
because of your guilt.
What we need to understand
is that Satan would have us look anywhere else,
Facebook,
Google,
anywhere else,
rather than at the cross.
Because the cross
is the power of God unto salvation.
The cross is where we find identity
and purpose
and forgiveness
and newness of life.
Do you need to recall
that glorious gospel truth
this morning?
Scottish preacher called Robert Murray McShane
from way back in the day
used to tell his congregation
that when they were feeling the burden of sin,
when they were feeling like
they were taking a few hits from Satan,
for every one look at their sin,
they had to take ten looks at Jesus on the cross.
Remember,
when I was young,
my mom always taught me
when I was having a tantrum
to go away and count to ten.
Do you remember
parents used to do that?
Well, it's what he was saying there.
When you feel that weight,
take a step back and count to ten.
Just look at the cross
again
and again
because Jesus paid it all
and all to him I owe.
Sin had left a crimson stain
but he washed it white as snow.
Friends,
we need to live in that truth
because if you are a Christian here this morning,
then the truth is that sin is not the thing
that identifies you.
Jesus is the one who defines you.
In Jesus,
we have a Savior
who ever holds us.
In Jesus,
we have a Savior
who ever stands for us.
In Jesus,
gloriously,
we have a Savior
who ever pleads for us
at the right hand of the Father.
And there is now,
therefore,
no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus.
This is not
Romans 8,
verse 1,
not just for a tapestry
on the wall.
It's not just a truth
to emblazon
on the side of an Ikea coffee cup.
It is a truth to tattoo
on every single chamber
of our hearts.
In Christ we stand.
In Jesus,
our lives could not be
in better hands.
Now,
you might be asking the question
I was asking myself this week.
If Jesus has forever paid
for my sins,
then why bother praying
for forgiveness?
That's a good question.
Surely the answer
is that Jesus drives
his disciples
to this place
so that they can daily know
for themselves
the joy of forgiveness
and daily know
and experience
his transforming grace
and power
in their lives.
Perhaps you're here
this morning
and you wouldn't call
Jesus your king
or your saviour.
Friends,
it's delighted
that you're here
to think about
these things.
It's Jesus Christ,
the gospel is held out
to you this morning.
Let me ask you,
what are you going to do
with your guilt
and your wrongs?
Here is a saviour
who offers to take
your burdens
upon himself
and find rest
and peace
with God.
Know that in Jesus Christ
forgiveness and peace
are on offer
through him.
What a saviour we have.
These words should comfort us.
Thirdly,
they should change us.
As we experience
God's grace,
as we think about
the size of our sin debt
that he paid,
as we consider
the lengths that he went to
to make our redemption
possible,
you and I cannot
remain the same.
As we consider
the magnitude
of what it means
to be God's people
as those who have been
chosen and redeemed
by God,
that he has set apart
to live as what?
A city on a hill.
Salt and light
in the world.
Light to the nations.
A kingdom of fruit.
You can go on
and on and on.
It's interesting,
do you know what
the most common
New Testament word is
that describes God's people?
Saints.
The world would see
and look into us
and see the greatness
of our God.
You see,
this prayer is
from the heart
of a child of God
that beats for holiness.
That says,
Lord,
I know my sinful heart.
Would you forgive me
for going my way?
And would you help me
by your spirit
who you have sent
because you love me
so much to live in me?
Would you help me
to go your way?
That your spirit,
as he works in me,
would help me say
no to my kingdom
and building my kingdom?
And would it say yes
to building your kingdom?
That the values
of that kingdom
would become mine.
And the fruit
of the spirit
would be evident
for all to see
in my life.
love,
joy,
peace,
patience,
kindness,
goodness,
faithfulness,
gentleness,
and self-control.
I tell you what,
that's the kind of tree
that I want to be.
I want people to be
seeing that truth
in my own life.
Beating for holiness.
Let me ask you,
particularly when it comes
to your character.
Friends,
how often
are you asking God
that by his grace
he would help you change?
To become more like Jesus?
Kevin DeYoung
in his great little book
that I really encourage
you to read,
he's got some spare time
over the summer,
it's called
The Hole in Our Holiness.
He writes this,
the best looking Christian,
great way to start
a quote,
isn't it?
The best looking Christian
is the one
who is growing
by the spirit
into the likeness
of Jesus.
Such a simple
and yet such a profound
truth.
His prayer should
confront us,
this prayer should
comfort us,
this prayer should
change us,
and so as we move
from thinking about
the Godward axis
of this prayer,
let's now turn
to consider the
manward axis
of this prayer.
As we also
have forgiven
our debtors.
that is hard.
And Jesus
asks his disciples
to examine
their own hearts,
having received
this forgiveness
from God,
knowing the forgiveness
in their lives,
to consider
their relationships
with other people.
And he draws
a direct link,
do you see it,
between the forgiveness
that we receive
from God
and the forgiveness
that we extend
to other people.
Because forgiveness
is right at the heart
of Jesus' kingdom.
Therefore,
forgiveness
is to be right
at the center
of the hearts
of his kingdom people.
And so as we think
about the natural
implications
that flow
from Jesus' words
there,
we have to conclude
that this is very hard.
As we think about
the challenge
that that brings
to our lives,
it should definitely
fall into the
I wish you just
hadn't said
that category.
Wouldn't it?
I think it's
the fourth thing
that as we pray
this prayer,
Jesus' words do to us,
they massively
challenge us
to face up
to forgiveness.
Now if you've got
your Bibles there,
Matthew 6,
let's do a little bit
digging in Matthew's
Gospel,
you'll see Jesus
underscore the point
at verse 15
and 14
of chapter 6.
And you can do
this in your own
time afterwards,
he further explains
and illustrates
that point
in chapter 18
as he tells
the parable
of the unforgiving
servant.
Now let me just
quickly walk us
through that parable
because it's so
important.
Peter asked Jesus,
Lord,
how often,
and this is a
cracking question,
how often do I
need to forgive
my brother who
sins against me?
His question is
essentially,
Jesus,
when can I
legitimately stop
with his whole
forgiveness game?
When Jerry Maguire
showed me the money,
Peter's saying,
show me the number.
When can I stop
showing forgiveness
to my brother?
Now given that the
rabbis of the day
are saying three,
you have to commend
Peter here.
What does he have
a shot at?
Seven.
What does Jesus say?
Blows him out of the
water.
He says 77
or 70 times 7.
We'll go for 77.
Talk about upping
the ante from Jesus.
Now there's Old
Testament significance
to that number,
the background of which
we just don't have time
to go into today,
except to say that
Jesus is saying that
if the world is so
often about revenge,
then the hearts of
the people of my
kingdom are to be
so radically and
contrastingly different
to that.
Jesus tells the story
of a servant
who owes a very
large debt.
The way he tells it
there, the way he
explains it,
is for us to
recognize that this
is not just an
astronomically big
debt, actually this
is a debt that he
has got zilch chance
of repaying.
He's got no chance
of repaying this
debt.
And so when it
comes to repaying
that debt to his
master, it is little
surprise that he is
in no position to
pay it.
And his master
does the expected
thing.
He tries to recoup
his losses.
He demands that his
servant and his
wife and children
be sold into
slavery.
And so when the
servant comes to
terms with that
terrifying possibility,
the servant does
what any one of us
would do if the
stakes were that
high.
Looks in his
coat pocket,
looks at the cards
that he's got left
to play, and he
realizes that the
only one that's
there is the
mercy card.
Master, would you
have mercy on me?
He falls at the
feet of his
master, pleads for
more time, because
he sees that's the
only card he's got
to play.
And the key
verse in chapter
18, the one that
says, and the
master had what?
Pity on him.
The master showed
him mercy.
And get your head
around this.
See, he doesn't
just give him one
more time.
He doesn't just
say you've got X
amount of time to
pay me back.
Actually, what he
does, he goes way
further than that.
He writes off the
debt.
Can you imagine the
sense of jubilation?
Can you imagine the
inner sense of
freedom that the
servant experiences as
he hears those
words?
Well, as the
servant leaves the
presence of the
master, lo and
behold, on the way
out, what does he
see?
He meets the guy who
owes him a lot of
money.
Now, it's nothing
compared to the debt
that he's been let
off from the
master.
But it's still a
debt.
He doesn't
show mercy to the
guy who owes him
debt.
When he realizes
that this isn't
going to be
repaid, he throws
him in prison.
And when the
master finds out, he
is absolutely
livid.
And then come the
crushing and
challenging words of
Jesus, the sting in
the tail to the
parable.
This is how my
heavenly father will
treat each of you
unless you forgive
your brother or
sister from the
heart.
And I fitted
some new light
bulbs in our
house last month.
Got the ladder
out, went up the
ladder, changed the
bulbs, took the
old ones off, put the
new ones on, flicked
on the switch, and I
was just about blinded
by the new bulbs, the
power in them.
I could feel myself
getting a tan at the
same time.
These were light
bulbs.
But what happened
is I went to Amazon,
went to my computer to
write, because I'm
British, I really
strongly worded
complaint to put it
on Amazon.
What happened is I
got to Amazon and
looked at what I'd
actually bought.
And what I'd bought
were these new LED
powerful and energy
efficient bulbs.
So I went back to
the ladder, up I
went, and I looked
out at what these
LED bulbs were
showing me about the
room.
And I looked in the
corner, all I could
see was the dirt that
I haven't hoovered up.
Now I take pride in
my cleanliness.
I looked at the
corner, couldn't
get away from the
dirt.
I looked up, all I
could see was the
cobwebs.
I looked at the
surfaces, all I
could see was the
dust.
Because the light
from these new
light bulbs, we
had got so used to
living with light
bulbs at this level.
When it got kicked
up, the light had
exposed all the
stuff in this room
that I needed to
deal with.
And I realized it
wasn't half as clean
as I thought it was.
This is what Jesus'
words here are doing.
This is the light
shining into every
corner of our
lives.
What is lurking in
there, says Jesus?
What do you see when
the light goes into
the corners?
What do you know that
you need to deal
with?
Let me ask this,
particularly as we
think about other
people, maybe even in
this room this morning.
When you look in your
hearts, when the light is
shining in those
corners, what do you
see?
Is there stuff in
there that you and I
need to deal with?
When it comes to being
right with our brothers
and sisters, when it
comes to being right
with those outside, are
there any deep-seated
thoughts?
Is there any bitterness
that's brewing?
Is there any harboring
hurts that are in
there, maybe against
other people?
To see how God, by
his goodness, because
he wants us to make
us more like Jesus, is
putting, maybe even
painfully, his finger on
particular people in our
lives this morning, is
through his word.
people that we need to
think about being
right with.
Because I think this is
the fifth and final thing
that these words do to
us, they compel us.
To move from facing up
to forgiveness, to
fighting for forgiveness.
And many of us, I know
that even the very
mention of those words
seem absolutely
terrifying.
Some of us will have
been hurt and betrayed
and scarred in ways I
do not even want to
stand up here and
pretend that I know
about.
But maybe this morning
Jesus would invite you
to take his hand and
to walk with him on
this long and sometimes
windy road towards
forgiveness.
Because not only does he
know what it is like to
be the sin against party
in ways that we will
never understand.
But he promises to be
a friend, one who
sticks and walks
closer than a brother
to all his children.
And in the father's
wisdom he has provided
us with a church family
like Paul was
mentioning earlier,
full of individuals
transformed by grace
who have committed
themselves to helping
one another walk this
road.
some of you might
remember the high
profile case that was
in the news a few
years ago of Christian
policeman, I think his
name was Stephen Oak.
He was killed while
trying to arrest an
Al-Qaeda terrorist in
2003 down in Manchester
and he left, tragically
he left a wife and
three kids behind.
And a while later the
whole family appeared
on the, if you remember
this, the Kilroy BBC
chat show that used to be
on.
And they explained that
while the pain for them
was so real and it was
so raw and it was so
excruciating, that not
only was their church
supporting them and
walking with them
through this time, but
Jesus was so near and
was helping them to walk
the long journey of
forgiveness that they
needed to show to this
man.
It was amazing, they
opened it up for
comments just afterwards
from other guests who'd
gone through similar
things who were not
Christians and the
contrast between what
the family were saying
and what the other
people on the show
were saying.
Forgiveness for them
wasn't just, it wasn't
even on the table as an
option.
Friend, do you see how
God is so glorified when
grace triumphs in our
hearts?
Do you see how Satan
rages and how the world
stands in shock when a
disciple of Jesus says
that bitterness and hurt
will not reign in this
heart, but Jesus will?
God is so, it's just
something you know that
you need to be right
with this morning for the
glory of God.
This prayer should
challenge us and this
prayer should compel us.
And as we bring it to a
close this morning, do you
see how Jesus Christ is
not only the solution to
our Godward debt?
Do you see how he is
actually the perfect model
of what it looks like to
forgive our debtors?
It's to him we look this
morning.
Wonderfully, do you see
what God is doing here?
This whole restoration
process, this whole
transformation process.
What he's doing in our
lives, what was the state
of Adam and Eve, their
relationship with God and
one another before the
fall, before sin entered
the human equation?
Adam and Eve, peace with
God.
Peace inside.
Adam and Eve, peace with
one another in creation.
See how God, as he works
this transformation process
in our lives, he is making
us into the whole reason
that he made us in the
first place.
To know that forgiveness,
to know that harmony, to
know that wholeness.
And so it's to Jesus Christ
that we look this morning as
the way that God is doing
that.
And one day it will be fully
realized in the new
creation because Jesus Christ
is the one who says, I am
making all things new.
And so it is to Jesus Christ
that we look this morning.
As we close, do you know
more than six million
Britons, and I take you
back to that number at the
start, more than six million
Britons don't ever believe
they will ever be debt free
in their lifetime.
Friends, when it comes to our
debt of sin, and when it
comes to the debts that
people owe us, do you see
how the gospel offers us a
wonderful alternative?
Just before I pray, why
don't we just have a
moment, just a minute of
silence.
And if there's been
anything that's been on
your heart this morning,
in any of those two
acts, then maybe now is
the time to bring your
prayer before the Lord.
Maybe even if you don't
know Jesus Christ as your
King and your Saviour,
maybe even this morning is
the time where you first
say, Jesus, Lord, I need
you.
And then I will pray as we
close.
O to grace, how great a
debtor, daily I'm
constrained to be.
Let thy goodness, like a
fetter, bind my wandering
heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel
it.
Prone to leave the God that I
love.
Here's my heart.
O take and seal it and
seal it for thy courts
above.
So, Father, thank you so
much for your great grace
that saw you send your
Son for us, for our sin.
And I pray that as your
Spirit continues to work in
our hearts off the back of
this morning, that you would
continue to be transforming
us more into the likeness of
Jesus Christ.
And so it's to him we look
this morning, and it's in
his name that we pray these
things.
In Jesus' name, amen.