WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:10.439 Good evening, all. We're in our third week of journeying with Jesus to Jerusalem. I've 00:00:10.439 --> 00:00:15.300 got a service sheet that hopefully you pick one of those up on the way. There's a few 00:00:15.300 --> 00:00:18.660 more copies over the back there if you need one of those. I'll give you an idea in terms 00:00:18.660 --> 00:00:28.500 of following with me in the sermon tonight. As we know from the first message, Jesus is 00:00:28.500 --> 00:00:35.219 heading to Jerusalem to die for the sins of humanity. What Jesus calls is he calls his 00:00:35.219 --> 00:00:39.859 disciples to come follow him, but he demands a high level of commitment from those who would 00:00:39.859 --> 00:00:47.219 follow him. This is not a superficial commitment in any sense. Luke 9, 23, 24 is very, very clear. 00:00:47.320 --> 00:00:52.019 If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, follow me, 00:00:52.340 --> 00:00:57.480 for whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever will lose his life for me will save it. 00:00:58.500 --> 00:01:03.920 And as I've said consistently for the last three weeks is that when Jesus set his face to walk 00:01:03.920 --> 00:01:11.620 the Calvary road, he was not merely taking our place, he was setting our pattern. That is, 00:01:11.700 --> 00:01:18.539 he was both our substitute and our pace setter for the life of discipleship. 00:01:18.540 --> 00:01:26.780 And so that's why we are calling this series Radical. What does it look like to be a radical, 00:01:27.500 --> 00:01:31.380 sold out disciple of the Lord Jesus? Now, I'd originally thought about calling this 00:01:31.380 --> 00:01:38.620 series Radical Generosity rather than just simply Radical. Unfortunately, as soon as we hear the 00:01:38.620 --> 00:01:43.200 words generosity attached to anything, you just automatically think, well, this is a whole sermon 00:01:43.200 --> 00:01:47.460 series about money, which we will have one day. Don't worry about that. It'll come. 00:01:48.920 --> 00:01:56.359 But of course, radical generosity in the Bible is not less than what we do with our money, 00:01:56.600 --> 00:02:03.640 our wealth, our resources, but it is so much more than just about money. Let's take, for instance, 00:02:03.740 --> 00:02:11.460 last week, the Pharisee and tax collector, Luke 18, as an example. We saw that this Pharisee, 00:02:11.460 --> 00:02:17.860 standing in the temple courts, looks down at the tax collector with a great deal of scorn, 00:02:18.340 --> 00:02:23.400 and yet we're told in the same text, he gives away a tenth of all that he gets. See, this guy, 00:02:23.520 --> 00:02:32.300 you know, tithes his tomato plants and everything. That is, what we learn is that it's possible to 00:02:32.300 --> 00:02:39.540 technically be generous with your money, and yet not at all radically generous in your heart towards 00:02:39.539 --> 00:02:46.979 other people. The American pastor, theologian, A.W. Tozer wrote that the Pharisee, the religious 00:02:46.979 --> 00:02:53.739 person, is easy on themselves, but hard on everyone else. They look down their noses at everyone else. 00:02:53.819 --> 00:03:00.319 They disdain others. They criticize others. They demonize others. They put others into categories and 00:03:00.319 --> 00:03:06.519 boxes. That is, they are not relationally generous with other people. 00:03:06.520 --> 00:03:13.620 People are not given the benefit of the doubt. There's no forgiveness. And so it's possible 00:03:13.620 --> 00:03:23.960 to give away money in great proportions and yet to be profoundly selfish and ungenerous in other areas 00:03:23.960 --> 00:03:32.439 of life. That is, happy to write a check, but I don't want to be emotionally involved with those 00:03:32.439 --> 00:03:39.800 people and those particular issues. In other words, my money is not as important to me as my emotional 00:03:39.800 --> 00:03:45.460 energy. I value my emotional energy more, and therefore I'll give my money, but I refuse to give 00:03:45.460 --> 00:03:51.360 that. Refuse to give my emotional energy to people. Happy to write a check, for instance, but I won't give 00:03:51.360 --> 00:04:01.000 my time because my time is my own. I value my privacy. I value my individual retreats. In other words, 00:04:01.000 --> 00:04:07.099 my time is the most precious thing for me, and I'll be radically generous with my finances, but I will 00:04:07.099 --> 00:04:16.519 not be radically generous with my time. And so to be radically generous biblically is to be generous 00:04:16.519 --> 00:04:22.959 down to the root of our hearts. It means to be pervasively generous in all areas of life. That's what 00:04:22.959 --> 00:04:31.459 radical generosity is. It means to be characterized by a spirit of unselfish service and generosity in 00:04:31.459 --> 00:04:38.740 every aspect of life, which is basically what this whole series is. What does it mean to be a radical 00:04:38.740 --> 00:04:47.899 disciple of Jesus? It means to be radically generous in everything in life. At least that's one description 00:04:47.899 --> 00:04:56.279 of it. The Lord Jesus did not hold anything back from us, and we don't hold anything back from him 00:04:56.279 --> 00:05:03.959 or from others. We take up our cross, we die to ourselves in every area of life. 00:05:06.219 --> 00:05:13.359 And that is a decision that too many who sit in pews, who lead churches and other things are just not 00:05:13.360 --> 00:05:21.300 willing to do. But that's the sort of church that we're working to be. That's the sort of church we 00:05:21.300 --> 00:05:27.600 want to desire to be in increasing measure. And so my focus today with the text in front of us of Luke 17 00:05:27.600 --> 00:05:34.000 is how do we grow in radical relational generosity? 00:05:34.000 --> 00:05:46.699 There is a general form of relational generosity. And you see that with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. 00:05:46.839 --> 00:05:52.379 You know the scenario? He's just before he's arrested. He's in the Garden of Gethsemane with 00:05:52.379 --> 00:05:56.540 the disciples, and he says, guys, I'm going to go for a walk up here, and I'm going to take Peter, 00:05:56.540 --> 00:06:02.939 James, and John with me, and I'm going to pray. You guys stay here, keep watch, and pray. 00:06:02.939 --> 00:06:11.040 So Jesus goes up, agonizes, comes back, they're asleep. And he does it three times, comes back, 00:06:11.100 --> 00:06:21.139 and they're asleep each time. And Jesus says to them, you rotten, rotten individuals, how dare you? 00:06:22.139 --> 00:06:30.639 No, he didn't do that, did he? He said to them, the flesh is weak, but the spirit is willing. 00:06:30.639 --> 00:06:37.459 He says, yes, there's a certain element of laziness attached to what I've just asked you to do, 00:06:37.560 --> 00:06:43.779 and you didn't do it. Yes, your flesh is weak, but the intention was there. The spirit is willing, 00:06:43.839 --> 00:06:49.759 I understand. So he cuts them a bit of slack. That's a general sense of relational generosity, 00:06:49.899 --> 00:06:55.300 prepared to cut me a little bit of slack. But there's a very specific form of relational 00:06:55.300 --> 00:07:01.020 generosity that must characterize every Christian without question, and it is forgiveness. 00:07:02.060 --> 00:07:07.120 This would have to be one of the most important characteristics of the Christian. 00:07:08.480 --> 00:07:13.259 And so that's our focus tonight, this specific characterization of Christians, 00:07:14.139 --> 00:07:20.860 radical relational generosity as is expressed in forgiveness. So firstly, let's take a look at 00:07:20.860 --> 00:07:26.139 the difficulty of forgiveness. Every single one of us have people out there, that's because we live 00:07:26.139 --> 00:07:31.620 in a sinful world. Every single one of us have people out there who owe us in some way because 00:07:31.620 --> 00:07:41.280 of how they've treated us. And we tend to hold it over them relationally. We might be more demanding 00:07:41.279 --> 00:07:48.239 of them, or we might just keep our, you know, it bottled up inside and we choose not to speak about it. 00:07:48.500 --> 00:07:54.399 But in the end, that's not being particularly generous. Being generous means that you actually 00:07:54.399 --> 00:08:02.399 release it. It means that you let it go. It means that you forgive. Does that sound really difficult 00:08:02.399 --> 00:08:06.199 to do? You think of what people have done to you, think it's really difficult to do? Well, 00:08:06.199 --> 00:08:12.039 the disciples thought so too. You see, when Jesus started talking about forgiveness, 00:08:13.019 --> 00:08:21.560 what is the first response of the disciples in this text? It's the emphatic, increase our faith. 00:08:23.199 --> 00:08:33.480 It's another way of saying, Jesus, what? Serious? That is impossible. 00:08:33.480 --> 00:08:40.820 And so in verse 4, we see the enormity of the challenge that Jesus puts before his first 00:08:40.820 --> 00:08:46.440 disciples, puts before us. He says here that if your brother sins against you seven times in a day, 00:08:46.779 --> 00:08:55.120 and seven times he comes to you repentant, you must forgive. Now, Jesus is not encouraging in any sense 00:08:55.120 --> 00:09:03.659 for us to calculate the number of sins committed against us. He isn't saying or making any sort of 00:09:03.659 --> 00:09:10.440 suggestion, ah, eighth time. Sorry, dude. All over now. You know, no need to forgive now. It's the eighth time. 00:09:12.139 --> 00:09:18.639 You see, the number seven was symbolic for Jewish people. It's why Jesus uses the number seven here. 00:09:18.980 --> 00:09:23.799 It's the number that means completeness or fullness or perfection and beyond which you could not imagine 00:09:23.799 --> 00:09:29.919 anything else. In other words, it's kind of like being invited over to someone's place in first 00:09:29.919 --> 00:09:37.159 century Palestine and they say to you, I hope you eat, you know, seven basketfuls of bread. He's not 00:09:37.159 --> 00:09:44.620 actually expecting you're going to eat seven basketfuls of bread, but he's hoping that from this feast that 00:09:44.620 --> 00:09:53.159 you are going to feel satisfied, complete, filled up. So what that means is that what Jesus is saying here 00:09:53.159 --> 00:09:59.279 is far worse than we think it is. Someone's put it like this. 00:10:01.519 --> 00:10:09.779 If a person would wrong you as completely and as fully as any person could wrong another human being, 00:10:10.659 --> 00:10:20.639 you must forgive them. Imagine the worst thing that anybody could possibly do to you. 00:10:20.639 --> 00:10:24.899 Something so bad that nothing beyond it is possible. 00:10:27.059 --> 00:10:33.620 Jesus says that if we are his disciples, if we are on the Calvary Road with him, 00:10:34.519 --> 00:10:42.399 we must forgive. We must take up our cross and die to self a little more. 00:10:42.399 --> 00:10:52.480 David and Marika Ackerman were pretty core members of a church in South Africa, St. James Kenilworth. 00:10:53.159 --> 00:11:00.019 Both were involved in vital ministries of the church over a number of years. 00:11:00.019 --> 00:11:08.100 And on the 25th of July in 1993, a thousand people had gathered for a service at St. James Kenilworth. 00:11:08.740 --> 00:11:18.179 When three young men burst into the church service, firing semi-automatic weapons and lobbing hand grenades 00:11:18.179 --> 00:11:24.659 into the congregation. And the hand grenades had long nails glued to the outside of them in order to 00:11:24.659 --> 00:11:31.819 maximize damage. Moments after the carnage, there was 11 people were murdered. 00:11:32.399 --> 00:11:38.000 50 people were severely maimed, losing limbs and many other vital functions. 00:11:38.219 --> 00:11:46.740 Hundreds sustained various degrees of shrapnel wounds and many hundreds psychological damage. 00:11:46.740 --> 00:11:55.860 Right near the front door, as you walked in, was seating. Marika Ackerman was seated. 00:11:57.039 --> 00:12:03.700 She had sat with a bunch of visitors who had just came to church that night and wanted to 00:12:03.700 --> 00:12:11.100 get them settled into church. She was fatally wounded. One of the first people shot. Fatally wounded in the attack. 00:12:11.100 --> 00:12:23.519 In all the chaos, Davi made it to his dying wife and her head was cradled in his lap as he waited 00:12:23.519 --> 00:12:30.440 for the paramedics to arrive to attend to the injuries that she would shortly die from. And in that moment, 00:12:30.840 --> 00:12:38.259 while his wife was close to death, a TV crew brazenly stuck a microphone under Davi's chin. 00:12:38.259 --> 00:12:49.519 It's chaos. And with the camera rolling, the news reporter asked Davi how he felt towards the 00:12:49.519 --> 00:12:58.240 perpetrators of this evil. Without any chance to be coached in what to say or to rehearse his answer, 00:12:58.819 --> 00:13:03.319 Davi looked at the camera, paused and simply but quite profoundly said, 00:13:03.320 --> 00:13:11.680 I will love my enemies. I will pray for my enemies. I will never, ever give into revenge. 00:13:14.780 --> 00:13:24.300 In the latter court hearings for his wife murderers, he looked at the three men and asked them to look at 00:13:24.299 --> 00:13:35.199 him and he says, I forgive you unconditionally. Jesus has unconditionally forgiven me. I forgive you unconditionally. 00:13:37.199 --> 00:13:45.240 And that's why the disciples say here to Jesus, increase our faith, Jesus. This is impossible, Jesus. 00:13:45.240 --> 00:13:51.279 Jesus. It's an enormous challenge, but it's one that we cannot shrink back from. 00:13:52.840 --> 00:13:58.480 We cannot say, this is ridiculous, Jesus, and just pull back from it. We can't shrink back 00:13:58.480 --> 00:14:05.580 because there's too much at stake if we do. There's an enormous danger here if we do. 00:14:05.580 --> 00:14:14.840 There's this little phrase which is so easy to ignore. Just read straight past it. And in verse 3, 00:14:14.960 --> 00:14:21.180 it sets up this whole section for us. And it's simply, watch yourselves. 00:14:23.340 --> 00:14:31.040 We're called to watch ourselves when someone sins against us. That's not what we would normally do. 00:14:31.039 --> 00:14:36.759 When someone wrongs us, we normally pay an enormous amount of attention to the person who's wronged us. 00:14:37.399 --> 00:14:41.019 Think about how much they've wronged us and replaying it over our heads, how much they've hurt us. 00:14:41.399 --> 00:14:47.120 And Jesus says here, you pay attention to yourself. You pay attention to your own heart. 00:14:48.579 --> 00:14:48.980 Why? 00:14:51.559 --> 00:14:52.419 I'll tell you why. 00:14:52.419 --> 00:15:03.360 Last week, I mentioned the Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy. And as I said last week, he had a somewhat overinflated view of himself. 00:15:04.500 --> 00:15:10.279 I'd imagine he couldn't have been easy to live with. Turns out he wasn't. He was married to Sonia. 00:15:11.179 --> 00:15:19.980 And on the eve of their wedding, he gave her, as a gift if you like, his diaries to read. 00:15:19.980 --> 00:15:29.139 And in his diaries, he had recorded in detail his many sexual experiences, 00:15:29.879 --> 00:15:36.879 including with one of his servants who worked with him and still work with him, 00:15:37.220 --> 00:15:39.279 to whom he was the father of their child. 00:15:42.420 --> 00:15:46.960 And apparently, early on in their marriage, it was relatively happy. 00:15:46.960 --> 00:15:53.840 Later on, though, Sonia was known to launch into jealous tirades on a regular basis. 00:15:55.100 --> 00:16:04.740 And when she was 80 years old, she was writing in her own journal very, very bitterly about what she had read decades before. 00:16:05.780 --> 00:16:08.180 One historian wrote this about it. 00:16:08.179 --> 00:16:22.259 Hebrews 12, 15 says, 00:16:22.259 --> 00:16:29.799 See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God, and that no bitter root grows up, causing trouble and defiling many. 00:16:31.139 --> 00:16:34.659 That's why Jesus says here, watch yourself. 00:16:34.659 --> 00:16:34.740 Watch yourself. 00:16:35.779 --> 00:16:42.539 Watch yourself, because our anger, when someone wrongs us, our anger will always tell us, 00:16:42.759 --> 00:16:44.639 I'm not actually anger. 00:16:45.919 --> 00:16:51.319 Anger will always tell us that it's justified, it's truth, it's righteous. 00:16:52.659 --> 00:16:56.159 But if you keep hold of it, it will defile you. 00:16:56.159 --> 00:17:07.440 It's interesting that there are four words in the English language that all have the same root word, same core word. 00:17:08.559 --> 00:17:12.740 Wrath, which is rage, fury, anger. 00:17:14.119 --> 00:17:21.639 Wreath, which is the thing that you twist together with flowers and vines and branches to make that round thing. 00:17:21.640 --> 00:17:27.680 Writhe, which is to be bent out of shape and contorted and jerking movements. 00:17:28.860 --> 00:17:35.620 And wraith, which is a ghost-like image of someone just before or just after they have died. 00:17:36.920 --> 00:17:38.100 They're all connected. 00:17:38.099 --> 00:17:42.139 We mustn't kid ourselves. 00:17:43.179 --> 00:17:50.500 When we stay angry with people, we hold a judge, we stay resentful, we become distorted and we become twisted by the anger. 00:17:50.939 --> 00:17:54.119 We become a person who is afraid of trusting other people. 00:17:54.219 --> 00:17:57.659 We become people who are joyless, people who are suspicious of others. 00:17:58.079 --> 00:17:59.899 We demonize and box people. 00:18:00.039 --> 00:18:03.099 We become ultimately a hard person. 00:18:03.099 --> 00:18:12.179 And so what Jesus says here is if someone wrongs you, put yourself on high alert. 00:18:13.799 --> 00:18:20.199 Watch your heart because their wronging of you is the least of your problem. 00:18:21.419 --> 00:18:23.099 It's the least of your problem. 00:18:26.079 --> 00:18:27.899 So then how do we go about it? 00:18:27.980 --> 00:18:28.879 How do we forgive? 00:18:30.199 --> 00:18:31.859 How can we practice forgiveness? 00:18:31.859 --> 00:18:34.839 When we are angry for what people have done. 00:18:34.919 --> 00:18:36.579 There are at least three things we can do. 00:18:37.139 --> 00:18:39.219 Plenty more, but I just want to focus on three things. 00:18:41.079 --> 00:18:47.519 In fact, I say we need to do this if we are to avoid becoming twisted and distorted and destroyed by bitterness. 00:18:48.259 --> 00:18:53.859 The first thing is that we must refuse to caricature the wrongdoer by... 00:18:55.699 --> 00:18:58.039 But instead, we need to identify with them. 00:18:58.039 --> 00:19:01.779 So instead of characterizing them, we need to identify with them. 00:19:01.859 --> 00:19:09.139 If someone wrongs us, the first thing we do is we tend to emphasize their faults and their failings. 00:19:10.019 --> 00:19:14.659 And so Jesus is making a very significant point here when he says, 00:19:14.919 --> 00:19:17.919 If your brother sins. 00:19:19.059 --> 00:19:22.959 He's talking here about Christians wronging Christians. 00:19:22.960 --> 00:19:29.039 And he's reminding us that you have a common family. 00:19:30.240 --> 00:19:34.480 When our temptation, which it always is in the midst of difficulty like this, 00:19:34.960 --> 00:19:38.120 our temptation is to highlight the differences. 00:19:38.700 --> 00:19:42.180 Jesus says here, don't forget to emphasize the unity in whose you are. 00:19:42.180 --> 00:19:47.460 Of course, the Bible doesn't just say that Christians are to forgive Christians. 00:19:47.940 --> 00:19:49.420 Mark 11, 25 says, 00:19:50.500 --> 00:19:55.840 When you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, 00:19:56.740 --> 00:19:58.960 so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. 00:19:59.039 --> 00:19:59.840 Hear that? Anyone. 00:20:00.440 --> 00:20:02.200 The principle is the same. 00:20:02.200 --> 00:20:06.299 We must stress what we have in common. 00:20:08.080 --> 00:20:12.740 That is, with all people, we share a common humanity in the image of God. 00:20:13.860 --> 00:20:21.059 Every human being is a complex person made in God's image with great dignity and great worth. 00:20:21.059 --> 00:20:32.240 And our normal practice when someone wrongs us is to reduce them from that status of dignity down to what they have done. 00:20:33.139 --> 00:20:35.500 And so someone tells you a lie. 00:20:36.039 --> 00:20:38.539 And what you do is you're so offended by that. 00:20:38.619 --> 00:20:40.639 They've lied against you or lied to you or something like that. 00:20:40.679 --> 00:20:42.259 And you go, you are a liar. 00:20:43.839 --> 00:20:46.179 And so we define them by their action. 00:20:46.180 --> 00:20:51.200 I'm a human being offended and you're a cartoon villain. 00:20:54.980 --> 00:21:00.660 We also, and this is crucial, we also share a common sinfulness with all people. 00:21:02.259 --> 00:21:09.160 It is impossible to stay angry with someone unless we feel superior to them. 00:21:11.160 --> 00:21:15.180 You cannot stay angry with someone unless you feel superior to them. 00:21:16.180 --> 00:21:25.700 When we say things like, I would never, ever do that, we elevate ourselves over others in a way that makes us feel morally superior. 00:21:27.320 --> 00:21:31.660 We might not sin in exactly the same way, but we are all just as sinful. 00:21:32.039 --> 00:21:36.279 And instead of characterizing the enemy, we must identify with them. 00:21:36.299 --> 00:21:41.680 We must bring ourselves down to their level and we must lift them up. 00:21:41.680 --> 00:21:49.160 So the second thing we need to do is we need to inwardly surrender the right to repayment and to pay the debt ourselves. 00:21:50.299 --> 00:21:58.759 The word for forgive here that Jesus uses in this passage is a very specific word that means to release a person from a financial debt. 00:21:58.759 --> 00:22:11.920 Now when a bank releases you from a financial debt, not that they ever do, but if they do, the bank in that moment chooses to absorb the debt. 00:22:13.180 --> 00:22:15.379 They make the choice to absorb the debt. 00:22:15.460 --> 00:22:18.059 The debt doesn't just disappear, someone has to pay. 00:22:19.000 --> 00:22:20.259 And so they absorb the debt. 00:22:20.720 --> 00:22:22.119 And that's what we need to do. 00:22:22.119 --> 00:22:25.219 How do we forgive? 00:22:25.959 --> 00:22:31.039 We can only forgive if inwardly we forego seeking repayment. 00:22:32.759 --> 00:22:36.399 And that is the opposite of our default setting. 00:22:37.459 --> 00:22:43.019 This is the opposite of how I have acted in so many occasions. 00:22:43.559 --> 00:22:46.939 And especially with the people who I'm the closest with. 00:22:46.940 --> 00:22:56.360 There was a time when my relationship with my parents, some of you will know this, was so bad that I had nothing to do with them for over a decade. 00:22:58.160 --> 00:23:05.000 And on so many occasions in those years, I did not practice with them the forgiveness that I had received from Jesus. 00:23:06.100 --> 00:23:08.500 I traded hurt for hurt. 00:23:08.500 --> 00:23:14.559 I specifically traded the hurt of being rejected with the hurt of rejecting. 00:23:15.680 --> 00:23:18.420 Although I was able to do it so righteously. 00:23:21.339 --> 00:23:29.480 On a number of occasions, I believed and repeated a story about them that in fact severely tarnished their reputation. 00:23:30.359 --> 00:23:34.900 It's the sort of story that no son should believe, let alone repeat. 00:23:34.900 --> 00:23:35.700 But I did. 00:23:35.700 --> 00:23:47.580 When I wasn't being treated like a son, I chose to not treat them like my parents. 00:23:48.720 --> 00:23:50.440 It's never justified. 00:23:51.220 --> 00:23:54.160 My anger was never righteous. 00:23:54.160 --> 00:24:04.220 And just this week, I realized that the source of my deepest pain was in fact the pain that I inflicted on them. 00:24:07.779 --> 00:24:11.840 Now, I knew that I was responsible many years ago for my contribution. 00:24:12.960 --> 00:24:14.800 But it's taken 20 years. 00:24:14.880 --> 00:24:17.019 Now, I'm slow on some uptake and stuff. 00:24:17.019 --> 00:24:32.039 20 years for me to realize what I suspect to be the deepest level of hurt that I inflicted on them was in fact the deepest level of hurt that I'd experienced. 00:24:32.259 --> 00:24:33.980 We trade hurt for hurt. 00:24:33.980 --> 00:24:40.380 And so the cycle of warfare just keeps going, going, going, and going. 00:24:43.440 --> 00:24:44.500 Isn't that all we do? 00:24:44.660 --> 00:24:46.740 If someone makes us unhappy, we make them unhappy. 00:24:46.839 --> 00:24:48.440 If someone rejects us, we reject them. 00:24:48.500 --> 00:24:51.160 If someone destroys our reputation, we destroy their reputation. 00:24:51.500 --> 00:24:53.500 And we are so good at it in the church sometimes. 00:24:54.240 --> 00:24:58.440 We, you know, we're careful not to be labeled as gossip. 00:24:58.559 --> 00:24:59.620 So we share prayer points. 00:24:59.679 --> 00:25:00.659 I want you to pray about this issue. 00:25:00.739 --> 00:25:01.579 I've got a problem with so-and-so. 00:25:01.659 --> 00:25:02.299 Let me tell you the issue. 00:25:04.479 --> 00:25:08.179 We trade hurt for hurt and it just spirals out and out of control. 00:25:09.339 --> 00:25:10.939 We might do it directly with them. 00:25:10.979 --> 00:25:13.299 We might tell them off and make them feel really bad. 00:25:13.299 --> 00:25:17.819 Or we might do it behind their backs about gossiping about them and ruining their reputation. 00:25:18.359 --> 00:25:25.179 We take a word that we get from someone else and we replay that word but with extra emphasis. 00:25:26.119 --> 00:25:29.199 With a different tone than it was received. 00:25:29.619 --> 00:25:35.579 The less obvious way that we do it is we inwardly nurture the hurt. 00:25:36.039 --> 00:25:43.699 We replay the hurt again and again and again over in our minds in order to stay angry with them. 00:25:44.579 --> 00:25:51.979 Whichever way we do it, whichever way we do it, we are attempting to extract payment. 00:25:51.980 --> 00:26:03.920 But instead of extracting a repayment for the debt, what we're actually doing is robbing our life of joy and peace and contentment. 00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:05.240 That's actually what we're doing. 00:26:07.539 --> 00:26:09.740 We become harder and bitter and twisted. 00:26:11.400 --> 00:26:17.039 A lack of relational generosity destroys us over the long term and for eternity. 00:26:17.039 --> 00:26:20.159 It really hurts us. 00:26:21.379 --> 00:26:25.980 Relational generosity might hurt in the short term as we take up our cross. 00:26:26.599 --> 00:26:32.539 Because we refuse to repay, to extract payment. 00:26:33.059 --> 00:26:34.859 But instead we choose to absorb the debt. 00:26:35.220 --> 00:26:37.339 And it leads to joy and peace and freedom. 00:26:37.339 --> 00:26:42.599 The third thing we must do to practice forgiveness is verse 3. 00:26:42.720 --> 00:26:45.539 If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them. 00:26:46.759 --> 00:26:52.099 That is, it's not loving to allow someone to do anything they want. 00:26:52.679 --> 00:26:53.699 Any way they want. 00:26:54.919 --> 00:26:57.559 Now we need to be really careful about reading this verse. 00:26:57.559 --> 00:27:03.099 I'll be honest with you, I've always found it much easier to rebuke someone when I'm particularly angry with them. 00:27:03.179 --> 00:27:04.579 I want to give them a piece of my mind. 00:27:04.659 --> 00:27:07.419 The words just sort of flow a lot better in that way. 00:27:08.480 --> 00:27:10.359 And you find it much easier to do. 00:27:11.440 --> 00:27:15.619 But the purpose of the rebuke here is not to put the other person down. 00:27:15.759 --> 00:27:17.359 It is in fact to lift them up. 00:27:18.259 --> 00:27:19.379 That's the purpose of it. 00:27:20.599 --> 00:27:22.779 It's not to win an argument. 00:27:22.779 --> 00:27:26.960 It is according to Matthew 18, to win your brother over. 00:27:27.720 --> 00:27:29.639 To restore relationship. 00:27:31.000 --> 00:27:33.200 That is the goal of the rebuke. 00:27:33.680 --> 00:27:37.680 Restored relationship, not a further breaking of the relationship. 00:27:39.200 --> 00:27:43.859 And if that's the case, then it's not just what we say. 00:27:44.139 --> 00:27:48.839 It is how we say it and the motivation of why we are saying it. 00:27:48.839 --> 00:27:53.759 The truth must be spoken in love for the other person. 00:27:54.139 --> 00:27:59.939 And if we had not inwardly forgiven the other person before we rebuke them, 00:28:00.359 --> 00:28:04.419 then you've got to ask the question, why are we rebuking them? 00:28:05.419 --> 00:28:06.319 Is it for vengeance? 00:28:06.579 --> 00:28:08.179 Is it to extract repayment? 00:28:08.480 --> 00:28:10.079 Or is it to help them? 00:28:10.079 --> 00:28:18.899 Interestingly, in the Bible, I would suggest that forgiveness is granted before it's felt. 00:28:20.579 --> 00:28:23.319 Forgiveness is granted before it's felt. 00:28:25.559 --> 00:28:27.299 That is, you give forgiveness. 00:28:28.460 --> 00:28:32.779 And then over here, you work on your heart for forgiveness. 00:28:33.359 --> 00:28:35.399 You work on your feeling of forgiveness. 00:28:36.220 --> 00:28:38.599 You stop replaying the issues over your mind. 00:28:38.599 --> 00:28:40.619 The only way to do that is to keep the cross close. 00:28:46.079 --> 00:28:51.139 In other words, we need to inwardly forgive, then rebuke in order to reconcile. 00:28:52.099 --> 00:28:57.659 We must seek the good and will the good of the person we have perceived to have wronged us. 00:28:58.119 --> 00:29:00.980 We need to will the good of the other. 00:29:02.379 --> 00:29:04.379 And that means you can never say, 00:29:04.379 --> 00:29:06.819 I forgive you, but I want nothing more to do with you. 00:29:08.599 --> 00:29:13.899 Because that statement means that you might not be seeking vengeance on them, 00:29:14.159 --> 00:29:16.679 but you're not seeking their good either. 00:29:16.959 --> 00:29:19.219 You're not seeking a restored relationship. 00:29:19.220 --> 00:29:28.640 If we don't seek their good, then we haven't forgiven them, and so watch yourselves. 00:29:30.039 --> 00:29:32.339 Now, my assumption here is that if you've been listening, 00:29:32.720 --> 00:29:36.500 and even if you've got someone or some circumstances in the front of your mind, 00:29:36.579 --> 00:29:38.039 you might be feeling this, 00:29:38.440 --> 00:29:41.079 and we are back to the plea of the apostles, 00:29:41.079 --> 00:29:43.740 increase my faith, Jesus. 00:29:44.019 --> 00:29:46.220 I need you to increase my faith. 00:29:46.419 --> 00:29:48.799 This is hard work. 00:29:49.379 --> 00:29:50.539 This is very hard. 00:29:50.819 --> 00:29:52.699 Where is the power to live like this? 00:29:53.279 --> 00:29:56.960 And fortunately, Jesus has given us a good answer in what follows on from verse 5. 00:29:57.859 --> 00:30:00.619 In those verses, we have a parable, and we have a metaphor. 00:30:01.179 --> 00:30:03.099 The parable starts in verse 7. 00:30:03.099 --> 00:30:05.079 And the parable is this. 00:30:05.119 --> 00:30:07.579 Suppose you're a lord, you're the master, the owner of a property, 00:30:08.079 --> 00:30:11.579 and you've had these people out there plowing your paddocks 00:30:11.579 --> 00:30:14.459 and looking after the livestock. 00:30:15.079 --> 00:30:18.659 And at the end of the day, the question is, 00:30:18.719 --> 00:30:19.419 would you say to them, 00:30:19.459 --> 00:30:20.799 Hey guys, it's time to finish up. 00:30:20.879 --> 00:30:21.240 Come on in. 00:30:21.299 --> 00:30:22.459 I've prepared dinner for you. 00:30:22.859 --> 00:30:23.319 Come on in. 00:30:23.379 --> 00:30:24.159 Put your feet up. 00:30:27.039 --> 00:30:28.179 Would you say that? 00:30:28.180 --> 00:30:32.900 And to the apostles hearing this word from Jesus, 00:30:33.580 --> 00:30:34.660 they would say, 00:30:34.799 --> 00:30:35.820 first century Palestine, 00:30:36.279 --> 00:30:37.140 in their culture, 00:30:37.240 --> 00:30:37.660 they would say, 00:30:37.740 --> 00:30:39.400 No, we would never say that. 00:30:40.060 --> 00:30:41.200 The service job is to, 00:30:41.299 --> 00:30:42.220 when they're finished out there, 00:30:42.299 --> 00:30:43.680 plowing the paddocks and tending the sheep 00:30:43.680 --> 00:30:44.860 and the dogs and the sheep, 00:30:44.920 --> 00:30:45.720 whatever else, 00:30:46.279 --> 00:30:48.340 they come in and they prepare your meal. 00:30:48.500 --> 00:30:49.580 And once you're fed, 00:30:49.700 --> 00:30:51.019 then they go and do their own food. 00:30:53.560 --> 00:30:53.720 You see, 00:30:54.100 --> 00:30:54.980 as modern people, 00:30:55.060 --> 00:30:55.759 we don't think like that 00:30:55.759 --> 00:30:56.420 because we think, 00:30:56.519 --> 00:30:56.799 you know, 00:30:56.799 --> 00:30:57.860 nine to five, 00:30:58.180 --> 00:31:00.000 these are employees. 00:31:01.840 --> 00:31:03.580 But these servants here, 00:31:04.340 --> 00:31:05.160 first of all, 00:31:05.420 --> 00:31:07.600 are not slaves traded in the marketplace 00:31:07.600 --> 00:31:09.259 who have no rights, 00:31:09.600 --> 00:31:11.560 but they're also not employees. 00:31:12.240 --> 00:31:13.840 That's not who's referred to here. 00:31:14.420 --> 00:31:17.799 These were people who fell into debt, 00:31:18.900 --> 00:31:21.759 who became financially bankrupt, 00:31:23.080 --> 00:31:26.759 and instead of being thrown into prison to rot, 00:31:26.759 --> 00:31:29.119 as you see in Luke 16, 00:31:30.180 --> 00:31:35.160 they are working for the person to whom they owe the money, 00:31:35.960 --> 00:31:38.160 in order to work off the debt. 00:31:39.680 --> 00:31:41.379 And according to Jewish law, 00:31:41.500 --> 00:31:44.960 that could be up to a maximum time of seven years 00:31:44.960 --> 00:31:49.500 that you would work for the person to whom you were bankrupt to. 00:31:49.500 --> 00:31:57.640 So this servant here is never off duty until that debt is paid, 00:31:58.160 --> 00:31:59.859 until they've been released from it. 00:32:00.900 --> 00:32:04.619 The master of the house wouldn't thank them for helping out so much 00:32:04.619 --> 00:32:07.019 or only doing their duty. 00:32:07.019 --> 00:32:12.539 And so Jesus here got the apostles to imagine themselves as the masters, 00:32:12.920 --> 00:32:15.220 helping them to see that it would be inappropriate 00:32:15.220 --> 00:32:19.839 for a servant here in this scenario to demand thanks from their masters, 00:32:20.619 --> 00:32:23.799 especially when this master in this story 00:32:23.799 --> 00:32:27.259 has been gracious enough not to throw them into prison, 00:32:27.259 --> 00:32:30.279 but instead giving them an opportunity to work off their debt 00:32:30.279 --> 00:32:31.339 so they can be released. 00:32:34.039 --> 00:32:36.400 And then in verse 10, 00:32:36.579 --> 00:32:40.160 Jesus flips it unexpectedly. 00:32:41.799 --> 00:32:42.180 He says, 00:32:42.180 --> 00:32:43.700 So you also, 00:32:44.340 --> 00:32:47.440 when you have done everything you were told to do, 00:32:48.440 --> 00:32:51.519 should you say we are unworthy servants? 00:32:51.900 --> 00:32:53.900 We have only done our duty. 00:32:55.960 --> 00:32:58.320 When you've done everything you were told to do, 00:32:58.480 --> 00:32:59.799 including forgive, 00:33:00.960 --> 00:33:02.600 you should simply say, 00:33:03.299 --> 00:33:05.620 I am doing my duty. 00:33:05.619 --> 00:33:08.379 Now, 00:33:09.259 --> 00:33:11.359 we saw last week in the Pharisee, 00:33:11.959 --> 00:33:13.599 in Luke 18, 00:33:14.539 --> 00:33:15.599 that the self-righteous, 00:33:15.739 --> 00:33:16.579 the moralistic, 00:33:17.099 --> 00:33:19.039 religious person says, 00:33:20.039 --> 00:33:20.299 God, 00:33:20.839 --> 00:33:22.500 I've done my duty, 00:33:23.500 --> 00:33:24.159 you owe me. 00:33:26.839 --> 00:33:28.519 And what the Pharisee there, 00:33:28.639 --> 00:33:31.459 if you get that story and this story and put them together, 00:33:32.019 --> 00:33:33.919 the Pharisee in that moment 00:33:33.920 --> 00:33:36.160 is a servant acting like the master. 00:33:39.200 --> 00:33:41.460 A servant acting like the king. 00:33:43.660 --> 00:33:45.019 Jesus is saying here, 00:33:45.320 --> 00:33:47.000 that when we refuse to forgive, 00:33:47.420 --> 00:33:49.820 we are forgetting who we actually are. 00:33:50.500 --> 00:33:52.259 We owe God everything. 00:33:52.420 --> 00:33:55.340 He sustains every minute of the day for us. 00:33:55.759 --> 00:33:56.940 And if we are Christian, 00:33:57.060 --> 00:33:58.900 we also know that he has redeemed us 00:33:58.900 --> 00:34:03.000 and he has forgiven us of an incalculable debt. 00:34:03.000 --> 00:34:05.079 He is the king. 00:34:05.460 --> 00:34:06.599 We are the servant. 00:34:09.559 --> 00:34:10.880 And when we say, 00:34:12.360 --> 00:34:14.400 I'm not going to forgive you for that. 00:34:15.440 --> 00:34:18.719 We are putting ourselves in the judgment seat, 00:34:19.480 --> 00:34:20.480 the king seat, 00:34:21.280 --> 00:34:23.260 and we are playing God. 00:34:23.260 --> 00:34:29.900 We think that we know what people deserve, 00:34:30.440 --> 00:34:33.520 when in fact we hardly know what they've been through in their life, 00:34:33.660 --> 00:34:34.600 what they've done, 00:34:34.640 --> 00:34:36.000 or even what their motives are, 00:34:36.020 --> 00:34:37.040 but we think we do. 00:34:37.680 --> 00:34:40.520 And Jesus helps us further with this 00:34:40.520 --> 00:34:42.660 in how we could possibly do it 00:34:42.660 --> 00:34:47.020 by attaching a metaphor to this 00:34:47.019 --> 00:34:50.860 to see how we can live the forgiving life. 00:34:51.980 --> 00:34:52.719 Verse 6, 00:34:52.800 --> 00:34:55.780 if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, 00:34:56.179 --> 00:34:58.940 you could say to this mulberry tree, 00:34:59.079 --> 00:35:00.320 this big mulberry tree, 00:35:00.480 --> 00:35:02.039 be uprooted and planted in the sea, 00:35:02.099 --> 00:35:03.139 and it will obey you. 00:35:04.739 --> 00:35:04.960 Now, 00:35:05.019 --> 00:35:07.360 Jesus doesn't mean faith in general here. 00:35:07.440 --> 00:35:09.519 He means specifically faith in him. 00:35:09.519 --> 00:35:11.980 And what Jesus is saying, 00:35:12.519 --> 00:35:15.719 that if you have even the smallest understanding 00:35:15.719 --> 00:35:17.739 of what has been done for you, 00:35:18.780 --> 00:35:20.420 if you have even the slightest, 00:35:20.639 --> 00:35:22.780 the tiniest understanding 00:35:22.780 --> 00:35:25.360 that we are sinners saved by grace, 00:35:25.480 --> 00:35:26.539 and we've been forgiven 00:35:26.539 --> 00:35:29.400 of an incalculable debt against God, 00:35:29.559 --> 00:35:31.380 if we have an understanding 00:35:31.380 --> 00:35:32.679 of the good news of the gospel 00:35:32.679 --> 00:35:35.460 that is even the smallest amount, 00:35:37.199 --> 00:35:38.559 you'll be able to forgive. 00:35:39.519 --> 00:35:42.639 If you have any idea 00:35:42.639 --> 00:35:44.099 what Jesus has done for you, 00:35:45.119 --> 00:35:46.420 you'll be able to forgive. 00:35:48.400 --> 00:35:49.219 See what he's saying? 00:35:49.259 --> 00:35:50.940 The only way to get out of the behavior 00:35:50.940 --> 00:35:53.179 and the attitude of being the servant, 00:35:53.340 --> 00:35:54.440 acting like I'm the king 00:35:54.440 --> 00:35:55.900 and the judge of all humanity, 00:35:56.300 --> 00:35:57.940 is to marvel at the king 00:35:57.940 --> 00:35:58.900 who became a servant. 00:35:59.539 --> 00:36:00.500 It's the only way. 00:36:02.179 --> 00:36:03.840 To marvel at the king 00:36:03.840 --> 00:36:04.820 who became a servant, 00:36:04.820 --> 00:36:07.559 we will never be long-suffering 00:36:07.559 --> 00:36:09.340 until we marvel at him 00:36:09.340 --> 00:36:10.480 who suffered on the cross 00:36:10.480 --> 00:36:11.799 for our sin. 00:36:12.139 --> 00:36:14.639 We will never be able to forgive 00:36:14.639 --> 00:36:17.179 other people's tiny debts 00:36:17.179 --> 00:36:18.259 towards us 00:36:18.259 --> 00:36:20.259 until we marvel at Jesus dying 00:36:20.259 --> 00:36:21.579 on the cross 00:36:21.579 --> 00:36:24.779 for our incalculable debt. 00:36:24.780 --> 00:36:29.960 Jesus is the judge of the universe 00:36:29.960 --> 00:36:32.880 who left the judgment seat, 00:36:34.340 --> 00:36:36.400 stepped into my servant's shoes 00:36:36.400 --> 00:36:38.980 and got judged for my sin. 00:36:38.980 --> 00:36:43.480 How is it possible 00:36:43.480 --> 00:36:46.059 that I could ever act 00:36:46.059 --> 00:36:47.539 as judge of another? 00:36:50.380 --> 00:36:51.740 How is it possible, 00:36:51.900 --> 00:36:53.059 having received that, 00:36:53.139 --> 00:36:54.500 that I could ever say, 00:36:55.500 --> 00:36:57.019 I won't forgive you for that? 00:36:57.019 --> 00:37:01.800 It means I don't understand 00:37:01.800 --> 00:37:03.579 even the tiniest thing 00:37:03.579 --> 00:37:05.420 about the Christian gospel. 00:37:06.420 --> 00:37:08.599 To understand the Christian gospel, 00:37:09.519 --> 00:37:13.719 even in its smallest mustard seed amount, 00:37:14.440 --> 00:37:16.119 is enough to change us. 00:37:17.300 --> 00:37:19.980 Even a mustard seed portion 00:37:19.980 --> 00:37:21.679 of the gospel of grace 00:37:21.679 --> 00:37:24.960 can turn us into a person 00:37:24.960 --> 00:37:27.159 who forgives radically 00:37:27.159 --> 00:37:30.500 and lives relationally generously. 00:37:30.500 --> 00:37:30.679 Thank you.