Morning Worship, Sermons

How to Handle the Hurts in Life

Forgiveness

Consider these questions:

  • Is there anyone you have trouble forgiving?
  • Is there anyone you cannot face?  Do you avoid them?
  • Is there anyone you want to see trouble come into their lives?
  • Is there anyone you cannot pray for to be successful?

Matthew 18: 21 – 35:

21 Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?”

22 “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!

23 “Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. 24 In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. 25 He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt.

26 “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ 27 Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.

28 “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.

29 “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. 30 But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full.

31 “When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. 32 Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. 33 Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ 34 Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.

35 “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”

There are four responses to hurts:

  1. Retaliate – get even
  2. Rejection – ignore
  3. Repression – hold it in
  4. Restoration – forgiveness starts this

Relationships in life will not work without forgiveness.

Benefits To Forgiving

  1. It takes it out of your hands and puts it into His hands. (Trust God to handle it!) God is in control and He will settle all accounts.
  2. It forces us to depend upon God. (Forgiveness is not easy!)
    • Ephesians 4:32  Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
    • God is working in our lives.
    • Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
  3. It restores us to usefulness. God expects us to pass on forgiveness. (like He forgives us!)
  4. It brings inward peace and happiness. Unlimited forgiveness must characterize the true believer.
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