Luke 17:1-10. Forgiveness From Another Dimension.

Forgiveness From Another Dimension Luke 17:1-10 Sermon by F.L. Temptations to Sin Luke: 17 u 1 v And he said to his disciples, “Temptations to sin are sure to come, w 2x but woe to the one through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast 2 into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin. 3 y z Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if a 4 b he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” Increase Our Faith 5c d 6 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” And the Lord said, e f g “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. Unworthy Servants 7 3 “Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at 8 h table’? Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress 4 properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat 9 and drink’? Does he thank the servant because he did what was 10 commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were i 5 commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’” Definition: Forgiveness | fərˈɡivnəs | noun the action or process of forgiving or being forgiven forgive verb 1 she would not forgive him for deceiving her. pardon, excuse, exonerate, absolve, acquit, let off, grant an amnesty to, amnesty; make allowances for, stop feeling resentful toward, feel no resentment toward, stop feeling malice toward, feel no malice toward, harbor no grudge against, bury the hatchet with; let bygones be bygones; informal let someone off the hook, go easy on; rare exculpate. ANTONYMS blame; convict; resent. Lack of Forgiveness: A world wide epidemic of physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental problems. Temptations to Sin Luke: 17 u 1 v And he said to his disciples, “Temptations to sin are sure to come, 2 but woe to the one through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into 2 the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin. y Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if 4 b he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” The Act of Forgiveness only exists because of Sin. If there were no sin in the world, forgiveness would never have been experienced. Mercy would be unknown. The Big Question That Everyone Has: HOW DO WE FORGIVE? Increase Our Faith 5c The apostles said to the Lord, d“Increase our faith!” 6 And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. “If you had faith” = it is not an issue of quantity, but the object of one’s faith. (John 3:16, John 14:12, Romans 5:1-2, Acts 16: 31) Faith in Jesus will realign your position two fold: with God & with Man “two prerequisites for a life of forgiveness: emotional humility and emotional wealth.” ~ Late Rev. Tim Keller. Emotional Humility: Understanding your own deeply rooted sinful nature (1 Timothy 1:15) Emotional Wealth: Do you feel emotionally poor (insecure)? Forgiveness of others is bound to your own personal identity. (Galatians 2:20 & Philippians 3:7) The “IF” Dilemma Luke 17:3 If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, 4 and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” Mark 11:24-25 4 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” A painful truth: Inevitable Suffering lies in the midst of Forgiveness. Many avoid the work and process of forgiving or asking for forgiveness because it is too painful. Scripture does not avoid this element but makes it the means of restoration in all relationships. Isaiah 53: 4-5 “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” Isaiah 55:6-7 “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” Understanding Our Position Directly Impacts Our Posture to Forgive Unworthy Servants 7 3 “Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at 8 h table’? Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress 4 properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat 9 and drink’? Does he thank the servant because he did what was 10 commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants;5 we have only done what was our duty.’” Matthew 6: 9-14 9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done,2 on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread, 12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.4 (For Thine is the kingdom, the pow'r and the glory now and forevermore. Amen.) For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 s but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. 14 r At the Cross One of the final statements of Christ before his death (Luke 23:34) “And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” The Mercy and Grace of God alone establishes forgiveness in the hearts of men and women. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” ~ Ephesians 2: 4-9 Small Group Discussion Questions Luke 17: 1-10 • Temptations to Sin: • Do you ever think about how you might impact others in their relationship with God, perhaps making them stumble or causing them to sin? • Do you understand how your sin impacts those around you? If so, how? Can you share a recent experience of how your sin has impacted those close to you? • Rebuke & Forgive: • Is it hard for you to forgive others? If so, why? • What does it mean for you to be forgiven by God? How have you experienced his forgiveness in your life? • What does it look like to rebuke a fellow brother/sister in the faith? (Read Galations 6:1-2) How does Paul teach us to correct one another? • What does Emotional Humility and Emotional Wealth look like in your life? • Mercy of God: • Do you daily depend on the mercy of God? • Do you see yourself as an “unworthy servant” in God’s Kingdom or as something else?