The Fine Art of Forgiveness: Firing the Record Keeper
On Sunday, May 19, 2024, Pastor Dan began a series on “The Fine Art of Forgiveness”. This first installment’s subtitle was “Firing the Record Keeper”. Pastor Dan shared Jesus’s words from Matthew 6:9-15:
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.
For if you forgive men when they sin against you,
your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if
you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will
not forgive your sins.”
Pastor Dan focused on verse 12: “Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors” along with verses 14-15: “For if you do not forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
Pastor Dan also shared a quote by C.S. Lewis: “Everyone thinks forgiveness is a lovely idea until they have something to forgive.”
There is no greater characteristic that men are like their Heavenly Father, than that they forgive.
Hurts run deep and forgiveness can be very difficult. It’s easy to see the offense instead of seeing the person when you look at someone who has wronged you. However, that is like being a record keeper — someone who keeps a record of every little thing someone does wrong to them, and record keepers expect payback plus interest.
But when you don’t forgive someone for something, it not only affects your relationship with that person, but it also affects your relationship with God.
THE PRICE OF UNFORGIVENESS:
- The only excuse for unforgiveness is indifference, which means you have tuned God out. — Ephesians 4:32 “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you.”
- Unforgiveness has a steep relational price. — 1 John 4:7-8 “Dear Friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
- Forgiveness fires the record keeper. — 1 Corinthians 13:5 “Love is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.”
The Point of this message is: Forgiveness focuses even when it can’t forget.
To get all of Pastor Dan’s examples and scriptures that make up this powerful message, you can watch or listen to this sermon in its entirety by clicking here.