The Lord’s Prayer – Part 5 - ‘Forgive Us’

Rev. Donald S. Crisp

-by Rev. Don Crisp 

Pastor of First Baptist Church, Smiths Falls, ON

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Listen to Radio Podcast Here - (and follow the notes, below): 

http://proxy.autopod.ca/podcasts/chum/6/5087/Good_News_652_Nov13.mp3

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The Lord’s Prayer – Part 5  -  ‘Forgive Us’

Scripture:   Matthew 6: 12, 14

                  Matthew 18:21, 22

Friends, welcome to part 5 of this series on ‘The Lord’s Prayer’

Let’s recap what we have learned thus far:

The Didache

The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles,

·         The Didache makes it clear that the early Church always

used the Lord’s Prayer in its public worship services and

did not permit unbelievers to join in the praying.

·         The Didache encouraged all believers to pray the Lord’s Prayer three times a day.

The first half of the Lord’s Prayer is directed to God-

·         His Paternity                             Our Father

·         His Person                                 Holy is Your Name

·         His Program                              Your Kingdom Come

·         His Purpose.                              Your Will be done

Now we move to our need for

·         Provision                                   Give us today our daily bread

·         Pardon                                       Forgive us

·         Protection                                  Lead us

·         Preservation                              Deliver us

·         It’s interesting that ‘Forgive Us’ follows ‘Give Us’

·         For the follower of Jesus Christ forgiveness is not optional!

1   The Practice of Forgiveness

Lord, how many times do I need to forgive him?

Matthew 18:21,22

As many as seven times?

Jesus answered:  seventy times seven

2   The Prison of Unforgiveness

When we’ve been violated or wronged there is a natural process that takes place…. and hear me now…. If we don’t stop the process this is what will happen.

We will quickly move from:

·         Irritation/frustration leads to anger

·         anger leads to resentment

·         resentment leads to bitterness

·         bitterness leads rage

Chinese proverb)
“Whoever opts for revenge should dig two graves.”

“. . .not forgiving someone is like drinking rat poison and

then waiting for the rat to die.” (Anne Lamott, Traveling Mercies)
 

·         If we say people are beyond forgiveness we give them  a power over us that they should not have.

We give them ‘the last word’

Choose to:

·         Release the issue to God

·         Release the person to God

Set them free and you go free!

The Picture is a Picture of Release!

So it is with people who dwell too long on their sin and refuse to release it to God.

·         Nurse it

·         Rehearse it

·         Curse it

There is no future with forgiveness

“The way of forgiveness does not forget the past, but through truth and reconciliation it finds a way beyond toxic memory.”

Desmond Tutu   No Future without Forgiveness

3   The Power of Forgiveness

Dr. Karl Menninger (famed psychiatrist)

If he could convince his patients in psychiatric hospitals that their sins were forgiven:

75% could walk out the next day!

The Power of Forgiveness

Ernest Hemingway

tells the story of a father and his teenage son who had a strained relationship that led to a broken relationship.

The son left home.

His father…. Mourned the loss

He began a search for his son

He even put an Ad in the Madrid Newspaper

The Ad read:

‘Dear Paco, meet me in front of the Newspaper Office

at  noon tomorrow.ALL is FORGIVEN!

I LOVE YOU….. your father.’

The next day at noon in front of the Newspaper Office

800 Pacos showed up!  

We aren’t just forgiven.

We are forgiven that we might become practitioners

of radical forgiveness.

We are ‘forgiven forgivers’

(Brian Zahnd – Radical Forgiveness)

4   The Promise of Forgiveness

·         Matthew 6:14

When you choose to release according to God’s Promise

then two people are released

Some truths about Forgiveness

·         Forgiveness is not an emotion

·         Forgiveness is an act of the will

·         The will can function regardless

of the temperature of the heart.

                                     (Corrie ten Boon)

5    The Penalty of not accepting Forgiveness

1830 – George Wilson

Was convicted of robbing the U.S. Mail and was

sentenced to be hanged.

President Andrew Jackson issued George Wilson

a PARDON

But George Wilson would not accept the Pardon.

The matter went to Chief Justice Marshall who concluded that George Wilson would have to be executed.

Chief Justice Marshall wrote:

‘A Pardon is only a slip of paper…the value of which is determined only by the acceptance of the person being Pardoned.

If refused, there is no Pardon!

Therefore, George Wilson must be hanged,….. and he was!

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2000 years ago, Jesus Christ issued a Pardon

but the Pardon is conditional on our acceptance.

If refused ….. there is No Pardon…. no  Forgiveness

6   The Picture of Receiving Forgiveness

Forgiveness

 Asking for forgiveness

In asking for forgiveness one must demonstrate three vital life decisions

·         Own it

·         Confess it

·         Turn from it

The Five R’s

·         Remorse

·         Responsibility

·         Restitution

·         Repentance

·         Reconciliation

So it is with people who dwell too long on their sin and refuse to release it to God.

·         Nurse it

·         Rehearse it

·         Curse it

There is no future with unforgiveness

“Through the act of forgiveness the past is not forgotten, but by faith in God’s Redemption work it comes to be viewed in a new way.

The injustice is to be remembered, but it is not allowed to poison the present and dictate the future.”

                         ...Quotes from:  Radical   -by Author:  Brian Zahnd 

To listen to the Podcast of this radio broadcast, entitled, "Forgive Us", click below: 

http://proxy.autopod.ca/podcasts/chum/6/5087/Good_News_652_Nov13.mp3 

To listen to an earlier broadcast, entitled, "Forgiven Forgivers", click below:
http://proxy.autopod.ca/podcasts/chum/6/4277/good_news_638_aug07.mp3

(To hear the first four parts of our "Lord's Prayer" series, go to our November 9th BLOG to find the Program Links.)