Notes from Chuck Obremski’s sermon 8/21/05
1. Review the definition of “to forget”.
2. Refuse to keep score. (1 Corinthians 13:4-5)
3. Rise above any offense. (Psalm 119:165)
4. Resist developing a judgmental attitude. (Matthew 7:1-5)
5. Remember your own weaknesses. (Philippians 3:12-24)
Ever try to get back at someone and have it backfire? The law of reaction. Often in our desire to get even we embarrass ourselves.
Forgiveness is the lubricant that reduces friction between ourselves and others.
We are to be like Jesus…Mark 10:45 - For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
He is a God who forgives…“Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”
Matthew 5:22-24 - 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell. 23 "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.
If you have offended someone, stop what you are doing and go deal with it. God’s word calls us to deal with things. Called to be obedient to God’s word. Ask for forgiveness…no matter what the response will be. God’s word requires obedience, not sacrifice.
Live lives of no regrets. We need to be more serious about being doers of God’s word. By time we get to our cars or lunch…we’ve talked our self out of being obedient to God’s word.
Write it down when God speaks to you. Won’t happen without active participation.
We need to continue to forgive people. Peter tried to limit it to 7 times, but Jesus corrected him, no it’s 70 times 7…in other words forgiveness is endless.
Matthew 20:21-22 – 21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" 22 Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
Resist the temptation to be hypocritical like the servant who when forgiven his debt refused to forgive a fellow servant a smaller debt. Unforgiveness is harmful.
Matthew 18:26-28 - 26 "The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' 27 The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. 28 "But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded.
Forgiveness is only possible when we choose to forget. Forgiveness is The Key. Forgetting is the key to forgiveness.
Have you ever heard the phrase, “I’ll forgive you, but…”? We believe that it is only natural to not forget…and indeed that is natural. However we are not to live naturally. We are to respond as Jesus responds…in ways that are pleasing to God.
We are to write injustices in the dust…and benefits to us in marble.
Forgetting can’t erase the data. Webster’s defines forgiveness as follows:
1 a : to lose the remembrance of : be unable to think of or recall b obsolete : to cease from doing2 : to treat with inattention or disregard 3 : to disregard intentionally :
OVERLOOK -- usually used in the imperative
We are to choose not to remember. Make a conscience decision to not bring something up. We tend to want to bring up past offences that we have already forgiven. Instead it’s the perfect time to choose to forget. We have to make choices. Be careful not to beat that dead horse. Choose to actively not remember. Deny those urges to retrieve the data, even when tempted to do otherwise.
1 Corinthians 13:4-5 – 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love…doesn’t take into account or calculate a wrong suffered. Don’t sit around calculating. Don’t sit around figuring out some plan on who to get back. Instead…calculate something different.
Philippians 4:8 – 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
What do you think about on a regular basis? What are you dwelling on or calculating? Instead think about all the good things in your life.
Chuck then reflected on the blessing of knowing how short life can be. If you knew that how much time would you spend dwelling on that which was negative. The little things that don’t really mater any more…they are not important. Blessing of dying…you realize the little things…they don’t matter.
Don’t waste time trying to get even with someone. We create a monster in our head by what we dwell on. We can choose to forgive and forget. Or…we can choose to be embittered as if we’ve been turned over to the torturers.
Matthew 18:33-35 – 33 Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' 34 In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. 35 "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."
Chuck then relayed a story about a worker in Orange County…a man filled with hate, anger, resentment and rage…who killed six of his co-workers.
You can easily forgive when you make that choice to forgive and forget. Don’t bring it up…let it go. It’s natural to want to get even. It’s supernatural to forgive and forget.
What a terrible testimony when you hang on to an offense, bitterness and unforgiveness. Just think…it must break God’s heart when we act like that. Instead we must refuse to keep score.
Rise Above…we are to rise above. Psalm 119:65 - Do good to your servant according to your word, O LORD. Do you love God’s word? If so, you must obey his commandments.
Resist Hypocrisy…don’t be guilty of a sin, yet judge other’s about that same sin.
Matthew 7:1-5 - 1 "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 3 "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.
Remember…I haven’t arrived yet. All are still under construction. Is this true about us? Live in the present.
Philippians 3:12-14 – 12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Joseph named his son Manasseh…which means “God has made me to forget”. You have to choose to forget. When we choose to forget we then have the energy to press on to what lies ahead.
Amy Carmichael quote: "If I say, 'Yes, I forgive, but I cannot forget,' as though the God, who twice a day washes all the sands on all shores of all the world, could not wash such memories from my mind, then I know nothing of Calvary love."
Live for today…live in the moment. Forget what lies behind. Don’t waste time. Look for opportunities to do that which God has placed before you today.
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