1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:07,940 Well, please open your Bible at Matthew chapter 6 and verse 12 as we continue our series in 2 00:00:07,940 –> 00:00:09,780 the Lord’s Prayer. 3 00:00:09,780 –> 00:00:14,100 And we’re seeing that our Lord Jesus Christ tells us that there are six things that we 4 00:00:14,100 –> 00:00:16,000 should ask of God. 5 00:00:16,000 –> 00:00:22,559 Three of them relate to God and his glory and three of them relates to us and to our 6 00:00:22,559 –> 00:00:23,900 needs. 7 00:00:23,900 –> 00:00:28,580 And we’ve seen that the place to begin is not with ourselves, it’s not with our needs, 8 00:00:29,280 –> 00:00:32,020 but it’s with God and with his glory. 9 00:00:32,020 –> 00:00:42,759 Hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. 10 00:00:42,759 –> 00:00:51,500 But then having committed ourselves to honouring God’s name, extending his kingdom and doing 11 00:00:51,500 –> 00:00:59,419 his will, Jesus then invites us to ask the Father for what we need. 12 00:00:59,419 –> 00:01:02,980 Now here’s the question. 13 00:01:02,980 –> 00:01:05,860 What do we need in this world? 14 00:01:05,860 –> 00:01:14,699 You boil it down, what are the most basic things that you need and that I need in this 15 00:01:14,699 –> 00:01:16,980 world? 16 00:01:16,980 –> 00:01:22,959 And Jesus teaches us very clearly here that there are three things that are our most fundamental 17 00:01:22,959 –> 00:01:24,120 needs. 18 00:01:24,120 –> 00:01:26,099 The first is to be sustained. 19 00:01:26,099 –> 00:01:30,480 We looked last week at give this day our daily bread. 20 00:01:30,480 –> 00:01:35,400 Then we have the need to be forgiven because of our many sins. 21 00:01:35,400 –> 00:01:40,599 And then we have the need to be delivered from the many temptations that lurk within 22 00:01:40,599 –> 00:01:45,959 us and the evil that is all around us. 23 00:01:46,139 –> 00:01:51,160 If you think about the various needs of your life—and I encourage you to think about 24 00:01:51,160 –> 00:01:57,000 this, perhaps even over a period of time—you think about the needs of your life, you will 25 00:01:57,000 –> 00:02:04,540 find that they fit under one or another of these three headings. 26 00:02:04,540 –> 00:02:12,960 We need to be sustained, we need to be forgiven, and we need to be delivered. 27 00:02:13,220 –> 00:02:18,699 I wonder if you have ever noticed how each of these three requests for the basic things 28 00:02:18,699 –> 00:02:23,320 that we need in our lives are actually linked together in the Lord’s Prayer. 29 00:02:23,320 –> 00:02:30,020 The word AND occurs for the first time, and it occurs twice right at this point. 30 00:02:30,020 –> 00:02:39,059 Give us this day our daily bread, AND forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our 31 00:02:39,059 –> 00:02:47,080 debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 32 00:02:47,080 –> 00:02:51,559 I’d never noticed this before until I looked at it more carefully this week. 33 00:02:51,559 –> 00:02:57,339 But do you see that these three petitions, the three basic things that we need together, 34 00:02:57,339 –> 00:03:03,639 they’re strung together as if they were one request from Almighty God? 35 00:03:03,639 –> 00:03:09,320 We are asking God to sustain us in a particular kind of life. 36 00:03:09,320 –> 00:03:19,300 Lord, sustain me in a life in which I forgive as I am forgiven. 37 00:03:19,300 –> 00:03:25,080 And sustain me in a life in which I am able to rise above the temptations that I find 38 00:03:25,080 –> 00:03:32,600 within me, and rise above the evil that I see all around me. 39 00:03:32,600 –> 00:03:39,199 And that’s the life that we’re committed to, precisely because we are committed to honouring 40 00:03:39,199 –> 00:03:46,080 God’s name, and to extending his kingdom, and to doing his will. 41 00:03:46,080 –> 00:03:53,080 So now, today then, we come to this fifth petition of the Lord’s Prayer, and it is absolutely 42 00:03:53,080 –> 00:03:57,080 vital for us today, and every day. 43 00:03:57,619 –> 00:04:04,759 And we’re going to look at why we need to be forgiven, and why we need to forgive, and 44 00:04:04,759 –> 00:04:12,679 then we’re going to look at how we can be forgiven, and how we can forgive. 45 00:04:12,679 –> 00:04:19,540 There are really four key words in this fifth petition of the Lord’s Prayer, debts, debtors, 46 00:04:19,540 –> 00:04:26,299 forgive, and us, and we’re going to look at each of these, together. 47 00:04:26,299 –> 00:04:32,559 So let’s begin with debts, and here we’re looking at why we need to be forgiven. 48 00:04:32,559 –> 00:04:41,339 Jesus says, forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. 49 00:04:41,339 –> 00:04:48,100 Now, it seems quite clear that our Lord Jesus taught the Lord’s Prayer on more than one 50 00:04:48,100 –> 00:04:49,559 occasion. 51 00:04:49,559 –> 00:04:54,679 And Luke records that Jesus said forgive us our sins. 52 00:04:54,679 –> 00:05:03,579 And so very clearly putting these side-by-side our sins are being described as debts to God. 53 00:05:03,579 –> 00:05:07,660 And then you see that our Lord here speaks about debtors. 54 00:05:07,660 –> 00:05:12,220 That is people who have sinned against us. 55 00:05:12,220 –> 00:05:16,880 So here’s the reality of our position in this world. 56 00:05:16,880 –> 00:05:19,899 We need to get this settled in our minds. 57 00:05:19,899 –> 00:05:29,540 We sin and we are sinned against, we have debts and we have debtors. 58 00:05:29,540 –> 00:05:36,820 Now in using the language of debt and of debtors, our Lord makes it very clear that each of 59 00:05:36,820 –> 00:05:43,920 us lives within a network of relationships in which we have responsibilities and obligations. 60 00:05:43,920 –> 00:05:45,380 Debts, debtors. 61 00:05:45,380 –> 00:05:50,980 Debt means that there are certain things that I owe to God, and there are certain things 62 00:05:50,980 –> 00:05:58,480 that I owe to other people, and there are certain things that other people owe to me. 63 00:05:58,480 –> 00:06:05,040 Notice that there is only one who stands outside of this network of obligations and that one 64 00:06:05,040 –> 00:06:07,079 of course is God himself. 65 00:06:07,079 –> 00:06:13,660 God is no one’s debtor who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor, 66 00:06:13,779 –> 00:06:18,679 who has ever given a gift to him in order that God should be in his or her debt and 67 00:06:18,679 –> 00:06:21,140 need to repay him or her. 68 00:06:21,140 –> 00:06:34,260 No, God owes us nothing, but we have an obligation to God and we have an obligation to others. 69 00:06:34,260 –> 00:06:41,459 Now, what is this obligation that we have to God and that we have to others? 70 00:06:41,859 –> 00:06:45,859 Well, very clearly the Lord Jesus sums it up for us 71 00:06:45,859 –> 00:06:48,880 in a single word. 72 00:06:48,880 –> 00:06:56,179 Our obligation to God and our obligation to others is summed up in the word love. 73 00:06:56,179 –> 00:07:01,140 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and soul, and mind, and strength. 74 00:07:01,140 –> 00:07:05,059 And love your neighbour as yourself. 75 00:07:05,059 –> 00:07:09,480 That’s our Lord Jesus summary of all of the Ten Commandments. 76 00:07:09,480 –> 00:07:13,600 This is what God requires of us. 77 00:07:13,600 –> 00:07:24,179 Now, when we think about our sins, what usually comes first to mind is things that we have 78 00:07:24,179 –> 00:07:29,239 thought or said or done that are wrong. 79 00:07:29,239 –> 00:07:35,700 But the starting point in understanding the extent of our sin is not so much with what 80 00:07:35,839 –> 00:07:41,220 have done but with what we have failed to do. 81 00:07:41,220 –> 00:07:51,940 We owe God a life of devoted love every hour of every day for the entire course of our 82 00:07:51,940 –> 00:07:53,920 lives. 83 00:07:53,920 –> 00:07:59,239 And what we owe, we have not paid. 84 00:07:59,239 –> 00:08:04,540 And because God calls us to love, we have an obligation not only to love Him but also 85 00:08:04,619 –> 00:08:09,700 to love others, love your neighbor as yourself. 86 00:08:09,700 –> 00:08:18,779 Jesus said, A new commandment, I give to you, that you love one another, just as I have 87 00:08:18,779 –> 00:08:19,799 loved you. 88 00:08:19,799 –> 00:08:26,899 Now, that means, if I can put it in a personal way, I owe it to you to always seek your best 89 00:08:26,899 –> 00:08:28,700 interest. 90 00:08:28,700 –> 00:08:33,419 We owe a debt of love to one another. 91 00:08:33,460 –> 00:08:38,260 We owe a debt of love to your husband, to your wife, to your parents, to your children, 92 00:08:38,260 –> 00:08:43,640 to your neighbors, to your friends, to your employer, to your employees, to your business 93 00:08:43,640 –> 00:08:47,780 partners, and to your colleagues. 94 00:08:47,780 –> 00:08:55,520 Every day of our lives we owe a debt of love to God and a debt of love to each other. 95 00:08:55,539 –> 00:09:02,820 And however much we love, that debt is never fully paid. 96 00:09:02,820 –> 00:09:07,000 That is why Paul says in Romans chapter 13 and verse 8, 97 00:09:07,000 –> 00:09:14,820 let no debt remain outstanding except your continuing debt to love one another. 98 00:09:14,820 –> 00:09:23,979 You have one debt that always remains outstanding, it is never paid off, and that is your debt 99 00:09:23,979 –> 00:09:30,799 of love, your debt to love God and your debt to love others. 100 00:09:31,400 –> 00:09:39,599 Now, Jesus is making this very clear, our sins are debts, they are measured in 101 00:09:39,599 –> 00:09:47,359 our failure to love God and in our failure to love others. 102 00:09:47,359 –> 00:09:54,320 We have not loved God as he has loved us and we have not loved our neighbor as we have 103 00:09:54,559 –> 00:09:56,760 loved ourselves. 104 00:09:56,760 –> 00:10:02,020 And this debt of love, because love is that which God has called us, it is a debt that 105 00:10:02,020 –> 00:10:09,599 we have not paid, and it is a debt that we cannot pay. 106 00:10:09,599 –> 00:10:12,760 So that’s the first thing, why do we need to be forgiven? 107 00:10:12,760 –> 00:10:15,820 Because we have an unpaid debt! 108 00:10:15,820 –> 00:10:18,400 And Jesus makes it very clear. 109 00:10:19,400 –> 00:10:24,739 Now, the second word that’s really important here is the word debtors, and here we’re looking, 110 00:10:24,739 –> 00:10:28,900 of course, at the subject of why we need to forgive. 111 00:10:29,739 –> 00:10:37,380 Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. 112 00:10:37,380 –> 00:10:43,780 Now take in what the Lord Jesus is teaching us here, this means that there will be people 113 00:10:43,840 –> 00:10:51,700 in your life who will not give you what they owe. 114 00:10:51,700 –> 00:11:00,260 God places on you an obligation to love others and God places on others an obligation to 115 00:11:00,260 –> 00:11:06,039 love you, but we live in a fallen world. 116 00:11:06,039 –> 00:11:11,539 And just as you have defaulted in what you owe to God and what you owe to others, so 117 00:11:11,719 –> 00:11:16,520 others will default in what they owe to God and in what they owe to you. 118 00:11:16,520 –> 00:11:19,859 They will be your debtors. 119 00:11:19,859 –> 00:11:28,780 Now, friends, this is a really important principle for us to settle in our own minds and our 120 00:11:28,780 –> 00:11:29,780 hearts. 121 00:11:29,780 –> 00:11:35,419 It will help you greatly to live in this world, if you can settle this in your mind and in 122 00:11:35,419 –> 00:11:36,880 your heart today. 123 00:11:36,880 –> 00:11:42,520 There will be people, and perhaps many in your life, who will fail to give you what 124 00:11:42,520 –> 00:11:44,820 they owe. 125 00:11:44,820 –> 00:11:47,799 They will not love you well. 126 00:11:47,799 –> 00:11:50,260 They will hurt you. 127 00:11:50,260 –> 00:11:53,039 They will disappoint you. 128 00:11:53,039 –> 00:11:59,580 They will not give you the grace that they should give you when you let them down. 129 00:12:00,359 –> 00:12:11,239 They are your debtors, and a debtor is a person who has wronged you in any way. 130 00:12:11,239 –> 00:12:13,679 But here’s the thing. 131 00:12:13,719 –> 00:12:22,760 When another person fails to love me well, I am still under a God-given obligation to 132 00:12:22,760 –> 00:12:26,640 love that other person well. 133 00:12:26,679 –> 00:12:33,080 And that really is the heart of the challenge of living as a Christian in this fallen world. 134 00:12:33,080 –> 00:12:38,960 What does it look like, then, to love other people well? 135 00:12:38,960 –> 00:12:48,179 Now, there is of course a difference between our love for God and our love for others. 136 00:12:48,179 –> 00:12:52,059 Loving God means that we obey all His commands. 137 00:12:52,440 –> 00:12:59,700 Jesus said, if you love me, you will obey my commandments. 138 00:12:59,700 –> 00:13:05,799 So loving God means doing all that God says. 139 00:13:05,799 –> 00:13:11,619 But clearly loving other people does not mean that we are under an obligation to do what 140 00:13:11,619 –> 00:13:14,700 every other person ever tells us to do. 141 00:13:14,700 –> 00:13:19,940 That would be to put others in the position that belongs to God alone. 142 00:13:19,940 –> 00:13:28,440 So what does it mean for us to love other people well? 143 00:13:28,440 –> 00:13:32,859 Let me give you four pointers from the scripture in that regard. 144 00:13:32,859 –> 00:13:35,659 It means first, consideration. 145 00:13:35,659 –> 00:13:41,400 Jesus said in what is often referred to as the Golden Rule in Matthew 7 and verse 12, 146 00:13:41,400 –> 00:13:46,640 do to others what you would have them do to you. 147 00:13:46,640 –> 00:13:51,080 So here’s what it looks like to love other people well in this fallen world. 148 00:13:51,080 –> 00:13:59,219 It means very simply that you put yourself in the shoes of the other person and you try 149 00:13:59,219 –> 00:14:04,900 to look at the situation from his or her point of view. 150 00:14:04,900 –> 00:14:14,239 And then you do for that person what you would hope for if you were the one who was in their 151 00:14:14,239 –> 00:14:15,239 position. 152 00:14:15,840 –> 00:14:22,739 That’s consideration, and it’s the first part of loving other people well. 153 00:14:22,739 –> 00:14:28,559 And then of course we are called to empathy which is another part of loving others well. 154 00:14:28,559 –> 00:14:32,440 The scripture puts it like this, we’re to rejoice with those who rejoice and we’re to 155 00:14:32,440 –> 00:14:35,440 weep with those who weep. 156 00:14:35,440 –> 00:14:40,820 In other words, love doesn’t live in isolation. 157 00:14:40,820 –> 00:14:48,219 Love enters into the joys and sorrows of other people and in that way expands our experience. 158 00:14:48,219 –> 00:14:52,940 It’s a beautiful thing, brothers and sisters. 159 00:14:52,940 –> 00:14:59,419 Love means that other people’s joys are a joy to you, and that gives you more joy in 160 00:14:59,419 –> 00:15:01,460 your life. 161 00:15:01,460 –> 00:15:07,260 And love means that other people’s sorrows are a sorrow to you, and that means that you 162 00:15:07,539 –> 00:15:12,159 take them into your life, and it also means that when you sorrow, others will take some 163 00:15:12,159 –> 00:15:16,539 of that into their lives and will share it with you. 164 00:15:16,539 –> 00:15:19,000 That’s love. 165 00:15:19,000 –> 00:15:23,739 And then love is expressed in grace. 166 00:15:23,739 –> 00:15:30,719 Listen to how Peter puts this, love covers over a multitude of sins. 167 00:15:30,719 –> 00:15:37,000 Now, think about this and think about its importance in this world where we get irritated 168 00:15:37,020 –> 00:15:43,059 with each other, disappointed with each other so often. 169 00:15:43,059 –> 00:15:49,919 When God justified you, he put all your sins under the blood of Jesus, every single one 170 00:15:49,919 –> 00:15:52,020 of them. 171 00:15:52,020 –> 00:15:56,859 That means that God put under the blood of Jesus sins that you were not even aware of 172 00:15:56,859 –> 00:16:01,179 at the time and some sins that you’re probably not even aware of now. 173 00:16:02,099 –> 00:16:08,080 Now, Peter is not talking here, of course, about covering up crimes that need to be exposed. 174 00:16:08,080 –> 00:16:16,520 His point is simply this, God does not take us to task for every sin that we commit. 175 00:16:16,520 –> 00:16:19,979 And therefore, there’s no reason for us to do that towards others. 176 00:16:19,979 –> 00:16:28,799 What God does towards us is that for Christ’s sake, he covers over a multitude of sins. 177 00:16:28,840 –> 00:16:32,140 That is what God has done for us. 178 00:16:32,140 –> 00:16:37,400 And that is what he calls us also, to do for others. 179 00:16:37,400 –> 00:16:46,400 And you know, this grace is the oil of human relationships. 180 00:16:46,400 –> 00:16:50,900 And then loving others well, of course, means one more thing that’s at the heart of this 181 00:16:50,900 –> 00:16:54,640 fifth petition of the Lord’s Prayer and that is forgiving. 182 00:16:54,640 –> 00:16:58,760 Forgive one another as God in Christ has forgiven you. 183 00:16:58,840 –> 00:17:03,299 We read earlier from Ephesians and chapter four. 184 00:17:03,299 –> 00:17:11,160 In other words, we are called, as part of loving other people well, to forgive those 185 00:17:11,160 –> 00:17:17,719 who have wronged us, to forgive those who have failed us, to forgive those who have 186 00:17:17,719 –> 00:17:25,099 disappointed us—and we are called to do this as we have been forgiven. 187 00:17:25,099 –> 00:17:37,239 In other words, the starting point for forgiving others is always knowing the extent of the 188 00:17:37,239 –> 00:17:42,140 forgiveness that you have received yourself. 189 00:17:42,140 –> 00:17:52,680 Look at how you have been loved by God, and that will help you to love other people well. 190 00:17:53,140 –> 00:17:57,680 There’s an old hymn written by Robert Murray McShane 191 00:17:57,680 –> 00:18:03,599 I used to sing it growing up in Edinburgh, Scotland, and its words are often a blessing 192 00:18:03,599 –> 00:18:05,839 to me still. 193 00:18:05,839 –> 00:18:10,380 The last verse goes like this, speaking about our salvation in Christ. 194 00:18:10,380 –> 00:18:13,420 Brother, sister, this is true for you today. 195 00:18:14,099 –> 00:18:18,880 Chosen, not for good in me, 196 00:18:18,880 –> 00:18:24,160 Wakened up from wrath to flee, 197 00:18:24,160 –> 00:18:28,339 Hidden in the Saviour’s side, 198 00:18:28,339 –> 00:18:32,859 By the Spirit sanctified, 199 00:18:32,859 –> 00:18:37,400 Teach me, Lord, on earth to show, 200 00:18:37,579 –> 00:18:43,939 By my love, how much I owe. 201 00:18:43,939 –> 00:18:46,819 Do you have a sense today 202 00:18:46,819 –> 00:18:51,660 of how much you owe to Almighty God? 203 00:18:51,660 –> 00:18:53,959 The love that laid hold of you 204 00:18:53,959 –> 00:18:55,140 and laid hold of me 205 00:18:55,140 –> 00:18:58,300 when we were dead in trespasses and sins 206 00:18:58,300 –> 00:19:00,939 and brought us to life in Jesus Christ? 207 00:19:00,939 –> 00:19:05,439 By grace, we have been saved through faith. 208 00:19:05,439 –> 00:19:09,000 Teach me, Lord, on earth to show 209 00:19:10,060 –> 00:19:15,060 by my love, how much I owe. 210 00:19:16,839 –> 00:19:18,959 And that then brings us to the third word 211 00:19:18,959 –> 00:19:21,199 that of course is right at the very center 212 00:19:21,199 –> 00:19:24,040 of this fifth petition of the Lord’s Prayer. 213 00:19:24,040 –> 00:19:27,239 We’ve looked at why we need to be forgotten 214 00:19:27,239 –> 00:19:29,359 because we have debts. 215 00:19:29,359 –> 00:19:31,400 We’ve looked at why we need to forgive 216 00:19:31,400 –> 00:19:34,040 because we have debtors, others who have failed us. 217 00:19:34,040 –> 00:19:38,180 Now we come to the question, well, how can we be forgiven? 218 00:19:39,920 –> 00:19:43,459 Forgive us our debt. 219 00:19:46,680 –> 00:19:49,339 Now that is a really big ask. 220 00:19:51,280 –> 00:19:56,119 Imagine going to someone to whom you owe $100,000 221 00:19:57,280 –> 00:20:02,280 and saying, I’m asking you to write off this debt. 222 00:20:04,359 –> 00:20:09,359 And Jesus invites us to make a far bigger ask of God. 223 00:20:13,439 –> 00:20:17,800 When we ask God to forgive us our debts, 224 00:20:17,800 –> 00:20:20,959 we are confessing, not only that we have failed to pay, 225 00:20:20,959 –> 00:20:23,680 but we are actually confessing that we cannot pay. 226 00:20:23,680 –> 00:20:25,819 That’s why we ask him to forgive. 227 00:20:27,079 –> 00:20:30,099 We don’t go to God and ask for terms. 228 00:20:30,260 –> 00:20:32,780 We don’t go to God and say, 229 00:20:32,780 –> 00:20:36,880 no Father I want to make it up to you 230 00:20:36,880 –> 00:20:39,160 by being a good mother from now on, 231 00:20:39,160 –> 00:20:40,880 or a good student from now on, 232 00:20:40,880 –> 00:20:43,760 or a really good Christian from now on. 233 00:20:45,219 –> 00:20:50,199 No, when we pray forgive us our debts, 234 00:20:51,160 –> 00:20:55,260 we are saying to God, I cannot pay you. 235 00:20:55,699 –> 00:21:00,199 I cannot balance my account in your book. 236 00:21:00,199 –> 00:21:03,439 I can’t do it now and I can’t do it ever. 237 00:21:03,439 –> 00:21:06,719 So Father, my only option is to 238 00:21:06,719 –> 00:21:13,260 plead that you in your mercy will forgive my debt, 239 00:21:13,260 –> 00:21:16,680 that you will wipe the slate clean, 240 00:21:16,680 –> 00:21:21,739 and that you will cancel what I owe. 241 00:21:22,579 –> 00:21:26,800 Now, there are two questions here that are really important. 242 00:21:26,800 –> 00:21:29,000 The why and the how. 243 00:21:29,000 –> 00:21:32,560 Let’s take the why first. 244 00:21:32,560 –> 00:21:37,160 Why does a Christian need to pray this prayer? 245 00:21:37,160 –> 00:21:40,319 You see, when we come to 246 00:21:40,319 –> 00:21:44,619 faith and repentance in the Lord Jesus Christ, 247 00:21:44,619 –> 00:21:45,920 the Bible is very clear. 248 00:21:45,920 –> 00:21:49,300 God justifies us fully, completely, 249 00:21:49,380 –> 00:21:53,339 and forever, He drops all charges against us 250 00:21:53,339 –> 00:21:55,760 when we come to him through faith in Jesus, 251 00:21:55,760 –> 00:21:58,579 so that there is now no condemnation 252 00:21:58,579 –> 00:22:02,119 for those who are in Christ Jesus. 253 00:22:02,119 –> 00:22:03,619 Now, here’s the question. 254 00:22:03,619 –> 00:22:08,199 If it is really true that God has removed our sins 255 00:22:08,199 –> 00:22:12,020 as far from us as the East is from the West, 256 00:22:12,020 –> 00:22:14,959 why would any of us need to pray, 257 00:22:14,959 –> 00:22:17,780 forgive us our debts this week? 258 00:22:19,839 –> 00:22:21,680 The answer to that question is simply this. 259 00:22:21,680 –> 00:22:25,300 The point of this prayer is not 260 00:22:25,300 –> 00:22:27,439 that condemnation should be removed. 261 00:22:27,439 –> 00:22:29,800 That’s happened already for those who are in Christ, 262 00:22:29,800 –> 00:22:32,979 and he’s speaking here to his disciples. 263 00:22:32,979 –> 00:22:34,599 The point of this prayer is not 264 00:22:34,599 –> 00:22:36,640 that condemnation should be removed, 265 00:22:36,640 –> 00:22:40,920 but that fellowship with God should be restored. 266 00:22:42,920 –> 00:22:46,300 We are God’s wayward children, 267 00:22:46,839 –> 00:22:51,839 prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, 268 00:22:51,880 –> 00:22:55,339 prone to leave the God I love, 269 00:22:56,520 –> 00:23:01,420 and God’s justified children sin in many ways. 270 00:23:02,339 –> 00:23:06,479 When we sin, our sins do not bring us back 271 00:23:06,479 –> 00:23:10,079 into condemnation, but here’s what happens. 272 00:23:10,079 –> 00:23:14,079 They really do clog up our relationship with God, 273 00:23:14,839 –> 00:23:18,479 and the great desire of God’s children 274 00:23:18,479 –> 00:23:22,959 is always that we should honor His name, 275 00:23:22,959 –> 00:23:24,880 that we should extend His kingdom, 276 00:23:24,880 –> 00:23:26,920 that we should seek to do His will. 277 00:23:26,920 –> 00:23:31,920 We want as God’s children who love Him as our own Father, 278 00:23:32,520 –> 00:23:36,339 we want to walk with Him as closely as it is possible 279 00:23:36,339 –> 00:23:40,319 for a redeemed sinner to do in this world, 280 00:23:40,319 –> 00:23:43,199 to walk with God is our hope, it is our joy, 281 00:23:43,380 –> 00:23:46,000 it is our future, it is our destiny, 282 00:23:46,000 –> 00:23:48,439 and God’s children want as much of this 283 00:23:48,439 –> 00:23:51,560 as we can possibly get right now, 284 00:23:51,560 –> 00:23:54,859 and that’s why we pray, 285 00:23:54,859 –> 00:23:59,459 Father, forgive us our debts. 286 00:24:00,420 –> 00:24:04,500 I don’t want to live an hour of today 287 00:24:05,819 –> 00:24:08,040 distanced from You. 288 00:24:08,920 –> 00:24:13,199 I want to walk, Father, with You as closely 289 00:24:13,199 –> 00:24:16,180 as it is possible for a redeemed sinner 290 00:24:16,180 –> 00:24:18,099 to do in this world. 291 00:24:21,099 –> 00:24:23,560 But then, how can this prayer be answered? 292 00:24:23,560 –> 00:24:25,040 That’s why we need this prayer. 293 00:24:25,040 –> 00:24:29,339 As Christian believers, how can this prayer be answered? 294 00:24:29,339 –> 00:24:32,900 Forgive us our debts. 295 00:24:32,900 –> 00:24:35,420 Write them off. 296 00:24:35,420 –> 00:24:37,780 Cover them over. 297 00:24:37,780 –> 00:24:40,420 All the ways, Lord, that I have failed to love you 298 00:24:40,420 –> 00:24:45,900 and all the ways that I have failed to love others this week, 299 00:24:45,900 –> 00:24:47,859 how can God do that? 300 00:24:47,859 –> 00:24:54,900 How can a just and holy God forgive our repeated failure 301 00:24:54,900 –> 00:24:58,780 to do what He has commanded? 302 00:24:58,780 –> 00:25:00,180 And brothers and sisters, you know 303 00:25:00,180 –> 00:25:06,500 this takes us to the very heart of the Bible’s story. 304 00:25:06,500 –> 00:25:09,619 We are debtors to God and we are not 305 00:25:09,619 –> 00:25:13,380 able to pay the debts that we owe. 306 00:25:13,380 –> 00:25:17,380 And in that position, our only hope 307 00:25:17,380 –> 00:25:22,119 is that someone else will step in and be 308 00:25:22,119 –> 00:25:25,520 willing to pay the debt for us. 309 00:25:25,520 –> 00:25:28,579 And that is what God has done for us wonderfully 310 00:25:28,579 –> 00:25:32,099 in His love and mercy in and through Jesus Christ. 311 00:25:32,099 –> 00:25:37,180 Jesus paid the debt we owe. 312 00:25:37,180 –> 00:25:38,859 How did He do it? 313 00:25:38,859 –> 00:25:40,939 Well, the Son of God came into the world 314 00:25:40,939 –> 00:25:43,880 and then He lived that perfect life of love 315 00:25:43,880 –> 00:25:45,979 that we have not lived. 316 00:25:45,979 –> 00:25:48,939 He did what we failed to do. 317 00:25:48,939 –> 00:25:51,800 He lived the perfect life of love. 318 00:25:51,800 –> 00:25:54,339 He did it for us fully and completely, 319 00:25:54,339 –> 00:25:57,939 and then He laid down that perfect life. 320 00:25:58,040 –> 00:26:00,160 And in laying down His life, 321 00:26:00,160 –> 00:26:05,160 He paid the price for all of our sins. 322 00:26:06,520 –> 00:26:11,020 Oh, praise the One who paid my debt 323 00:26:12,300 –> 00:26:17,000 and raised this life up from the dead. 324 00:26:17,000 –> 00:26:20,180 Jesus paid it all, 325 00:26:20,180 –> 00:26:24,099 all to Him I owe. 326 00:26:24,579 –> 00:26:29,319 Because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross, 327 00:26:29,319 –> 00:26:31,800 we can come to the Father 328 00:26:31,800 –> 00:26:35,819 and say, forgive us our debts 329 00:26:36,920 –> 00:26:39,660 and know that when we ask Him, 330 00:26:39,660 –> 00:26:41,900 He will forgive us. 331 00:26:44,199 –> 00:26:46,079 And whatever our failures, 332 00:26:46,079 –> 00:26:47,839 whatever our sins, 333 00:26:47,839 –> 00:26:49,540 through Jesus Christ, 334 00:26:49,540 –> 00:26:52,359 our fellowship with the Father 335 00:26:52,380 –> 00:26:56,319 will be wonderfully and beautifully restored. 336 00:26:58,579 –> 00:27:01,079 Now we’ve looked at the why. 337 00:27:02,680 –> 00:27:04,380 Why is it that we need to be forgiven? 338 00:27:04,380 –> 00:27:07,079 Why is it that we need to forgive? 339 00:27:08,239 –> 00:27:09,839 We’re looking at the how. 340 00:27:09,839 –> 00:27:12,560 How is it that we can be forgiven? 341 00:27:12,560 –> 00:27:16,000 And now, a really important question. 342 00:27:16,000 –> 00:27:18,280 How can 343 00:27:18,280 –> 00:27:19,479 we 344 00:27:19,479 –> 00:27:20,339 forgive? 345 00:27:21,260 –> 00:27:25,760 And here we’re looking together at the word us. 346 00:27:25,760 –> 00:27:29,020 Forgive us 347 00:27:29,020 –> 00:27:29,939 our debts 348 00:27:30,959 –> 00:27:33,140 as we also have forgiven 349 00:27:34,040 –> 00:27:34,979 our debtors. 350 00:27:36,479 –> 00:27:40,520 Now, it seems to me that this little word us, 351 00:27:41,520 –> 00:27:44,900 that’s what forms the hinge 352 00:27:44,900 –> 00:27:47,599 between us receiving forgiveness from God 353 00:27:47,599 –> 00:27:51,339 and us releasing forgiveness to others 354 00:27:51,339 –> 00:27:53,800 who have sinned against us. 355 00:27:54,880 –> 00:27:58,859 And our Lord Jesus, at the end of the Lord’s prayer, 356 00:27:58,859 –> 00:28:00,540 continues with this theme, 357 00:28:00,540 –> 00:28:03,459 which indicates the importance of it. 358 00:28:03,459 –> 00:28:06,459 Verse 14, for if you forgive others their trespasses, 359 00:28:06,459 –> 00:28:11,459 your Heavenly Father will also forgive you, 360 00:28:12,979 –> 00:28:16,839 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, 361 00:28:16,880 –> 00:28:21,260 neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. 362 00:28:22,280 –> 00:28:23,560 Now, what does that mean? 363 00:28:25,079 –> 00:28:29,699 Well, first, this does not, cannot mean 364 00:28:29,699 –> 00:28:31,959 that that is something that we have to do 365 00:28:31,959 –> 00:28:34,579 in order to earn God’s forgiveness. 366 00:28:35,459 –> 00:28:37,959 We do not say, in the Lord’s prayer, 367 00:28:37,959 –> 00:28:42,959 forgive us our debts because we have forgiven our debtors. 368 00:28:43,520 –> 00:28:46,900 And friends, I just wanna pause here for a moment. 369 00:28:46,900 –> 00:28:51,199 This is really important because forgiveness is not easy. 370 00:28:52,599 –> 00:28:56,060 Sometimes we have to come back to it again and again. 371 00:28:56,060 –> 00:28:57,180 We think we’ve forgiven 372 00:28:57,180 –> 00:28:59,900 and we need to forgive all over again. 373 00:29:01,219 –> 00:29:02,939 And I want you to hear clearly today 374 00:29:02,939 –> 00:29:07,079 that if you are struggling to forgive another person, 375 00:29:07,079 –> 00:29:09,260 God is not saying to you, 376 00:29:09,300 –> 00:29:13,020 hey, no grace for you until you get this one sorted out. 377 00:29:14,859 –> 00:29:15,760 If that was the case, 378 00:29:15,760 –> 00:29:18,400 there wouldn’t be anyone who was ever saved, 379 00:29:20,060 –> 00:29:21,459 but what Jesus is teaching 380 00:29:21,459 –> 00:29:23,579 and we need to feel the full weight of it here 381 00:29:23,579 –> 00:29:27,380 is that there is the closest connection possible 382 00:29:28,420 –> 00:29:31,219 between us receiving forgiveness from God 383 00:29:31,219 –> 00:29:34,939 and us releasing forgiveness to others, 384 00:29:35,219 –> 00:29:40,219 and that connection is embodied in the word us. 385 00:29:40,760 –> 00:29:44,920 It’s not, forgive me my debts, 386 00:29:44,920 –> 00:29:49,199 it’s forgive us our debts. 387 00:29:50,219 –> 00:29:55,219 That means that you want God to forgive 388 00:29:55,760 –> 00:29:58,479 not only the debts that you owe, 389 00:29:59,540 –> 00:30:03,280 but also the debts that others owe, 390 00:30:03,300 –> 00:30:08,119 and that includes the debts that others owe to you. 391 00:30:10,359 –> 00:30:15,359 Us means Father forgive me 392 00:30:17,280 –> 00:30:19,459 as I have failed to love you 393 00:30:19,459 –> 00:30:24,459 and forgive her as she has failed to love me. 394 00:30:28,300 –> 00:30:32,260 The only alternative to this prayer of course would be 395 00:30:32,260 –> 00:30:35,599 Father do not forgive us our debts 396 00:30:35,599 –> 00:30:38,900 as we have not forgiven our debtors. 397 00:30:40,219 –> 00:30:45,219 That would be to say I won’t forgive them Father 398 00:30:45,560 –> 00:30:49,260 and so I don’t want you to forgive them either. 399 00:30:51,199 –> 00:30:53,339 And who would ever want to pray that prayer? 400 00:30:55,280 –> 00:30:58,180 Father do not forgive us would mean 401 00:30:58,180 –> 00:31:00,160 Father do not forgive me. 402 00:31:02,500 –> 00:31:07,500 See the human heart is either hard or soft. 403 00:31:11,219 –> 00:31:14,900 It’s either open or it is closed. 404 00:31:16,359 –> 00:31:19,640 The human heart is either a heart of stone 405 00:31:20,979 –> 00:31:23,780 or it is a heart of flesh. 406 00:31:25,500 –> 00:31:29,040 And if your heart is not open to pour forgiveness out 407 00:31:29,040 –> 00:31:32,140 how is it open for God to pour forgiveness in? 408 00:31:33,219 –> 00:31:38,020 How can I ask God to forgive me my sins 409 00:31:38,020 –> 00:31:43,020 if I am not ready to forgive others their sins? 410 00:31:43,339 –> 00:31:48,339 Forgive us our debts. 411 00:31:50,040 –> 00:31:53,640 Now that of course doesn’t stop you from praying, 412 00:31:53,640 –> 00:31:56,859 Father forgive me when you confess a particular sin 413 00:31:56,859 –> 00:32:01,619 but you cannot ask God for yourself 414 00:32:03,119 –> 00:32:07,560 but you would not want him to give to others. 415 00:32:09,819 –> 00:32:13,219 And that then leads to this question, 416 00:32:13,219 –> 00:32:17,099 how then can we forgive those who have wronged us and 417 00:32:18,119 –> 00:32:21,099 sometimes this seems like the hardest thing of all. 418 00:32:22,300 –> 00:32:23,640 Forgiveness is hard. 419 00:32:23,640 –> 00:32:27,359 It took the suffering of the son of God on the cross 420 00:32:27,359 –> 00:32:29,599 to accomplish it for you and for me. 421 00:32:30,339 –> 00:32:34,380 How can we forgive those who have wronged us? 422 00:32:35,479 –> 00:32:37,040 Well, the first thing to say is that, 423 00:32:37,040 –> 00:32:38,459 of course, it’s not natural. 424 00:32:40,180 –> 00:32:43,420 What naturally happens, what happens most often, 425 00:32:43,420 –> 00:32:47,060 is that sooner or later what goes into your heart 426 00:32:47,060 –> 00:32:49,880 ends up coming out of your heart 427 00:32:49,880 –> 00:32:52,780 and being passed on to someone else. 428 00:32:52,780 –> 00:32:55,979 We all know this and we all see this in multiple ways. 429 00:32:55,979 –> 00:32:58,020 The person who is despised 430 00:32:58,819 –> 00:33:01,560 ends up despising other people. 431 00:33:01,560 –> 00:33:06,560 The person who is deceived ends up deceiving others. 432 00:33:06,579 –> 00:33:11,260 And the tragedy of this is that the very thing 433 00:33:11,260 –> 00:33:14,180 that was so painful to you ends up being the thing 434 00:33:14,180 –> 00:33:16,020 that is channeled through you 435 00:33:16,020 –> 00:33:18,739 to bring pain into the lives of others. 436 00:33:20,160 –> 00:33:25,060 Gandhi described this tragedy well when he said, 437 00:33:25,119 –> 00:33:30,119 an eye for an eye until the whole world is blind. 438 00:33:33,500 –> 00:33:37,339 But Jesus said, you have heard it said, 439 00:33:37,339 –> 00:33:39,260 an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, 440 00:33:39,260 –> 00:33:44,260 but I say to you, love your enemies, 441 00:33:46,959 –> 00:33:50,959 pray for those who persecute you. 442 00:33:51,959 –> 00:33:56,239 When you’re wronged by another person, 443 00:33:56,239 –> 00:33:59,079 there are two things that are possible. 444 00:33:59,079 –> 00:34:02,819 The first is that the wrong that’s done to you 445 00:34:02,819 –> 00:34:06,520 will end up coming out from you. 446 00:34:06,520 –> 00:34:09,179 You’ll pass it on to others, 447 00:34:09,179 –> 00:34:12,560 and they’ll be wounded as you were wounded. 448 00:34:12,560 –> 00:34:17,000 And that’s, as we all know, the way of nature. 449 00:34:17,820 –> 00:34:21,060 The second possibility, though, 450 00:34:21,060 –> 00:34:26,679 is that what was done to you will end with you. 451 00:34:26,679 –> 00:34:30,800 That you do not pass it on to others. 452 00:34:30,800 –> 00:34:34,580 And that is the way of grace. 453 00:34:34,580 –> 00:34:39,840 Something better than a world of endless retaliation, 454 00:34:39,840 –> 00:34:42,379 something better than an eye for an eye 455 00:34:42,379 –> 00:34:45,800 and a tooth for a tooth is possible. 456 00:34:46,360 –> 00:34:48,120 And we see it supremely 457 00:34:48,120 –> 00:34:51,919 in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 458 00:34:51,919 –> 00:34:55,219 Listen to these words from 1 Peter, as he describes 459 00:34:55,219 –> 00:34:58,500 what happened as Jesus suffered on the cross. 460 00:34:58,500 –> 00:34:59,500 He says this, 461 00:34:59,500 –> 00:35:02,580 for to this you have been called 462 00:35:02,580 –> 00:35:05,159 because Christ suffered for you, 463 00:35:05,159 –> 00:35:07,479 leaving you an example 464 00:35:08,760 –> 00:35:12,239 that you may follow in his footsteps. 465 00:35:12,239 –> 00:35:15,120 Take in what he’s saying here for a moment. 466 00:35:15,159 –> 00:35:18,239 Peter’s talking about our calling 467 00:35:18,239 –> 00:35:20,739 as Christian believers. 468 00:35:20,739 –> 00:35:22,879 And particularly our calling 469 00:35:22,879 –> 00:35:26,620 when we are wronged by other people. 470 00:35:26,620 –> 00:35:29,800 And he tells us that what we are to do, 471 00:35:29,800 –> 00:35:32,820 what God calls us to do when we are wronged by other people 472 00:35:32,820 –> 00:35:35,780 has been modeled for us by the Lord, Jesus Christ, 473 00:35:35,780 –> 00:35:37,320 he gave us an example 474 00:35:37,320 –> 00:35:41,080 and he did it so that we should follow in his footsteps. 475 00:35:41,080 –> 00:35:42,780 Now what was the example? 476 00:35:43,760 –> 00:35:46,340 Well, the next verse, 477 00:35:46,340 –> 00:35:49,979 when he was reviled, 478 00:35:49,979 –> 00:35:55,479 he did not revile in return. 479 00:35:55,479 –> 00:35:59,100 You think about our Lord Jesus on the cross, 480 00:35:59,100 –> 00:36:01,260 he was mocked, 481 00:36:01,260 –> 00:36:03,620 he was shamed, 482 00:36:03,620 –> 00:36:04,600 he was insulted, 483 00:36:04,600 –> 00:36:09,219 he was treated with utter contempt. 484 00:36:09,439 –> 00:36:13,760 That’s what came to Jesus. 485 00:36:13,760 –> 00:36:18,159 And he could have called 12 legions of angels 486 00:36:18,159 –> 00:36:21,979 to give a multiple of it back. 487 0:36:23,199 –> 00:36:26,040 But Jesus did not do that. 488 00:36:27,199 –> 00:36:29,120 What did he do? 489 00:36:29,120 –> 00:36:30,300 Well, Peter tells us, 490 00:36:30,300 –> 00:36:33,080 when he suffered, 491 00:36:33,080 –> 00:36:36,239 he did not threaten 492 00:36:36,260 –> 00:36:39,340 but continued to entrust himself 493 00:36:39,340 –> 00:36:41,919 to him who judges justly. 494 00:36:44,179 –> 00:36:45,820 And we look at this and we say, 495 00:36:45,820 –> 00:36:48,500 now how did Jesus do that? 496 00:36:48,500 –> 00:36:52,040 And the answer is he prayed the Lord’s Prayer. 497 00:36:54,540 –> 00:36:58,060 Father, forgive them. 498 00:36:59,800 –> 00:37:02,820 They do not know what they are doing. 499 00:37:03,540 –> 00:37:08,280 And then comes this most amazing description 500 00:37:08,280 –> 00:37:11,439 of what actually happened at the cross. 501 00:37:11,439 –> 00:37:12,959 Here’s what Jesus did 502 00:37:12,959 –> 00:37:16,239 in order that this forgiveness should be released. 503 00:37:17,639 –> 00:37:21,760 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree. 504 00:37:23,280 –> 00:37:24,219 That’s what he did. 505 00:37:25,439 –> 00:37:28,000 And he did it so that we might die to sin 506 00:37:28,000 –> 00:37:32,360 and live to righteousness and that is by his wounds 507 00:37:32,360 –> 00:37:34,340 that we are healed. 508 00:37:35,780 –> 00:37:40,280 The shame, the mocking, the spitting, 509 00:37:40,280 –> 00:37:44,840 the reviling, the contempt that was heaped on Jesus. 510 00:37:46,560 –> 00:37:51,239 And then the guilt of our sins that was laid on Jesus, 511 00:37:53,159 –> 00:37:54,439 he did not pass it on. 512 00:37:56,139 –> 00:38:00,020 He bore it in his body on the tree. 513 00:38:00,040 –> 00:38:04,639 He said in effect, this ends here. 514 00:38:06,879 –> 00:38:10,399 And that brother sister is how we are forgiven. 515 00:38:11,580 –> 00:38:13,719 And that is how we have peace with God. 516 00:38:15,500 –> 00:38:18,300 And Peter says, this is an example. 517 00:38:19,719 –> 00:38:20,959 We know that on the cross, 518 00:38:20,959 –> 00:38:22,860 the Lord Jesus Christ made atonement, 519 00:38:22,860 –> 00:38:24,699 we can never make atonement for the world. 520 00:38:24,699 –> 00:38:26,459 That’s something that he did. 521 00:38:26,459 –> 00:38:28,040 It can never be done again. 522 00:38:28,040 –> 00:38:29,959 And only he could ever have done it. 523 00:38:29,959 –> 00:38:32,719 But in this regard, Christ’s suffering on the cross 524 00:38:32,719 –> 00:38:35,080 is an example to us 525 00:38:37,100 –> 00:38:40,500 that we are to follow in his footsteps 526 00:38:42,739 –> 00:38:47,040 and we are never more like the son of God 527 00:38:48,540 –> 00:38:51,560 than when we choose to forgive. 528 00:38:53,639 –> 00:38:56,659 Dr. Jay Popper has a poem that I found helpful 529 00:38:56,659 –> 00:38:58,459 and I’d like just to read it to you. 530 00:39:00,020 –> 00:39:03,840 Forgive our sins as we forgive, 531 00:39:03,840 –> 00:39:07,100 you taught us Lord to pray, 532 00:39:08,139 –> 00:39:12,340 but you alone can give us grace 533 00:39:12,340 –> 00:39:14,300 to live the words we say. 534 00:39:15,399 –> 00:39:20,399 How can your pardon reach an unforgiving heart 535 00:39:21,439 –> 00:39:24,179 that broods on wrongs 536 00:39:24,179 –> 00:39:28,500 and will not let old bitterness depart? 537 00:39:30,080 –> 00:39:32,780 In blazing light, 538 00:39:32,780 –> 00:39:36,800 your cross reveals the truth we dimly knew. 539 00:39:37,679 –> 00:39:42,479 How small the debts men owe to us. 540 00:39:42,479 –> 00:39:45,879 How great our debt to you. 541 00:39:47,159 –> 00:39:52,159 Lord, cleanse the depths within our souls 542 00:39:52,459 –> 00:39:56,120 and bid resentment cease. 543 00:39:57,020 –> 00:40:01,300 Then reconciled to God and man, 544 00:40:01,300 –> 00:40:05,439 our lives will spread your peace. 545 00:40:06,659 –> 00:40:10,159 May that be true of each and every one of us. 546 00:40:10,159 –> 00:40:13,379 Now will you join me in praying together? 547 00:40:15,280 –> 00:40:16,840 Our Father in heaven, 548 00:40:18,600 –> 00:40:20,479 we bow before you, 549 00:40:20,479 –> 00:40:23,699 so grateful for the grace 550 00:40:24,540 –> 00:40:28,840 by which you have reconciled us to yourself 551 00:40:28,840 –> 00:40:32,600 in and through Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Lord. 552 00:40:34,399 –> 00:40:37,020 And we are very conscious today 553 00:40:37,020 –> 00:40:39,879 of being your wayward children. 554 00:40:42,139 –> 00:40:47,139 We are profoundly aware of that which we have thought 555 00:40:48,679 –> 00:40:53,239 and said and done that is displeasing 556 00:40:53,260 –> 00:40:54,860 and dishonoring to you. 557 00:40:56,419 –> 00:41:00,560 Forgive us these sins. 558 00:41:02,399 –> 00:41:04,540 And Father, we are profoundly aware today, 559 00:41:04,540 –> 00:41:05,820 not only of what we’ve done, 560 00:41:05,820 –> 00:41:06,959 but of what we’ve not done. 561 00:41:06,959 –> 00:41:10,239 We have come nowhere near 562 00:41:11,760 –> 00:41:15,439 a life that is fully devoted to love you 563 00:41:15,439 –> 00:41:18,040 with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, 564 00:41:18,040 –> 00:41:20,959 and to love our neighbor as ourselves, not even close. 565 00:41:21,879 –> 00:41:26,719 We are profoundly aware of our debt 566 00:41:26,719 –> 00:41:29,699 and we ask that you will forgive us 567 00:41:30,719 –> 00:41:35,719 for our frequent failure to love others well. 568 00:41:40,239 –> 00:41:43,879 Father, we are sinners, and we have also been sinned against. 569 00:41:45,800 –> 00:41:49,120 We want to bring before you the pain 570 00:41:49,979 –> 00:41:52,100 of where we have been wronged, 571 00:41:53,760 –> 00:41:57,479 and ask that by your grace we will wring out 572 00:41:57,479 –> 00:42:00,979 that pain at the foot of the cross of Jesus. 573 00:42:03,560 –> 00:42:07,000 Father, thank you that through our Lord Jesus Christ, 574 00:42:08,239 –> 00:42:10,639 our many sins can be forgiven. 575 00:42:12,600 –> 00:42:15,439 Thank you that you have promised 576 00:42:15,439 –> 00:42:17,760 to those who come in humble confession 577 00:42:17,760 –> 00:42:21,060 to ask of you that you will put our many sins 578 00:42:21,060 –> 00:42:23,080 behind your back. 579 00:42:23,080 –> 00:42:24,860 Bury them in the depth of the sea. 580 00:42:24,860 –> 00:42:29,000 Remove them as far from us as the East is from the West 581 00:42:29,000 –> 00:42:31,699 through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, 582 00:42:31,699 –> 00:42:34,000 cleansed for us. 583 00:42:34,000 –> 00:42:37,919 Let the blood of Jesus cleanse us 584 00:42:37,919 –> 00:42:41,540 from every sin we pray. 585 00:42:44,000 –> 00:42:47,260 And then Father, give us grace to forgive. 586 00:42:48,239 –> 00:42:50,340 As we ourselves are forgiven, 587 00:42:52,100 –> 00:42:57,100 please help us this week to love other people well. 588 00:42:59,179 –> 00:43:03,659 Grant that we may grow in consideration, 589 00:43:03,659 –> 00:43:08,659 in empathy, in grace, and in forgiveness. 590 00:43:10,620 –> 00:43:14,699 Let the overflow of your grace to us flow out from us 591 00:43:14,739 –> 00:43:17,840 into this harsh and unforgiving world 592 00:43:19,580 –> 00:43:21,340 so that your name will be honored 593 00:43:22,820 –> 00:43:27,820 and your kingdom extended and your will done 594 00:43:29,100 –> 00:43:31,139 through Jesus Christ our Lord 595 00:43:32,219 –> 00:43:35,699 in whose wonderful name we pray, amen.