This recording is from Christ Kingdom Church in Waterford Lakes, East Orlando. Visit us online at christkingum.org for our calendar, driving directions and more audio recordings. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave. And all these virtues, over all these virtues, put on love which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts since as members of one body you were called to peace and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom. And as you sing songs, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Let's pray together. Father, thank you for your word which serves as a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. This is such an important principle for forgiveness. And we pray, Lord, that as Scott comes and opens the word further with us, that you would fill him with your spirit and allow him to teach well and fill us with your spirit and allow us to comprehend and apply the things you have for us. Lord, we pray for Tom Ceeley this morning and ask for his healing. Thank you, Lord, for Tom and for Reed and Kendall and the whole family as they serve so faithfully in Budapest. And we ask your blessing on them. Thank you, Lord, as we come to your word, we ask that you would teach us and grow us to your son's name we pray, amen. Third through fifth graders, I believe are staying. Please stay. Thanks, Dan. We can go back up here. In fact, I'd like everybody to stay. So please, everyone stay if you possible again. Well, we are taking a little bit of a detour. As most of you know, if you've been tracking with us this year, or even if you've been here just probably one Sunday recently, you know we've been in a series called Share the Story. Looking at different parts, different characters, as we've gone from Genesis literally now coming up to the very end in Revelation. So we're going to talk about the Apostle John next week. And the week after that, we're going to talk about future Jesus. That's a little weird title, but there's a pictures and there's descriptions of Jesus and the new heavens and the new earth that will and should blow your mind. That's an appropriate way, I think, to end that series. It's looking at what we have in store for us when we come face to face and we live in eternity with them. So that'll be exciting in the next two weeks. Well, this week we're taking a little bit of a little bit of a detour here, and no worries why I can say that we're doing that is because I just felt really compelled to do that. I even started working on the John sermon earlier on in the week and just felt like the Lord was saying, take a break and address this topic this week. The topic is from Colossians 3, which you heard read, and the title of this morning is called Drop the Rocks. And I'll explain more what that means as we go along this morning. But it is not, even though we're not part of the story series, it is a key part of the story that we've been talking about all year. Because we're going to focus in and we're going to narrow in on the theme and the practice of forgiveness. Now, for forgiveness, even when I say that word, my guess is you have one of two responses. You're either in a situation of a blessed season of life where you're like, oh, cool, forgiveness. That's a fun topic. That's nice. Or you're in a season of life where you've immediately already thought internally and your blood pressure maybe even started to rise already going for forgiveness, where it feels totally different. You probably had at least one of those two reactions, and maybe you're somewhere in the middle with that. But for forgiveness, well, I'm just trusting that this is for at least one person here this morning, if not some reminders, I think for all of us here this morning, as we look at that. It's a key theme of the story and scriptures from the very beginning to the very end. In fact, the only reason we can have a relationship with God, the scriptures say very cleanly, is because they wholly, wholly, wholly, which by the way is what the angels do. Non-stop have done since the beginning of time and will continue to and it never grows old. And they're not a record that's on skip. Sorry, some of you guys don't know what a record is. There's not a glitch in the matrix, but they are inspired in that the ultimate, at the apex of their creation, those particular angels never tired of saying, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who wasn't is and is to come. And as soon as they've said it once, they are ready to fully say it again since time begin until time ends and maybe we'll join with them in some way, shape or form. That is the kind of holiness of the God we serve because he's wholly, wholly, wholly. There was a need because of what we know happened in the Garden of Eden. There was a need for forgiveness. We were lost in sin, according to the scriptures. We were dead in sins. We were consumed by sin. And without forgiveness, the scriptures make it very clear we have and can have no relationship with the God who is holy, wholly, wholly. It is our forgiven status, actually, before God that fuels our ability for new relationships with others as this passage specifically this morning talks about. It was talking mostly about how we interact with one another as the Apostle Paul was teaching the church in Colosseum. So the question I have for you to think about this morning from this direct passage we read is how do we bear with one another as the text says? How do we forgive grievances we have against one another? How do we put on love? How do we let the peace of God rule in our hearts? How do we let the word of Christ dwell in you richly? And as we teach and admonish one another in wisdom, how do we do that? And how do we do it all the name of the Lord Jesus Christ? To do something in the name of the Lord is to simply do it as if it's something the Lord would do and to do it for His glory and honor. That's why we pray in Jesus' name. It's not a magic little spell you put on the end of your prayer to give it power. It's saying I'm praying only because I have the right to come before God because of Jesus Christ to pray for the will of Jesus Christ, to pray for the rule and the reign of Jesus Christ in my prayers. And it's on the basis of that that you have authority and access to even pray at all. What we're told to live lives that are lived in the name of Jesus Christ. So I want to focus on forgiving this morning. You know you don't have to be very old before the opportunities to forgive or be forgiven are part of your daily lives. Dash is a great example. He doesn't know what the word forgive this means and he probably hasn't stepped into what that reality looks like. But it won't be long will it? Won't be long before a maybe well intentioned older sister does something that annoys him. You know our parents puts draws a line and says he can't do this or do that before he begins to understand a break of relationship that he's already been born into. And forgiveness becomes a reality even for a little boy like dash. Well let me ask you this. Is there anything this morning that you have not forgiven? Is there any person this morning that you have not forgiven? We got to make it personal. Does it not? This is really just an exercise and something. But it has no meaning if you don't make this personal this morning so I want to invite you to do that. Are you struggling to forgive in any area of life or to be given a person or situation? You know one thing I found that was interesting in studying this is that there is now clear scientific evidence. We thought about it and believe it for years but now there's clear scientific evidence. Now linking unforgiveness to producing high stress and high stress causing many different kinds of physical illnesses. I may not be surprised by that. Dr. Robert Sayer quote most of the diseases of abnormal immune function are remarkably linked to psychological stress. Dr. Herbinson 60 to 90% of visits to physicians are for conditions related to stress. Dr. Everworthington chronic unforgiveness causes stress every time people think of their transgressor their body responds decreasing your unforgiveness cuts down on your health risk. Now if you can forgive that can actually strengthen your immune system. Dr. David Servin Schreiber says inwardly the emotional wound affects deep vital processes. A psychological wound sets off mechanisms of stress response release a cortisol a adrenaline including a slowdown in the immune system which contributes to growth and the spread of cancer. The Journal of Applied Sciences 2009 quoted said for goodness of self and others has been the most powerful predictor of both depression and suicide ideation. And did you know if you're married that one third of marriage satisfaction is related directly to forgiveness. So how are you doing this morning at forgiving? Have you even thought that some of your physical illnesses or struggles or anxiety or weakness or inability to sleep or low immune system? Have you even thought that some of that could be directly related to how you are processing forgiveness or unforgiveness in your heart and your life? You know sometimes we're very aware that we are struggling to forgive but sometimes we are not. Let me help some of you who may be struggling and be lost somewhere in the middle here this morning wondering is that an issue for me? Is it not? Here are some warning signs of possible unforgiveness. Are there people you have written off are purposely never see? Are there people you avoid when you see them coming? Are there people that you cannot say anything positive about if they come up in conversation? Are there people that you are quick to judge this count or treat as irrelevant? Are there people that you feel like owe you something? That doesn't mean for sure you're struggling with unforgiveness for them but it could be a clue that somewhere underneath there has been an offense or something that has been taken that is blocking your relationship with them. Your forgiveness or the lack of could be playing a key role in that relationship possibly. So I want us all to be looking to be thinking to invite even the Holy Spirit now will you invite the Holy Spirit to ask him to speak to your heart this morning if this is something directly to apply? You know if you're not struggling with unforgiveness now let me grab all the rest of you and pull you into the boat with us. It is something that you will likely struggle with in the future. I'm sorry unless the Lord comes back today or tomorrow or takes you home today or tomorrow which I pray he doesn't. You will have an opportunity very soon maybe and probably even today to have to forgive somebody or to choose whether you will or not. And I'm not sure who said it says this unforgiveness is like drinking poison and hoping the other person dies. You know either way wherever you're at whatever boats you're in this morning we all need to learn how to forgive and there's nobody better to teach us than God himself. So let me give you two things to think about your this morning if you're falling along your outline this might be helpful to know one is this Jesus drops the rocks. There's a classic story of forgiveness where it is hard to find. There's a classic story of forgiveness when we read about the story of the woman caught in adultery and who was brought by the religious leaders before Jesus. They're actually you would think that their passion and their heart is really about concern for the righteousness of the law of God and for the purification of his people with that. But no we're told that they're trying it's all about trying to catch Jesus and something that they can condemn him for. We get the picture they're coming like they're going to condemn her rightly from the scriptures and the Old Testament. But they're really out about to condemn Jesus. And oh by the way she's just a pawn in the process they can use. Let me read from John chapter 8. You might be familiar with the story if you've grown up in church. If not I think you'll be intrigued by the story says this in John 8 verses 1 through 11. But Jesus went to the mountain of olives at John he peered again in the temple courts where all the people gathered around him. And he sat down to teach them the teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus teacher this woman was caught in the act of adultery. And the law of Moses commands us to stone such women. Now what do you say they were using this question as a trap in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him he straightened up and said to them, if any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her. Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this those who heard begin to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you? No one sir she said. Then neither do I condemn you Jesus declared, go now and leave your life with sin. Jesus drops the rocks, a couple quick observations here. Jesus drops the rocks and the scribes and the Pharisees, the teachers, the religious leaders, they will too, but they came bringing rocks. Now backing up in this, these religious leaders, they knew the law as I've already pointed out. Ironically, if you think about it, we're all born with an innate understanding of some level of right and wrong. Of a seven billion people here on a planet, everybody has some level of right and wrong. Now the scale looks differently in how we choose and judge, but usually we have a difficult time finding anybody that doesn't say some things are right and some things are wrong. Most intuitively know that you should not take something that belongs to someone else. Most intuitively know that oppression manipulation or deception is not right. And most people intuitively know that cheating on your spouse is wrong. It's important to note in the story, Jesus agreed with them that adultery was wrong. He was in a plate agreement. See the law is clear that the adulterer should be put to death, Leviticus 2010, which Jesus was quite familiar with since he wrote it through Moses. Says this, if a man commits adultery with another man's wife with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulterer's must be put to death. This was the law of God. Jesus was familiar with it. The scribes and Pharisees were familiar with it. In fact, the entire nation of Israel would have been very familiar with it. At least up directly to one of the 10 commandments, right, thou shalt not commit adultery. Now, there might have been many commandments that could have been forgotten, could have been misunderstood, but this was one of the 10. This was one that everybody had a clear understanding of. And there was a question of the woman's guilt. No, she'd been caught in the acts. This is in the middle of the day. Jesus in the temple. She'd been caught. Can you imagine, though, being this woman? Can you imagine hearing the sound of, what's that sound? Here have been to Israel. I had a chance to go in 1995. These are everywhere. It's a very rocky place. Now, they cleaned up things in 2000 years, and there's less rocks around and available, but they're still everywhere. And during the day of Jesus, these were everywhere. Can you imagine this sound growing up in Israel, you would have been aware. And probably seen stonings. It was part of the law of God. It was a part of way of keeping the community of God pure from their sins. This sound is a very familiar sound. Can you imagine being the woman and hearing this sound? I want you to touch and feel that a little bit more. Our ushers are going to hand out. They're going to give each of you a rock this morning. This is just a small rock. I'm sorry, it's not a clean rock. This is not a cleaning story. They're going to help pass those around. I just want everybody to have one. You'll get one at some point. She knew the law as well. She's not complaining. She's not saying a word. She's not saying it's not fair. You have no right to do that. She knew the law. She knew she'd been caught in the act. There was no hearsay. You know, like someone says that they thought you were saying she was caught. Red handed. There was no question of her guilt or her innocence. And she knew it. She knew their verdict because they've been clear throughout the hundreds of years of mosaic law and history. She knew Jesus was a righteous man. At this point, Jesus's reputation is becoming well known. Yes, one of compassion, but one who was not partial, one who was not worried about what people thought, one who knew the law of God, one who taught like nobody else had ever taught. There's no question this woman's mind what Jesus verdict would have been about her act of adultery. None. She would have thought to herself, how could Jesus have any other kind of verdict other than the same one that the Pharisees and religious leaders had right then? Or were the religious leaders knew the law, however, they did not know the law giver. Let me say that again. These religious leaders and the woman, they knew the law, but they did not know the law giver. You see, Jesus says that he and the father are one in John 10, 30. He establishes himself as the law giver, the giver of the team commandments and the rest of the Deuteronomy law and the Levitical law. Jesus is the law giver and as Christ and Pharisees are trying to catch him in a trap here, why? Because they don't believe he's in a side, they don't believe he's the son of God. They're quite familiar with the law, but they are totally unfamiliar with the law giver. Jesus is the law giver. The woman here probably has no full understanding that Jesus has been anything other than a great prophet at this point with some powerful signs that he's performing. She doesn't know the law giver. How about you? Honestly, do you know the law giver? The religious leaders knew the law, but they could not keep the law as a key observation. They thought they were keeping the law, even in this account they failed to bring both parties. Did you catch that? Leviticus 2010 says both the adulterer and adulterer, both involved, should be condemned, rightfully condemned and killed. There's only one person brought to this. Those who thought they were so good at the law, providing the law right before the people and before Jesus, even in their own act. Matthew 5.20, Jesus says this, talking about Pharisees and religious leaders. He says where I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, the experts, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. But that in our terms here today, in the 21st century, that's like saying, unless your basketball skills exceed that of Abraham James, I'm not going to measure up unless your beauty and philanthropy exceeds that of Angelina Jolie. It's not going to happen. Unless your business and computer skills exceed that of Steve Jobs, it's not happening to help some of you understand better, unless you are more of an Alabama fan than Jeremy Martin. It's not happening. Let's try to make a connection, you know, look of Nox's fan. There's no way. I love Jeremy. The Pharisees were the best at keeping the law. The Pharisees were the expert. The Pharisees knew it better than anybody else. The Pharisees studied it day in and day out. And even the people thought, yes, they know the law the best. They were the experts. There was no debate about this. In fact, nobody was challenging it until the law giver shows up on earth in human skin in the person of Jesus. You know, this reminded me of the story of us in 2 Samuel 6. Probably when you didn't hear a whole lot of necessarily growing up, but some of you are aware of it. This is when they were moving the ark of the covenant. It was never to be touched by anyone. Remember, right here is the law's start. You get a picture of what the ark might have looked like there. Well, they were trying to transport it. They had it on a cart which they weren't supposed to. It was supposed to be carried by priest in the hand. But you know, wheels are easier, right? So they're rolling the car. They're not even following God's prescription for that in the first place. And as they're going about, it gets unsteadied. It begins to fall. And as they are trying to do the right thing and other reaches up this grab it so the ark doesn't fall. And as a struck down and killed instantly, as a thinks it's better to catch the ark of the Lord than to let it fall. As a thinks, here's the point, as a thinks that his hand was holier than the sinless dirt on the ground. And here's the point. Asa fails to understand that what the ark needs to be protected from, the presence of God needs to be protected from and reserved and kept apart from was not the ground. It was not that part of creation. It was the creation that was made in the image of God. It was asa. It was every man and woman. That is what had the potential to make something sacred and sacred. The presence of God cannot have sin in its presence. I've got some dirt here. This dirt is way holier than any person in this room. In fact, this rock is more obedient to its creator than anybody in this room. We tend to maximize the sins of others and minimize our own sin. It's human nature. But let's not just go, well that's just how life is, that's just how we are. Yes, it is true, but it's wrong. That we tend to minimize the sins of others. I mean, minimize our own sins and maximize the sins of others. When Jesus says in Matthew 7, we catch the splinter in our neighbor's eye while buying a looking past the log in our own eye. So how about you this morning? How's it going? Do you think you're keeping the log God pretty good most of the time? I mean, none of us here are perfect, but do you think you're doing a pretty good job most of the time? Dirt's way ahead of you. Rocks have you blown out the water. The religious leaders couldn't keep the law, but they also did not know the log keeper. They couldn't keep the law, which they were unaware of. For the most important things, they did not know the log keeper. He wasn't just the log giver. He was the log keeper. Jesus says in Matthew 5, do not think that I have come to abolish the law of the prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. Jesus say, hey, I'm here to show you what it looks like to have a perfect log keeper. Exhibit A. Jesus is the only one that ever kept the law perfectly. That is how he becomes a suitable sacrifice. That is how he can save us from our sins. If he had his own sin penalty to pay for it, his death would have been applied to him only, but he was sinless. He was perfect. Therefore, his death has the power to be applied to others. Romans 5, 19, Apostle Paul writes, for just as through the disobedience of one man referring to Adam, that many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of one man, Jesus, many will be made righteous. Jesus points us out in the story by saying simply in this story, let him who is without sin throw the first stone. And an amazing thing happens, beginning with the oldest leaders, beginning with the oldest leaders, start dropping the rocks, one by one. I mean, the woman goes from hearing this sound, people picking them up, to go into hearing this sound, one by one. Rocks, dropping, hitting dirt, what that sound in your head, please. Imagine being the woman and hearing that sound, very different in the first sound. Jesus drops the rocks. Yeah, I know it looks like the leaders are dropping the rocks, but it was really Jesus that dropped the rocks.
Only Jesus is left, and he's actually the only one that is worthy to hold a rock. He's the only one that could say I'm without sin, and I could cast the first stone, but he never picks one up. In fact, he's too busy doodling in the sand. Nobody knows what he was doodling. I thought Arceus Roll had a good suggestion. He thought maybe he was doodling and writing out different sins of the Pharisees. I don't know, we're not told. Jesus drops the rocks. Jesus forgives. Jesus forgives so that she can leave for a life of sin. And don't ever miss that point by the way. Jesus forgiveness of our sin is so that we can leave it. It's so often misunderstood that Jesus forgives us of our sins, so that we're not condemned by them. So that we're set free from their guilt. There's a two-sided coin here that Jesus comes. You're set free from your guilt and you're set free from its power over you to live differently. You cannot understand the forgiveness of God and only hold to the release of guilt without also embracing the release of its power in your life. If you deny the second one, then you're really denying the first. They're a package deal. But how about you? Do you know the law keeper this morning? The law giver and the law keeper? It's absolutely essential to know that. Why? Because only through that can you drop the rocks. If you miss the reality of Jesus dropping the rocks, forgiving you, then you will miss the power to drop the rocks yourselves. The ability to forgive others. You know, I've used this illustration before. It's such a classic example. It was such a clear point where God was just giving me a glimpse in my own heart. I was driving through water per chase and as they do sometimes, there was a police trap. I mean, literally police cars on the side with the radar guns. They're out on foot. You know, ready just to go. You know, so they were doing that kind of. Of course, I didn't know that. I was going from here towards Avalon. And I remember as I was going, I'm sure I was going to speed limit. But as I was driving, all of a sudden, the car was coming my way and they're just flashing the lights. You know, and this is the broad daylight. So I was thinking, you know, what in the world? Then all of a sudden, I thought, oh, one of there's a cop ahead. So I quickly, I mean, I mean, I made sure I was going to speed limit at that point. And everything was under control there. And then, sure enough, I passed a corner and they were with the radar guns us out. And I had this immediate thing, this immediate sense of, wow, that was close. I mean, I've probably not got to take it anyway, but it was close. And I felt, I felt, you know, that was very nice of that person to do that. I felt the mercy and the grace that was receiving at that moment. No longer had I passed those police officers and went around another bin. I saw this car speeding going back. I mean, whipping it around there. And did I reach for my headlights? No, no, no. I was just like, dude, you are going to get so nailed as they went by me. And I hadn't gotten to the traffic light of Abel on part before I thought, Scott, what is going on in your heart? You graciously received mercy and grace from some driver flashing lights that you ensaved you probably from getting a ticket. And then you must be honest, wickedly, watched somebody else fall into the same trap and didn't even reach the flash to headlights. Short story, big on meaning. I had a completely different standard for myself than I did for others in that moment. I deserved mercy and grace. I thought. And since I deserved it, therefore my neighbor on the street was not owed it by me at all. The one who passed me. I deserved it earlier. thankful for getting it. Thank you, Jesus. But on other sides, since I had deserved it, I didn't owe it to anybody else. And let me tell you, I wasn't empowered to show it to anybody else. Now I want to propose to you, if I had really received and understood it, is undeserved mercy and grace. Which, that is what grace says by definition, right? Unmerited, undeserved. I kind of thought it was owed. But if I had thought it really wasn't owed to me, it was really given to me that I was really saved from something, which I really was. That the consequences would have been great that I would have had to pay those and I was set free and I wasn't. Let me tell you, I've been reaching for the headlights. To warn somebody else coming. I got a glimpse into my heart that day. Here's where the deepest problem often exists and forgiveness. We don't think that we're in much need of it ourselves. And since we don't think that we don't think we're quite like the adulterous woman caught in the act. We often judge the depth of our sin based on the outward consequence and stigma that society places on it. And if society doesn't have consequences for it or much of a stigma with it, we think it's not that big of a deal. And they become the more tolerable sins. The more palatable sins. But if you're aware that the sin in the garden of Eden is not murder. That sent the entire creation into chaos. It was simply eating of a tree that you were told not to. You know, Jesus when he comes, he doesn't diminish the scope of the law to external behaviors. He doesn't come and minimize the law in his coming. He actually maximizes it. He does this through dropping rocks. He shows the depth of the scope that goes on to the thoughts, to the intentions, to the motives of our heart. Listen to what Jesus says in Matthew 5 in his famous sermon on the Mount. He says, you have heard that it was said that the people long ago do not murder. And anyone who murders will be subject to judgment. But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, Raka, is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says you fool will be in danger of the fire of hell. He goes on in verse 27. You have heard it said, do not commit adultery. But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Is Jesus minimizing reducing the scope of the law? No, he is going way beyond it. The strives affairs, he thought they were doing good. And Jesus says, hey, you're looking at the tip of the iceberg. Let's look at the heart where it begins. You'll find a very different reality. In fact, without the redeeming grace of God, we are left to live a life consumed with evil and sin. Genesis, chapter 6, verse 5, we're told why Jesus and God the Father and the Spirit come and bring destruction on the earth through Noah. Genesis 6, 5, the Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. Only evil all the time. Now ask yourself, are the condition of people's hearts in Noah's day worse than the condition of people's hearts today? Do you really think that the people in Noah's day were just really, really, really bad people compared to the people today here? Well, you know, we're pretty good. I don't think human nature has changed since the beginning of time until now, without the redeeming work of Jesus Christ. I don't think they were more murderous or adulterous in the days of Noah than they are now. We are all born with an evil unbelieving heart according to Hebrews 3. We have hearts that don't believe in the eternal creator of God. I think that first that we think first of ourselves, then of people only to the degree that they can benefit us. And then we fashion God's out of things that will make us feel good about ourselves, whether it's the God or false religion or the God of atheism. Take your choice. We like to reshape God in a way that feels good to us. Notice what Jesus says, Jesus talking about his second coming. He's going to talk about Noah. Listen when he says in Luke 17, just as it was in the days of Noah. So also will it be in the days of the Son of Man? People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage after the day that Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire, and salt were rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. And it will be just like this on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. When you realize the depth of simple separation that we are born into apart from God and then realize that Jesus is bridging that gap by satisfying the wrath of God towards us through the cross, and breaking sin's power over rest of the resurrection, then and only then can you hear the sound. Only then can you hear the rock that has your name on it. Rightfully your name on it. Hit the ground. Only because Jesus drops the rocks, you can drop the rocks. Resting in God's forgiveness of us plants the seed for extending God's forgiveness to others. I like what Charles Spurgeon said. Listen, he says to be forgiven is such sweetness that honey is tasteless in comparison with it. But yet there is one thing sweeter still and that is to forgive. If it is more blessed to give and receive so it is to forgive rises to a stage higher in experience than even to be forgiven. Jesus makes a very strong statement himself about forgiving Matthew 6, the same story on the Mount. He says, for 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. It is a strong statement to say. If you are honest some people hear either your story or people's stories you have heard you say, well God you don't know so and so story. You don't know my story. You don't know what I have been through. You don't know the pain I felt. To which Jesus says, yeah I do. There is nobody that has been offended more than God in all time. There is no human that has been offended more in justly than Jesus who walked this earth for 30 some years. But why does Jesus say that? I think the Apostle Paul discovered it and wrote about it in 2 Corinthians 5. He says this. All this is from God who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. To receive and to walk in the reconciliation between you and God is to become a giver of it to others. Until you understand this and understand that you have sinned against God infinitely more than anybody ever has sinned against you, there is no power for reconciliation this way. In fact, C.S. Lewis says this. He says, forgiving and being forgiven are two names of the same thing. That's how strongly he saw the link. To receive forgiveness by God is entering into an ultimate reconciled relationship of which all other relationships are redefined by and restored through. So ask yourself this morning, who do you need to forgive? Make it personal. Let the truth of God's word have power at this point. Who do you need to forgive? Is it yourself? Do you hold a higher standard of yourself than God has? God's is perfection, so I don't think you have a higher standard there. But he also has a standard of complete forgiveness and redemption through Jesus Christ. There's where you might deny the truth. Let's say that's not enough. By the way, if you want to know what a sin of the blasphemy the Holy Spirit is, I think that's it. The only sin that God says is unforgivable, unpardonable is to deny that the gospel has the power to forgive you. Therefore you'll never receive it. You'll never walk in it. And therefore you'll never feel it and know it and have it. The only unforgivable sin is just believing that there is no Holy Spirit. That's why he's being blasphemed. That is imparting the righteousness of Christ and forgiveness and mercy and grace and eternal life through belief in the Son. Don't worry about if you've ever committed it. You only commit it if you fully and once for all, deny completely that salvation is there in Jesus Christ. Do you need to forgive a parent? Do you need to forgive a child? Do you need to forgive a friend? Do you need to forgive a spouse or a former spouse? Do you need to forgive a trusted adult that wasn't so trustworthy when you were growing up? Do you need to forgive someone who's been in a position of authority over you? Do you need to forgive a teacher, an employer, an employee, a coworker? You know, not long before Margonita Lasky died in 1988, one of the best-known secular humanists and novelists of her day, not a Christian. She says this, What I envy most about you, Christians, is your forgiveness. I have nobody to forgive me. Who do you need to forgive? Do you understand that God has forgiven you in Christ Jesus if you trust and receive that? Only because Jesus drops the rocks, can you drop the rocks? The late Louis Sneed's author and theologian said this, If forgive is to set a prisoner free, and only to finally discover that the prisoner was you. Let me close with this story. Ernest Gordon in his book Miracle on the River Cry recounted a true story that happened. He said as the Scottish soldiers forced by their Japanese captors to labor on a jungle railroad, had degenerated to barbarious behavior, but one afternoon something happened. One afternoon a shovel was missing. The officer in charge became enraged. He demanded that the missing shovel be produced or else. When nobody in the squatter and buds, the officer got his gun and threatened to kill them all on the spot. It was obvious the officer meant what he had said. Then finally one man stepped forward. The officer put his gun away, picked up a shovel, and literally beat the man to death. When it was over the survivors picked up the bloody corpse and carried it with him to the second tool check. This time no shovel was missing. Indeed there had been a miscount at the first checkpoint. The word spread like wildfire throughout the whole camp, an innocent man had been willing to die to save the others. The incident had a profound effect. The men began to treat each other like brothers. When the victorious allies swept in the survivors, the human skeletons lined up in front of their captors, and instead of attacking their captors insisted no more hatred, no more killing, now what we need is forgiveness. Sacrificial love has transforming power. It's sacrificial love in a prison camp. With a few dozen men has transforming power how much more on the universal eternal scale, the sacrificial love of the Son of God have to transform. To transform any heart, to transform any situation, to transform any story. God will forgive if we can best our sins to him. His word says, if we rest upon the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ, he's willingly and gladly. And you can forgive any infinite wrong or any finite wrong or should say suffered to you, as you feed on the mercy and grace of God's infinite love and forgiveness, lavished upon you in Jesus Christ. John, the possible talk about next week writes in his letter, first John 3, see what great love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are. Jesus drops the rocks. You can drop the rocks. Let's pray. God, as we come to you now, guys, we're reminded of what great sin we have, and with some small way, even what we understand as a fraction of what's true, God, would you let us only see our sin not to bade or to wallow in condemnation but that we might see our depth of need and look all the more so to the one who was right, just all the more so to the one who is given forgiveness and grace and mercy. That when Jesus died on my cross and said, forgive them, they don't know what they do. Jesus wasn't just talking about the soldiers who were crucifying him. He was talking about all of us because we don't know what we do and we don't understand. And yet, you still offer forgiveness. So God, for those that might be here this morning that really know they haven't received it, would you give them the grace and mercy to receive it maybe for the first time today? Maybe to be renewed since a long time. God, for those of us that are here, there are a need of being so bathing in your mercy and grace that we could be set free to offer mercy and grace and forgiveness to others ourselves and very difficult, very hard situations. Situations are very difficult. God, would you pour out your mercy and grace? Would you come? Would you set free those who have been shackled by bitterness? And bring an eternal understanding better of your love for us, your forgiveness for us. Instead of free to have a ministry reconciliation with one another as you called us, not destroying the good news for those who haven't heard it but living the good news with each other, those of us who are in Christ. So God, fill us with that kind of hope, fill us with that kind of trust and desire. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.