Would you like to live the stunning life that God has planned for you? Well, it’s not going to happen by listening to what the world has to say and chasing after worldly baubles and trinkets. It’s only going to happen by listening to what God has to say. FORGIVE AND FORGET So, when was the last time someone hurt you? Come on, think back. For probably the majority of us, we don’t have to go back even twenty-four hours. A harsh word, being left out, being ignored, being passed over, being misunderstood. It doesn’t take all that much to get hurt. And they’re just the small things. Then there are the big things like the unfaithfulness of a spouse, physical and emotional abuse, theft and violence. There are plenty of people listening to this message today who have some of those in their lives. In fact, there are more people listening to this message around the world today, who are living in poverty or without basic housing or clean water or sanitation and safety, than there are those listening in the comfortable affluent west. So, back to you, back to the people who have hurt you in your life – can I ask you, how easy do you find it to forgive them? Is it something that comes naturally, or do you struggle to forgive? Well the answer for most of us is that forgiveness is one of the most unnatural acts of all. Because when someone wrongs you, that innate sense of justice that you have built into you, because you’ve been created in the image of God – who is, after all, the God of justice, your God. Given that sense of justice, well, what it demands in you, is that things be put right, correct? When you are wronged, things should be righted. When someone causes you to suffer a loss, then justice demands that they should recompense you. That’s why people sue each other. But forgiveness is the exact opposite in a sense. Forgiveness is me giving up my right to hurt you, when you’ve hurt me. Forgiveness is me giving up the recompense that justice demands that I should have. And for God, forgiveness is rather a big deal. Jesus once said this, Mark 11:25: Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. So us forgiving others, as it turns out according to Jesus, is a precursor to God forgiving us. Have you ever wondered: how is it that this God of justice, is so focussed on forgiveness? How is it that justice and forgiveness can live side by side in the one person? Isn’t there a conflict between the two? Well, the answer is yes, there is a conflict between these two, justice and forgiveness, they are opposed to one another. Imagine if you will, the murderer who is found guilty by a court and it comes time for the judge to sentence him. Imagine if the judge said, "Look, young man, I know that you’re guilty of this terrible crime, but I have decided to forgive you today. You can go free." It’s inconceivable, isn’t it? We as a community would be completely outraged if something like that transpired in a court of the land, because we demand that justice should be done; that the person should be punished for their crime. But God’s call on our lives is to forgive one another. Ephesians 4:32: … be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, as God in Christ has forgiven you. The problem with unforgiveness, other than the fact that it offends God, is that it continues to hurt us. Let’s say that someone hurts you and you decide not to forgive them. What happens then, is that you keep living through the hurt over and over again. You keep planning on how to get revenge. You see, when we fail to forgive, the hurt just keeps on hurting. It’s like giving that person who hurt us, rent-free space in our hearts and in our minds, so that they can keep causing us pain. And when you look at it that way, it just doesn’t make sense. Sure, our sense of justice always says, hang on, I deserve justice, justice has to be done. But common sense, says, let it go. Forgive them, without any expectation that the person who hurt you will apologise, or mend their ways or ask for your forgiveness. Because when we let it go, we end up free from the hurt. When we forgive and choose to forget, the pain starts to dissipate. You’ve seen this and you’ve probably even done it yourself – when you fail to forgive someone and you just keep on throwing it back in their face over and over again. Is that good for you? Is that good for them? Does it change them in any way? Is it good for your relationship with that person or with God? Marlene Dietrich once said this: Once a woman has forgiven her man, she should not reheat his sins for breakfast. It’s not bad is it? And how true. And it’s just not about women forgiving men; it’s about men forgiving women and other men. Listen, this conflict between justice and forgiveness is nothing new. God is the God of justice, absolute justice. Nothing sways Him; He is completely impartial. And yet He is also the God of love, in fact the Bible tells us that God is love. So what does this God of justice do with His love? What does this God of justice do when He comes across you and me who’ve sinned against Him, who’ve offended Him, and we deserve punishment? Come on, the Bible says we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. It’s true about me, it’s true about you we just know it. We’ve all turned our backs on Him in thought, word and deed at some point in our lives and probably the last time is not that long ago. We deserve His wrath and His punishment; and yet He loves us so much. How does He satisfy His absolute sense of justice and love when it comes to you and me? John 3:16, 17: God so loved the world, God so loved you, that he gave his only begotten Son, so that when you believe in him you won’t perish but you’ll have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world or to condemn you or me, but in order that the world might be saved, in order that you would be saved. Forgiveness is the supreme act of love. It always, always costs us something, but it’s always, always worth it in the end. Because it sets us free from the hurt, and free to get on with our lives. TAKING GOD AT HIS WORD I want to share a story with you today. It’s something that really opened my eyes to the power of God’s Word and how easy it is to dismiss that power that God means to give to you and to me. There I was, I’d just become a member of a new church and after a few months, we joined one of the small home groups of the church. Each week, on a Wednesday night, we’d head over to the leader’s place, about eight or ten of us, and we’d have a time of fellowship, a time of studying God’s Word, and a time of talking about what we’d learned. It was a great way to get connected with people, and to learn a bit more about what God had to say to us. It’s week two or perhaps week three of attending this small home group and we’re studying Philippians chapter 4, in particular this verse, verses 4 to 6, Paul writes: Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone for the Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus. Now, we read this passage and then a discussion ensues about worry. We all have some worry in our lives, and what God is saying here through the Apostle Paul is that we should never worry about anyt...

Released on 8 May 2022