The Chains they Revere | Sunday, March 21, 2021

Hey, Cross Connection, it's Pastor Garrett here. Today, we're going to be looking in Luke chapter 4, the Gospel of Luke, chapter 4, verses 16 to 30. So, if you have your Bibles with you or smartphone apps, go ahead and open those up. We're going to be learning all kinds of great things today.

Luke chapter 4 has kind of been dubbed a dress rehearsal, if you will, for the Passion. In fact, we're going to be celebrating the Passion, also known as Easter Sunday, in just a couple of weeks. We lead up to that next week with Palm Sunday and then Easter Sunday. This kind of sets the stage for why Jesus came and what He came to deal with. He came to deal with sin, and how did He deal with sin? We will be looking at the effects of sin in our lives and then the ultimate solution to sin.

If you stick around until the end, I'm going to turn it around and see how we can look at this through the Christian biblical worldview lens and address the cancel culture that we're in today. How are we as Christians supposed to respond to cancel culture or this age of outrage that we live in right now?

So, go ahead and again, turn to Luke chapter 4. We're going to be looking at verses 16 to 30, which say this: "And He, that is Jesus, came to Nazareth where He had been brought up. As was His custom, He went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to Him, and He unrolled the scroll and found a place where it was written: 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me because He has anointed Me to proclaim good news to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.'

He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. He began to say to them, 'Today, the scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.' All spoke well of Him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from His mouth. Then they said to Him, 'Is this not Joseph's son?' He said to them, 'Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb: Physician, heal yourself. What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.'"

And he said, "Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the heavens were shut up for three years and six months, and the great famine came over all the land. Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. There were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them were cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian."

When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. They rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built so that they could throw him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, he went away.

You see, this passage in Luke's Gospel happens right after a few things. Jesus had just started his ministry. He had been doing some miracles in Capernaum, and that's what they were referring to. They were saying, "What you just did in Capernaum, these miracles, we heard about them. You grew up here, Jesus. We want to see them here."

This event occurs right before the 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness being tempted by none other than Satan himself. In our culture today, many of us don't really live as much or think about the fact that there is a sentient being out there who is intent on doing harm to humankind. He is out there to trip us up, to make us stumble, and he has done a very good job, especially in America, making us feel as if he doesn't exist.

Yet, it is very clear here in Luke chapter 4, just preceding what we read, that Satan is very real and he actually tempted Jesus. The reality is, when we look at life through a biblical worldview and lens, we see that life is lived as if there is a Satan—a sentient being who is out there to test us, to make us stumble, to make us fall away from God and become further away from Him.

The more we fellowship with God, getting to know His love and understanding His grace and forgiveness, the more we may hear this reaction, this little whisper in our ear. It might go something like this: "You really did some terrible and awful things," fill in the blank. It could be, "Garrett, you did some terrible and awful things in your life, and you are a terrible person."

Not only are you awful, but so is that guy over there. And that gal down the street? They're even worse. If you just point your finger at their sin and their mistakes, you might make yourself feel a little bit better. It would take the attention off of your own sins, and you wouldn't have to seek the forgiveness and grace of God.

You see, we're going to learn today that sin does bind us. It chains us down, if you will, and nobody likes being chained down. So what do we resort to when we are chained down and can't get rid of our chains? These sins, these chains, this weight that holds us down—often, we take them and look at these chains we're holding. We say, "Oh man, those chains don't look so great. My sin doesn't look so great." So what do I do? I spend some time on my chains and polish them up. I make them a little bit shinier.

I'll tell you what, Church, it took me quite a while to try to get this chain to look as shiny as it was just on one end. It takes time to polish and shine a chain. I think there's some spiritual significance to that as well. It takes time to really justify your sin. The more we spend time looking at our chains and making them pretty, we start to think, "Well, my chains really aren't that bad, but that person's sin over there? Their chains look really rusty and nasty. They're way worse than my chains. They're bigger than my chains. They're shaped differently."

But the reality is, we're all wearing these chains—these sins that hold us down and keep us away and separated from God. If that's what sin does, we like to point at others to make ourselves feel somewhat better. There is, again, this conscious entity, this person, Satan, who desires to do harm to humankind. He is the father of lies, driving us to want to point at somebody else and say their sin is so much worse than mine.

When we do not do what God intends for us to do, as found in this wonderful instruction manual He has given us called the Bible, we miss the mark. It's kind of like this: men, if you're listening today, you can probably relate. I'm the kind of guy that when I get something, whether it's from Ikea or something that needs to be assembled, the last thing I want to do is look at the instruction manual.

But we can't do that with life. With life, there's so much more at stake than just putting one screw in the wrong place or messing up one little feature that I'm building.

On this particular furniture or chair, you see, in life, when we mess up, it separates us from God and condemns us to eternity in hell when we don't make ourselves right before God. We will find out that Jesus came specifically to address this problem.

There is always going to be a voice in our head, and you can tell there is a difference between two voices: one that is from God, one that is holy and righteous and loves you, and one that doesn't love you but wants to sound like it does. The first voice will lead you to give up your judgments, to give up yourself, and basically to give up your desires, but it makes you free. The other voice, which is the voice of the devil, tells you that you will have power but ultimately leaves you in chains.

In verse 6, Jesus said that Satan actually tempted Him. This is in Luke 4:6, where Satan said, "I will give you the glory or the power of all of these kingdoms and all their glory." The Greek word there can be translated as glory, authority, or power when he says, "I will give you the glory of all these kingdoms." Why? Because Satan knew that Jesus came to reclaim the kingdoms of this world and to put them under the submission of the Kingdom of God, where they could actually be free from sin, free from the bondage of sin, and reconciled to God.

All nations, all people, all languages— in fact, in the Book of Revelation, we have this glorious picture of all these languages representing every single race, every single ethnicity, and every single background you can imagine, worshiping God in their native tongue. That is a beautiful picture, and I can't wait to be part of that scene in heaven.

Satan knew that Jesus came to win the kingdoms of this world, and he offered Him a way to win the kingdoms without going to the cross. We know that Satan is the ruler of this world; in John 12:31, it says that he is the prince of the power of the air, as mentioned in Ephesians 2:2. He is a spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience. He was given this position by election. We, as a human race, in Adam and Eve, elected Satan to this position ultimately when they decided to sin. Again, it goes back to this promise of power, but it leaves you in chains.

With sin and with Adam, it was, "If you just eat this fruit, you're going to have the power to an understanding like God." It sounded pretty good, but what did it do? It left him in chains. It left all of us in chains. In 1 John 3, it says this: "When people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil."

Why did Jesus come? Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. So, what does sin do, and how did Jesus address the problem of sin? Jesus came into his hometown of Nazareth, as was his custom. He entered into the synagogue on that Sabbath day. Picking up in Luke 4, as was the custom, the attendant would hand the teacher the scroll, the passage that would be read that day. In this case, it was a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Jesus would unscroll this scroll to the point where it came to Isaiah 61, and he would read this passage aloud, which wasn't unusual. It was actually very usual for the teacher to read the passage aloud and then teach about it.

He read about sin and then said that this prophecy in Isaiah was fulfilled in their hearing that day. What was different about Jesus was that when he taught, he taught with authority. Most teachers would read this prophecy from Isaiah and then say, "This prophecy is going to be fulfilled one day in the Messiah, in the Christ, the one who's going to come to take away the sins of the world."

In this prophecy in Isaiah 61, it says, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor." The first thing we can learn about sin is that sin impoverishes. Jesus came to proclaim good news to those who are impoverished, to those who are poor. In James 2, verse 5, it says, "Listen, my brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?"

Second, we learn that sin breaks hearts. Jesus came to bind up or heal the brokenhearted. While many of us are brokenhearted because of sin and the effects of sin, these experiences leave a lasting impression on us. No matter what, we as human beings are going to experience heartbreak in our lives.

Jesus came to bind up and heal the brokenhearted. In Psalm 34, verse 18, it says, "The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." In Psalm 147, verse 3, it states, "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." Then, in Matthew chapter 11, verses 28 to 30, He tells us, "If you're brokenhearted, come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon yourself and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

The good news is, church, that in Revelation, at the end of all things, Jesus promises that He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. This is found in Revelation 21, where it says He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, crying, or pain, for the former things have passed away. That's really good news. That is the hope we have. This is why we can always say, no matter how bleak our immediate future looks, that we have an optimistic view of the future as Cross Connection Church, because we know how this all ends. We have hope in all of this.

Another point is that sin puts us or binds us in chains. Jesus came to proclaim liberty to the captives. He wouldn't have to proclaim liberty to the captives if there weren't any captives. It is clear that Jesus is speaking spiritually here, not physically, because He wasn't going around doing a jail ministry during His three and a half years of earthly ministry, performing miracles to literally break chains off of prisoners and set them free. No, He was setting those who are bound by sin free from their iniquity, washing their dirty rags, making them white as snow, and making us new.

Sin binds us in chains. John chapter 8, verse 34 says, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin." As sinners, what do we do? We tend to cart our sin around. In fact, if you turn to Isaiah chapter 5, verse 18, it says, "Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, who draw sins as with cart ropes." The prophet is essentially saying, "Woe to those who are literally carting around and pulling their sins behind them on a cart." They are chained to this cart of sins, roping it around.

And for those of you who don't know Jesus, and even some of us who do but have backslidden and sinned, those sins become a weight. It's like a chain. If you have a chain wrapped around you, there's a weight that's holding you down, and you can feel that weight, that oppression. It is a spiritual oppression, and you can really feel that.

Jesus came to proclaim liberty to the captives. He also came to provide recovery of sight to the blind. We saw that actually happen physically, but also spiritually in Jesus's ministry. Sin blinds us, and Jesus came to heal our spiritual and moral blindness. In John 9:39, Jesus says, "For judgment I came into the world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind." What He really means is that those who think they see—the righteous Pharisees, the scribes, and all of those religious leaders of Jesus's day—thought they had it right because they performed their religious rituals correctly. They believed they were righteous before God, but God was saying, "Not really."

In fact, Pastor Jason just talked about that last week, and I thought it was a cool tie-in. Jesus came to open the eyes of those who were blinded. The more we live in sin, the more we are blinded by it. In Acts 26:17, Paul recounts his conversion experience. The great Apostle Paul, who wrote so much of our New Testament, is before the rulers in Rome, telling them his testimony. If you haven't read it, I encourage you to do so.

In part of his testimony, he shares that Jesus said, "I am sending him to the Gentiles," and He tells Paul that he is to open their eyes so that they might turn from darkness and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Me. That is the purpose for which Paul was sharing his testimony—Jesus sent him to do this so that he could actually free them. He could take them from the clutches of the devil and make them sons of God.

You can throw off the chains of sin and put on the righteousness of Christ. This is good news for you all: that you might receive forgiveness of your sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Jesus.

You see, forgiveness is very important. We're going to talk about forgiveness in a little bit. Jesus also came to set at liberty those who are oppressed. Sin oppresses us, and Jesus brings us freedom.

I think that there's this line in A Christmas Carol where Scrooge is talking to his old business partner who had passed away. He comes to him as a ghost, covered in chains. If you can picture that image, he says, "I wear the chain that I forged in life. I made it link by link and yard by yard. I girded it on my own free will, and of my own free will, I wore it." You see, that's exactly what we do every time we sin. We are essentially making these chain links even bigger. We might polish the ones that are around us, make them look pretty, and then point to somebody else's that are supposedly worse than ours. It's all sin. It's all chains. No matter what shape, size, or weight they are, it's still a chain.

Jesus came to bring deliverance. He came that you might be justified before God. Your sins require death; that was the penalty of sin. For all have sinned and fallen short of God. All sin, and the penalty of sin is death. Jesus came and put Himself in your place on that cross so that you could be justified before God and then sanctified in your life now.

All of you who are believers are in this process of being sanctified, becoming more like Christ, becoming holy. First John chapter 1, verse 9 says, "If we confess our sins, He that is Jesus is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness."

You see, when Jesus read this prophecy, He talked about sin and essentially said, "I've come to fulfill this. I have come to set at liberty those who are oppressed by sin, to open up those who have been blinded by sin." The response of the crowd at first was amazement, but then it quickly turned to resentment. At first, they spoke well of Him; they marveled at His gracious words. "Man, this prophet is quite a teacher, isn't he?" But then they turned to resentment because they remembered, "Well, this Jesus grew up in our town, our little town of Escondido. He grew up here. We knew him. We saw him at the supermarket. We saw him working carpentry with his father Joseph. Is this not Joseph's son? Who is he to be this person that fulfills this prophecy in Isaiah?"

It's resentment. Then they say to Him, and Jesus kind of responds rhetorically, in a sense, the way that Luke records this.

In the Gospel, it's almost as if Jesus is reading their minds when He says, "What we have heard you did in Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well." He is essentially saying, "You people are thinking this; I'm saying it. You want me to do what I did in Capernaum here because you think you have some special privilege since I am one of you, because I came from this town."

They began to resent that someone familiar with them, someone who grew up in their town, could speak these amazing prophecies. The great preacher Charles Spurgeon once said, "It is not the preacher's business to seek to please his congregation. If he labors for that end, he will probably not attain it. But if he should succeed in gaining it, what a miserable success it would be."

As your pastors here at Cross Connection, we aren't going to tell you what you want to hear. We're not going to tell the world what it wants to hear. In fact, just recently, I believe the media was going berserk that the Catholic Church actually affirms doctrines it has believed in for 2,000 years. It's kind of interesting, right? I'm not going to just tell you what you want to hear; I'm going to tell you what you need to hear based on the truth of the Scriptures.

There are plenty of churches and pastors out there who just want to itch every single one of your ears and tell you exactly what you want to hear. We stick to the Bible here at Cross Connection Church. We adhere to the doctrines that we can prove and show you in the Bible. We can read through it, teach it, and point to it. The whole Bible talks to us; it teaches us.

You see, their rejection and resentment of Jesus had nothing to do with Him but everything to do with them. The crowd wanted special favors and miracles because Jesus was one of them. However, He rebuked that idea. He pointed out, in the Old Testament, how the prophets Elijah and Elisha were sent to widows and lepers outside of the people of God in Israel, and they healed and performed miracles outside of the people of God at that time.

The crowd was then filled with wrath. When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. The crowd was angry that Jesus revealed their chains. That was really what happened. Jesus was saying, "Your resentment is your chain; that is your sin." You see, when you point out somebody else's sins, they often feel uncomfortable.

They feel offended even. That's why, when we teach the Bible here at Cross Connection Church, Jesus actually tells us as teachers not to worry if people are offended because we are preaching His words. We are preaching the words of truth. It's not our own doctrine; it's not something that we just contrived out of nowhere, out of the back of our heads or our intellect or our wisdom. No, this is the wisdom of God, and people are going to be offended by it because it points to the chains that are holding them down. It reminds them of those chains, and no matter how shiny they made those chains, how much they justified them, or how much they made them look good and hid them, some people even camouflage their chains. They make it look like this surrounding so it hides really well, but our sins will always be revealed.

The crowd was angry with Jesus because He revealed their chains. What was wrong with them? Their sin. They were angry that Jesus denied their request for a miracle, and they were angry that He implied that God loves the Gentiles. Jesus is never afraid to offend His audience with the truth. He wasn't afraid to point out the chains that they had forged by rejecting God's prophet—Himself. Jesus was His prophet and their unbelief.

The irony of this whole story in Luke is this: they wanted a miracle. They asked for a miracle. They begged for a miracle. They wanted Jesus to perform miracles, and when He didn't, and then He called them out for their own sin, they marched Him up on this hill in Nazareth. Now, I've been to Nazareth, and there are some very steep hills there, so I can imagine this picture of the hill that the town is built on. They marched Him up to the top, to the very edge of this hill, and they were going to throw Him off. That wasn't it; that was just usually the start of a stoning. They were really angry at Jesus.

What happened in this situation? When there's a mob around you that's angry, it's hard to picture what a big mob of angry people looks like. It's not like all last summer we saw that on the news every day, but imagine this angry mob around Jesus, marching Him up this hill, ready to throw Him off. Then what happens? It literally says Jesus just passed right through their midst and went away.

Now, how did that happen? That's one of the questions I would love to ask Jesus when we get to meet Him face to face in heaven. What did that miracle look like? Were they all so enraged and confused that He just walked right through their midst, and nobody was able to touch Him? Or did He become... I just don't know. It's an interesting thing to think about. The miracle that they were asking for happened on that mountaintop where Jesus passed right through the midst of a mob of angry people without being touched.

Pretty amazing. This story sums up the whole life of Jesus. He came sinless, did nothing but good for all people, and yet they wanted to kill him.

There’s a quote from Voltaire that relates more to government or politics than it does to sin, but I believe it also connects with sin. He said, "It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere." I probably don't need to give you an example; you can think of some related to politics and government. However, the chains they revere can also apply to the chains of our sin. We can come to a place where we revere our own sins, where we’ve polished them up and think, "Man, I’m kind of proud of this." We believe that nobody knows about it because it looks shiny and nice, and it doesn’t seem to affect anybody else. We think we can keep doing it because it makes us feel good, and we end up justifying our own sin in our minds.

The problem is that it’s still sin. It still separates us from God and blinds us. We often begin to justify our sin and then admire it, thinking, "After all, it’s not really hurting anybody else." We convince ourselves that our sin isn’t that bad, especially when we compare it to someone else’s.

This mindset is the same voice that drives our cancel culture today. It’s the sin that claims a false virtue when we point out the sins of others. Our culture has become one where it seems virtuous to highlight the wrongs of others. We think, "Look at me, I’m so righteous for pointing out their sin," which leads to people being canceled, losing their jobs, and being completely destroyed and cast out of society, regardless of how much they repent.

Yet, our cancel culture demands repentance but never accepts an apology. There’s never a way to apologize enough to the mob. A society built on confession and forgiveness is one that will flourish. What is that based on? I believe it’s rooted in a biblical truth and grounded in grace. Where do we learn grace? Perhaps from Jesus.

Conversely, a society that abandons confession and forgiveness is in a state of moral collapse.

I believe that's where we are today. Why? Because when you demand somebody repent of their sins but then offer no forgiveness, you are really still harboring resentment in your own heart; you are still sinning in your own heart.

Forgiveness, confession, and forgiveness go kind of like this: I would say I am sorry, and therefore I am admitting I am letting go of my pride. When you apologize, you're letting go of your pride, right? You're saying, "I was wrong; I made a mistake." So, you're letting go of the sin of pride, really. When somebody accepts that confession and then offers forgiveness, they are letting go of their resentment for your sin. Their resentment, like the resentment of the crowd that was with Jesus, was a sin as well. That was the chain that was holding them back.

A society that does not have confession and forgiveness, as we see in the Bible and as Jesus exemplifies for us so beautifully, is in a state of moral decay. Why? Because everyone is just bound by chains and trying to point at other people's chains. Eventually, it all comes back to you because you can't hide your chains forever; you can't hide your sin forever. Do you think that you're so righteous that someone won't eventually turn back to your life, look back in your history, and find something you did wrong that they will be outraged about?

You see, hatred of our fellow man is a poison that destroys us from within. Lack of forgiveness only wraps you in more chains. The cancel culture mob would say, "No, but I'm so virtuous for judging others." But here's the deal: we often hear a saying among many Christians that comes from the Bible: "Judge not, lest you be judged," or "In the way that you judge others, you also will be judged."

There is a certain way that the world judges people, and there is a way that the church judges people. As Christians, as those who have been made new by God, who have taken off the chains that bore us down—the weight of sin—because Jesus has freed us from that and then put on the cloak, the robe of Jesus's righteousness that He also offers us, we are justified by faith in Jesus Christ and now sanctified by the Holy Spirit, being made like Him. We are to judge sin in our fellow brothers and sisters. Why?

Because it's very clear in the Bible what is sinful and what isn't sinful. The Bible also lays out a very clear groundwork for how we deal with the sin of others. This includes going to that brother or sister and saying, "Look, I've seen a sin in your life. I think you need to confess to God and receive forgiveness from Him."

If they respond, "No, it's not really a sin. I'm not going to confess. I don't believe that I've sinned," then we find another brother or sister in the congregation who can also see the same thing. They can say, "Yes, I've witnessed this person's sin. I can point to the Bible to explain why it's a sin." Together, we approach that person and say, "Look, we've both seen this. We love you, and we want you to confess and repent. We want you to become right with God."

There is a process here, and it's a personal one. Eventually, if they continue to deny their sin, if they never confess or repent, we may have to treat them as heathens, as outside of the church.

However, the world's way of dealing with sin in other people's lives is very different. It often involves going on Twitter and tweeting about it, saying, "Did you hear that Pastor Garrett said this today? I can't believe he would say such a thing." This behavior leads to mob mentality.

There is a different way to treat people—with respect, in regards to confession and forgiveness, and by having grace towards them. In contrast, there is no grace in cancel culture. This is the world we live in, and we need to be the light in this dark place.

God forgave us; in fact, He died in our place, taking our chains upon Himself on that cross so that we might be made right before Him. He had compassion on us while we were yet sinners. In Him, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of His grace, as stated in Ephesians 1:7.

In 1 John 1:8-9, it says, "If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves; the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness."

The first step to heal our culture, our nation, and even our church is to confess our personal sins.

Repent and be forgiven. You need to experience the forgiveness of God in order to forgive other people. To truly forgive others, you must first experience the forgiveness and grace of God for yourself. Therefore, in 2 Corinthians 5:17, it states, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he or she is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."

What is the old? The old is that ragged person with chains that you once were, which has now passed away. You have become a new person, a new creation. God is in the business of making you new. Some of us need that today. Some of us need that freedom, that renewed spirit, that renewed mind, and that renewed vision for God. We need freedom from the chains we have been wearing. God is in the business of making you new.

In John 3:3, Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." After we have been forgiven and made new, we must then extend that forgiveness to others. We must extend that forgiveness to others.

In Matthew 18:21-22, Peter came up to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? As many times as seven?" Jesus replied, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven."

In this exchange between Peter and Jesus, Peter is feeling quite righteous. It is countercultural to be forgiving of others. He is asking how often he should forgive his brother when he sins against him. Peter suggests that most prophets, teachers, and Pharisees would say to forgive once or twice, but after that, if someone keeps sinning against you, it is acceptable to be angry and harbor resentment. That was the culture at the time.

However, Jesus does not say that seven times is enough. He says seventy times seven, indicating that there is no single number that can define the worth of someone's life for which you need to offer forgiveness. Why? Because when you do not offer forgiveness to someone, you are harboring resentment, and you are chaining yourself back. You allow that person to change you by making you hate them and by fostering resentment within you.

In that, the devil wins. But when you, as Christ, can come while we were yet sinners and give up your resentment to offer that forgiveness like Christ did for you, I believe the world could be a much better place. You see, God came and died so that we, as sinners, might turn from our wicked ways. I'm really glad that we get to celebrate this in the coming weeks.

Why did Jesus come? He died; he sacrificed his life so that we might live. His blood was poured out for you. The penalty that you could not pay was a debt that you owed God, a debt that you could never repay. Jesus came and paid it all on that cross. While we were sinners, Christ died for the ungodly.

I wish, and my prayer for us, church, is that we, like Christ, would be a church that offers forgiveness. We should be a church that confesses our sins and receives forgiveness from our fellow believers. We won't receive forgiveness from the world, but we can still forgive them. We can choose not to harbor resentment against them. We can look at them and not hate them because they are made in the image of God. They have a value that is above any other created thing in this world. They are eternal beings.

Must I go on? The value of us humans, no matter if they are saved or not, is significant. Our mission, like the mission God gave to Paul, and the prophecy that Jesus said he came to fulfill, is now alive and active in our church today. We are the church. We are the good news of Christ. We are to proclaim that good news, especially to those who are blinded by sin.

If you feel like you have chains on your shoulders today, if you have chains holding you down, maybe you've taken those chains and made them look kind of shiny, but you're realizing there are still chains and still weight holding you back. If you want to be free today, I ask you to confess your sins before God right now. It is as simple as saying, "Dear Lord, I admit that I am a sinner. Would you forgive me of my sins? Help me to turn from my wicked ways and follow you, Jesus."

I believe that your Son came and died on that cross and took the place of my sins so that I might live and be able to put on the righteousness of God. No good work that you do in this life will ever look as white as you will be after you've been made new by Christ. You can try to work your way to heaven, but it won't work. Forgiveness and grace come from Christ to us freely.

We must, though, turn to Him, confess our sins, repent, and turn away from them to a God who offers open arms for us. As the Prodigal Son came back to the Father, he didn't point to all of his sins and say, "How dare you sin against me and spend all of my money and waste your life away." No, he gave him a ring, making him new and reinstating his position there as a son. Today, God can do that for you. You can be made new. You can be made a child of God and inherit eternal life.

I hope I've given you something to think about this week. God is merciful to us, and He is mindful of us. He loves you so much that He was willing to send His only Son to die on that cross in your place.

Let's pray. Father, there may be some of us who have sins that we need to confess. We don't want to be the resentful crowd that drove Jesus up to that mountaintop begging for a miracle. We don't want to be the church that uses You as a means to an end. Lord, You are the end. You are all in all. You are the Alpha and the Omega.

Father, may we come before You. May we bow down at Your feet and worship You. May we offer up our confession to You, Lord, and receive Your forgiveness and Your grace today. Would You help us to be a light and a witness in our culture, Lord, that offers no forgiveness, that offers no grace, that offers no mercy, so that we may extend that to them even when we don't receive it?

Lord, for those of us who are harboring resentment in our hearts, I pray that we would be able to give that up and confess it to You, Lord. So, Father, show us Your ways.

Teach us your path. Show us your truth this week and teach us. For you are the God of our salvation, and on you, Lord, we will wait all day long. We pray these things in Jesus' precious name. We all said, Amen.

Well, God bless you, church. We'll see you next week. Have a great week.