How Could You?!

Amen. On your way to your seat, you can say "Hey" to your neighbor. You can pull the old Simpsons. Howdy neighbor, I have not watched the Simpsons since I was in grade school.

I think they stopped counting grades at 13, right?

So, yeah, I haven't watched The Simpsons in a long time, but you never forget Ned. Howdy neighbor, You should not go watch The Simpsons if you've never watched it. You're not missing out on anything other than the only thing we have to: contemporary prophecy. I hear you don't get the joke.

It doesn't matter.

It's completely irrelevant. It's just a pop culture reference that I utilize to be relevant today. We're going to be in the Bible today. How many of you excited about the Bible today?

It's going to be a fun one for you.

Oh, did they figure it out? We were trying to figure out the verses back there because, I accidentally adjusted something- It's my fault, and totally screwed it up. So if we don't have verses today, this is why you bring your Bible to church. It's probably a good thing to bring your Bible to church If you don't have a physical Bible.

Hopefully you got your phone Bible, if you don't have a phone Bible, you're probably going to struggle to download it here, but you can look off your neighbor, but you just got to tell them "Howdy neighbor".

But we're going to be in Matthew, chapter 18 today Before I dive into it. What I want to do is I want to do a little bit of an experiment. Is it okay if I do an experiment? Just say yeah or no, Okay, Didn't hear any nos.

You know how, like when they're voting on stuff, they'll say how many people say yay, Yeah, And then how many people say nay, And then, like you, just trust the dude standing on stage to hear it properly, and half the- I mean, if you're wearing a hearing anyways, I've just always seen that in votes back when I used to be a Baptist- is like: no, it sounded pretty close, we need to do a mail-in ballot or something like that.

Anyways, don't know what I'm talking about, other than I want to do an experiment and, I hope you're okay with it. So here's, here's what I want you to do. I want you to use your imagination for a few moments and in order to do that, I recognize many of you are just like me. That's why you came here today, because you said: this guy's got ADHD.

Maybe I'll fit in.

So you're going to Close your eyes. You're not going to be distracted by the person's scar on the back of their head. You're not going to be distracted by the person down your row who's smacking their gum. You're not.

No, you're going to close your eyes And I want you to imagine something pretty significant, And I want to be careful with it.

You get to pick your poison a little bit. You can. You can choose where you want to go with this, because what I don't want to do is like incite trauma in your spirit in the next few moments. But if you're willing to go with me on this experiment, I want to invite you, as your eyes are closed, to try to remember a time or the time where somebody did something to you that was wrong and it's a real difficult thing for you to let it go or to forgive them for it.

I want you to think of that thing.

It could be something simple, like this week, where maybe you're an employee and your boss told you to do something that they shouldn't have told you to do, and now you're frustrated, harbored, harboring a little bit of resentment toward your boss, because they told you to do something that you don't think fits within your job description, or you wanted a vacation and they didn't want to give you the vacation. Maybe you're an employer and you're thinking about some of your employees who you've done things behind the scenes for, but they don't quite understand And they're frustrated at you, holding a grudge And because of that- that discrepancy between what you've done and what they know you've done- you're harboring resentment and unforgiveness toward them. It could be your parents, who raised you in a particular way and now, in your 20s or 30s or 40s or 50s or 70s, you're realizing that the way that they raised you wasn't fitting for the environment we currently live in this world. Or now that you're trying to be a follower of Christ, The way that they raised you actually created some strongholds that you now have to beat down in the name of Jesus in order to apprehend his nature.

It could be- I want be careful here- Could be something done to you that you're even scared to speak out loud, or something done to someone you love, that, when you think of it like it's pretty significant.

Now I try to give you some examples to give you time to find that moment or that person or that thing, What I want you to do is take another 10 to 15 seconds, think exactly on that thing or that person, and I want you to pay attention to what you feel. Yesterday I was. I was pondering through some things that I needed to let go and I paid attention. I noticed that my heart rate elevated.

I didn't identify it as my heart rate elevating at first.

I identified it through kind of the little tingly feeling you have in your extremities that then you start to recognize as increased blood flow. That comes from a higher blood pressure, because your heart rate increased, because you're frustrated. It could be a tightening in your chest as you think about it. You may think of it and slump your shoulders in shame or frustration.

This is what we call a bodily a effect.

This is the phys, physiological response to a thing that happened to us or that we experienced. But the physiological response isn't from that thing. It's from our internal processing of that thing. Now I hope you're able to participate with me in that little thought experiment For me.

I've learned that my body has a lot of physiological responses that, unless I identify, I don't know are happening Additionally.

I don't know what they're coming from, And I've learned about this idea of forgiveness that if you don't forgive or let things go, it over time has a physiological impact. I was doing some research and, as as I did some research, there's not only an immediate physiological response to unforgiveness. There's a long-term or chronic response physiologically to unforgiveness. It can increase your blood pressure over time, Like you are now a high blood pressure person, and it can happen because of long, deep-seated unforgiveness.

It's pretty significant.

Your immune system over time is actually suppressed because of the thing you're harboring against another person. Now now hear me. I'm talking about you and the thoughts in your mind. I'm not justifying, I am not speaking positively of, I am not even, I'm not excusing anything that happened to you.

I'm articulating the internal physiological, short-term and long-term response to the thing that you are not forgiving.

And when I was sitting here dealing with it, like processing through it over the week and even yesterday, I was sitting in a audio mixing training. Super fun, So fun, Sitting in an audio mixing training and during one of the parts that I didn't understand, you know, sometimes you like glaze over, I wouldn't process. They talk about compression and stuff like let me think about my sermon And I'm processing through some of the feelings that I've had over the past couple of months and couple years And I was trying to: just where did that come from? What's happening in my body and how do I get that to stop?

And many of you're you're in this boat where, whether it's just on the regular, you've kind of got a normal wave of unforgiveness that comes and goes a little bit, And the reason it feels like just some normal pattern.

You, something happens, you're frustrated about it, you have increased blood pressure, higher heart rate, anger, you go punch something and then you, then you get over it, But then you think about it again and the same thing happens, and then you get over it and then you think it again and then it happens. May maybe I'm not connecting with you, but I'm. I'm telling you what I have felt. When I think about certain people, I think about certain things, I think about experiences, my heart rate elevates, my body tenses up and I move from this posture of calm and maybe peace to this, this rigid posture of anger and frustration and the desire to retaliate, because I think about what someone did or didn't do And I am just like, I'm stuck in this cycle of unforgiveness And I would have said that I forgave people, Like I could stand up here and list the worst thing that ever happened to me by the hands of somebody else And I could tell you.

And then I could say, with my words, I forgive this person.

But in the depths of my heart, in my prayer life and with those who know me close, they might identify that there's- I said it but- but there's something within me that is yet to let it go. In the book of Matthew talks a lot about forgiveness. In Matthew, chapter 5 and six, he makes a couple comments I'll give you. Give you one thing that is spoken that you'll be really familiar with.

You can say it with me if, if you know it, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom, come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day And forgive us our trespasses, as we lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one, For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

That's what we call the Lord's.

Ah, it's so beautiful, right, But right in there it's so layered, It's so layered. He says: "Give us this day our daily bread And in the same breath, and for, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation". I don't know if you've ever thought about that construct.

He talks about normal daily bread, Then he talks about it in the same breath- forgiveness, And then he says: "Lead us not into temptation".

Now, I don't want. That's not my ter sermon text for today. We're going to be in Matthew, chapter 18. But I just want to highlight to you how important and normalized forgiveness needs to be in the church- So normalized.

And he.

He speaks it in various parts throughout Matthew. But I'll bring you to Matthew, chapter 18, and we'll start in verse 21. And I'll read it out loud. If you don't have your Bible, sorry, If you have a different version than NI, than NIV, yours is probably more inspired than mine.

I do this because it's a good, simple version for all of you to track with.

But in verse 21, Peter comes up to Jesus. It says this: "Then Peter came to Jesus and asked"Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times". Now you got to know Peter.

Peter's a guy who's standing up.

This is Matthew we're talking about right. Peter's a guy who, in Matthew, on the transfiguration moment- I don't know if you've heard of the transfiguration. Transfiguration is that moment where Jesus goes up on the mount- we just call it mount transfig, mount of transfiguration, when you go to Israel. He goes up on this mountain and Jesus is transfigured before his eyes.

This is Peter, James and John, And what happens is you got Moses and you got Elijah there with Jesus.

This is like I don't know. This is like your, your doctrinal, like Hollywood elite, if you will, of the faith. Elijah, Moses, Jesus. It's a good situation.

This is Peter who comes up to them and he's like: "Hey, yo, it's really good that we're here too.

Like, let us put some tents together and we can, like, we can make this a thing". I'm paraphrasing, but this is Peter. Peter's a bold dude. So he goes up to Jesus and he says: "How many times shall I forgive my neighbor"?

Up to seven times.

Peter thinks he's being someone special because he, he lived in a world where, yes, forgiveness was something that was expected or anticipated, but it wasn't something that was regularly delved out. They had the day of atonement and there was an anticipation that you would forgive those who had trespassed against you as you went into your own day of atonement and your sins were forgiven, And there was a whole theology built up about forgiveness. But in this day and age, in Judea and Galilee, Peter Peter's being pretty special- Should I forgive him seven times rather than the one time or the two times or the three times He thinks he's special? But here's how Jesus responds to the guy who's trying to be a goody: two shoes in the disciplehip group.

In verse 22, Jesus answered: "I tell you, not seven times, but 77 times".

Now, many of you have probably heard this before, but seven is a significant number in the Jewish world. Seven is the number of completion or perfection, And some translations would- some of the translations we have- would say 70 * 7. Others say 77 times. Regardless, we all kind of know what Jesus meant.

It's a perfect or complete number of times.

As many times as you need to, an infinite number of times you should forgive your neighbor. So in response to Peter, who thinks he's being special by forgiving someone seven times, Jesus responds to him and says: "No, you need to do it". Like just bro, keep on doing that thing. Like just 70* times, a complete, perfect, infinite.

Like it's huge amount of times.

Now I think this is a good point in the message for me to note something important: The word for forgiveness comes from the root root word, aominee or a, which means apart, flung from right. Apart, A means like, away from or from, and fi means to fling right. So the idea for a is to let go, to throw away, to drop, to toss apart from. It is the same word used in Matthew when Jesus invites Peter, James, John, all the fishermen you know, when he invites them to follow him, they're holding nets.

What do they do with their nets?

They drop their nets, Amy. Same word, Same word used throughout the Gospels to talk about letting something go, tossing something away, leaving a certain place. What I'm trying to tell you is that a word for forgiveness is not some crazy theological word that if I did a Greek study and brought it to you would be like "Oh, my gosh, I never heard about this word before". Like love, Love.

There are three words for love and they're all theologically significant in the Bible: Agape, fileo, aeros.

Aeros is the romantic type of love. Fileo is the brotherly type of love. Agape is an unconditional love. So in John, chapter 21, when Jesus is restoring Peter.

He uses those terms not interchangeably, but in different sequences for different reasons.

But forgiveness is just a word. It's a common Greek word that's utilized for literally dropping a net. And this is where the Lord spoke to me yesterday, when Jesus says: you should forgive your neighbor 70*, 7 or 77 times. Forgiveness should be such a normalized construct within our lives that it's as normal as give us this day our daily bread, Like you should forgive people like you eat.

You should forgive people like you breathe.

You should forgive people like you pray, lead us not into temptation and deliver us from the evil one. And I've been thinking about forgiveness like it's this big crazy thing. There's really only one who can forgive sin in an onlogical or cosmic sense, and that's Jesus I'm talking about. Forgiving my neighbor should be normal, because what he's done for me is so great that how dare I live in such a way?

That doesn't measure up.

When it comes to specifically forgiveness, And Jesus tells Peter a parable In verse 23, . He starts this parable- You may have heard it's- we call it just you know, nominally- the parable of the unforgiving servant In verse 23, . Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants, Meaning he had lended them money or given them resources and it's time for them to settle accounts. As he began to settle the settlement, A man who owed him 10,000 bags of gold was brought to him.

Now, let me make this clear for you.

This is the NIV version. They say 10,000 bags of gold. Let me let me make it relevant to you all. In the present day and age- And I did my research just to make sure I got it right- This is the equivalent of about $9 billion.

You'all got nine billion.

If you do, I ain't seeing it. I mean- and you're not tithing is what I mean- If you got $9 billion, dude, we'd have a building. Non-billionaire was tithe Gosh. I know some of you don't like Elon Musk, but if you showed up and tithed, change everything.

What are we talking about?

But it's $9 billion. I don't know how this man racked up that kind of debt. But again, it's a parable. It's not meant to be literal in this moment, but he owes about $9 billion and he was brought to the king.

Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

Now you think that's crazy? This is normal back in the ancient world. This is called indentured servitude. If you owed a debt, you would have to sell your family members in order to pay down that debt.

This was normal, Don't think it's crazy?

So, whatever the creditors do to you these days, make it more similar, if that makes more sense to you, right? You got a loan shark coming to you debt's due. You got to do it. Either you're going bankrupt or you're going to pay it back over time with 25, 30, 40% interest, depending on what kind of loan situation you got yourself into.

Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

At this, the servant fell on his knees before the king and said: "Be patient with me". He begged, "And I will pay back everything". The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt, forgave the debt A fee, let go of the debt and then let him go. Same word there.

It's such an interesting phraseology: Apheom: cancel the debt, let him go.

Now, verse 28, . I need you to identify with this person here. But when the servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. This is the equivalent of about, in this day and age, $15,000.

You get the difference?

Okay, cool, Just making sure. 9 billion, 15,000. He could pay this off in a couple months. Be impossible for the other guy to pay it off.

The master's clearly being nice to him, but he grabbed him and he began to choke him.

Pay back what you owe me, he demanded. His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him. "Be patient with me and I will pay it back". The exact same phrase that he utilized with his master, Verse 30, but he refused.

Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.

When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened. Then the master called the servant in: "You, wicked servant" he said: "I forgave or canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you". In anger, his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured until he should pay back all he owed.

Now I want you to hear this part Like: watch this.

This is so important for us to remember. It scares the scares the mess out of me when I think about it and I want to break it down a little bit for you. But here's what he says in verse 35. This is how my heavenly father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.

And this isn't just a one-time verse, The one I quoted to you earlier from the Lord's Prayer.

He says: "Forgive us our trespasses, as in so much as". This is within the semantic range- In so much as you could also translate this causally- if we forgive those who trespass against us. I mean there there are other verses throughout the Scriptures that that indicate, if we don't forgive our brother and sister or anyone who's wronged us, that God, like God, gets really frustrated about that. Why- And this will probably be the working sermon title that I utilize when we post a sermon Like h- how could we like, how could we do that to somebody else when we've actually looked on the person and the work of Christ Jesus and what he did to forgive us?

How could you?

I know we do it. I know we do it. I'm not trying to stress you out and be like overly, overly serious about something that that we all do, but the Scriptures are pretty darn clear. That, like if, if Jesus forgave us for all of our sin, if you were to do another thought experiment and think about the worst thing that you ever did to somebody else, and let me, let me give you something you're probably not thinking about: What about the people that the Lord sent you to have an impact on in a positive way, that you ignored And now they're flailing, stuck in addiction, living a life beneath their calling, all because we didn't meet the moment?

Now, now hear me, I'm not saying that every screw-up you've ever done isn't redeemable by the blood of Jesus.

Of course it is. This is why we come to church. We love him because he first loved us, in spite of our sin. He said: "Forgive them, They know not what they do".

He died on the cross for us.

He was pierced for our transgressions and he rose up. So that was all validated. And now he sits at the right hand of the father and petitions, Like we don't even have to beg God. He petitions.

He begs God on our behalf that we might be moved and not held accountable to the wrath that's due us.

That's that's what Jesus did for us. I'm not saying that if you screw up, it's irredeemable. What I'm saying is, how can you know that you were saved, in spite of all of the things you've done, and then look at somebody else with their $15,000, whatever it is- and like, put this strangle hold on them, hold this grudge against them? Like what?

Who do you think you are, Thi?

This is what's so interesting about Matthew, and he talks about it no less than six times in the entirety of the 28 chapters of Matthew. He talks about this idea of forgiveness because what he knows, what I have learned and what I have experienced in my life is that if he has forgiven you- and you've seen it and you've experienced that forgiveness, it is incompatible. Like you are, you are living such a two-faced life. If you have truly received this and you can go hold somebody to something that you were never held to by Jesus, You ever had.

You ever you ever like given your kid food?

I hope you have You ever give your kid food and then they got a sibling, and, and then that that sibling wants something that you gave them. You know what I'm talking about. And then like, maybe my daughter will like go pick something off of his plate. And then my son is he in here right now?

Okay, good.

And then my son will be like "Michael" And I'm looking at him like "Where do you think you got it from? You didn't pick it off my plate, I made it for you, bro". Like the audacity of this little kid to not choke his sister- We don't let that happen in our household. But to like, no, Micah h, how dare he?

And the Lord forgave you for all that stuff you did.

He does it in perpetuity And he goes more than he does. More than that, He doesn't just forgive you for your sin. He redeems you from all of the bad habits that aren't inherently sin. He redeems you from this indoctrinated lifestyle that you grew up in and had no choice over.

And then he brought you into a new life where you can live in an upward calling.

And now he sits at the right hand of the father and he begs, he interceds, he petitions on your behalf so that you would continue to grow. In John, chapter 17, we see Jesus's heart posture toward us that when he has what we call the high priestly prayer between him and the father. He says: "I've not lost one of those that you have given me to steward while I was here". He cares for us, He rounds us up.

Right before this passage is the passage about the lost coin in Matthew, specifically that when there's one lost, he goes and he grabs it, He redeems it and he brings them close.

He loves us so much that even when we shoved him onto a cross, stripped him naked, put holes in his hands, a hole in his feet, a hole in his side, shoved him into a tomb and put burial cloths on him, He looked at you and he said: 'You know, the only way this impossible debt that they owe is fixed is if I do this. So I'm going to do this and I'm going to forgive them? And then we turn around and we have the audacity to look at people like that. They're not.

They're not capable of receiving the exact same thing that we received.

I think about dude, I think about all the stuff I've done, and I don't look at it as a spectrum like your stuff's worse than my stuff or whatever I know. We would all collectively think that, like if you were to list something like murder. Everybody. Look at you like safety, safety, I know publicly we would all, but in relation to God it's all the same.

You look at Paul.

Right, Paul was a murderer. He persecuted Christians and then he was redeemed by Jesus. He was forgiven. It took the disciples a second to track with that.

And we look back in Post is like: "Come on, y'all know it's Paul".

And they're like, "Yeah, we know it's Paul Golly to kill Stephen". And so the disciples are like, "I don't know about Paul". That's us. We look at somebody who came from somewhere that we're not comfortable with, who did something that wronged us or impacted us in a particular way, and we think that they're not capable of receiving the very same grace and being transformed in the very same way.

How dare we?

This is like God giving you a steak dinner, cutting it up for you because we needed them to right Milk, not meat. You know what I'm saying? He li, he's, he's feeding it to you. He made it as easy as possible for you and you finally understood it and you said: "Thank you for your forgiveness.

I accept this gift of abundant and eternal life with Christ".

Take the bite. You've tasted and you've seen how good God is. And then somebody next to you it's like "Let me get a piece of that steak" and you go choke them. That's what you want to do to the person that wronged you.

That's that's what you want to do to your boss when he tells you to do something you're not happy with or gets on to you for being five, 20 minutes late.

See what I did there. It's never just five, It's always 20. I'm five minutes late, No, 20 minutes later You get frustrated at your employees because they can't track with something you never communicated. But you know that you're frustrated.

Frustrated at your kids because you raised them Like wasn't God's fault.

They were in your house the whole time And we had the idea. Why are you being like that? You've been telling them the story of all the things you did wrong And then they do the same thing and you look at them. You like you better quit.

I'm not saying don't tell them to quit, But at the same time we look at them as if they're different from us in the eyes of God.

And you are no different: The murderer, the adulterer, the gossiper, the lazy. All of it sin, all of it disconnects you from God And whatever wrong you've been done. If it's creating such a bodily affect in you that you get angry every time you think about it, it's time for you to do something I It's time for you not to think more on that. In fact, the Ephme idea is just like.

I love the image of just dropping your net.

Just drop it. It's not some big moment, I forgive you. Hey, do what you got to do, You know, do what you got to do. But words don't mean jack squat in the kingdom of God unless you follow it with activity.

No, it's at the heart level.

I'm going to let this go because what I'm harboring against this person doesn't help this person. What I'm harboring against this person doesn't help me. In fact, it increases my blood pressure, decreases my immunity to sicknesses and eventually is going to shorten my life if I can't get my stuff together. So what am I going to do with this burden that is impacting me negatively and actually creating a construct or an environment around me where people don't want to be around me?

I'm just going to, I'm going to drop that net.

I've been stuck in it way too long. Just just drop it. It's not some big, powerful moment, though it might be significant. Just drop it.

Lord, give us this day our daily bread.

Forgive us our trespasses. Oh, I just forgave that person, Lord. Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation when I, when I, come together and I'm, I'm doing the will of God.

When the Jews would come together for the day of atonement, It was assumed that you, you let go of the things that you have against your neighbor, Like the Bible would even say that if you're harboring something against your neighbor when it comes to praying, when it comes to communion, when it comes to fellowship, go and be reconciled and then come back and do your spiritual deed It.

It's so interesting to me because there's a moment in Scripture where Jesus actually forgives a man of his sins and the Pharisees get super frustrated at him about it. This is: this is the man who they brought in, lay down on a pallet or like through the roof, and he's laying down there, He's, he's paralyzed, He, he can't walk. And instead of saying "Get up, take up your pallet and walk"? Jesus says "You're forgiven of your sin".

And the Pharisees get mad at him because he says it.

And Jesus asks him a question: Which is easier to forgive sin, to say for you're forgiven of your sin, or to say, "Get up, take up your pallet and walk". Clearly, one's harder to say And? But I think what Jesus is actually ironically saying: there is there's only one who can forgive sin at the deepest levels. And what Jesus came to do?

He came to not only forgive us of our sin, but he came to show us that it can be done, so that it could become something so normalized, so natural, that, just like our breath, just like our intake of food daily, just like our prayers, just like our fellowship and our interactions, forgiveness can just be something you do.

Forgiveness isn't some big thing you got to build up to. You got to go through the however many stages of grief. Forgiveness is not something you've been making it. Forgiveness is just let it go.

Don't let it have the impact on you that it's been having.

I know what you're thinking, cuz I was thinking, I was roaring with this all week. It was so infuriating to me because I couldn't. I couldn't understand forgiveness. I was like, "Yeah, but that mean you forget it".

No, no, it doesn't mean you forget it.

It's like yeah, but, but, Matt, you got to go through some stuff to get through it. Yeah, there are consequences to whatever was done to you. Yeah, these are things you got to work through, Whether it's going to counseling, opening your Scriptures, spending time in prayer or changing your entire life in order to spend time with people who don't keep bringing you back into that memory of the thing that happened to you. I know it is difficult to move on, but it doesn't have to be, And what the Lord revealed to me that he has never revealed to me before is just a fee of me.

Just let it go.

And yesterday I was struggling with some thoughts and of unforgiveness And I was trying to practice the very thing I'm preaching to you. And I'm sitting here, I'm feeling the bodily a effect, My heart's beating faster, I'm tense, rigid, frustrated, Like probably about to spew out some words I don't need to say Like I. I felt it And my first thought was: man, if I just let this go, I still got to deal with this tomorrow. Man, And if I let this go and don't ruminate on it like I'm ruminating on it, then then am I going to come up with the right solution?

And then my next thought- and I really think it came from the Lord was like: "Yeah, all that stuff's still got to be done, but the rumination is actually ruining your body.

The rumination is actually ruining your present experience and it's keeping you from being mindful of the present. And I'm in the present. He said: "My presence is everywhere and you're missing me because of your ruminations over here. So let it go, Trust in me.

Don't focus on a plan to navigate this scenario.

Don't focus on a plan of retaliation. Don't focus on the No. Seek me first and my kingdom and my righteousness, and I'll add whatever you need when you need it". And I let it go right there.

And you might think: well, what happened next?

Whatever happened next? But because I was seeking the Lord, there was a wisdom and a peace that surpassed my understanding. And guess what? My next response was better, because it didn't come from rumination, It came from inspiration.

And then I was in a better spot: emotionally, mentally, physiologically, all because I didn't make it some big thing that I needed to tell everybody that I forgive them.

Hey, you wronged me, Rita, I forgive you. Don't do nothing for them other, make them feel weird. Okay, thank you. No, in my heart, it's what it says in Matthew 18.

That's it.

I'm not holding it against them anymore. And I know you had to absorb some of the stuff that you wanted them to pay off. I know you had to absorb some of that interest that you've been making them pay or you planned on making them pay in retaliation. I know you had to absorb it, But you got to remember Jesus absorbed yours, right there on the cross, the full weight of your sin, on the body that was broken for your transgressions.

And if he can, if he can bear my sin, the sin of the physical, stupid stuff that if I were to tell you'd giggle because it's funny and that's what junior high kids do.

And then the sin up here, that would never murder physically but in my mind, when I choose not to like somebody, or when I choose to do wrong against somebody, or when I choose to think negatively about someone that God loves. Jesus says it, Matthew 5, murder When I think that way about that person who I'm not married to, I would never commit and never do adultery. In the deepest thoughts your sin resides. And what Jesus wants to do is absorb all of your thoughts, your act, your, your actions that separated you from him.

He wants to absorb it on that cross.

And he wants to send you out to live a life where you let things go, Because when you let things go you can then start giving him glory with every aspect of your life. And so for those of you in this room, like they're going to be playing in the background and we're about to take communion, Communion is the body and the blood. You know, you know communion. If you don't know communion, communion is representative of what Jesus did on the cross.

We say his body was broken.

That's when we break the bread and we take of the bread. And his blood was shed. It's when we take of the cup and we drink of the cup. It represents the body broken for our transgressions, The blood shed for the forgiveness of sins.

That blood, just like the day of atonement, It brings us into a new, not a year, Oh man, it's a new eternity unstained by the sin of our past.

But there are some things that carry forward. Just like the Jews with the day of atonement, They would go make reconciliation with their neighbor before the day of atonement when we participate in communion. I know it's symbolic, but it's so crucial for us to live a life that is compatible with the Christ that we serve And if he forgave us. Before we take communion, if you partake in the blood and the body, you got to let go of the things that have been done to you.

You got to forgive those people.

You ain't got to hang out with them but you got to let it go. You need to go to a counselor. You still got to let it go. Open the word- still got to let it go.

Talk to your parents about it- Still got to let it go.

You can do your normal triaging. That will get you to the solution and will solve some of those physiological problems and those emotional issues. You got to work that. But that doesn't change the fact that you got to let it go.