(January 02, 2024) Richard Winter challenges…

So… it’s January 2, and the first week of the new year soon gone already!

We’ve celebrated Christmas, we’ve welcomed and celebrated the new year’s arrival. Families have come together, eaten together, celebrated together and most of us have made a new year resolution.

Actually the latter sounds like an appropriate activity for us all as we embrace 2024. However… on reflection every resolution, not just New Year’s, that I’ve ever made though has been attacked by –

• My personal lethargy.
• Other options leading me astray.
• Running out of commitment!

The reality is that we need God’s help to stay involved in any resolution we make! And… perhaps the last thing we remember to think about in respect to following through on any resolution is – prayer.

Critical Prayer
What is known as The Disciples’ Prayer covers so much of our life and Jesus taught us to use particular points to model our prayers on and also to pray specifically about.

Matthew 6:9-11NKJV records what Jesus taught…
‘In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.’

Now we need to note that if the fifth line above approves praying for natural needs, the verse 12 instruction – ‘And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors’ – is critical in our transformation to being strong spiritual Christians!

• If we are to mature in  our Christianity, we need to understand the traps of this world and how the devil can ensnare us to limit true spiritual growth. (Remember too verse 13b, ‘… deliver us from the evil one’).
• The Disciple’s Prayer is not merely a petition for personal needs and protection – it is a prayer that sees things from the perspective of the kingdom of God!
• It is a prayer that aligns the disciple with God’s purposes.

In respect of this all-important prayer that our Lord taught for everyone who would follow Him, not just those first disciples, we begin by addressing God, our heavenly Father and we –

1) Desire to see all that is happening in heaven take place on earth too.
2) Yearn for the coming of the fullness of His kingdom.
3) Beseech the outworking of His will.
4) Acknowledge that we must desire to be ambassadors of the kingdom and Jesus.
5) Know our provisions and daily needs are taken care of as we move to fulfil His Great Commission.

And then there is the kicker! ‘And forgive our debts as we forgive our debtors’ (v12)!

So many are trapped by debt of which there are many types… financial, emotional and spiritual debt. 

Many people are in this debt trap; They want to move ahead in and for the kingdom, but they do not get very far –  one step forward, two steps back.  And why? They are beset by the trap of ‘unforgiveness!’

‘Debts’ is opheilēma, something owed,a fault. Forgiveness deals with things that can derail or hold us back from serving the kingdom effectively and productively. So how do you get out of such debt traps?

Conditional Promise
The only part of this prayer that Jesus emphasises is actually a conditional promise – if you will, He will. Note the two parts to verses 15 and 16…
(i) ‘For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.’ 
(ii) ‘But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.’

Have you ever been there, trapped by the past? Are you there now? Anyone that has ever been hurt will know something about forgiveness…

• Will I forgive that person who hurt me?
• Nah, not likely: They hurt me too much over… money, lies, sex, betrayal… whatever.
• I’m angry! I’m trapped in the state of unforgiveness.

Peter was present when Jesus taught this prayer. Now he would have known that one needs to forgive, but later (Matthew 18:21) he came to Jesus, questioning how many times one must forgive even a brother, generously suggesting seven times. But obviously thinking that one cannot keep forgiving a person who has hurt you, right?

Compassionate Perfection
Jesus’ answer must have thrown Peter who would have known that in Rabbinic teaching, forgiveness was only required three times!                           

What an unexpected kicker Jesus’ answer must have been! ‘I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times’  (v22ESV)!

Forgive 77 times? Seven stood for perfection in Jewish thought so Jesus was encouraging, requiring a double perfection. In other words…

• Symbolically, forgive until the forgiveness is complete.
• Why? Because forgiveness must be from the heart, a soft heart.
• And it may take many more times than you think!

Then Jesus illustrates this ‘77 length of forgiveness’ with a kingdom-centred parable… what we call The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant (vs 18:23-35). It’s about a certain king who wants to settle accounts with his servants, one of whom owes him a huge fortune and pleads for forgiveness because he can’t pay.

There was no way that servant was able to repay the Master because the debt was too large. Not only was his life at stake, but the debt trap also affected his wife and children. (Incidentally, the consequences of our sins also affect others!).

Amazingly the king forgives him! He shows the servant grace as he knew it was impossible for him to repay.

Moved with compassion, he cancelled the entire debt owing.

Conscious Pathways
But then, with a warning, Jesus tells of that forgiven servant’s turn to forgive and bless…  a fellow servant only owed him a mere pittance compared to the debt he had owed (Message Bible suggests a mere $10 compared to the debt trap of the huge hundred thousands of dollars he had owed!).

Verse 28 tells that he laid hands on his friend and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ His fellow servant pleaded with him for patience! Verse 29 is so strong… ‘… he would not, but went and threw him into prison…’ In other words, he was refusing, not willing to overlook the debt of his friend.

The lesson for us here is that it was a conscious effort that hardened his heart! We must be careful to consciously exercise a soft heart! Consciousness has two pathways… we must choose the right one!

Back then to verse 14 of the Disciples’ Prayer above –  who appears to be the one that has to forgive first? Seems to be us… if we want God to forgive us, we must be willing to forgive others first!

Yes, I know that it can be hard to promptly forgive at times – but remember, God has shown us His examples of forgiveness!  Over and over again He loved and forgave Israel.  And He did the same for us, loving us so much by providing forgiveness to the world through Jesus’ work on the Calvary’s cross (John 3:16 – our next big Christian celebration come Easter!).

Continuing Progress
How then should Matthew 6:12 – ‘And forgive our debts as we forgive our debtors’ – be read and understood?

The apostle Paul instructs us: ‘Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do (Colossians 3:12–13NKJV).

That little word ‘as’ that I’ve italicised indicates ‘in the same manner.’ God has already set the example for us to follow. Now, He watches us to see how well we have learned from His example.

This forgiveness that Jesus is talking about is not that which brings us into a relationship with God, but one that results because of our already established relationship with God through Jesus!  Christians often refer to two theological terms… Justification and Sanctification without fully understanding them.

• Justification refers to Jesus having paid the entire debt of our sin for us… such salvation ensures that our  past sins are forgiven!
• Sanctification means that as we now live for Jesus sanctified and present and future sins are forgiven too (of course we must still ask forgiveness which will be forgiven).
• This process of sanctification is a lifelong one (And aren’t you so thankful, so glad).

Concerning Position
Holding a debt against others causes us to be trapped in our own debt… a debt trap that should concern us! One reality is that often the one who has offended you may not even know it. Meanwhile, you’re fuming and getting all upset about how you have been wronged! ‘Holding onto unforgiveness is like swallowing poison in order to punish your enemy.’

Sinning against God’s ways opens a huge doorway for the enemy to steal, kill and destroy and trap you. Such trappings can involve feelings of being offended, hurt, wounded and can derail one physically, mentally and spiritually. The following can even develop –

• So many ailments, illnesses and psychosomatic disorders traceable to unforgiveness.
• One’s mind being played with, causing sleeplessness, developing an inability to concentrate.
• A root of bitterness – anger – leading to hatred.
• Developing high blood pressure, stress, migraine, stroke or heart attack.
• Emotional disorder, low self-esteem, identity crisis, fear and depression.

In 2 Corinthians 2:10 Paul writes about the importance of forgiving. Then he warns that unless we do so Satan will take full advantage of this unforgiveness to break the body of Christ! I like how the Message puts verse 11: ‘… we don’t want to unwittingly give Satan an opening for yet more mischief – we’re not oblivious to his sly ways!’

And what could ‘more mischief’ be? Probably more offences such as complaints, murmurs, gossips, slanders, sowing of discord among the brethren, hypocrisy, mistrust and suspicion. Yes, these can arise from non-forgiveness! Oh, dear readers, do know Satan’s ‘sly ways’!

Consuming Position 
Lewis B. Smedes said, ‘To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.’

God has a better way, a position that we must be consumed with! It’s forgiveness,which is to –

• Cancel a debt; set free; pardon; show favour; pass over; move on.
• Choose to show favour, grace, compassion, and to bless the person who has hurt you.
• Conclude feeling resentful and take action to prevent future sin or offence.
• Cease waiting for an apology or repentance, and still feeling the pain!
• Concentrate on Jesus’ command for our well-being, freedom, and unhindered prayers.

Note: In being consumed with that command, be careful of hindrances such as the –

• Pain of offence (such as mentioned above).
• Presence of pride versus grace and humility.
• Defense of rights versus leaving God to be the ultimate judge.
• Lack of spiritual maturity where we are not secure in Christ.
• Non-bearing the fruit of the Spirit, such as meekness.

Concluding Precepts
Matthew 6:12 is still very relevant for every Christian. If we ignore the first part, we disregard the second part, and that traps us in our own debt!

If we’ve been hanging onto our grievances for a long time, we should not be surprised if the old angry thoughts keep on coming. They are just the weak ding-dongs of an old church bell slowing down! 

When we decide to forgive, to let God take control of all circumstances we stop ringing the old defeats, the anger, the emotional and physical stress. The sweeter sounds of forgiveness takes over and rings perfectly instead of the unsweet sounds of unforgiveness!

• As we determine to move ahead in 2024, may our New Year’s resolution in Christ be to deal with the activities that have caused us stress, physical, emotional and even spiritual.
• Don’t forget Paul’s 2 Corinthians 2:11 warning not to be unaware of Satan’s schemes.
• Jesus said to forgive as you have been forgiven… for this is the way of God.
• With His help, avoid the debt trap of unforgiveness! Really start 2024 cleansed and clean!
• May 2024 be a spiritually healthy year!

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Dr Richard Winter pastors The Connection Church, Huntington Beach, California. Link:OnlinerConnect@gmail.com
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