And so we've been talking about being the church. You will learn about me that I believe in serious preaching. Serious preaching is of the Lord. I believe going through entire books and getting all of what God has to say rather than just bits and pieces here and there. And so we have been talking about being the church the last couple of weeks on Bible study. I will be singing that same tune for quite some time. As we get into the new year, we're going to go through the book of Titus. It's three chapters. We're going to go all the way through it, and we're going to be talking about being the church. But for this morning, we'll continue on that same tune, but we'll be in the book of Mark, the gospel according to Mark this morning, our church's namesake. The gospel according to Mark, chapter number 11. Mark chapter 11. And when you have Mark chapter 11, those of you who are physically able to stand, I ask that you stand with me in reference to the reading of God's word. And we'll be in verse number 25 this morning. The gospel according to Mark chapter number 11. When you have to say amen, if you need more time, say wait for me. I didn't hear no wait for me, so we'll go ahead and kick off. Mark chapter 11, verse 25. Just one verse of scripture this morning, and it reads like this. And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him. that your father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. Amen. Repeat after me. I must forgive others. I must forgive others. Let us pray. Father, in the name of Jesus, we thank you for your word this morning. And Lord, as we continue to talk about being the church, Lord, we know that this is a very fundamental part of being the church. The people of God need to have a forgiving spirit. After all, you have forgiven us for everything. So Lord, as we get into your word today, Lord, I ask that you give us ears to hear that we may hear, Lord, what your spirit says to the church, Lord. And Lord, I'm a sinful man. Cleanse me of all sin. Empty me of self. Help me to be a blessing to these, thy people, Lord. but most importantly, Lord, help me to be a blessing to you. I need your preaching power this day and every day. As this we pray in the matchless name of Jesus Christ, amen. Amen. I must forgive others. Oftentimes when things are communicated forthright and to the point, the message is undeniably clear. Oftentimes when things are communicated forthrightly and to the point, the message is undeniably clear. Today's message is one of those types of messages. The fact of the matter is, if you and I are going to be good Christians, if we are going to represent the Lord Jesus in a way that he deserves to be represented, if we are going to be a good church and a good church member, then we must pray and we must forgive others. Some might say that this is Christianity 101. This is as basic as it gets. This is as fundamental to our faith as anything that we will ever talk about. While the other gospels communicate this same idea about the importance of forgiveness, Mark's gospel does it in a way that the other gospels just don't replicate. In Mark chapter 11, verse 20 through 24, we're in verse 25, but in Mark chapter 11, verse 20 through 24, Jesus is talking about the power of faith. He's talking about the power of faith. If you were to read further toward the beginning in Mark chapter 11, you'll see that the previous day Jesus passed by a fig tree that didn't have any figs on it. He passed by a fig tree that had no figs on it and Jesus cursed that tree. He cursed that tree. They went on about their business, Jesus and the disciples, they went on about their business, and the very next day, and I am quite sure, by design, Jesus and the disciples, over the course of events, they passed by that very same tree the very next day. He knew that one of his disciples would notice it. The one that noticed it, at least the one that said something was my favorite disciple, Peter. Peter said, and I'm paraphrasing, but Peter said, Lord, the tree that you cursed just yesterday, it has already withered away. How in the world did you do that? Well, he did that because he's God. But Jesus didn't answer him like that. Jesus used Peter's question as a springboard about the power of faith. And again, I'm paraphrasing, but Jesus said that if you pray and you do not doubt, If you have a mountain, if you have an obstacle in your life, you can tell that mountain, you can tell that obstacle, be removed and be cast into sea. If you pray and do not doubt. And again, he wasn't talking about a literal physical mountain, he was talking about an obstacle. You can say depression, be removed. You can say anxiety, be removed. You can say drug addiction, be removed and it will be removed. if you pray and don't have any doubt. And so Jesus wraps up this discourse with the disciples about the power of faith. He wraps up that discourse or wraps up that lesson with Mark chapter 11, verse 24. And it says in the New King James, therefore, I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them and you will have them. The other gospels don't quite communicate it like Mark's gospel. In a sense, Mark's gospel is letting us know that when we pray, It does not only entail us asking God for things. Yes, naturally when we go to God, we go to God in prayer and we ask God for things in prayer and he wants us to do that. He said, cast our cares upon him for he cares for us. And so naturally we ask God for things in prayer Mark's gospel, based on the reading of verse 24, what I believe that Mark is trying to communicate in verse 25 is that when we go to God in prayer, and if we can, before we go to God in prayer, But if we can't do it before we go to God in prayer, certainly when we are in prayer, there is something that we must do besides asking Him for whatever it is that we want or whatever it is that we think that we need. And that is communicated in our subject passage, our one verse that we are taking a look at today, and that is Mark 11, verse 25. Again, the New King James Version reads this way, and whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him that your Father in heaven may also forgive your trespasses Let's break that verse down and whenever you stand pray You do know that you don't have to pray on your knees You don't have to pray on your knees nothing wrong with that Praise God hallelujah nothing wrong with that, but you don't have to pray on your knees The Old Testament and New Testament both show that prayer, or standing rather, was a common prayer posture. In 1 Samuel 1, verse 26, we observe Hannah praying and she's standing up. In Luke chapter 18, verses 11 through 13, we see another instance there of someone standing So we're simply talking about the prayer posture, whether you are standing, whether you are on your knees, whether you are prostrate, laid out before the Lord, it doesn't really matter. If you're laying in your bed, going to sleep, and you are praying, whatever it is that you do when you pray, you need to have a certain attitude when you go to God. You need to have a certain attitude when you go to God. And I could say a whole lot of those things, but let's just stick to what this verse is talking about for today. It says, if you have anything against anyone, if you have anything against anyone, this is not easy to do. because Jesus did not qualify his statement. And in other words, because he didn't say that there were any exceptions, the only ideal is there are no exceptions. He didn't say, he didn't say forgive everyone or you have anything against anyone except your husband, your wife. your children, your best friend, whoever. No, he said, if you have anything against anyone. Now, again, I know that this is not easy to do because somebody in here has been through something pretty awful at the hands of somebody else. And I also understand that even if you haven't been through something so traumatic, you know somebody, somebody you love has been through something awful at the hands of somebody else. And so I say that with respect, but even still, you must forgive them. In fact, I believe that suffering for the greater good, we talked about that here a couple of weeks ago, suffering for the greater good, or what I call the ministry of suffering, is a unique part of this life that Jesus wanted us to experience. Jesus said that if we are going to partake in his glory, then we got to go through some of the same things that he went through. Read your Bible, it's in Hebrews. You got to go through some of the things that he went through. You're not going to go through everything he went through. None of us can do that because he's God almighty. But you have to go through a similar experience and suffering is a part of that. And oftentimes forgiving someone who frankly doesn't deserve to be forgiven is not an easy thing to do. But nonetheless, or nevertheless, this includes forgiving those people who we might deem unforgivable. In his book, The Cross and the Lynching Tree, James Cone talked about the perils of the cross and the perils of the lynching tree. It says it all in the title. And I won't go into details because the title says it all, but very vividly in that book, the African American scholar and renowned professor, he explains in a vivid way the parallels, the parallels of Jesus being hanged on a tree. And black men being hanged in almost every one of our 50 states. Even acts that seem unforgivable, we must forgive them. You and I, we must forgive them. No matter how heinous the crime might be. But that leads to a point. What is biblical forgiveness? What is biblical forgiveness? Well, very quickly, here's what biblical forgiveness is and here's what it's not. Let's talk about what it's not. To forgive does not mean that they were right and you were wrong. To forgive does not mean that they were right and you were wrong. To forgive does not mean that you approve of what they did. To forgive does not even mean that you accept it. It's not okay for them to do it again. None of that is forgiveness. To forgive them does not declare the person innocent. If they did it, they guilty. To forgive the person simply means to let the offense go. It means that they don't owe you anything. So you're not looking for any payback. It means you're not going to take matters into your own hands. That's what biblical forgiveness looks like. Now, the only way we are going to know if we have something against someone We must examine ourselves. We must examine ourselves. First Corinthians chapter 11 verse 27 says, but let a man examine himself and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. In other words, the only way that we as Christians can maintain proper fellowship with God is by examining ourselves. We need to examine ourselves specifically for what wickedness and what malice lies deep in our heart. That's why the psalmist said, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeem. Examining oneself is not easy. You're going to need strength to do that. And the Lord is your strength. And because he has redeemed you, we can, if you're saved this morning, because he has redeemed you, we can do that and we must do that. Proverbs chapter four, verse 23, it says, guard your heart or keep your heart with all diligence for out of it springs the issues of life. If we don't watch our heart, if we don't watch our heart, we're going to have a tough time examining ourselves. And when we do examine ourselves, we're going to see that there are some things there that absolutely shouldn't be there. and every one of us have it from the pulpit to the door everybody has something in your heart that doesn't quite line up the way that God intends for it to line up and so if we are going to examine ourselves there are some things that we must do we gotta take some alone time Pray and meditate on the Word of God. That's why this verse said when you stand and pray Because you won't need prayer to be able to accomplish this So you got to pray and meditate on the Word of God Let me see if I could put that another way. It means sometimes you got to turn off the sitcoms It means sometimes you got to turn off the fake reality TV shows. It means sometimes you got to put down the newspaper. It means sometimes you got to turn off the ball game. It means sometimes put the cell phone in the other room and spend some time with the Lord. In His Word. Meditating and praying on His Word. That is the only way that any of us can examine ourselves. Or let me just talk about me. Maybe y'all are a little bit more spiritual than me. Praying is hard for me. When I'm praying, I'm thinking about everything. Lord, I'm hungry. Lord, I'm tired. Lord, my back hurt. Lord, what am I going to eat tonight? Lord, I don't want to go to that job tomorrow. Lord, I got to worry about this. And Lord, I got to worry about that. We got to put some things out of our way and spend some time with God. And here's why. It is imperative that the people of God have a forgiving spirit. Why is that? We'll just stay in the verse. Because if you don't forgive, neither will God forgive you. And trust me, some of y'all, I know some of y'all are some Bible readers, you might say, Mark don't know what he's talking about. He wasn't one of the apostles. well Matthew is one of the apostles and he said the very same thing in Matthew chapter 6 verses 14 and 15 and besides that all scripture is given by inspiration of God and all of it is profitable for adoption for reproof for instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be perfect and through the furnace and all good works. That don't mean you'll be perfect entirely. That just says that you are mature and that you are properly equipped to do what it is that God needs you to do. That's what the word is for. That's what it's there for. And that is why we need to pray and pray using his word. Now you may say, again, I know I got some Bible reads in here. You might say, well, hold on, preacher. Hold on, pastor. That sounds like you talking about works-based salvation. I thought when Jesus died on the cross, I already had the victory. And that's a true statement. Somebody say amen. That is a true statement. This is not works-based salvation. You do forgive, you do have to forgive, but he's not talking about works-based salvation. We are saved by grace. Ephesians chapter 2. Verses eight and nine says, for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of words, lest anyone should boast. And so he's not talking about a works-based salvation, but that last part of verse 25, what I believe that Mark is getting at, What he is saying, what he is saying is that if you are really saved, if you are really saved, if you are truly a child of the king, then you ought to at least want to forgive that person. You might not have the ability to do it at that moment, but at least you want to forgive that person. Because if God has forgiven you for everything, for everything, if Jesus has paid it all, if Jesus has paid it all, he's paid it for me, he's paid it for you, and he's paid it for whoever done me wrong. If he's paid it all and I've been forgiven, then I ought to know how to forgive somebody else. and what he's getting at he's not saying that this is workspace salvation what he's saying is if you really say that you at least want to forgive that is the sum total of our one verse there mark chapter 11 verse 25 we are talking about i must forgive others three points three takeaways that i want you to have this morning And we'll go ahead and move on with the first one. Bear with me. Bear with me. The first point, or the first takeaway, no one owes you anything. Not even an apology. No one owes you anything. And I mentioned this a little bit earlier. I say this with the utmost respect because somebody in here or someone, you know, has been through something traumatic, something that's 100% wrong at the hands of someone else. I do not take that lightly. And I do not deny the truth that sadly you or they were done wrong, but bear with me. No one person, no one person has done you more wrong than you yourself have done Jesus wrong. No one person has done Leonard so wrong, at least not more so to the fact that I've done Jesus wrong. Because I sin every single day. And you sin every single day. And somebody might be saying, well, you speak for yourself. You speak for yourself. I don't sin every day. You already got a pride issue. Right there off the bat. Because see, we can commit sins and not even know that we sin. And so we sin every single day. So for 37 years straight, I've been sinning every single day. And so no one person has done me more wrong than I personally have done Jesus because my one sin put Jesus on the cross. I see we got some spiritual folks in the room. I'm the only sinner in the house. And so let me see if I can break this down for you. If everybody in here was perfect and I wasn't perfect, I was born into the world. Guess what? Ain't none of y'all perfect no more because I ain't perfect. So Jesus still would have had to die for you. That's the way it works. I personally put Jesus on the cross. You personally put Jesus on the cross. Let me put some Bible to this because y'all looking at me crazy here. Romans 3 23 says for all have sinned He don't say some he said for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God Stay right there in the same book go over three chapters in Romans chapter 6 verse 23 It says for the wages of sin is death But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Translation, if you committed one sin, you are worthy of death. And I ain't talking about sleeping in your grave, I'm talking about going to a fiery hell with Satan himself. That's what you deserve. But praise God, hallelujah, those of us who place our faith in the resurrected Savior, we have been justified. We have been declared righteous. It don't mean that I was right. In fact, I am guilty. But that's just to say that when the judge was about to deliver the verdict, the one true judge, he stepped in and said, not guilty. So Jesus has paid it all. And if he has paid it all, then no one owes me anything. Not even an apology. Now, should I do right rather and go apologize when I've done something wrong? Absolutely. But if I don't, if I decide I'm going to be stubborn that day, then guess what? God will deal with me at the proper time. And so I could go on and on about this, but the first point is already made. And that point is no one owes you anything. Second point, God has forgiven you. God has forgiven you. Psalm 103 verse 12 says, as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Paul, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, he put it another way in Ephesians chapter 4, verse 32. The King James says it like this, And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you. Yes, God has forgiven you for every sin that you have committed and every sin that you will ever commit. Thank God, praise God, hallelujah, that the blood will never lose its power. But if that is the case, and it is because the Bible says it is, and all of God's word is true, if the Lord has forgiven me for all things that I've done wrong, and I got a lot of things I'm not so proud of, I ought to be able to forgive somebody else. Because God has forgiven me. And again, you may say, pastor, you don't know what they did to me. Listen, you're right about it. I don't know what they did to you. And if you don't want to tell me, then it ain't none of my business what they did to you. And I know that that wound, it might be very deep. I know that that scar, it might be very long. I know it does not come easy in many cases, but again, this Christian journey is not an easy one. And the fact of the matter is, you don't forgive that person for their sake, you forgive that person for your sake. Because unfortunately, if they're not a child of God, they ain't thinking about you. They're living their life. They think they're living their best life. That's a lie. They think they're living their best life. They're not thinking about you. And you hold on to this thing. You forgive them for your sake. They may not deserve your forgiveness. You do it because Jesus forgave you. And if you want to go into the kingdom, if you want to be regenerated by the Holy Spirit, this is something that we absolutely gotta do. I know it's not easy. I say that with the utmost respect, but it doesn't change the fact that we must forgive others because God has forgiven you. And so that is the second point. God has forgiven you. Third and finally, so the first point was no one owes you anything. Second point, God has forgiven you. We are talking about the fact that I and you must forgive others. Third and finally, Here's why I must forgive others. Here's why you must forgive others. And that is payback belongs to God. Payback belongs to God. Romans chapter 12 verse 19 says Dearly beloved avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath for it is written Vengeance is mine. I will repay saith the Lord in other words God has a list of Everybody who has done you wrong? He's got a list of everybody who has done you wrong and He don't need to check it twice. This is the Christmas season. He already knows who's been naughty or nice. He knows everybody who has done you wrong. And the fact of the matter is, the fact of the matter is, if God is our father, then we are his children. And God don't like nobody doing wrong by his babies. God is going to pay back everybody who's ever done you wrong. They gonna wish they only had to deal with little old you. They gonna wish that they only had to deal with little old me. Because the worst thing that I can do is do some harm to their body. But Jesus said, don't fear the one who can do harm to your body. He said, fear the one who can do harm to the body and send your soul to hell. So if you are a child of God this morning, He's got a list. Or if you want to be a child of God, He's got a list of everybody who has done you wrong. And when they get done with God, you won't need to pay them back. Because he's going to handle his business. Because God cannot lie. Not that he don't lie. The Bible says that he cannot lie. And so if God says he's going to do something, you best to believe he's going to do it. As they say, you can take that to the bank. You can cash that check. God is going to do whatever it is that he said he was going to do. And if he said that vengeance is his, if he says that vengeance is his, then he gonna pay back whoever has done you wrong. In the meantime, in the meantime, you just keep holding on. You just keep taking that thing to God and pray. I don't know if you noticed in that verse there, I said as it is written. Anytime you see as it is written in the Bible, particularly in the New Testament, that means it was written in the Old Testament. Y'all know the same God of the New Testament, or the God that's in the New Testament is the same God in the Old Testament. In Deuteronomy 32, 35, God said that vengeance is mine. Then he turned around and said it in the New Testament that vengeance is his. He has a list of everybody who has done you wrong so you don't have to worry about paying them back. I know you might want to. If you're like me, you know you can give it to them real good, but the fact of the matter is I can't give it to them better than God. And so, for my sake, for your sake, don't worry about what it is that they're doing. You just keep on holding on. You just keep taking that thing to God in prayer and know that when he gets done with them, they won't want to mess with you and they won't mess with you no more. I could go on and on and on, but the third and final point is already made. And that point is payback belongs to God. As I hasten to a close this morning, we're talking about, I must forgive others. Let me just go ahead and tell you this. If you don't know, God loves you. I said, God loves you. Somebody say amen about that. God is going to take care of you. It don't matter what your problem is, God is going to take care of you. He's going to take care of your enemy, and he's going to take care of my enemy. But we need to forgive others. I must forgive others. You must forgive others. Remember, no one owes you anything. And I say that with respect. Remember that God has forgiven you for everything that you have done wrong. You must do the same for others. And finally, remember that payback belongs to God. Any battle, any battle that we go through on this Christian journey, remember that we don't fight for the victory. We don't fight for the victory. We fight from the victory. We've already got victory through our Savior, through our Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. And if you don't know how we got that victory, I'll tell you. Because the Lord God, he came down in the flesh and he was born of a virgin. He lived on this earth, never did anything wrong. No deceit was found in his mouth. But somehow the Romans and somehow the Jews, they found a way to get Jesus to do something wrong, at least in their eyes. And so the Lord lived. The Lord Jesus lived. He died. They lifted him high. They stretched him wide. And they put nails in his hand. And they drove spikes into his feet. And they executed our Lord and Savior, and blood and water flowed down from his body. And that blood that Jesus shed on the cross of Calvary, that day, that blood will never lose its power. That blood gave you the victory. It gave me the victory. And so, the Lord Jesus, I declare to you that He is God, that He is King, He is coming back for you. But in the meantime, you and I still must forgive others. We'll close at this time. We'll go ahead and extend the invitation. Let us pray. Father in heaven, we thank you for the word that we have received from on high. We thank you for being a good God. And Lord, we thank you for your word that reminds us that we must forgive others. We need your grace to be able to do that. Help us this morning, Lord. Lord, there's someone here who doesn't know Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. May they don't leave the same way that they came. And those who have trusted Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, may we be strengthened in our faith. May we forgive others. When it comes down to, Lord, may we trust you as God and know that vengeance is yours and you will repay because you are God. Bless this invitation, Lord. We love you. We give you all the honor and praise as this we pray in the matchless name of our risen Lord and only Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. The doors of the church are open.