Of course, you might know that that last portion of word that we read out was the parable of the unforgiving servant. The parable of the unforgiving servant. Because it's good to forgive people, isn't it? When they've even done us wrong, it's good to forgive. A little boy was asked once about forgiveness, what he thought it meant. And he gave this wonderful answer. What does forgiveness mean to you? And he says this, it's the odor that flowers breathe when they are trampled upon. It's the odor that flowers breathe when they are trampled upon. It's lovely, really, isn't it? Because that is what happens with them. And the Bible reminds us in Ephesians 4, these words, And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed into the day of redemption. And he's speaking to us. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speak and be put away from you with all malice. And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you." And that's why we forgive others, don't we? Because we've been a forgiven people and we're so grateful that God has done that for us. So I want to spend some time this leave looking at really in these words, God's instructions on forgiveness. God's instructions on forgiveness. And as we read in Matthew 18, we read the parable of a king who was settling accounts with his servants. And one of the servants who was brought forward owed the king 10,000 talents. Now I don't know how they'd done it, but someone worked it out that in today's money, that's 800 million pounds. So you can see how big the debt was that this first servant owed. It was a huge debt. And of course the servant wasn't able to repay the debt. So as we read, the master ordered that the servant, his wife, children, and everything that he had was to be sold to repay the debt, which it would never have repaid anyway. But even with that drastic step, the king could never get all his money back. The debt was just too big. So the servant, when he heard he was to be sold along with his family and possessions, he fell on his knees before the king, didn't he? And he begged him, have patience with me and I will pay back everything. Well, that was nothing but an empty promise anyway, because there was no possible way the servant could repay the king the millions that he was in debt for. He just couldn't do it. It was impossible. The servant knew this, the king knew this, and everybody who heard it knew that he couldn't pay it back. Yet the king, much to everyone's surprise, said he took pity on him, he cancelled the debt, and just let him go. Notice what the king did. Did the king let the servant go with the understanding that he make every possible attempt that he can to repay the debt? No. Did the king release the servant from the threatened slavery on the condition that he tried his best to at least pay the interest on that debt? No. Did the king merely decide to hold off foreclosure for the time being? No. Instead, We are told in verse 27 that the king canceled the debt. His ledgers he marked with the debt paid in full. He owes nothing. The king was a man of compassion. He forgave an enormous debt, which meant that the man was now free and he and his family weren't going to be thrown into the debtor's prison. The servant didn't deserve that forgiveness. It was purely an act of love and mercy on the part of his master who wrote the debt off. And of course the parable then continues in verse 28, doesn't it? Telling us something shocking about this forgiven servant. When that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servant who owed him 10 pence. That debt was insignificant compared to what he had owed the king. The average wage in those days was 1 pence. So in 100 days, he could earn it and pay it back anyway. Or 200 days if he gave up. It wasn't a great debt. And instead of sharing with his friend the joy of his own release, The servant mistreated his friend and demanded that he paid back that debt, that small debt. This debtor makes almost the same plea for mercy and patience that the forgiven servant made. Be patient with me and I will pay you back. Be patient with me, I'll pay you back. But there is, however, one major difference between the two requests that they both did. The promise of the first servant to pay back everything was impossible to keep because the debt was too large. The promise of the second servant, on the other hand, was capable of being kept because the sum was small. So how did the forgiven servant respond to this request for patience and grace? He refused, the Bible tells us. And we are told in verse 30, that he threw him into prison till he should pay that debt. Well, perhaps he had the legal right to throw the man into prison, but he didn't have the moral right to do it. He'd been forgiven himself. Shouldn't he forgive his fellow servant? It was so small compared to what he had written off. He and his family had been spared the shame of suffering and in prison. Shouldn't he now spare that to his fellow friend? The forgiven servant was unwilling to grant to others what he wanted others to grant to him. Forgiveness. A man forgiven an enormous debt couldn't forgive a small debt. And the parable then ends with the servant being confronted by the king and now he's to be handed over to the jailers. The jailers were allowed to whip and to torture the debtors in their care in order to get the money from them for their creditors. The unforgiving servant was punished for his unforgiving attitude. He was now punished. Now let's not forget the context of this parable. At the start of our Bible reading, in verse 15, Jesus is teaching the disciples and followers about forgiveness. If your brother or sister sins against you, or if you sin against them, you need to talk and get the matter sorted out. We need, as brothers and sisters in Christ, to forgive one another. And then the story starts in verse 21 with the apostle Peter. He comes to Jesus with a question I'm sure we've all asked at some time or other. Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Is seven okay? Somebody had obviously done this person wrong, and he'd forgiven him. The same person had done it again, and he'd forgiven him. And somebody had done it again, and he'd forgive him yet again. and he was getting tired of being patient, of being kind, and being loving and forgiving with them. Lord, how many times must I forgive this person that's doing this thing against me? Do I have to keep forgiving them again and again and again? Do you really expect me to forgive them when they keep hurting me? Surely there's a limit to how often I've got to forgive someone. But notice his mistake, it was in asking for limits and measures in forgiving others. Lord, how many times? Well, in verses 21 to 22, Peter thought that he was showing great faith and love when he offered to forgive at least seven times. After all, the rabbis of the day taught you had to forgive a man three times and then you could retaliate. So seven, he was being pretty good there by offering 7 but I will read Lord's reply was no not 7 but 70 times 7 that's 490 times you've got to go and forgive someone you see it's not that you know say to yourself I 490 times I've got to forgive them. It's not that you are 389 390 great only a hundred more to go and then I can retaliate no 70 times 7 means there's no limit to the number of times I should forgive someone else we forgive and we forgive and we forgive in fact 1 Corinthians 13 5 that wonderful passage on love says love keeps no record of wrongs. And that's for each of us as Christians. We keep no record of wrongs, whoever that person is. If a brother or sister is guilty of a repeated sin, wouldn't he or she find strength to conquer that sin through the encouragement of a loving and forgiving brother and sister? It's going to encourage them, isn't it? Not to carry on doing that. If we condemn a brother or sister, we're going to bring out the worst in them, because it's then going to be tit for tat, isn't it? We're all going to fight and battle with one another. But if we as Christians create an atmosphere of love and forgiveness, we can be used of God to bring out the best in the people that we have confrontations with. So in response to Peter's mistake, Jesus tells people and the other disciples around them, and to you and me this evening, the instructions about forgiveness. That's what this parable is all about. And Jesus starts off by saying in verse 23, therefore is the kingdom of heaven like. Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like what we are reading this evening. Jesus lets us know he's talking about the kingdom, and the church. He's talking about Christians. Jesus lets us know. He's talking to you and me this evening through this word. And I have a number of lessons for us this evening that I believe that this passage points us to and challenges us to as Christians. And the first lesson is this. The first lesson concerns our debt to God. Our debt to God. The king represents God. in the parable that we read out, and the servant represents people like you and like me. Like the servant, we have a debt that we can't possibly pay either, a debt that increases every day. Being that I like mathematics, I started looking at this from a mathematical point of view, and I thought, well, if I sin once a day, that's 365 times in a year that God needs to forgive me. but that's only once in a day. Over 10 years, that's 3,650 times at once in a day that God has forgiven us. And I've been a Christian now coming up 40 years, and that's over 14,500 times that I've sinned against God at once in a day. You can see how the debt is increasing, can't you? How big it's actually getting to what we owe. Like the servant, we too are bankrupt. Like the servant, we too deserve punishment and the debtor's prison. We all know that the debt is caused by sin. You and I are sinners with a huge debt to God. That's the message of the Bible. And that's the first lesson of the parable in front of us. The second lesson is our debt to others. Our debt to others, believers, or their debt to us. And it's nothing compared to our debt to God. It's not, is it? It's nothing compared to our debt to God. No matter how mad people make us, no matter what the issue is about, no matter how big and important we think it is, it's insignificant, it's small and trivial in the eternal scheme of things. Our debt to each other is like the debt the second servant owed to the first servant. It's big, only in our own minds. It's important, only in our own minds. It's consuming, only in our own minds. So that's the second lesson of the parable in front of us, our debt to others, which is small compared to our debt to God. And the third lesson is that God forgives our debt. God forgives our debt in the same way that the king forgave his servant's debt. God doesn't let us go with the understanding that we make every attempt to do the impossible, to repay back the debt. God doesn't release us on the condition we try our best to pay the debt's interest. God doesn't hold off foreclosure for the time being. Rather, in response to our plea for mercy, he forgives us our sins. In his ledger, he marks beside our debt to him, payment received in full. like the king in the parable, God shows pity and mercy to the undeserving. My question is, why is God like that? Why does he show pity and mercy to undeserving debtors? Well, if you're a Christian, we all know the answer to that too, don't we? God forgives us our sins because of the precious blood of Jesus Christ shed upon the cross for you and me. He paid the debt for us, didn't he? God forgives us because he, like the king in our parable, is full of compassion and love. We sinners, have been forgiven a huge debt by God. That's the message of the Bible. And that's the third lesson of the parable in front of us. And the fourth lesson is that God expects us to be like him. God expects us to forgive one another in the same way that he forgives us. Look at verses 32 and 33. Then his Lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt because thou desirest me. Shouldest not thou also have compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee? The king of our parable expected the forgiven servant to give the second servant the forgiveness that he was given. Friends, God is telling us that being forgiven and being forgiving are independent. They can't be separated. As the Lord has forgiven you and me, so also we must forgive others as well, whoever they are. And for this reason, that's why Jesus taught us to pray, give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our sins. What? As we forgive those who sin against us. It's an easy prayer to say, isn't it? But do we actually carry out what we pray? As we forgive those who sin against us. And that message is found throughout all the Bible, forgiving our brothers and sisters in Christ. Ephesians 4.32, and be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you. Colossians 3.13, forbearing one another and forgiving one another. If any man have a quarrel against any, Even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. You read the scripture and it's all through there. We're not expecting someone else to do something first, but our Lord is telling us to forgive. This is God's command. It's what gives our Lord pleasure. And this is his heart's desire, that we are a forgiving people. And it should be our heart's desire as well, to forgive each other, Just as in Christ, God has forgiven us. Let's make sure we understand the connection here. Between being forgiven and being forgiven, forgiving one another is not a precondition of being forgiven by God. Rather, forgiving one another is a sign of being forgiven by God. We've seen what God has done for us, and we only want to reciprocate to others. Does the scripture say to us, by their fruits ye shall know them? That's what it tells us, doesn't it? As difficult as what it might be, by their fruits ye shall know them. If you've been forgiven by God, then you also would want to forgive those around you. That's what being a Christian is. That's why the world out there can see that we are different from other people by how we react. Unfortunate, the opposite is also true. A failure to forgive is a sign that you've not been forgiven either. Because forgiven people are forgiving people. It naturally stems out from who we are. All Christians, don't we, have strengths and weaknesses. Some are very solid in their theology, yet have real struggles with sexual immorality. Many are known for their love, yet they have struggled with sins. Some are good at hospitality and generosity, but struggle with forgiving people. There are many people in the church who have real problems with being a forgiving person. It's sad how many Christians nurse a grudge for years who are angry all the time and who don't resolve problems with brothers and sisters. It happens. In fact, there's a person comes to my mind now who couldn't forgive her brother. But it ate her away more than what it did her brother. And when he died, she said, well, finally, I can all put it behind me. But it couldn't. It raised its head again because she hadn't forgiven him. It was a battle within. So as forgiven people, we need to be a forgiven people. That's the message of the Bible. And there's also one more lesson that I have here, and it's a warning. It's a warning. The danger of having an unforgiving spirit. The unforgiving servant was turned over to the jailers to be tortured. Look at verse 34. And his Lord was wroth and delivered him to the tormentors till he should pay all that was due unto him. It's quite a challenging thought, isn't it? His master now handed him back over to the jailers until he should pay it all. Well, he couldn't pay it all. It was too much. And because he couldn't pay it all, he was now condemned to a never-ending imprisonment. Look at verse 35. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not everyone his brother their trespasses. First notice in that verse that we've just read out that Christ says, my heavenly father, not your heavenly father. God won't be their heavenly father unless they imitate his spirit of kindness and are as ready to forgive others their trespasses as God has forgiven theirs. I read out earlier in Matthew chapter six, the Lord's Prayer, wasn't it how we should say it? But I added verses 14 and 15 in it because when we come to the end of it and we say, for thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever and ever, amen, and we finish it there. But the next two verses says this, for if ye forgive men their trespasses, which you've just said that you would, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. They're challenging words, aren't they? Makes you shudder a bit. Listen to these words in Mark 11, verse 25, 26. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any, that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses." They're very challenging words. They're actually difficult to read out as well. If we are hard and unforgiving to others, we can never expect God to overlook our sins either. It's a vital teaching here that we, by our own attitude towards others, determines what attitude God's mind will be towards us. Those words should scare us and frighten us. These words should make every hard-hearted, cold-hearted, grudge-bearing, angry person here to break down in repentance and confession. You know, the Church of Jesus Christ has many issues. We don't always agree on certain issues, which is okay because many of them are not salvation issues. However, Jesus lets us know that the failure to forgive is a salvation issue. Salvation is at stake when you don't, can't, or won't forgive your brother and your sister. The Bible tells us that those who are unforgiving are unforgiven and will spend eternity in hell. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. Scary thought, isn't it? Not only is salvation at stake, but so is church unity and the community round about us. You know, the church wouldn't have anywhere near as many splits as they have these days if people loved one another and obeyed this commandment to forgive. Unless humility and honesty results in forgiveness, relationships can't be mended or strengthened, can they? The world's worst prison is the prison of an unforgiving heart, like the lady that I spoke to you about a bit earlier. If we refuse to forgive others, then we are only really imprisoning ourselves and causing ourselves our own torment in our hearts as we are battling with it. You know, some of the most miserable people I've met have been people who just won't forgive other people. Think of the forgiven servant of our parable. What was wrong with this man? Well, it's the same thing that's wrong with many professing Christians. They've received forgiveness, but they haven't really experienced forgiveness in their hearts. So they're unable to share forgiveness with those who they think have wronged them. If we live only according to justice, always seeking to get what's ours, we're going to put ourselves into a prison. But if we live according to forgiveness, sharing with others what God has shared with us, then we're going to enjoy freedom and joy with everybody within the church. The servant in the parable didn't have a deep experience of forgiveness and humility. He was simply glad to be off the hook of his big debt. He never really repented and thanked God for it. He just wanted to be off the hook. As I said, this scares me and it drives me to my knees before my father in heaven that I don't want to be like this. And so what's needed is a great revival of forgiveness in our churches and it's needed today. Many people in the churches struggle with unresolved hurts going back many, many years. They've been angry and bitter far, far too long. The hidden tormentors have done their work. It's haunted them. Now it's time to forgive and to make amends. Well, if you're here this evening and you're not a Christian, and you've had a sense of unforgiven sins, you're still back at the beginning of the story. You need to have that great debt of sin forgiven. And you can do that by turning to the Lord Jesus Christ. In one moment, your sins can be washed away forever and ever. And there's many here this evening can testify to that. If we come to him truly in repentance and faith, That slate is wiped clean. We've been forgiven. What more can you do then but to want to go out and reconcile all things once again? But many of us, of course, don't need forgiveness. as much as we need to forgive others within the church. Perhaps forgiving from your heart might mean tonight you're going to go home and write a letter or make a phone call to someone you know that you need to put things right with. Perhaps it means going to see someone face to face and making reconciliation once again. Whoever it is it's not just with people you like in the church but it's all the church. We can't pick and choose brothers and sisters. It's everyone. even those we dislike in the church, we to make amends. That's why we build one another up in the most holy faith. But whatever it is, if you have something like that to do, then do it today. Let go of that anger and that bitterness. As our Lord said, he shall know my people for the love they have for one another. And again, that's all the people in the church, not just some of the people or the people we prefer, our love for one another. How many times should I forgive? Jesus said 70 times 7. So we need to keep the Lord's warning in mind or we may end up in a hell of our own making. Verse 35 says, So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if from your hearts you forgive not everyone his trespasses. Brothers and sisters, This is what the kingdom of heaven is like. Amen.