THIS IS TABLE ROCK FELLOWSHIP – PASTOR RYAN LADEN
| As we have done for the last few days, we continue to read the prayer given to us by our Lord Jesus Christ. If you are able, consider reading this prayer aloud to the Lord, making it personal as you do. “This, then, is how you should 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 today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation (time of trial), but deliver us from the evil one.’”Matthew 6:9-13 NIV-11 (“time of trial” added by Ryan Laden) Today Today we are going to be focusing on the call of Christ to forgive those who owe us a debt. We can hear this call in verse 12 which says, “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Forgiven Before we get into the idea of forgiving others, let us be reminded of the way in which the Lord has forgiven us of our sin through his work on the cross. In the following passage, we can hear about how the Lord has taken away our sin, all of it, as he suffered on the cross and died so that we might be free: “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”Colossians 2:13-15 NIV-11 Confess So, when we come before the Lord and we confess our need for forgiveness we are doing two important acts. We are reminding ourselves that we are sinners, that we are not perfect and that we are people who need a savior. Additionally, we are confessing the gift of forgiveness as given to us through the work of Jesus. As we just read, we are completely forgiven for all of our rebellion and sin against a Holy and Righteous God because the Lord took away our sin, nailed it to the cross, and carried our shame into death, never to be raised. Thanks As we pray this prayer, we are actually giving God thanks for the completed work of Jesus Christ that has provided complete and eternal forgiveness for all of our failure and shame. Carry And as we pray the next part of this prayer, “as we also have forgiven our debtors”, we carry over the love and gratitude we have for the Lord’s work of forgiveness. In this prayer the Lord is challenging us to share with others a taste of what we have been shown by the Lord. If we truly understand what the Lord has done for us in his work on the cross, taking away all sin, then it is not too much that we demonstrate a much smaller measure of forgiveness to those who find themselves in our debts. Prayer Lord Jesus Christ, I have no words worthy of your acts of love and mercy except to simply say thank you. Thank you for not making me earn your forgiveness. Thank you for not using my failure as a weapon of control against me. You gave your all so that I might be free. Lord, help me show a small measure of your mercy and grace to those people in my life that I know need my forgiveness. It is more than I can do on my own, but I will trust in you and allow your will to be done in and through me. In Christ,Ryan Laden |
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