I See You: Stronger In Community - I Forgive You

·      Seeing is Seismic

·      Seeing is Systematic

·      Seeing opens hearts and seeds community.

 

The Big Idea

An impactful and influential Christian Community is unified in faith, unified by love and unified with mission.

·      Faith is our shared foundational experience.

·      Love is our shared operational secret sauce.

·      Mission is our shared existential purpose.

 

Fresh Starts. Great Friends. Real Purpose.

·      Gateway’s mission is to Develop Spiritual Influential Christ Followers.

·      A spiritual influential Christ Follower has a fresh, ongoing relationship with Christ (fresh starts), shaped in community (great friends) living on purpose (real purpose).

·      Fresh Starts, Great Friends, Real Purpose are spiritual objectives that have universal appeal. They represent a mission statement that can be discussed in any context with anyone and be understood and compelling.

 

Offense Opportunity

Luke 17:1-6 (New King James)

 1 Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! 2 It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. 3 Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. 4 And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”5 And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” 6 So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you

 

Verse 1a.  1 Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come.

Skandalon: lead astray, stumbling block, to cause one to fall away. The part of a trap to which bait is attached.

 

Justice is God’s Role

Verse 1b, 2. but woe to him through whom they do come! 2 It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.

 

Reconciliation is our Actionable Responsibility

Verse 3. Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.

 

Rebuke = Show them their fault with the aim of reconciliation. Speaking the truth in love.

 

Consistent Forgiveness is Freeing

Verse 4. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”

 

The Forgiveness Perspective

Matthew 18:21-35 1Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" 22Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. 23"Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25Since 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. 26"The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' 27The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. 28"But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded. 29"His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.' 30"But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. 32"Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' 34In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. 35"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."

 

A talent was a weight measurement not a value measurement.

·      A talent weighed approximately 75 lbs.

·      10,000 talents x 75 lbs. = 750,000 lbs.

·      750,000 lbs. x 16 oz = 12,000,000 oz

·      12,000,000 oz x $1,913 per ounce = $19,130,000,000.

 

·      A denarii = A days wage

·      100 denarii = 20 weeks of salary

·      $936 x 20 = $18,720

 

Come to a unified understanding that…

·      Conflict is inevitable because we are all broken &

·      Satan takes every opportunity to lay his trap &

·      Reconciliation frees us spiritually and strengthens our community

·      We agree to leverage conflict for freedom and strength and not allow it to separate and derail us.

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I See You: Stronger In Community - Unity With Mission