It Just Doesn't Compute
Trey Little | 30-May-10
"It Just Doesn't Compute"
I hope all of you are doing well this morning--and by that I mean, I hope all of you are in a good mood because what I have to say this morning may not put you in one! Basically I am speaking a disclaimer before I begin this sermon--are you ready? The words you are about to hear MAY leave you feeling a bit convicted resulting in a touch of grumpiness!
There is the disclaimer; now let us turn to the word of God found in Matthew 18: 21-35. Remember, we are looking at the action of "LOVE"--particularly this morning at what Paul meant when he said, "Love keeps no record of wrongs."
Paul said: "It keeps no record of wrongs."
Paul was instructing the church in Corinth about how true agape love--true unconditional love--is fully expressed when our memory of wrongs is erased.
So, how are you doing? Have you completely erased any record of any time that anyone has wronged you? Me neither--it just seems like we are better at remembering the wrongs rather than the rights.
For example: This past Monday I had the great privilege of playing in a fundraiser golf tournament in College Station, TX. I was with three of my best friends in the world; the weather was perfect; it was a nice golf course--and to top it all off, we all played really well. In fact, our team shot 57--which was 15 under par for the tournament. Our scorecard looked beautiful with all those birdies on it and when we walked off the course--we were smiling from ear to ear--we thought surely we had finished in the top three--perhaps even won the tournament.
Well--we didn't. And almost instantly we began to talk about the 3 holes we didn't birdie. We quickly forgot the 15 birdies we had made--the laughs we had shared--the fun we'd had--the "wrongs" on the course--quickly turned our smiles upside down.
This morning I want you to think about your scorecards--because we all have them. We keep a record of all those times when people have done something that hurt us; or offended us; or made us angry; or let us down. We can remember the exact setting when someone said hurtful words to us. We can remember the people that gossiped about us and put our integrity in question. We can remember when someone lied to us. The truth is that come tomorrow morning you may not remember a word I said today but if I did something that hurt you it would be etched in your memory bank for a long time.
But here is another reality--when wrongs are what we remember--what we keep record of--what consume our hearts--there is very little room for love and joy.
So, it begs the question: "How is it possible for us to not keep a record of wrongs?
The only way I know of is for us to remember two things: First, remember we are forgiven; and second, remember we are to forgive.
Before any of us can ever think about erasing our scorecards of the wrongs others have committed against us--we must first embrace the reality that the Lord does not have a scorecard for us--praise the Lord!!
Consider all of the times we have wronged the Lord. Those times when we have turned our backs on Him; those times when we said we were going to live our lives for Him and then didn't. Those times when we should have given Him the glory but instead fell into pride and took the glory ourselves. Those times when we had an opportunity to love our neighbor but instead selfishly loved ourselves more. Those times when we convinced ourselves we were too busy to go to church; or read God's word; or pray for a loved one.
But here is the beautiful Good News for us this morning: "as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us" (Psalm 113:12). And: "For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins" (Colossians 1:13-14). And: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1: 9).
There is an old story of a certain Scottish doctor. When his financial records were examined after his death, it was found that a number of accounts were crossed through with a note: "Forgiven--too poor to pay" (Brett Blair).
Friends, across our debt records has been written the words, "Forgiven--too poor to pay." Why: Because LOVE keeps no record of wrongs!!
Which leads me to the second point: Because the LOVE of Jesus keeps no record of our wrongs--then His love within is must compel us to do the same with others.
Peter asked: "Lord, how many times shall I forgive...?"
A question that many of us have asked ourselves. We too want to know just how far we have to take this Christian living. We want to know the ultimate number of times we are required to do the right thing. We long for a black and white answer to how far and wide and deep our Christian LOVE should go. How often do we have to forgive someone and still be in good standing with the Lord? We consistently attempt to justify the number of times we are willing to forgive.
You know, it never fails--when I am preparing for a sermon the Lord always seems to give me opportunities to "practice what I preach." This week was no exception. I have had a very "testing week." There have been certain people and situations this week that I have had to think really hard about whether I could LOVE them! And I said to Leslie one day over lunch, "I am not in the frame of mind to write a sermon on "keeping no record of wrongs." Upon which she said, "Perhaps you are!"
And you know--once again, Leslie was correct.
You see, I was keeping a record of the wrongs these particular people had committed toward me. But thankfully, the Holy Spirit reminded me that Jesus puts no limits on forgiveness--not seven times--not seventy-seven times--not even seventy times seven times. The reality is, no one can ever say, "I have forgiven enough; now it is time to hold a grudge--or perhaps get even."
While we were in Mississippi a few weeks ago I stopped into a store to buy a couple of bottles of water. I stood at the register waiting to pay and patiently waited for the two store clerks to finish their conversation. I am glad I was able to listen in--because I learned a great new word. One of them said: "Now girl--don't you forget that we have a meeting on Wednesday." Upon which the other lady said, "Mmm, girl, thank you for reminding me--I don't know what it is but lately my 'rememberer' hasn't been working very good."
How is your 'rememberer' working?
The point is this--when our 'remeberer's' are filled with the wrongs other's have done to us it is very difficult for us to be the conduit through which the LOVE of Christ flows. If there is no sweetness of forgiveness in our hearts for other people, God's forgiveness is not there--our 'rememberer's' have forgotten. What Jesus teaches is that the LOVE that opens the floodgates of forgiveness is beyond calculation--in fact, IT JUST DOESN'T COMPUTE! And it is that LOVE that keeps no record of wrongs!
Do you need to be forgiven this morning? Do you need to be reminded that "Jesus loves you?" If so, then surrender yourself to His loving care and grace. And after you do--consider who it is you need to forgive. Who is it that needs to be reminded that Jesus loves them? Whoever those people are in your life--surrender your "records" and remind yourself that you too should have mercy on them just as Christ has shown mercy to you.
Let me close with this. Someone once said: "When you want good things for someone who hurt you badly, you can pretty much know that the Great Forgiver has been at work in your heart" (John Ortberg, Everybody's Normal Till You Get To Know Them, p. 160).
Has He been at work in your heart?
AMEN.
I hope all of you are doing well this morning--and by that I mean, I hope all of you are in a good mood because what I have to say this morning may not put you in one! Basically I am speaking a disclaimer before I begin this sermon--are you ready? The words you are about to hear MAY leave you feeling a bit convicted resulting in a touch of grumpiness!
There is the disclaimer; now let us turn to the word of God found in Matthew 18: 21-35. Remember, we are looking at the action of "LOVE"--particularly this morning at what Paul meant when he said, "Love keeps no record of wrongs."
Paul said: "It keeps no record of wrongs."
Paul was instructing the church in Corinth about how true agape love--true unconditional love--is fully expressed when our memory of wrongs is erased.
So, how are you doing? Have you completely erased any record of any time that anyone has wronged you? Me neither--it just seems like we are better at remembering the wrongs rather than the rights.
For example: This past Monday I had the great privilege of playing in a fundraiser golf tournament in College Station, TX. I was with three of my best friends in the world; the weather was perfect; it was a nice golf course--and to top it all off, we all played really well. In fact, our team shot 57--which was 15 under par for the tournament. Our scorecard looked beautiful with all those birdies on it and when we walked off the course--we were smiling from ear to ear--we thought surely we had finished in the top three--perhaps even won the tournament.
Well--we didn't. And almost instantly we began to talk about the 3 holes we didn't birdie. We quickly forgot the 15 birdies we had made--the laughs we had shared--the fun we'd had--the "wrongs" on the course--quickly turned our smiles upside down.
This morning I want you to think about your scorecards--because we all have them. We keep a record of all those times when people have done something that hurt us; or offended us; or made us angry; or let us down. We can remember the exact setting when someone said hurtful words to us. We can remember the people that gossiped about us and put our integrity in question. We can remember when someone lied to us. The truth is that come tomorrow morning you may not remember a word I said today but if I did something that hurt you it would be etched in your memory bank for a long time.
But here is another reality--when wrongs are what we remember--what we keep record of--what consume our hearts--there is very little room for love and joy.
So, it begs the question: "How is it possible for us to not keep a record of wrongs?
The only way I know of is for us to remember two things: First, remember we are forgiven; and second, remember we are to forgive.
Before any of us can ever think about erasing our scorecards of the wrongs others have committed against us--we must first embrace the reality that the Lord does not have a scorecard for us--praise the Lord!!
Consider all of the times we have wronged the Lord. Those times when we have turned our backs on Him; those times when we said we were going to live our lives for Him and then didn't. Those times when we should have given Him the glory but instead fell into pride and took the glory ourselves. Those times when we had an opportunity to love our neighbor but instead selfishly loved ourselves more. Those times when we convinced ourselves we were too busy to go to church; or read God's word; or pray for a loved one.
But here is the beautiful Good News for us this morning: "as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us" (Psalm 113:12). And: "For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins" (Colossians 1:13-14). And: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1: 9).
There is an old story of a certain Scottish doctor. When his financial records were examined after his death, it was found that a number of accounts were crossed through with a note: "Forgiven--too poor to pay" (Brett Blair).
Friends, across our debt records has been written the words, "Forgiven--too poor to pay." Why: Because LOVE keeps no record of wrongs!!
Which leads me to the second point: Because the LOVE of Jesus keeps no record of our wrongs--then His love within is must compel us to do the same with others.
Peter asked: "Lord, how many times shall I forgive...?"
A question that many of us have asked ourselves. We too want to know just how far we have to take this Christian living. We want to know the ultimate number of times we are required to do the right thing. We long for a black and white answer to how far and wide and deep our Christian LOVE should go. How often do we have to forgive someone and still be in good standing with the Lord? We consistently attempt to justify the number of times we are willing to forgive.
You know, it never fails--when I am preparing for a sermon the Lord always seems to give me opportunities to "practice what I preach." This week was no exception. I have had a very "testing week." There have been certain people and situations this week that I have had to think really hard about whether I could LOVE them! And I said to Leslie one day over lunch, "I am not in the frame of mind to write a sermon on "keeping no record of wrongs." Upon which she said, "Perhaps you are!"
And you know--once again, Leslie was correct.
You see, I was keeping a record of the wrongs these particular people had committed toward me. But thankfully, the Holy Spirit reminded me that Jesus puts no limits on forgiveness--not seven times--not seventy-seven times--not even seventy times seven times. The reality is, no one can ever say, "I have forgiven enough; now it is time to hold a grudge--or perhaps get even."
While we were in Mississippi a few weeks ago I stopped into a store to buy a couple of bottles of water. I stood at the register waiting to pay and patiently waited for the two store clerks to finish their conversation. I am glad I was able to listen in--because I learned a great new word. One of them said: "Now girl--don't you forget that we have a meeting on Wednesday." Upon which the other lady said, "Mmm, girl, thank you for reminding me--I don't know what it is but lately my 'rememberer' hasn't been working very good."
How is your 'rememberer' working?
The point is this--when our 'remeberer's' are filled with the wrongs other's have done to us it is very difficult for us to be the conduit through which the LOVE of Christ flows. If there is no sweetness of forgiveness in our hearts for other people, God's forgiveness is not there--our 'rememberer's' have forgotten. What Jesus teaches is that the LOVE that opens the floodgates of forgiveness is beyond calculation--in fact, IT JUST DOESN'T COMPUTE! And it is that LOVE that keeps no record of wrongs!
Do you need to be forgiven this morning? Do you need to be reminded that "Jesus loves you?" If so, then surrender yourself to His loving care and grace. And after you do--consider who it is you need to forgive. Who is it that needs to be reminded that Jesus loves them? Whoever those people are in your life--surrender your "records" and remind yourself that you too should have mercy on them just as Christ has shown mercy to you.
Let me close with this. Someone once said: "When you want good things for someone who hurt you badly, you can pretty much know that the Great Forgiver has been at work in your heart" (John Ortberg, Everybody's Normal Till You Get To Know Them, p. 160).
Has He been at work in your heart?
AMEN.
