It's About Forgiveness

But really this whole story is about forgiveness if you didn't know that. As a kid, always thought it was about the guy getting up off the mat and walking. That's not what this story is about. It's about forgiveness. Who learned a lesson about forgiveness? Well, the friends. Because they believed in this Jesus and they saw Jesus see the man's physical need and the man's physical need. Jesus looked past the physical need and said, no, the greatest need this man has is to be forgiven of his sins. So everybody listen carefully, this man is forgiven. [00:51:44] (30 seconds)  #ForgivenessFirst

No. He might not have been healed physically in that moment, but I need you to go here with me. If the creator of the universe looked you directly in the eye as you know Jesus did and said, son or daughter, your sins are forgiven. If the creator of the universe looked you in the eye and told you that, you can't tell me that you wouldn't feel something incredible. I honestly doubt that the paralyzed man was even disappointed in that moment because when Jesus spoke those words that man would have felt a peace that he had never ever experienced before in his life. [00:39:20] (54 seconds)  #ForgivenByGod

We must offer that same truth to other people because we have been forgiven, we must forgive. It's not an option. Paul says it very politely in Ephesians four thirty two, be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other just as Christ God forgave you. Yes. It's a very polite way of saying it. Well done, Paul. Jesus, on the other hand, gets a little more directly to the point in Matthew chapter six verse 14. For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly father will also forgive you. [00:48:13] (38 seconds)  #ForgiveLikeChrist

Because it's I won't say easy, but maybe you came to accept God's forgiveness a long time ago. But since then, you've had a hard time forgiving yourself. And sometimes, that's the hardest person to forgive, isn't it? Amen. So we have to learn to trust and believe in the power of God and his complete forgiveness that Jesus accomplished on the cross. You see, here's the thing. If God no longer holds our sin against us, who are we to hold it against ourselves? [00:47:09] (40 seconds)  #ForgiveYourself

So let's start with this truth. Just like Jesus knew what those men were thinking, God already knows our sin. We cannot hide it from him. He knows that we are all sinners and that we all fall short of his glory. And you know what? He loves us anyway. More than that, he knows we are sinners and yet while we were still sinners, Jesus died for us. Yet so many people resist asking God for forgiveness because they do not believe that God could possibly be willing to forgive them. [00:44:48] (42 seconds)  #KnownAndLoved

But the truth is that's actually the harder project here. It's harder to forgive sins, and the teachers of the law absolutely know that. Only God can do that. But from a human standpoint, from everybody else sitting there watching, oh, way harder to heal that paralyzed man to get him up and walk. Clearly, that's impossible. Uh-huh. Just like the forgiveness of sins is equally as impossible, actually, greater. Our greatest need, forgiveness of sins, still our greatest need today. Jesus is always willing to forgive us, but have we asked? Have we brought our sins before him and repented? [00:43:52] (48 seconds)  #AskAndBeForgiven

What they've done is too bad. They're too much too much. They're too far gone. That is a lie from Satan. That he desperately wants us to believe no one is beyond the forgiveness of our God. There is tremendous power in the forgiveness of God. It is truly a form of healing. First and foremost, spiritual healing. It makes us right with God. It removes the barrier between us and our savior and our father. It is made possible only by the perfect sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. And his forgiveness restores our relationship with him. [00:45:30] (43 seconds)  #ForgivenessHeals

The man, as far as we know, probably wanted to be healed as well. They probably had hopes that he would get up and walk home after this encounter. But apparently, that's not exactly what happens at least first. And Jesus sees the man's physical need, obviously, but instead he decides to address the man's greatest need in his life, the need to be forgiven. But wait, that's not why the man was there. That's not why the crowds had come. That's not why his friends had cut a hole in a roof and lowered him down. But that is why Jesus came Yes. [00:38:17] (41 seconds)  #ForgivenessOverMiracles