Hark the M. Angels sing Glory to the newborn King. Peace on earth and mercy Ma. Guidance in its beckons Art.
Joy for your Ignations rise. Join the drive of the skies with Angelic Wholespray Crisis born in Bethlehem Heart of M. Angels sing Glory to the M. Father Ladies and Gentlemen welcome back to another Average Joe's Media production of the Podcast.
How do you feel about Jesus? I am the average Joe Boo of Average Joe's Media. I just want to say thank you for joining us today. Today's topic I told you would be another characteristic of Jesus and something he has to offer in terms of example for us and how we can emulate him in the best possible way.
And you know it's hard to follow love. It really is. Because love is such a great quality that if you possess it, if you demonstrate it on a regular basis, then you really have, you're really ahead of the game and you really have a great spirit about you. You have a great mentality.
You're able to get through a lot of things. You're able to make a lot of relationships last and be very, very fruitful. And ultimately I think you have a fantastic foundation. If love is something that you emulate and you're able to make a lot of relationships last and be very, very fruitful.
And you know ultimately I think you have a fantastic foundation. If love is something that you emulate and Jesus definitely emulated that and has a fantastic example that he set for us. Following that I think love is the source of most of the other, if not all of the other characteristics that Jesus has and that Jesus makes sure that he tries to convey and demonstrate that we need to follow. And tonight we're going to be looking at being forgiving.
And Jesus was indeed forgiving. The first thing I want everybody to understand about me and the things that I feel are necessary to acknowledge before you read the story of Jesus. And I think that Jesus is a great thing to do. And I think that Jesus is necessary to acknowledge before you really listen or begin with any of this is that Romans 3 23 I mentioned this last time all sinned and fallen short to glory of God.
And the first John 1 verse 8 if we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. And then just a little bit later I think in verse 10 of that same chapter it says if we say we have no sin then we make God a liar. I may be misquoting that a little bit but just off the top of my head that's pretty much where it goes to. And so we all are in need of forgiveness.
There is no person here that doesn't need forgiveness whether it be from God, whether it be from man or not. God is not a person. And so we are all in need of forgiveness. And to connect the last video with today is that we are going to be given us.
There is no person here that doesn't need forgiveness whether it be from God, whether it be from man. And you know forgiveness ultimately it's a powerful powerful force that allows us to let go of resentment and anger and it really helps us get through a lot of tough situations and allows us to maintain relationships because love is not everything you need. Love is just one very, very important characteristic and again I believe it is a foundation of every other characteristic that Jesus possesses and that we should possess. But you know we are all in love and you know to connect the last video with today Jesus actually taught the relationship between love and forgiveness and he taught that in Luke 7 verse 47.
For this reason I can say to you her sins which are many have been forgiven for she loved much but he who is forgiven who is forgiven little loves little and there is a there is a drastic connection between love and forgiveness and I think that Jesus tries to make that known in that parable in Luke chapter 7 there at the end of the chapter. We also have we also have that Jesus is an advocate for the Lord of God. And we also have that Jesus is an advocate for the Lord and the Lord of God. And we also have that Jesus is an advocate for the forgiveness of forgiveness.
Jesus was a teacher of it. He made sure that if anybody had a question about whether or not they should forgive somebody or how often they should forgive someone. Jesus had an answer and it was never a stingy answer in terms of forgiveness but Jesus was definitely an advocate of forgiveness. And in Luke 7 chapter 3, excuse me, in Luke 17 verses 3 through 4 he says to be on your guard if your brother sins review him and if he repents for giving if he sins against you seven times a day returns to you seven times a day I repent then forgive him.
Jesus is telling you that there is no shortage of forgiveness in the Lord of God and if you are not going to to be on your God and if you are not going to be a good person then forgive him. Jesus is telling you that there is no shortage of forgiveness that you should possess because ultimately there is going to be no shortage of somebody doing something wrong towards you. There is going to be plenty of people that do something that crosses you or that makes you lose trust that makes you question whether or not they are sincere and ultimately forgiveness is something that you need to have on a regular basis. In Matthew 18 verse 21 through 22 Peter came and said to him, Lord how often should my brother sin against me and I forgive him up to seven times.
And Jesus said to him, I did not say to you that I am not going to be going to be a good person because I am not going to be a good person. And Jesus said to him, I did not say to you up to seven times but up to 70 times seven. So, I mean this is something where we are definitely trying to see here. I mean if you want to be extremely particular, Jesus is not putting a limit of 490 times that you forgive somebody and then you know when you reach 491 that is it.
They have crossed the line. He is just elaborating on the fact that seven is just a number, 70 times seven is just a number but it is a number that is significantly greater and that you should greatly encourage your brother to be a good person and you should be a good person. That is not a number that is significantly greater and you should greatly increase in your forgiveness as sinning against you or wronging you as it increases your forgiveness should also increase. So, Jesus was definitely an advocate of forgiveness.
He made sure to let people know if they had that question. Should I forgive? How often should I forgive? He definitely gave you an answer and gave you an answer that was elaborate that was again no shortage of forgiveness.
Jesus also taught us that in order to be worthy of In order to be worthy of forgiveness, we ourselves have to be forgiving. So if you look at Matthew chapter 6 verses 14 to 15, for if you forgive others, their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive you, your transgressions. So ultimately there you are looking at, why would I be worthy of forgiveness? In what capacity could I be worthy of forgiveness if I'm going to be unforgiving myself?
And so it's a whole lot like due unto others the way you would have them do to you. It's a whole lot like that in that as a very, very, good theme to live your life by. And ultimately that's where love should come from, that's where forgiveness should come from, that's where humility and all these other characteristics that we will address come from is that if you want to be forgiven, then you yourself have to be forgiving. If you want to get or receive or feel love, then you have got to give love.
And so ultimately you have got to make sure that if you want that forgiveness, you better be forgiving. Luke 637, I think we talked about this at the beginning of the last episode. We talked about it in terms of judging, but here it uses the word pardon. And this is the new American standard.
All these verses are the new American standard version today. Now I told you I'd be using different versions, but it uses the word pardon instead of forgiveness here. Pardon and forgiveness are synonymous. So forgive, pardon, and you will also be pardoned.
And then we also have in Mark 1125, whenever you stand praying forgive if you have anything against anyone so that your father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions. Now, I don't necessarily like the phrasing of this one because it seems like the only reason I'm forgiving somebody is so God will forgive me. And that doesn't necessarily need to be the way that you interpret or take that to heart. But you need to understand that in order to receive that forgiveness you've got to be forgiving.
And forgiving means nothing if it is impure, if it is for show, if you do not take it to heart, if you do not mean it, then you're not really forgiving them, you're just saying, I forgive you, but it's really really shallow. And it really means nothing. So that forgiveness has got to be meaningful, it's got to be felt. And think about it this way.
If you say you forgive somebody and you truly don't, then what happens if God treats you the same way that you're treated? That you're treating others. He says you're forgiven and then he really doesn't mean it. So think about it that way.
If you want to seriously be forgiven by God for the things that you've done in this life, for the things that I've done in this life, then I have to seriously forgive those people that may overstep when it comes to something that they do towards me or something that I feel like maybe cross the line. And so it's very, very important that you be forgiving, seriously forgiving, if you feel like you should be worthy of forgiveness, because we're all in need, but we're not all worthy of it. And then Jesus continued a bit of a legacy in terms of forgiveness. His apostles continued teaching the spirit of peace-making and forgiveness.
Now I use the term peace-making. If you looked at the graphic or the image that I chose, the olive branch, the olive branch, is like a symbol of offering peace or reconciliation between two parties. It's very, very symbolic. But you've heard the phrase, I'm sure maybe when you were younger, you've heard someone say go make peace.
Well, that typically has two parts. Number one, it's the person who crossed the line needs to forgive or needs to ask for forgiveness. And then the person who got cross the person who was wronged needs to do the forgiving. And so peace-making requires forgiveness of some sort.
It's a very, very important quality in peace-making to have some level of forgiveness. And so that's why I chose that word in that quality there that the apostles continue to teach after Jesus' death and resurrection. And then, and so it'll come up in a couple of these verses, Colossians 3, 13, bearing with one another and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone, just as the Lord forgave you, so also you should be forgiving. And so because we have been forgiven, because we are our God, our Lord forgave us, or forgives us, maybe on a daily basis, we need to also be forgiving to others.
And then Ephesians 4, 31 through 32, let all bitterness and wrath and slander be put away along with malice, be kind to one another, tender, hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ has also forgiven you. This is an excellent, excellent, excellent verse in order to help you calm down whatever that thing is that's getting at you, that's eating at you. And I mean, it's a great way to read that and take a breath. That verse basically says, take a breath, stop being angry, stop being bitter and forgive.
That's what that tells you to do. And whenever you read that verse, it should echo in your mind that anger just fuels anger, bitterness, and either one of those things are conducive to a forgiving spirit. And then in 1 Timothy 4, verse 12, let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe. So again, I told you love, forgiveness is a quality of love that is necessary, purity in your conduct.
Those type of things are necessary. If you're going to be an example, those things are necessary for you to be a peacemaker. Now, I know I probably reached a little bit with that one, but again, I mean, how can you look at that and say that this isn't good advice from Timothy to us today. And so next in 2 Timothy 3, verse 1 through 5, but realize that this is the last day's difficult times for men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, vile, or disobedient, ungrateful, unforgiving, irreconcilable, malicious gossip.
It's kind of getting hard for me to read that, but in 2 Timothy says, avoid these things. Notice unforgiving is something that we need to avoid. Therefore, it stands to reason that we should maybe avoid the unforgiving and then cling to the forgiving. In James 3, verse 18, and the seed of whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
Again, making peace requires that there be some level of forgiveness and understanding between those who are involved in whatever situation it may be. So, and then the last thing, one of the last things I want to leave you with is Jesus not only advocated for forgiveness, he not only taught to have a spirit of forgiveness. He not only had his apostles continue that peacemaking and forgiving spirit, but Jesus at his worst time, at his most crucial time, was asking forgiveness for those who were casting lots and dividing up his garments while he was in the middle of being ridiculed, persecuted, crucified. Jesus humbled himself.
Jesus still retained love and compassion for mankind and was forgiving and was hoping God would forgive the men that did not know what they were doing. And then Jesus, I hope you understand that without love, I'm nothing, and without love, I cannot be forgiving. Without love, Jesus could not be forgiving. Without love, God would not be forgiving.
Without love, you cannot truly forgive. And I think that it's imperative that Jesus was forgiving, and I believe that you too should be forgiving just like Jesus with his example. I hope that you enjoyed this. I see a couple numbers down here that kind of make me think the livestream is a little bit different than last time, but I hope everything worked out.
And I hope you got something from this. Joey, I appreciate you if you're still on. You're the man. You said you listened and I appreciate that.
Make sure you share it out. Get the love, get the forgiveness going, get the forgiveness training, the forgiving train going. But until next time, I am the average Joe Boo, and we will see you down the road.