God's Vaccine For Rage, Part 1

Today on the Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhart challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ forgiveness doesn't diminish justice. It just entrust justice to God.

That's why you and I would forgive. There's a finality in the Bible to this whole idea of forgiveness that it's the only thing that can really work in this world we live in a cursed planet and you hire sinful people see the only solution to all the injustices and all the things that happen to and what the Bible calls Satan's world, or cosmos diabolic us is to forgive. Injustice incentives permeated every aspect from the personal life to your family, your neighborhood, see state or country to this world. It's everywhere always has and always joining us today on this additional Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhart Fellowship in the Words the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible church located in Metairie, Louisiana. Let's join Pastor Bill Gebhart now is once again he shows us how God's word. Our world that for many of us this thing seems like most unusual times of your entire who never thought of it coming. Who never thought that would be experiencing on a national and international level. What we are. This pandemic has taken away the American men Americans lives in America's lifestyles sticking away. We don't have our lifestyle anymore and that the thing about it is that the words you cannot most often released to me is we don't know we don't know anything we don't we don't know why it affects some people some way and other people in different way.

We don't know we don't know what it's going and we don't know if the economy will reap.

We don't know any of this over and over again.

We don't we just don't know and you end up sort of watching and listening.

And what happens to you is you find out that is frustrating. It's exasperating and when I'm seeing it in all of America and probably in a lot of your hearts and the temptation and mine is you angry about this, you trust.

Think of the information you get even about the pandemic. Every couple weeks to changes completely different.

The whole idea that you find that there how exasperating the effect that it had on businesses you remember when the government was deciding that they were going to give out loans to small businesses and then you find out the big businesses of the small menaces got all the money right up front and small businesses didn't bother you at all. You see, what ends up happening is is that we see this going on and on. And all this frustration and now we have civil unrest like we've never had weeks and weeks and weeks of civil unrest like never before in America and there is yelling a lot of yelling a lot of commentary by media outlets, but especially there's just a lot of anger people angry doesn't matter whether I people angry some of the said this, you know, we live in a culture of rage. What a great way to describe us and they had talked about this before. What's going on right now. They said if you look at our movies and TV shows and newscast in colleges and neighborhoods and families you see anger and rage everywhere people are angry and rage and anger is a serious thing.

It is Roland societies. It is ruined families.

It is ruined people. Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 7 anger resides in the heart of fools feel foolish anger resides in the heart fools see.

My concern is you is anger and rage shaping your life, especially now see what's the answer. You probably won't like it.

What's the answer to anger and rage or put it this way. What's God's vaccine for anger and rage will return on TV. What with abundance telling Wesley answer political change right because what we have to do is take the people that are in power who are lying to us and put another group about people in power who will idolize and that will make America great in a bit, but that's what we need. We need political change, a term that is become a mate. We need social justice.

If you really study the idea. What is social justice is it's not social is not justice.

That's not what it is it something else will.

All we need is a good vaccine and everything will be great, but there's more to it than that law I need is get my job back.

I got my job back. I'll be fine.

And now we've added to the list.

All we need to have police forces get better training and once that happens, it's going to be great again. You see, that's what we hear, but it's interesting God has something completely different in mind for you and me. None of those things. Some of those things are worthy endeavors. But God says that's not the answer for you and the answer for me is vaccine. His solution is just found in one word, forgiveness. That's what he said forgive Ness you want the answer forgive wow I don't mean God's forgiveness about such a great thing and it's wonderful and that's a great guy by the spread of the gospel that be good, but what he means is our forgiveness of others. That's what he means of injustice, of all the problems that were facing. See forgiveness doesn't diminish justice. It just entrust justice to God. That's what you and I would forgive. It's everywhere in the Bible should be slight surprise.

There are 7/75 word pictures of just forgiveness in the Bible. I won't bore you with them all, but some to forgive is to turn the key and opened the cell door and let the prisoner walk free to forgive us to write large letters across the deck. Nothing owed to forgive is to pound the gavel in a courtroom and declare not guilty to forgive is to shoot an arrow so high and so far never be found again to forgive is to take out the garbage and dispose it leaving the house for cleanliness and sweet smelling fresh air to forgive us to lose the anchor that holds the ship and set it free to forgive is to grant full pardon to a condemned and sentence criminal to forgive is to loosen the stranglehold on a wrestling opponent to forgive is to sandblast the wall of graffiti leaving a look brand-new to forgive us to smash a clay pot into a thousand pieces and never put it together again. There's a finality in the Bible to this whole idea of forgiveness.

In fact, it's the only thing that can really work in this world we live in a cursed planet and you hire sinful people. You see, the only solution to all the injustices and all the things that happen to us, and what the Bible calls Satan's world or cause must diabolic us is the forgive injustice incentives permeated every aspect of life from your personal life to your family from your neighborhood to your city to your state to your country to this world. It's everywhere always has been and always will be, until the Lord comes with just going through a difficult time a new time for us in anger.

We have torn down kingdoms we have committed genocide on millions of people. William brutalized marriages and children all in anger and all, and rage.

Also this. If we are unforgiving and this is very important if you are unforgiving, it will destroy you stress the fact if you are unforgiving, it will destroy you. You begin to accumulate offenses against you and you set the recipe for bitterness in your life. Bitterness you take it in and you become a prisoner to what makes you angry.

Some of the skull.

Bitterness the cancer of the soul voice true and wreck every aspect of your life.

You become shackled the what made you angry and a lot of us are angry right now refusing to forgive is like drinking poison and then waiting for your enemy to die, but the one most affected will be you apple trees bear apples, wheat stocks produce wheat forgiving people forgive others. That's what the word of God tells us that's the way this works every one of us should be marked by forgiveness, but I don't think we are. We give you five reasons why we should forgive the first one is this turn with me to Matthew chapter 5 verse 43 Matthew chapter 5 in verse 43 and I want to think of this, my first reason is this, you are never more like God than when you forgive, you are never more like God than when you forgive. Notice what Jesus says some of the minor verse 43 you have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor's and hate your enemy. That's was said that's exactly how the Jews lived.

They love their neighbors. They hate their enemy. Does that sound at all like us. I love my party. I hate the other.

I do, I just I hate them. But I love Mike. I hate them. Really.

You see, this is what's been going on in our country for a long time people do this all the time you're on the wrong party.

You have the wrong color skin you live in the wrong part of the country you have the wrong economic base and I love people like me but I don't like people like I hate people like you.

She just said that's the way culture is left to our flesh. This is the way we are. He said I say to you to watch this love your enemies that you hate that word by the way, it's an imperative mood. It's a commandment you love your enemies, what love your enemies, do you do that you love those who are your enemies. You see, we would hope it would say like tolerate your enemies, but the Bible doesn't tell you that it is you need. Love your enemies, how you should pray for those who persecute you.

Well, so that he said you may be sons of the fathers in heaven, for he causes the sun to rise on on the evil and the good he sends rain to the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you probably will do you have, he said, do not even tax collectors do the same if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing that others don't. Even the Gentiles do the same. He said look, God bestows common grace of everybody when the economy is doing well.

The believers do well yes about unbelievers.

Yes, people who love Jesus Christ do well, people hate Jesus Christ what they do well to. He said yeah but still common grace and everyone but Jesus is saying, look, that's not the way the culture solid. God says that's not the way I am. I am a God of forgiveness. Psalm 32. How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquities.

How happy is that man wove your believer in Jesus Christ were very happy.

Isaiah 43 God says this I wipe out third transgressions for my own sake and I will not remember your sins, that forgiveness think of Luke 15 got a lost sheep. You got lost going have a lost son and what does the father do just forgives. That's the motto you never more like God than when you forgive as anyone suffer more injustice in Jesus in the last day of his life. The whole resting finger mocking this bidding the beating the scourging on and on. The dragging of the cross of the city and then being nailed to a cross raised off the graph over the first words he spoke God's going to get you father forgive them all yeah but that's Jesus, Stephen this great martyr in acts chapter 7 gives this wonderful sermon.

They rush him in a stone of the death and what are his last words that he speaks Lord, do not hold this against them. They just don't a young man to death. Lord don't don't hold this against you like that you see are you like that with the things that annoy you the enemies that bother you this forgiveness. Mark you go with me now to Ephesians 4 for a moment.

Ephesians 4 in verse 26 Ephesians 4 in verse 26 Paul says this he said be angry, and yet do not sin. Do not let the sun go down in your anger that that's a very important thing. There are times or make us angry and in the Bible there is righteous indignation by the way, we all think all of our angers righteous indignation is not.

But Jesus showed anger in the temple.

I mean we so we know that, but he said I want to warn you, don't let the sun go down on what you mean by that. It will affect you in a very bad way. Notice the very next verse, and do not give the devil an opportunity. Don't do that that anger better be short-term for you down verse 31 let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ as forgiven you don't miss those two words just as not similar to just as house. How is God forgiven you. How often, how redundantly for the same offense. You see how he said that's what I want you forgive the same you're never more like God than when you forgive my second reason whatever sin is offended you is offended God more. Whatever sin is going on that offends you, offends God more and if the one who is most offended can forgive.

Why don't you see why not.

If the one is most offended can forgive why can't you will warm up. I think my standards higher than God's, you know that's not true. You see, I think sometimes even only see people sin against other people were seeking people sin against the community and all that stuff. We get really offended by, but it really is always sin against God is always sin against God. You see, and he's willing to forgive. One of things amaze me is when David finally confessed his sin, and if you remember he committed adultery with Bathsheba and then he had to write a Hittite murdered and any try to cover it up and then he went on for almost a year and Nathan came and actually confronted David and David finally admitted it and he confessed, but in Psalm 51 when he writes his confessional.

He says this against you, and you only.

I've sent that always seem weird many sin against Uriah Denny covered up and sin against the people of Israel. Yeah but he said that's ultimately not worse in really ends up all sin is an offense to God is all sin is of offense to God.

David saw sin for what it was.

Why is God more offended than you and I are his holy want to shock you. You're not, you're not close his holy and so the sin really offends God and so you're never more like God than when you forgive whatever sin has offended you, is also offended God, and something I said to earlier. This is very important for us right in the middle. Forgiving people must forgive forgiven people must forgive turn with me to Matthew 18 very familiar passage verse 21 says. Then Peter came and he said to him, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgiven and then as a code in the past. Peter set up the seven times. Now the reason Peter said that is like you and I sometimes in mixed company. When you talk to someone you want to appear more spiritual than your so you say spiritual things that you think sound right to you.

And that's a Peter still, the rabbis all taught three times so Peter, knowing that severance kind of a special number and way more than the rabbis. He said how about this, Lord kind of man I am about seven times. You see, I think he was convinced Jesus in all my goodness, Peter. That's incredible way gets a reaction Jesus said to him I do not say to you, up to seven times but up to 70×7. Now that's not necessary. Literally, 490, but that means infinitely. He said that's the way this is going to work site, you could just see the disciples that what we I imagine they furled her eyebrows and her Peter say seven then Jesus comes in and says no. 70 times forgiving people should never stop forgiving ever. That's what Jesus is saying pastor broke apart on the radio ministry of fellowship Lord, if you ever miss one of our broadcast or maybe you just like listening to the message one more time.

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