The Forgiveness We Forgot About | Forgiveness Is For Your Enemy | Judah Smith

Okay, you have just tuned in to an unprecedented message, at least for me. 46 years old, been doing this for about 30 years, and I'm sure at some point this topic has made its way into messages. I'm sure of it. But I don't think I've ever dedicated an entire message to this idea of forgiving your enemies. forgiveness as it relates to your enemy.

Now, I want to say this. We all have different kinds of enemies. Some of you have made an enemy of someone you're just annoyed at. Some of you have enemies who are from other parts of the world who are wreaking havoc in your nation, in your neighborhood. bombs, guns, bullets, missiles.

Others have enemies who have cheated you in business. Others have enemies who cheated on you, abandoned you. Others have people who have abused you, and hurt you. The reality is if you're somebody like me, you can't just turn on a camera and say, "Hey, you forgive your enemy."

That's a lot to ask. And so before I go any further, I want to say that in the best way I can by the help of Jesus, I'm thinking about you. I'm thinking about the implications and the magnitude of what we find ourselves in right now. The mere premise or even premonition to actually forgive your enemy or wish forgiveness for your enemy is almost overwhelming, right?

It's like I I don't know if I can do that. As a parent, for instance, when someone hurts your kids. Oh, that's different. The other day, Chelsea was on a phone call and I was unsure how the phone call went and I asked her, "Did the person on that phone call disrespect you?"

Because if they disrespected you, they're going to get a phone call from me immediately. Right? It's it's almost even those watching right now where your issue with this person is not even about you. It's about those who you love the most. Oh, I'm going to protect my baby.

Oh, I'm going to protect my spouse. Oh, I'm going to protect my best friend. And I find myself struggling to forgive people even that have not hurt me, but have hurt the people I love the most. And yet, here we are. Now, I want to remind you, we did not start the month of June saying, "Forgive your enemy."

Honestly, I I don't think that's healthy. We started talking about forgiveness is free. Forgiveness is for everyone. We kind of alluded in part two that we might get there with your enemy. And then we talked about how forgiveness is permanent, fixed, forever. Last week we talked about how it is forgiveness is for your fulfillment.

It's what you've been looking for. And that leads us to here. If you can believe that it's totally free, you can't earn it. That it's available to everyone, that it's fixed for sure and forever, that it can lead you to true contentment, fulfillment, peace, and joy. Well, that sets you up in a pretty formidable position to say, "Now, what if I wish my enemy well?"

It's wild. It feels weird preaching a message like this in 2025 because we have so much data and information. I'm not saying we know it all, but if you're on social media, if you have a news feed, you know of most of the wars right now going on in the world, and there are many.

You know that there are people killing each other right now. You know that there are regimes and dictators and hurtful, harmful people wreaking havoc on this plague planet. You know, and so when a guy like me says, "Hey, forgive your enemy." It would be easy to turn this content off and say, "That guy has checked out of reality.

That guy has no idea what he's talking about." Well, you might not be wrong, but perhaps I could invite you into the ultimate expression. Perhaps we find ourselves at the most outrageous invitation in the whole of the sacred scripture. And so, I invite you to something I've been invited to.

Come with me and perhaps experience a love so far and a worship so wide and a care so deep. It includes your enemy. And this is the question I have. When will followers of Jesus start loving our enemies? Jesus says in the greatest sermon ever preached, sermon on the mountain.

He says, "Blessed are those who bless and pray for those who persecute them and hurt them, those who bless their enemies." When are we going to start doing that? When is that going to start happening? I am. This whole journey for me of the month of June and forgiveness and the way I got inspired to do the forgiveness we forgot about is probably the most considerable sentence in my whole life. the most considerable, extraordinary, extensive, amazing, astounding, revealing, staggering sentence I've ever heard is when Jesus with iron thrust through the palms of his hands and his feet and a fake crown with thorns so long dug into his forehead and into his skull. with a spear that had been forced into his side, literally suffocating in his own blood, he cries out, "Father, forgive them.

Forgive all these people. They don't know what they're doing." If you're like me, Jesus has become the most important person who has ever lived and still lives. This sentence kind of pulls you in. You're like, "Wait, wait. What did you say? Did you say forgive the people that crucified you?

Forgive the people that gave you a mock trial. Forgive the people who called for Barabus, the criminal, and the thug, and demanded your execution. Forgive them." And he adds, not just forgive them, they don't actually know what they're doing. If you're like me and you take these as a moment to go, is that am I invited to eventually feel that way about people?

Like, is there a place where this love grows so much in me, where this forgiveness so permeates my being and my lifestyle? Like, do I ever get there? Do I ever get to a place where I forgive so thoroughly and so fully and so completely that I am willing to ask like in prayer form a forgiveness for people who in that moment are harming me?

Like if you're like me, in the moment when somebody's hurting me, I am exactly the way they are. Like if you push me, I'm going to push you back. If you disrespect me, I'mma dis You say something, I say it back. And then after I calm down and my wife says, "That was ridiculous."

And I sit with that for a second. Maybe a friend goes, "Bro." And I go, "What? What?" Try to defend myself. Give me an hour, maybe two. Usually by the end of the day, you'll get a text message. Yo, bro, I I I'm sorry. That was dumb. Will you forgive me? or I forgive them.

But in the heat of the moment, my track record is very clear. In the heat of the moment, you push, I push back. You say something, I say something. You got a problem with me, I got a problem with you. And yet Jesus, while hanging on the cross, asked the father to forgive him.

Can that be realized? Can this love ever get that real? Could Jesus ever become that tangible and real to you where you forgive in the moment? Where you forgive people who are currently right now in this moment hurting you. Oh man, that's wild. That's wild. I want to read a scripture to you and then I want to tell you a story and then we'll be done with the whole month of June and I will try my hardest.

It would be a modern miracle in my career to go a whole month without crying but I fear that might not be possible today. But we'll see. Listen to this. Romans 5:es 89 and 10. And I really mean this. Please, if you don't mind, for your own sake, give yourself a few moments of listening, absorbing, and taking this in.

Listen to these words. I mean, stunning. But Jesus proved God's passionate love for us by dying in our place while we were still lost and ungodly. There's still much more to say of his unfailing love for us. For through the blood of Jesus, we have heard the powerful declaration, "You are now righteous in my sight."

And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God. You will never experience the wrath of God. You will never experience the wrath of God. You will never experience the wrath of God. What if you believe that? Just right there. I got to keep reading.

But you will never What if you live the rest of your life believing you will never experience the wrath of God. Last verse. So if we while we were still enemies, God fully reconciled us to himself through the death of his son. And something greater than friendship is ours.

Now that we are at peace with God and because we share in his resurrection life, how much more will we be rescued from sin's dominion? Wow. While we were still enemies, God reconciled us. And now we have dominion over sin. I got to tell you something. I'm willing to take this forgiveness as far as it goes.

And I'm going to tell you how far it goes. My life is no longer about sin. My focus is not about sin. My conversations are not about sin. My prayers are not about sin. It's not my focus. I'm not looking for sin. I'm not thinking about sin. I'm thinking about him.

My focus is him. The message is forgiveness. The forgiveness of sin. But the message is not sin. Some say if you don't talk about sin, sin will continue to grow. Sin grows without Jesus. But the antidote to sin is not thinking about sin and focusing on sin and working on sin and trying to overcome sin and hating our sin and confessing our sin and being fearful of our sin or being worried about our sin or being ashamed of our sin.

There's no power in sin to overcome sin. Only Jesus can overcome sin. So where should the camera zoom and where should the focus lie? Jesus. My life has become about him. Oh my sin. Sin is a defeated foe. It has been finished. And even though it still surfaces in my life, I am reminded it is forgiven and finished.

And my theme and my focus and my life is about Jesus. Wow. While we were still enemies, God fully reconciled us to himself through the death of his son. So here's my premise. I think that at some point you follow Jesus in a way that you start to look like him.

You start to love like him and you start to live like him. Father, forgive them. They don't know what they're doing. Forgive them. They don't know what they're doing. Could that ever be something that you live out that while your enemy hurts you, you ask God to forgive him?

Now, some would say this, "I'm not Jesus." And I heard that my whole life. I'm telling you, you if you're a pastor's kid, this is one of these statements they always say. Christians will say, "Yeah, I know that was Jesus, but I got news for you. I'm not Jesus."

And everybody's like, "That's right. I know that's right. You ain't Jesus." Right? So that works and it's true. It's not wrong. But I thought part of the objective is that Jesus becomes so pervasive and so powerful and so significant and so potent and so real and so wonderful that you really start to live, look, and love like him.

And that leads me to the concluding story of this entire month called the forgiveness we forgot. And it's a story about an untimely death. It's a story about a man who's been recognized, but not nearly as much as Peter, James, John, and the other apostles and disciples. This man was a deacon.

We could define that later, but it means he had some leadership, but not a lot. His name is Stephen. Steven is in a a town that is learning the story of Jesus and the reality of Jesus. By the time we pick up the story in what is Acts chapter 7, Jesus has resurrected, levitated into the clouds and been gone for some time physically, but his spirit was now upon and within his followers and it was real and it was spreading.

The message is spreading. Stephen is a deacon, a leader of some people in the church, but a formidable and considerable worshipper and follower of Jesus. And there is a city whose economy has been disrupted by the message of Jesus. And the powerful significance of how forgiveness changes landscape and economy and relationship and social dynamics is really amazing.

But the city reacts to the story of Jesus fulfilling the law, fulfilling the Jewish law. That now the law has been fulfilled and now it's about Jesus. People are reacting. There's an upheaval. And Steven stands up boldly and says to the mob, the masses, "Believe. Believe in Jesus.

He's the one. He's the point." And as the story goes, they it actually says in Acts 7, they they they like plugged their ears. They they they shouted in a loud voice in a violent rage, filling their souls and nashed their teeth at him. They they were overtaken by a violent attitude and mentality.

And they literally take Stephen violently grab him and they take him outside the city and they take their jackets off. They lay him in a man's name, a young man's feet named Saul, who later will be Paul. But at this point, he's with the gang, the thugs. They take off their outer garments, they pick up rocks, and they start to throw them at Steen. says they pounced on him.

Verse 59, I think it is, and threw him outside the city walls to stone him. His accusers one by one placed their outer garments at the feet of a young man named Saul of Tarsus. Verse 59 says, "Then they they crumpled or he crumpled to his knees, that is Steven."

And then verse 59 says they start throwing rocks at Stephen and he calls out and and and this is this is where I'm going to end the whole series because I think this is how far forgiveness can goes can goes. This is how far forgiveness goes. This is how far Stephen is like you and like me.

Steven is not Jesus to be clear cuz some would argue forgive my enemies. Nah, bro. I'll forgive people who deserve it, who earn it, but no. Well, Jesus forgave. Yeah. Well, I'm not Jesus. Fair. So that brings us to Steven who's not Jesus. Because he told the mob and the masses to believe in Jesus, they didn't want to hear it.

They now unlawfully, you could argue, illegally, certainly unethically, have taken Steven outside the city and they're throwing rocks. Not to be crude or crass, but the goal here is rocks so big that they hit his skull until it swells, falls into a coma, and dies on the spot.

And that's what will happen in our story. Steven is moments from death. Death? Why? Because he did something so deplorable and disgusting and wrong? No. Death because he told people Jesus loves them and they didn't want to hear it. Steven falls to his knees and he calls out, "Lord, receive my spirit."

And then if you get the chance in your own Bible or on the Bible app, at some point I dare you to read Acts 7 and verse 60. It says, "And falling to his knees, he cried out with a loud voice." Why a loud voice? because God couldn't hear him.

No a loud voice so that his enemies could hear him. And this is what Steven, not Jesus, Steven, an ordinary guy like you and me, says, "Lord, don't hold this sin against them." And when he said this, he fell asleep. Part of me wishes and hopes and believes that that fall asleep is kind of God's anesthesia.

And perhaps he took Steven at that point when he said, "Take my spirit." And maybe Stephen didn't feel the normal agony and pain that would come some from from such a horrific act like stoning. Did you hear that? An ordinary guy like you and me who's being pulverized in his skull by rocks with a loud voice so that his enemies hear.

He says, "Don't hold this sin against him. That reminds me of somebody." Oh, that's right. Jesus. How far will your forgiveness go? I don't know really. You know, like in asking myself that question, how far will my forgiveness go? I don't know, but it's had limits. It feels like it has limits right now.

But I don't know about you, but there's something in me that wants what Steven knew. That's a brand of Christianity I'm going to be honest with you. I don't think I've ever seen. I'm 46 years old and I don't think I've ever seen anyone forgive like that, you know, and and and and part of the emotion is like sad cuz we live in a world where we want we want our enemies got we want I mean I I want people that are hurting you to be stopped too.

Don't get me wrong, somebody broke into my house and hurt my babies. By all means necessary. Please don't misunderstand me. I pacifism, aggressive, all I I I I don't want to talk about the politics of it. I don't want to talk about the philosophy of it. I'm just asking you, have you ever seen this level of forgiveness?

Because apart from Jesus, I don't think I have. And I'm just wondering if we ever will because Stephen had so um become acquainted and Jesus had become so pervasive and so big and so real and so the reality he lived in that he looked just like him with his last breath.

Um, to me that's freedom. To me that's being fully alive. What do you mean, Judah? Well, what's rare is valuable. Let's use logic. What's rare is valuable. Where do you see people forgiving their enemies? Maybe nowhere. So what's rare is valuable. Which is to say everybody hates their enemies and nobody forgives their enemies.

So you and I could be rare. What Steven does well think it's the only time we see someone look so much like Jesus. He says, "Don't hold this against him." So that's where I leave you and me. And I'll be honest, at some point a message like this comes down to, "Okay, Jesus, then do what you did in Stephen, in me.

Show me how real your forgiveness is. Show me how big and vast and grand and great you are. I got to be honest with you. Harboring unforgiveness will rob and steal from you every day. Perhaps it already has. Forgiveness, I don't know anyone who's ever regretted it. Sets you free.

Sets them free. Yeah. But it sets you free. So come on. I invite you into the same life that I'm being invited into. A love so grand, a worship so wide, an understanding so deep that we start to really actually look like Jesus. God help us. God help us all in 2025.

What would it look like if we all started to forgive our enemies to wish our enemies forgiveness and love from God? God, I pray right now at the end of this month and the whole body of work. It's uh it's a lot and it is very clear that you have invited us into a life that is not logical or merely natural. truly supernatural.

Help us, help us, meet us, change us, inspire us, guide us. Thank you, Jesus. If you're watching this and you'd like to receive the free gift of forgiveness that only Jesus offers, you can do it right now. Just say, "I receive it." And it's done. I love you.

I sincerely want to thank specifically those who have watched this whole month and gone on this journey with us. May God be with you. May his face shine upon you and may he grant you peace and joy and contentment in his true and eternal forgiveness. I love you.

See you soon. ((music playing)) You must become greater. I must become less. You took all my sin and shame. Gave me righteousness. The world's on your shoulders. You loved and redeemed. You've given eternal life to those who believe. What a story. What an author. give you gloryy, give you honor unto you.

God be the glory. Unto you, God be the praise. You are the famous one, the name above all names. We lift you high above the music. We lift you high above the noise. You are the famous one, the name above all names. And we give you glory. ((music playing)) Yes, we give you glory.

Jesus, ((music playing)) you must become greater. I must become less. Nothing in this world's compares to your holiness. The cross that you carried, the nails in your hands, your love and your sacriice redeemed all of man. What a story. What an author. give you gloryy, give you honor unto you.

God be the glory unto you. God be the praise. You are the famous one, the name above all names. We lift you high above the music. We lift you high above the noise. You are the famous one, the name above all names. And we give you glory. ((music playing)) Yes, we give you gloryy Jesus.

((music playing)) All gloryy, all honor to you my king. Yes, we give you gloryy, all gloryy. All honor to you, my king. when it doesn't make sense. We give you glory in every circumstance. We give you glory in the middle of mess. We give you glory, Jesus. ((music playing)) Are you going to ((music playing)) ((music playing))