Forgiveness | Dr. Mark Rutland

Beautiful, beautiful music. That's great. Thank you. Praise God. Well, praise God in the house. Go on and magnify the Lord. Praise his holy name. What a mighty God we serve. It's true, isn't it? Angels bow before him. Heaven and earth adors him. Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised. remain standing just a moment.

You know, we live in such a discouraging world. It just seems like every headline, every if you can stand to pick up a newspaper, every radio broadcast, just discouragement. Well, I believe in the ministry of encouragement. So this morning, before you're seated, turn to someone near you, look them right in the eye, and say, "Cheer up, friend.

You're probably not as bad as your in-laws think. ((music playing)) Then you can be seated. By the way, wasn't that great music today? Let's let's thank these people. While you're in the mood to applaud for something, let's welcome all the other campuses. Will you do that? And those who are joining us from the prisons, we thank God for you.

We welcome you. Just a few announcements this morning. My first announcement is I announce I am happy to be back at Free Chapel. I love this. Memorial Day is tomorrow. Of course, we've already had reference to it through that moving video. May I just admonish you if I can that tomorrow in all the grilling out and picnics and everything else, would you pause a moment?

I mean, literally, not just figuratively, maybe get alone for a moment and pray for the families of those who have lost loved ones and thank God for those who gave the last full measure that we may actually worship here today in liberty and in freedom. Will you do that?

It's a great thing to say how this church not only helps around the world, but also locally. All seven county public high schools celebrated their graduation here in this auditorium. 21,000 people in attendance and more than 6,000 attended by streaming. Well, the Forward Conference is coming up on its 20th anniversary.

Wow. Wow. I remember when Jensen first started talking about doing that. I was in elementary school and I can remember, oh, that's right. Laugh at a guest. Um, but uh it's been such a tremendous success and such a powerful instrument of the Lord. How can you help? There are three ways.

First of all, middle school, high school, and young adults, buy a ticket and attend. It's a lifechanging experience. Second, you may sponsor someone else to come. Or perhaps your business would like to be a sponsor and buy tickets or groups of tickets. And perhaps, best of all, you can sign up to be a volunteer.

I know that you'll want to do that. Pastor Jensen will be back with you next week. Um let me uh let me just say how much uh we appreciate your faithfulness, your graciousness, your generosity. This is a giving church in all the ways that you give uh online and every other way.

This is uh this work all these graduations for example the work that we do in places that are so tortured and difficult such as Hayiti and elsewhere that would not be possible without your continued generosity and we thank you for it. In fact give yourselves a big hand.

You're a giving and loving church. If you have your Bibles, if you'll take those and turn, if you will, to the book of Matthew, the 18th chapter. Matthew, chapter 18. While you're turning there, let me say this to you. I, those of you who know me through the years, you know how I am.

I I'm a precise person. I don't like uh hip shots. I have a plan. I make a plan. I work the plan. I always say if you if you don't plan to succeed, you're planning to fail. And so I like a plan. And I had a sermon that I planned to give.

I came over and spent the night here so I wouldn't drive all the way from Carterville this morning. Spent the night in Gainesville last night. I woke up this morning and had my coffee. And I felt clearly God say, "Set your plan aside and preach this sermon this morning."

I said, 'Lord, you know that. Said, 'Lord, you know that I don't like that. He said, 'I know. Do it anyway. It's just It's just not my style. So, this morning, I felt clearly led to lay that aside. Next time I come, I'll inflict that. I'll preach that message here.

But uh what it makes me think is that this particular message for somebody or somebody's maybe many here or at at one of the other campuses or at all the other campuses or at at one of the prisons that God has a specific reason today for this message to be heard.

And I I have to believe that that it's important enough uh to have this said today for for this whole thing to be set aside. So if uh if you want to follow me in uh scripture, it's on Matthew chapter 18 beginning with verse 21. Then came Peter to him, him being Jesus of course.

Then came Peter to Jesus and said,"Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him till seven times?" Jesus said unto him, I say not unto thee until seven times, but until 70* 7. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.

And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him 10,000 talents. For as much as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down and worshiped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee.

Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. Please notice, we're going to back to the scripture, but please notice, he doesn't ask to be forgiven. He only asks for more time to pay. And the owner says, "I'm not going to give you more time to pay.

I wipe it out. I forgive it." Verse 28. But that same servant went out and found one of his fellow servants, which owed him an hundred pence. And he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, "Pay me that thou owest." And his fellow servants, fellow servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, begged him, that is, saying, "Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all."

And he would not, but he went and cast him into prison till he should pay the debt. Please pause again. He asks his owner, his lord, his master, if you will, for time. and he says, "I'm not going to give you time. I wipe it out." His his fellow servant asks him for time.

And he won't even give him time. So when his fellow verse 31, so when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were very sorry and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, after he had called him, said unto him, "Oh, thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desireest me."

Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, angry, that's furious, and delivered him to the tormentors till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise, now Jesus is summarizing that whole parable.

So likewise shall my heavenly father do also unto you, if you from your hearts forgive not everyone his brother their trespasses. Put your hand on your Bible if you will and let's pray together. Lord, we praise you. We worship you. We pray that we might be as open as possible to everything you want.

Brush aside every barrier to divine communication all of our carefully constructed mechanisms of self-defense. Speak to us deep within that when we leave here we'll say one to another. Surely we have heard from the Lord in the mighty name Jesus the strong son of God. Amen. Amen and amen.

One of the saddest passages of scripture, one of the saddest passages of scripture in the whole Bible is this simple verse. And Judas went out and hanged himself. Judas's Scariot, one of the 12, who having betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, now in despair over his sin, hangs himself.

What a what a tragedy his life was. And what a tragedy is death by suicide. He goes, having sold the Lord for 30 pieces of silver, Judas goes back to the Sanhedrin who paid him the 30 pieces of silver and he says, "Look, I've I've made a terrible mistake.

I I I took money to betray my friend. I want to give you the money back." And the Sanhedrin in its legalism says, "We can't take the money back because it's blood money." Having paid the blood money, now they say it's illegal for them to take it back.

And they say to him this passage, "What have we to do with that? See to that yourself." And he throws the money down and Judas went and hanged himself. Now, here is the dilemma with which we are confronted. What did he do that Simon Peter didn't do? Simon Peter betrayed Jesus that night, that same night.

Judas betrayed him with a kiss. He identified to the arresting officers in the darkness and the confusion. You may not know exactly which one it is. I'll go and kiss him on the cheek and you'll know that's him. You remember Jesus painful question, betrayest thou the son of man with a kiss?

But Simon Peter also betrayed Jesus. Judas betrayed him once. Peter denied him twice. Three times. Three times. They both were told in advance that they would. Jesus says, "One of you will betray me." It's the one who who takes a pita bread and dips up the hummus with me.

Just at that moment, Judas's scariot dips in and he says, "Is it I?" And Jesus said, 'You said it. That which thou doest do quickly. And then Simon Peter says, "Oh, these other lightweights may deny you. They may deny you, but not me. Even if I have to go to right to death with you, I'll never deny you."

Jesus says, "Before the rooster announces the coming dawn, you will betray me thrice." three times and he does. Why didn't Simon Peter hang himself? It is because Judas's scariot did what the Sanhedrin told him to. See to that yourself. By seeing to it himself, he saw no divine resolution.

He saw no answer. Therefore, seeing to him himself in his guilt and condemnation, he hanged himself, he abbreviated the process of redemptive grace. He saw to it to himself. Simon Peter overcome with grief, overcome with guilt and fear and condemnation, but still he went to Galilee and there met Jesus by the Sea of Galilee and allowed Jesus to see to it.

If we see to our sins ourselves, we are hopeless and with despair. If we allow Jesus to see to our sins, then we are filled with grace and forgiveness. Now, which of these was the unforgivable sin? We'll never know. Now, now we'll never know because Judas abbreviated the process.

He saw to it himself. He punished himself. But what if, one must ask oneself, what if he had thrown that 30 pieces of silver on the floor of the temple and gone out to the foot of the cross and thrown himself in the dirt on the Calvary mountain and cried out and said, "Oh Lord, I'm sorry.

I'm sorry. I lost my mind. I don't know what I was thinking. Please forgive me. Please forgive me." We must ask ourselves, mightn't Jesus have said, "Yes, I forgave the Roman soldiers who nailed me up. I forgave the thief on the cross beside me, and I forgive my betrayer at the foot of the cross."

But we'll never know because he saw to it himself. Here's here's the point. I don't know who all is here today. I don't know who's all watching it in Gwynet or Brazleton or Spartanberg or wherever. I I don't know who's watching this at one of the prisons, but to think that your sin, as dark as it is, as repetitive as it is.

Remember, Simon Peter didn't betray him once or even twice, but three times, having been told he would. I know I know enough about repeated sin. Don't you? The first time when he did it, he said, "Do you know you were with Jesus?" "No, I wasn't." And then he said, "Oh, man.

I can't believe I did that. I wasn't ready. I wasn't ready. Let him come again." Second time. Weren't you with Jesus? No, I wasn't. No, I wasn't. Oh, I did it again. This time I'm ready. Third time. And the third time it says he denied Jesus with a curse.

Do you know Jesus? No. Do you know Jesus? No. Do you know Jesus? Hell no. They said, "Well, now we believe you." So Judas's Scariot did it once. Simon pleaded three times. So we think, "My sin is dark. My sin is atrocious. My sin is repetitive." What at what point is there some sin that God cannot forgive, will not forgive?

Listen to me. Somebody needs to hear this. It is unfathomable arrogance to think that you can sin bigger than God's grace. YOU CANNOT OUT SIN THE LOVE OF GOD. YOU CANNOT OUTDISTANCE the grace of God. You cannot break the forgiveness of God. He commands us to forgive and forgive and forgive and forgive.

Look, Peter asks him a legalistic question. It's the kind of thing we all do. How many times do I have to forgive my idiot brother? Well, he doesn't say idiot brother, but I have a couple. How many times do I have to forgive my brother? Seven times. Sounds religious, doesn't it?

Seven almost has a religious feel. It's the holy number. Do I forgive? And I think he thinks Jesus will say yes. Good, good answer, Peter. Seven times. Jesus says, "No, not seven. 70* 7." Even that is not an arithmetical answer. He's not trying to get him to multiply it out.

He's saying, "No, beyond that. Keep forgiving. Keep on forgiving. Keep on forgiving. No end to it. Just keep multiplying forgiveness. Why would God command us to go on forgiving when he won't? The grace of God goes on and on and on and on. Now, now we dare take that to mean permission to keep on intentionally, deliberately in sin.

Sin forgives. Sin forgives. Sin forgive. That grace of forgiveness calls us also to find that place of repentance and move on. But Satan wants to convince you this time you've gone too far. And this parable says, not only does God forgive you, he wipes out the debt. He clears the deck.

((applause)) But then he lays it on us. He tells this parable and we are the servant forgiven. It's clear who the master in the story is. That's God. God forgives the one. I don't know how much 10,000 talents is. It sounds like a bunch of money. And he forgives the whole thing.

He wipes it out. Then that guy who stands for us goes to his friend who owes him only a hundred p. I don't know what the gap between a 100 pence and 10,000 talents is but it's plenty. And he said his says forgive me and he says no I won't forgive you.

And so the guy calls him the king calls him back in and says now you've lost the forgiveness that I gave you. Then Jesus summarizes the parable and he says what this means is as you are forgiven you must forgive and when you refuse to forgive you may lose the forgiveness that I've offered you.

Now that's that's where the parable begins to sting. That's where it begins to catch hold of us. The issue of forgiveness to us is a more attractive offer than the forgiveness through us. Forgiveness is hard work sometimes. That's the reason Jesus talks about 70* 7 on and on and on and on.

Keep on forgiving. It's the It's a life work. Life is full of abrasions, the nicks and cuts of a thousand wounds day after day after day after day. Am I the only one? You all sit out there looking so religious. I'm up here revealing the secrets of my soul.

Driving around 285 in intense traffic and some Yankee with Michigan license plates cuts you off and say, "The Lord is my shepherd to live in forgiveness to to extend the forgiveness that we've received to to the people in life. Life is full of just goofy stuff, weird stuff, bad stuff, mean stuff.

To live in forgiveness keeps that forgiveness flowing usward and flowing through us. It's so in our families, Peter frames it as a family question. How many times do I have to forgive my my brother? Okay, take that out. Take that word out and insert any family member, children, parents, spouse.

Oh, there's the rub. to keep forgiving because we live we live with this person. My wife and I have been married this coming summer 57 years. There's there's there's things in that any marriage every marriage 57 years of marriage is not every single moment is unbroken splendor. They're just things that you have to forgive.

Your spouse just keeps doing this same idiot thing. You ladies, let me help you. Let me help you. Here's one of the great problems with married women. Listen, you keep thinking you're married to an adult. That's causing most of the problems. You've got to get your mind around this.

Men do not grow up. They just get big. ((applause)) So, you have to keep saying, you have to keep saying to yourself, "Oh, I forgive him. I forgive him. I forgive him. Just so big and dumb and I forgive him." Husbands, husbands, listen to me. I have not been married 57 years without figuring this out.

Listen to me. They are not like us. They don't think like we do. They don't they don't feel the same things. They don't feel it the same way. They don't feel it at the same depth and passion that we do. They are not like us. The reason you married her to start with was because she's a woman.

Regardless of when anybody will tell you, there's only two So, we have to live in that relationship. Forgiveness, mutual forgiveness is the is the lubrication that makes it work. It's it's the it's the oil that keeps it from from crashing together and burning up. You got two very different people in a close proximity to each other and it just causes all that friction.

What makes it work without Look, there are days, let's be honest, there are days when the question is not whether or not you will you will forgive your spouse, it's whether you will kill them. ((applause)) And forgiveness is what makes it work and keep working 70* 70 time 70* 70.

It's the nature of forgiveness. The problem is the repetitiveness. And that's what Jesus dealt with in the Nile of Simon Peter. He didn't say, "No, I warned you three times. Now you're out." It's it's the ongoing that's what that's the reason he expands Peter's arithmetic not seven 70* 7 to forgive and forgive and keep on forgiving and keep on forgiving but now we come to a greater and more challenging issue and that is this the emotional psychological and spiritual work of forgiveness What would be best for us wouldn't it be is if I could say I forgive that settles it and I don't feel it ever again but we are emotional beings too the people we forgive are emotional but we are also emotional am I the only one here you ever forgive somebody the best you know how you forgive them and then three weeks later you're at a dinner party and somebody mentions their name and you feel like Many years ago, years ago, when I was a young Methodist preacher in my 20s, right at the end of the Civil War, I remember that talk to Jensen. you.

It's rude to laugh at a guest speaker. And I uh I had a situation with an older minister and he did something that I felt damaged my ministry or I don't even remember what all it was. I tried to forgive him. I forgave him. I you know in my heart in my prayer, forgive him.

I forgive him. But every time I'd think of him, it would just surface again. I could feel that bile in my throat over and over and over again. And I kept forgiving and not feeling forgiven. One night I dreamed. I was asleep dreaming. And I dreamed that he was killed in a terrible flaming car crash.

And when I woke up, I said, "Lord, are you revealing to me that he's going to be killed like that?" And he said, it came in my heart, "No, I'm revealing to you that in your heart of hearts, that's what you want." And it just devastated me. I tumbled out of bed and knelt down beside my bed and I I said, "Lord, I I'm not getting victory here.

I give this to you somehow someway. Whatever it takes, I want to be healed. I forgive, but you've going to have to help me." Some weeks later, I went uh just to attend, not to preach. I went to attend uh down at um Jackson, Georgia at the Indian Springs Holiness Campground.

It's big auditorium. I set up in way up in the back where you guys are. And the speaker that night was Colonel Andy Miller, who's a great preacher from the Salvation Army. And he preached that night on forgiveness. And it just wrecked my heart. And when he got finished, he gave an altar call.

You know, if you have unforgiveness against somebody, come up here. I didn't want to do that. Way in the back, walk all the way up. Everybody knew me. Oh, wonder who rutlinates, you know. But he they just came and I felt okay. I asked God for help. This is it.

And I So I start I came up. The altar that they had was like little small tables like this. And you knelt on one side and somebody would come on the other side and minister with you. So I went and knelt down there and had my eyes closed.

And somebody came and knelt on the other side and said, "Let me pray with you. Is there somebody that you can't forgive?" And I I recognized the voice. Oh, yes it was. Oh, yes it was. Don't mess with God. I looked up, opened my eyes, and that guy was kneeling across from me.

He said, "Is there somebody you just can't forgive?" I said, "Yeah, yeah. He said, "You don't have to tell me their name. We'll just pray together." I said, "That'll probably be the best way." But it ended it. It ended it. But at some point or another, you have to release it to God to some place to to get peace over it.

But it can be a process. It can be a process. Cordi Tinboom, who was in the Nazi concentration camp during World War II, where her father and her sister were also killed. After the war, she returned to the Netherlands where she was from, and she went to her pastor, a Lutheran pastor there, and she said, "Look, I I think about those guards, those Nazi guards at the concentration camp.

I forgive them. Then I think of them, or I remember somebody's face or whatever, and it comes again. I I can't seem to get over it." And I thought he gave her a wonderful answer. He said, ' Cy, do you remember when you were a little girl and you came to church early and I'd let you ring the church bell?

You grab hold of the rope and pull down and then I'd let you hold on and ride it up and then down and up and down and then finally I'd say, "Okay, Corey, that's enough." And you'd let go of the rope. And he said, "My question is, did the bell stop ringing immediately?"

And she said, "No." And he said, 'Th that's the way it is with forgiveness and unforgiveness. It may not go away immediately, but you have to keep your hands off the rope. Let the feeling of it gradually diminish. And then we come to the last and the hardest part.

Yes, there's the ongoing forgiveness that's necessary to make a relationship work. How many times do I forgive my brother, wife, husband, child, parents? There's the issue of the emotional and spiritual work of forgiveness. But what about that unforgivable sin? So, I don't know who's here. There may be people here in a crowd this size.

There likely are people to whom terrible things have been done, unforgivable things. H how do we deal with that? When I uh I went to Ohio some years ago to preach a revival service at a church there. I was to be there five nights. The first night I preached on the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Second night, the third night, a great big man came to the altar. He was probably 6'5, 66, big guy, and he was weeping so hard. And I said, "You want to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit?" He said, "Yes. I I I've heard you every night. I've wanted this.

I want this." I said, "Is something standing between you?" He said, "Yes, and I know exactly what it is. I can't get past it. I can't receive the baptism because I can't let go of it. I said, 'What is it?' He said, I'm a deputy sheriff in this county.

He said, two years ago, I responded to a shooting call at a local bar. A man had entered the bar with a shotgun, shot a woman with it, basically cut her in half. I answered the call, came in, disarmed him, put the cuffs on him, and when we turned the corpse over, it was my daughter.

And he said the other officers there had to restrain me. I was going to shoot him right then. And he said since then during the trial he was in local jail. I would sit on a railroad trestle where I could see into the jail with a high-powered rifle and I'd watch him walk in front of the window.

And I had every day to struggle with not killing him. And he said, "I I hate that man so badly." And he said, "I can't get past it. I'll never receive the Holy Spirit if I don't deal with it. He said, "How can you forgive a thing like that?"

I said, "Do you think murder is the worst sin that could be committed?" He said, "I I think it is." I said, "What is the worst kind of murder?" He said, "That the premeditated murder of a girl, that's the worst." I said, 'N no, the worst kind of murder is deocide, the murder of God.

And I said, from the cross of Calvary, having been murdered by the people that were at the foot of the cross, Jesus said, "Father, forgive them. Father, forgive them." He forgave the thief on the cross with him. He forgave the soldiers that had nailed him up. The most horrible kind of murder is the murder of the son of God who is God.

And God forgave that. He said, "Yes, but he was Jesus." He said, "How do I forgive?" I said, "What if we could let the healing love and forgiveness of the of the cross, Calvary love flow from the cross into you, through you, into the man that killed your daughter. so that would flow straight from the cross through you and into that man.

He said, "I'm willing. I I don't know if I can." So, I had the pastor come and kneel on the other side of the altar. And I said to the man, "Imagine that your daughter's murderer is kneeling across from you. If you can reach your hands out and lay your hands on his head and say, "In the name of Jesus, by the power of Jesus, I forgive you.

God will release you." It was like watching a leaf in a wind tunnel. That man shook. His whole body shook. Gradually, he reached his great big hands out and when he touched his pastor's head, he said, "I forgive you." Just like that, he was filled with the Holy Spirit.

God baptized him with power. One of the most dramatic and powerful moments of ministry that I've ever seen. The next night, the fourth night, I came back and I was looking for that big sheriff and his wife and they weren't there. And I was so disappointed. I said to the pastor, "I'm so tired of these ex experiences with God that don't even last 24 hours."

I said, 'He's not here.' He said, 'Now, Dr. Utland, calm down.' He said, 'They're not here because they've driven to the state penitentiary to meet with their daughter's murderer and forgiven him. How do you forgive? How do you forgive the unforgivable? Just like that, you allow the grace of Jesus Christ from the cross to flow into you, forgiving you and out through you to forgive them.

Why won't we do it? Why won't we do it? One reason is because we don't really want to set them free. We're afraid they'll escape punishment. And listen to Dr. Mark. When you pray for them to be forgiven, you have nothing to do with what God deals with them.

That's between them and God. When you pray for them to be forgiven, it doesn't impact their lives. It impacts your life. You're the one that gets free. Now, just one little word of caution. Forgiving somebody some really horrible thing doesn't mean that you have to go on exposing yourself to danger.

You're uh somebody molested you when you were a little girl and you finally find the grace of God to forgive. That's fine. Thank God. But it doesn't mean you let them babysit your kids. You understand what I'm saying? ((applause)) So, how do we come how do we come to the end of this?

And it's this. Judas, having failed Christ, betrayed him for money, did what the Pharisees told him to do. See to this yourself. You see to this yourself and you have no answer. There is no answer for your sin. Simon Peter having denied Christ not once but three times.

Not for money but for craven gutless cowardice. Which is worse? He did not see to it himself. He encountered Christ again at the shore of the Sea of Galilee and found grace and forgiveness and restoration to ministry. I don't know where you are in this process. If ongoing forgiveness is what you struggle with, if your marriage, your relationship just needs a fresh bath of mutual forgiveness.

I don't know if there is some person, thing, horrible moment that needs to be forgiven. I do know God can give you grace to do that. And it could be that you, your own self, need to find forgiveness for what you've done. Will you bow your heads and close your eyes all over the house?

Heavenly Father, I thank you for these people, this moment, this time. Lord, somehow or another, you had this in mind or you wouldn't have brought this to my mind. Help us, Lord. Deal with us. Now, with your heads bowed and your eyes closed, if you say, "Dr. Mark, will you please pray for me?

I need a fresh bath of forgiveness. I There's some people, things, family members. I need to forgive. I've just gotten so wrapped up in bitterness and anger. Will you pray with me that I can forgive?" If that's you, then you lift your hand up right where you are, and I want to pray for you.

Sure. Sure. So many. So many so many so many. That doesn't mean some horrible thing about you. It just means you're as human as the rest of us. Now, I'm going to pray out loud. And how I pray, you pray something like this where you are. Heavenly Father, I forgive those who have wounded me, lied about me, deceived me, hurt me.

I forgive the best of my ability by the power of the name of Jesus. I forgive them, Lord. Help me to keep on forgiving. Fill me with a heart of forgiveness. Set me free. Forgive me and I I forgive them. Now name them. Name them specifically. Name that person, that group that has wounded you and hurt you.

And I forgive them. I forgive them. I forgive them. Now take your hands down, but keep your eyes closed if you will. Now here comes the big question. If you say, Dr. Mark, the issue is not me forgiving somebody else. The issue is my sin. I need forgiveness.

I've sinned and I know I've sinned and I need forgiveness. I need to know that God will forgive me this morning for all the things I've done. If that's you, then I want you to lift your hand up right where you are. Lift your hand up high. Oh, so many.

So many. So many. So many. Heavenly Father, you see these hands. You see their hearts. you know their lives, their past. Lord, I'm asking you and believing you that today before we leave this house, that they will know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the blood of Jesus cleanses them from every sin.

Now, when I say amen to this prayer, we're going to begin to sing. The worship team's going to lead us. People around you, we're going to stand and begin to sing in just a moment. When I say amen, others around you worshiping, singing praise, but not you. If you raised your hand to that second question and you need the forgiving grace of God, I want you to slip out from where you are.

Come and walk up here to the front. We're going to pray to God for your forgiveness and believe God and settle this thing. You're going to leave here today forgiven. Forgiven, transformed, and born again. When we stand and begin to sing, make your first move to the altar, to the aisle.

If there's people between you and the aisle, turn to them. say, "Let me out." They may come with you, but when I say, "Amen," you come immediately straight to the altar. Are you ready? In the name of Jesus, stand up and be healed. Amen. Let's stand and you come as we sing.

You come right now as we sing. Come on. Good. Come on. Thank God. Thank God. Thank God for God. Thank God. Come on. Thank God. Thank God. Come on. Praise God. The father's praise God. Praise God. Come on. We'll wait for you. Come on. Praise God. Praise Godesus Christ.

Come on. Come on, friend. It's all right. Praise God. Ain't this wonderful? Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Come on. We'll wait for you. Blood of Jesus. Praise God. Praise God. in the praise God. Praise God. Come on. People are still coming. People are still coming. Praise God.

The preious blood of Jesus Christ. Praise God. Come on. In the father's arms are open. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Isn't this wonderful? Hallelujah to Jesus. Praise God. Now, I'm going to lead you in a prayer. This is the prayer of confession and repentance and acceptance of God's forgiveness.

He's done everything that it takes for you to be completely and totally forgiven. What you're going to do right now is accept it, believe in it, and receive it. Are you ready? I'm going to lead you in the prayer. Now, listen it. You've been brave to walk up here.

This is a big church, and you've walked all the way up here. That was bold. Now, pray bold. Don't pray like a Pray out loud. Are you ready? I'm going to lead you and you pray out loud. Are you ready, ma'am? Good. Listen, I'm going to tell you something.

I see some of you weeping. You don't have to weep to get saved. But let me tell you something. The Bible says God collects our tears in a bottle. That's a very confusing passage, isn't it? Here's what I know. Nobody collects anything that isn't valuable to him. So, it means somehow your tears are valuable to God.

More important than your tears is your repentance. If you mean it, I repent. I'm through. and I receive your forgiveness. Are you ready? All right, pray with me right out loud. Heavenly Father, I know that I've sinned. If I were to die right now, I deserve to go to hell.

But I believe Jesus died in my place. He took my death that I might live. He became sin that I might be the righteousness of God in Christ. I repent of my sins. I'm through with that. And I receive Jesus as my Savior as the Lord of my life.

Please write my name in your book. So that when I die, I know. Pray it out loud. I know. I know. I'll be in heaven with you. I'll be in heaven. And until I come to heaven, Jesus is Lord of my life. Jesus is I receive his forgiveness.

Now by faith in Jesus name. Amen. Amen and amen. Well, hallelujah to God. Praise God. Praise God. Now, I want you to stay right where you are for just two minutes. Stay right where you are. I'm going to make an announcement to you. I have the authority to make this announcement.

Not just me, but anybody could. Not on the authority of free chapel or of any denomination, but on the authority of the New Testament. I can make this announcement to you. Are you ready? Your sins which were many are all washed away. Your sins are forgiven. Everything. Everything.

Everything you've ever done, your sins are forgiven. Now, I want you to stay right where you are. I'm going to close with a benediction. I want you to stay where you are. There are people around you. They're going to talk to you, give you some material, find out how to for you to move forward from this.

Your friends and your family will wait for you. If you've left possessions back there, you'll be able to get those on eBay next week. And you stay right where you are, and we're going to people are going to pray with you, talk with you, and help you to move forward. congregation.

Isn't this just wonderful? Isn't this just marvelous? Thank God. Thank God. Thank God. Thank God. Now, will you look right up here? Now, unto him who is able to keep you from falling and to stand you before his presence without fault and with unspeakable joy. To the only wise God, our Savior, be glory and majesty and dominion and authority before time ever began, right now and throughout all the ages to come.

God bless you. God bless you everyone. ((applause)) Well, what a powerful time of worship. What a wonderful altar call. And of course that message that really hit home. I want to tell you when you forgive, it's not a heavy thing. It's a thing that lightens your load. And I want to tell you um just some practical things really quick.

Emily's going to tell you how we want to know that you responded today. But I just want to say a few things. Number one, get the free chapel app and find the daily devotionals. They're front and center on the app. These will help you walk out what you heard, what you learned today.

They're devotionals based on the message. The second thing I would say is, hey, don't be afraid to find a m a mature Christian friend. Don't be afraid to seek outside counseling, outside help when dealing with matters uh that we've talked about today. Yes. And as Pastor James was saying, if you responded to the altar call today, we would love for you to text yes to 510510 so that we can reach out and pray with you and really give you your next steps to be a part of this community here at Free Chapel.

Absolutely. And maybe you need prayer for your life, for a situation, family member, something with work, whatever it may be. We have a group of people that would love to partner in prayer with you. They're from all over the world. It's a small team, but it's a team that really goes to bat for you and is in your corner.

So text the word prayer to the number 510510 and we'll be in prayer for you. And thank you so much for your generosity, you guys out there all across the world that are giving to this ministry, Free Chapel. We get to do so much and get to reach so many people because of that.

We get to do forward conference which is coming up which actually we want to say thank you to all of our sponsors. Anyone sponsoring our students, thank you so much. That's going to be a life-changing weekend July or June 27th through the 29th. It's going to be absolutely incredible.

And because of your generosity, lives are about to be changed. And today actually we have a code for Memorial Day. It's Memorial 10. and that'll get you $10 off. So, if you go to free chapel or forwardconference.org and type in memorial10, you'll get $10 off and sponsor as many people as you possibly can.

It's going to be incredible. That's right. So, get your tickets for your middle school, high schooler, or young adults. That's forwardconference.org. The code is memorial10 for $10 off. God bless you guys. Connect with Free Chapel on social media during the week and we will see you back here with Pastor Jensen preaching next Sunday.

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