Celebrate Freedom: Live Free and Forgive

We continue our series on Celebrate Freedom.  Two hundred and fifty years of American freedom are behind us, but the battle for freedom continues to this very day.  As we look at the conflicts in the world, the issues of oppression, injustice, and due process are still as evident and demanding as ever.  Will we remain a just and free nation?  Only time will reveal the mind of God for America.  Yet, we have a part to play in the spiritual struggle that is before us.  Whenever we share the light of God’s freedom, it is a source of hope.  This is a timeless reality that has empowered believers even in the midst of tyranny and oppression!  The Light has come into the world, and the world cannot extinguish it.  This week our sermon is Live Free and Forgive, it is based on Matthew 18:23-35.  This is not an easy or uncomplicated parable of the Kingdom.  However, the point is clear: forgiveness sets us free, and it is to be shared with others.  Without forgiveness, we cannot be free from our sins, our pain, our anger, or our hatred.  God’s forgiveness heals our wounded spirits, our broken hearts, and our devastated relationships.  This parable not only reminds us of the power of forgiveness, but it helps us to realize our need for God’s power in order to truly forgive and be set free.  We pray that you will experience the power of complete mercy and forgiveness as you read Matthew 18:23-35.  

Matthew 18:23-35: “Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt. “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt. “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment. “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full. “When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”