Good afternoon. Please turn your Bibles to Genesis CH 42 and we will read the entire chapter. As you’re looking for the passage, we have seen in the past eight days the unanticipated attack of the terrorist Hamas on the land of Israel sending a barrage of rockets early morning of a Jewish holiday, a day of rest for them. And at the same time a lot of Palestinians breached the border and massacred 260 people in a music festival. In their eyes, in the eyes of a militant Palestinian terrorist Hamas, it was revenge for what Israel has done to them many years ago, to be specific, in 2005. But of course we can definitely trace it back the war, we can trace such things even in biblical times. For the Hamas terrorists, it was a day of reckoning. Of course Israel retaliated and immediately declared war against Hamas and sent Rockets to Gaza as well. Many have died as seen in the news. For Israel it was also a day of reckoning.
Just like the brothers of Joseph in ancient Israel, when the lord of the land of Egypt called the brothers the sons of the the original Israel, Jacob. When they were called spies by the lord of the land, by the ruler of Egypt. Reuben said now comes a reckoning for the blood of our brother, Joseph. It has come. So turn with me to Genesis chapter 42 and we will read from verse one up to the end. When Jacob learned that there was grain for sale in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?” And he said, “Behold, I have heard that there is grain for sale in Egypt. Go down and buy grain for us there, that we may live and not die.” So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with his brothers, for he feared that harm might happen to him. Thus the sons of Israel came to buy among the others who came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.
Now Joseph was governor over the land. He was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground. Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke roughly to them. “Where do you come from?” he said. They said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.” And Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognise him.
And Joseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamed of them. And he said to them, “You are spies; you have come to see the nakedness of the land.” They said to him, “No, my lord, your servants have come to buy food. We are all sons of one man. We are honest men. Your servants have never been spies.” He said to them, “No, it is the nakedness of the land that you have come to see.” And they said, “We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan, and behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is no more.” But Joseph said to them, “It is as I said to you. You are spies. By this you shall be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here.
Send one of you, and let him bring your brother, while you remain confined, that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you. Or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies.” And he put them all together in custody for three days. On the third day Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God: if you are honest men, let one of your brothers remain confined where you are in custody, and let the rest go and carry grain for the famine of your households, and bring your youngest brother to me. So your words will be verified, and you shall not die.” And they did so. Then they said to one another, “In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.” And Reuben answered them, “Did I not tell you not to sin against the boy? But you did not listen. So now there comes a reckoning for his blood.” They did not know that Joseph understood them, for there was an interpreter between them. Then he turned away from them and wept. And he returned to them and spoke to them. And he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes. And Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, and to replace every man’s money in his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. This was done for them. Then they loaded their donkeys with their grain and departed. And as one of them opened his sack to give his donkey fodder at the lodging place, he saw his money in the mouth of his sack. He said to his brothers, “My money has been put back; here it is in the mouth of my sack!” At this their hearts failed them, and they turned trembling to one another, saying, “What is this that God has done to us?” When they came to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them, saying, “The man, the lord of the land, spoke roughly to us and took us to be spies of the land. But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we have never been spies. We are twelve brothers, sons of our father. One is no more, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.’ Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘By this I shall know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me, and take grain for the famine of your households, and go your way. Bring your youngest brother to me. Then I shall know that you are not spies but honest men, and I will deliver your brother to you, and you shall trade in the land.’” As they emptied their sacks, behold, every man’s bundle of money was in his sack. And when they and their father saw their bundles of money, they were afraid. And Jacob their father said to them, “You have bereaved me of my children: Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and now you would take Benjamin. All this has come against me.” Then Reuben said to his father, “Kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.” But he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is the only one left. If harm should happen to him on the journey that you are to make, you would bring down my grey hairs with sorrow to Sheol.”
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
Because of how severe the famine was, that it reached the land of Canaan, Jacob has decided to send his sons to Egypt, 10 sons to Egypt to buy grain leaving his youngest son, the son, the last son in his eyes, the last son of his favourite wife Rachel, Benjamin. So the brothers of Joseph went to Egypt and when they saw Egypt’s ruler, they bowed before him. Immediately, Joseph remembered his dreams. Remember the sheaves of his brothers bowed down to him, the the the the stars moon and sun bowed down to him. So he remembered such dreams. And then afterwards Joseph accused them of being spies. But the brothers as you know responded saying that they’re not spies. Joseph, lord of the land, we’re not spies. In fact, there are 12 of us. We’re not spies. In fact there are 12 of us, only 10 of us are here. The youngest brother was still with our father and the other one has already passed away. That’s what they said. Now, Joseph obviously tested them. He told them that they must they must prove that they were not spies. Initially, Joseph said that they should all be confined and they send they can send back one of their brothers and bring to him the youngest brother. But after 3 days, Joseph decided not only one person should go… sorry.. that everyone should go and only one person will be confined and that was Simeon, okay. And as they go, they found out that they have all the grains that they bought, okay. Now, thinking that harm will come to his younger brother, Reuben told his brothers, Reuben reminded his brothers this is the day; eto na yun. Eto na yung kinakatakot nating mangyayari. Did I not tell you not to sin against Joseph? Did I not tell you to sin against the boy? But you did not listen! Now it’s happening. Now the lord of the land is asking for our youngest brother and you know that we cannot bring to him our youngest brother because it will bring down the hairs of our father to Sheol. He will die if one of his sons will also die. That’s what Reuben was saying— the time of reckoning has come brothers!
Now the question is did it come? Dumating ba talaga? Were they punished for their sins? Yun ba ang nangyari sa chapter na ito and in the coming chapters? Did Joseph, the ruler of Egypt, who was sent to prison by his brothers, did he sent them to prison and hang them and killed them justly? No. Rather, they went back to Canaan, with the grain that they bought; not only that, plus the money that they brought with them, right. So parang libre yung grain. It was free! What can we see here in this chapter? We can see here Joseph, who is in position, who has the authority to say this is what you have done to me, go to prison, after 3 days you will be hanged. I mean justly, he can do that. He is now in the position to do that, right. To take revenge. That’s not what happened. In fact, you can see here the disposition of Joseph. He was weeping… which shows us that he was really not harsh to them. Although he spoke differently to them, but he was trying to test his brothers, right. There was forgiveness here. There was forgiveness. Joseph showed what forgiveness is. And for Joseph, to be able to extend such forgiveness, marahil nakita niya or na-experience niya siguro ang pagpapatawad. I mean how can he extend such forgiveness if he hasn’t experienced such? Oh, he has received such forgiveness. He, as we know, he was a righteous man, he was the righteous man of God in their time. That is true for him. He has experienced forgiveness, he has been forgiven by God just like his forefather, Abraham and Isaac, his father. Eto rin ay totoo para sa ating lahat.
Tayo, who profess to be Christians, we are basically saying that we have been forgiven by God. We, who have been forgiven, must know how to also extend and give the same forgiveness to others. In fact, we are commanded by the word of God. Ephesians 4 verse 32 be kind to one another, tenderhearted, what? forgiving one another, what is the basis why you have to forgive one another?
Paul says as God in Christ forgave you. That should be evident in the life of a Christian. That was evident in the life of Joseph. The only reason why he’s showing forgiveness here.. I mean he doesn’t need to say brothers, I forgive you. We can see it! in his heart, in this passage, how he did not take revenge, rather he in fact, blessed them with grain and even with the money that they brought. And you see his heart here, weeping for his brothers. He has forgiven them.
My message this afternoon is basically this: Forgiving Others Shows That We Are Recipients Of Forgiveness. This is what we can see as well in the life of Joseph. Now looking at the passage, what was the goal of Joseph? Why was he asking such questions as to who they were, why did he accuse them of being spies? We will talk about that in our first point When We Sin. Now we’re saying
that if we are forgiven, therefore we must forgive others. How do we for forgive? We’ll talk about that in my last point, When Others Sin.
Let’s consider the first point When We Sin. When Joseph saw them, it says in
the passage, he treated them like strangers and spoke roughly to them. But later, we will see whether Joseph really treated them badly, right. Hindi naman siya nagsabi ng masamang salita. Hindi naman siya nagsabi ng falsehood about them. But we later see na tine-test lamang niya ang kaniyang mga kapatid. So Joseph accused them of being spies and because of it, the brothers now had to tell Joseph who they really were, right. Nung inakusahan sila ni Joseph, mga spies kayo ano? Ngayon, lumabas tuloy from them who they were! Ano pa ang lumabas? That they had a brother who’s not with them anymore, right. That they were 12, originally 12. But were only 10 here; the other one was is with our father in Canaan, but the other is no more. Lumabas ngayon. Some commentators are saying they never really talked about Joseph afterward, even after they threw Joseph into the pit. Hindi na nila pinag-usapan. Hence, ganun yung mga language nina Reuben— di ba sabi ko sa inyo, huwag niyong patayin yung bata, I mean if that was something na pinag-usapan nila before, it would seem as if parang hindi na lalabas sa bibig ni Reuben yun. A lot of commentators are saying they never really talked about Joseph—ngayon lumabas, right… after what? many years! More than a decade. So this was the reason why Joseph had to test them. It was for the truth about them to come out. It was for them to remember that they had a brother who was not with them anymore. Bakit? Why? Why was their brother not with them anymore? Because they killed him. It was for them to remember what they had done; what they did to Joseph— that’s exactly what happened, that’s the purpose of Joseph’s test of his accusation. Ano pa’ng lumabas? Verse 21. We can see verse 21 it says, the brothers are saying, they’re talking to one another. In truth, we are guilty. Wow! There is an admission of guilt, there’s an admission of the sin. In truth we’re guilty concerning our brother. They didn’t say: it’s because Jacob loved our brother so much, that’s why we hate our brother; ultimately, it is our father’s fault. No! What they said was we are guilty concerning our brother. And they were talking about Joseph. In that we saw the distress of his soul he was pleading to us while he was in the pit and he begged us but we did not listen to him that is why this distress has come upon us. In fairness to them, they believe in judgment. They believe that if you did something, there will be consequences; they believe that! And they’re saying now it’s happening to us, right. In fact, sabi nga ni Reuben: now there comes a reckoning for Joseph’s blood. This is an admission of what they have done. So Joseph, see, when Joseph saw them, Joseph did not immediately hug them, brothers! or introduce himself— it is me Joseph! If he did, I mean if he did, he may not have gotten such admissions of sins. The test was necessary. The question where do you come from of Joseph was necessary?
This reminds us of Adam in the Garden of Eden. When after they sinned, God did not immediately say you are judged! Rather, God asked Adam: where are you? I mean we all know God is all knowing. He knows where Adam was but He had to ask the question for truth to come out. He’s giving an opportunity for the sinner to admit. Where are you Adam? Adam, who told you that you were naked? Sino nagsabi sa ‘yo nakahubad ka? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat? Sino nag-utos sa ‘yo? Ano’ng response ni Adam?
Because of what you have given me, right. I mean at first, it would seem as if he’s blaming Eve. But ultimately, Adam was blaming God. You are the one who gave me the one who gave me the fruit. God was giving them an opportunity to come clean, to admit to their sins. But Adam and Eve, as we know, did not admit their sins, rather, they blamed one another. They were full of pride..wow! In fairness to the brothers of Joseph, they said: in truth we are guilty concerning our brother. And the time has come… the time, the day of reckoning has come for his blood. Joseph had to put them to a test. By the way, there will be another test later on in chapter 44. Joseph had put them to the test so that such admission would come out. The goal of Joseph, ultimately the goal of God, was repentance. Repentance and we are starting to see signs of it with what his brothers were saying. There was no signs of any pride at all in what they said. They didn’t say it was our father or it was Simeon or it was Judah who said to just sell him. Walang ganun nangyayari! There was no pride at all during that time. In fact, that’s what true repentance does. It challenges any pride in our hearts. It calls us to admit to our sins, to accept the consequences. Tatanggapin natin! And there must be a, what else? Pagdating sa repentance, there must be a restitution.
If you remember Zacchaeus in Luke Chapter 19 Verse 8. He said to Jesus Christ “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” There is restitution, if possible admission of sin, of guilt and accepting the consequences. Usually you know that a person does not repent if he does not want to, if he’s just afraid of the consequences. He’s angered by the consequences, not by the sin itself, not that sin is against his holy God. So there is a need to be acknowledging the guilt that comes with a sin and that you need to work to undo it. Repentance is being fully committed to straighten up your life in light of the Gospel. When someone repents, he is turning away from his sins, yun ang ibig sabihin nun. Ang problem, the problem is repentance as a word has been reduced to just saying sorry.
Nakikita lang natin ang repentance by his words. But no! It requires a change of life! That’s what repentance means. That’s why repentance does not also identify on one day. Oh, repentant ‘to. When someone repents, he is turning away from his sins and it is necessary that he turns to someone else. Because if he’s turning away from his sins, at siya’y walang pinupuntahan, babalik din siya doon. He must turn to Christ, to the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
You cannot separate repentance from saving faith. You repent because you have faith. You repent from your sins because you have faith in the One that you are turning to— Jesus Christ. And the object of your faith must be the One who calls you to change, the One who has defeated sin and that is none other than Christ. You put to death your sins. When you say repentance, you are to put away, to put to death rather your sins as you turn to the One whose death on the cross has put an end to sin and whose resurrection from the dead has put an end to death… that is Christ.
Now, if you choose not to believe in Jesus Christ, a day of reckoning will come. An eternity of reckoning will come. But if you believe in God’s provision of salvation, if you believe in the work of Christ that in His life, He has accomplished perfect righteousness that you and I cannot achieve, and that He died on the cross for the penalty of the sins of His people, if you believe in His work, that His work and who He is has saved you from your sins, then you will be saved.
And your joy and comfort and assurance in life is that the gospel is true because He has risen. There is truth in what He has done. He is truly God. His work of salvation, when He says that your sins are forgiven, your sins have been forgiven indeed. Why? Because He rose from the dead. He did the the most impossible thing that a man could do, and that is rising from the dead. Now what’s more impossible..kung yun ay kaya Niyang gawin, imposible na yun, paano pa yung mapatawad ka Niya sa iyong kasalanan? Kung nagawa Niya yun, then definitely He can forgive your sins. So come to faith in Him! Turn away from your sins and come to faith in Him. That is the only solution, remedy that God has provided for the redemption of your sins, wala nang iba. Repent now and trust Him. When we say the Christian life is a life of repentance, it means that it is not just your entry to Christianity. In fact, as you enter you’re continuously repenting and coming to faith in Him. That is the Christian life. It is a life of repentance. Why? Because you will be tempted to sin. Minute by minute, hour, every hour, every day you will be tempted. What your job is as a Christian, what your duty is as a Christian is to always turn away from it and always run to Christ. And you have been given that ability by God, by the Spirit because Christ was victorious already on the cross. If Christ was not victorious then you won’t be able to run to Him and turn away from your sins. So if you are able to mortify your sins, if you’re able to repent of a sin, it’s just..merong iisa lang ibig sabihin nun. Ibig sabihin nanalo si Kristo sa krus. He was victorious on the cross, that’s what it means. So challenge ko sa inyo: let that be constant in your life.
Let genuine repentance be constant in your life. Let it be something that you always do. You will fail, yes, but stand on your feet and repent. The beauty of Christianity is that you can always stand on your feet. That there is always hope. It is part of a Christian’s life. As a Christian, you are called to a life of repentance. It wasn’t just a call in the beginning oh, I repented of my sins, therefore I am now a Christian, that’s the door, right. I’m on the road now. No. It’s a road of repentance and faith. Sabi ni Paul na qinuote niya kay Habakkuk: The righteous shall live by faith. As a Christian, you are called to that kind of life. This means that you acknowledge your own sins. Not acknowledge others’ sins when you are guilty of one. You’re guilty of one and yet for some reason, it always bounce back. Ang hirap aminin. Laging meroong ‘kasi’ When you’re rebuked, ‘kasi’ Kumbaga, impervious ka na sa mga rebukes. For some reason, ini-intercept mo siya, right. Never ever pumapasok ang rebuke sa puso mo kasi laging tumatalbog. Kasi..kaya ako ganito, kasi..kaya ako ginawa, kasi… Whereas, we can’t even say “in truth, I am guilty…” concerning my husband, my wife, my father, my mother, my job, my brother, my sister. So hard to say and yet you have been strengthened. You can be… you are strengthened by the Lord to continuously repent. You have that because Christ died on the cross for you.
Church, we must learn that when there is just a small ounce of blame, that is not true repentance. Kailangan nating mag-stand firm doon eh. This means that there’s still pride in our hearts that we need to mortify. Ang hirap aminin fully yung responsibility na tayo yun. Again, in our time, repentance as a word has been reduced to just saying sorry. It has been reduced to just crying and sobbing. You may have sorrow for the sin, you may indeed hate the sin, but if there is no pursuing of righteousness, if there is no surrendering to Christ, if there is no trusting Christ for the consequences of our own sins, if there is no desire to be like Christ, if there’s no genuine change in our life, then it may just be a false kind of repentance. It is what Paul calls WORLDLY GRIEF. That leads to death.
Now some people would say it is a sign of weakness to admit your sins.
Isang kahinaan ito para aminin mo ang iyong mga kasalanan. Pero, I’ll submit to you brethren and friends, the real test of strength is when we sin and we are so ready to admit it. Yun ang tunay na kalakasan. That’s the real strength. “Lord, this is all on me. I deserve to be punished because of the these sins. I deserve the consequences, Lord.” And here’s the good news— because Christ has done His redemptive work, that’s strength ,that God-given strength, He has given you to admit to your sins would also bring you to assurance. God reminds you of Christ, God gives you strength to look to Christ and be reminded of the forgiveness He has given you. So from ‘Lord, I deserve to be punished; it is my sin! From that to Lord, thank you for I don’t deserve such blessing.” But you have graciously given it to me. Oh, brethren what is this that God has done to us. Such grace and mercy. We don’t deserve such blessing of forgiveness, we don’t deserve the ability even the gift of faith, not just faith, but of repentance. It is a gift given by God and yet He has freely given it to us. What is this that God has done to us. He is indeed full of grace and mercy.
Are there sins that you need to repent of? Do not start tomorrow. If you say you’ll start tomorrow, that is disobedience now. Start now. Admit it now. Trust in the Lord now for the consequences of such sins. Remember that our salvation is not just an escape from the wrath of God. But also our salvation is for us to be transformed, to be fit, to be in eternal communion with God. That’s why we’re required to repent and have faith in Him. To be transformed into the likeness of Christ. Repentance is more than just sorry. Repentance is a changed life into the inner man, into the new man in Christ. There must be a newness in your life because you have been born again by the Spirit. You have been given life by Christ because of His work on the cross.
My last point is When Others Sin. When Joseph met his brothers and when he tested them, the brothers admitted to their own sins as we have seen. But again, look at the heart of Joseph. First the test was all the brothers would be confined, yun yung una. First, sinabi niya oh, lahat ng brothers huh, lahat kayo confined muna dito and then only one of you will go back. But then after three days, he changed his mind, right. Now, only one should be confined, and that was Simeon, and everyone else gets to go back. May pagbabago; not only that, when Reuben said, now there will be a reckoning of his blood, we know that there wasn’t. Joseph was merciful to them. Verse 24 it says, we can see his heart here, then he turned away from them and wept. So siguro nag-pretend siya, na mukha siyang di umiiyak, pero iyak siya ng iyak sa nakikita niya. Makita mo mga kapatid mo na umaamin sa ginawa nila sa iyo! What’s more important? Is it more important for them to have more grain or what Joseph was seeing at that time? Yun yung mas nakakaiyak. I’m seeing a change here! Joseph did not want harm. What he wants was true repentance. And that’s what he saw He showed mercy by not punishing them. Hindi lang mercy ang pinakita ni Joseph. Mercy because he did not punish them as they truly deserved, but he also showed grace. Verse 25 it says And Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, pinuno! and to replace every man’s money in his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. So it’s not just the grain, puno yung sack, binalik pa yung pera, hindi lang yun. Binigyan pa sila ng pagkain during the journey. Ang nakatanggap nun, ay yung mga gustong pumatay sa kaniya many years ago. In fact, when the brothers found doubt about the the money, natakot sila nung pag-uwi nila. Hala! Ba’t may pera dito? Binigay na natin ito ah. They thought that they’d be in trouble for having the money back. That in fact in the next chapter, Genesis 43, binalik ni Jacob yung pera kasi natakot sila. Ayaw nilang magkaprublema sa mga Egyptians. So binalik nila yung pera, dinoble pa nila. Genesis 43 verse 23 it says, sabi ni Joseph “Peace to you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has put treasure in your sacks for you. When they were saying na hindi alam kung bakit may pera doon sabi ni Joseph sa kanila. No. Peace to you.
Huwag kayo matakot. See the forgiving heart of Joseph. See the grace.. see firstly, see the mercy. They weren’t punished. Next see the grace, things that they do not even deserve were given to them. See the forgiving heart of Joseph who himself has received such forgiveness. The heart of someone who has been forgiven by God as we have seen here, must not take revenge. In fact you must show more grace. In fact, it is unchristian to take revenge. Ganun ba ang ginawa ni Christ? Ganun ba ang ginawa Niya? That He, I mean did He take revenge? I mean we’re not going to be saved today if that’s what He did. That’s not what He did. The Christian thing to do is to forgive. In fact, you’re not commanded to take revenge. You’re not commanded to take the sword and take matters into your own hands. You are commanded 70 times 7…. that’s how many times you have to forgive. That’s the question of Peter, Matthew chapter 18 How many times, how often will my brother sin against me and I forgive him? As many seven times?
Jesus said to them I do not say to you 7 seven times or 77 times. This means that it is not a question. Hindi siya tanong heh. It’s not a question whether to forgive or not. We must forgive. We must. Why? Because God in Christ forgave you. That is your only reason. Not because he is your brother, not because he is your son, not because he is your family member whom you love, not because she is your wife, he is your husband. But because God in Christ forgave you. And who are you, who are we not to forgive if you yourself have been forgiven by the most holy God?
Do not be like the unforgiving servant of Matthew 18 verse 21 onwards. We know that the servant owed the master 10,000 talents, that’s an enormous amount of money 10,000 talents during that time. And then the master released him forgive him, forgave him of his debts. And when that servant saw someone who has in debt, kung may utang sa kaniya, sinakal niya, siningil niya. Magkano lang yung utang? Isandaang denarii na napakababa lang. And then the master learned about this and he said Matthew 18 verse 32, the master said ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ Brethren, we owe ten thousand talents to our master. What others owe to us our fellow servant as I had mercy on you brethren we owed 10,000 talents to our Master. What others owe to us is comparable to just a 100 denarii. If our master has forgiven us, who are we not to forgive others? I know it’s easy to say and it’s really hard to do. But the Bible does not give any other solution but to forgive.
Why? Because God in Christ forgave you. Yun lang ang reason.
And if you are in Christ, if you are in Jesus Christ, remember the kind of forgiveness give us is Isaiah 44 verse 22 if you have your Bibles with you Isaiah 44 verse 22 Isaiah 44 verse 22. It says: I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you. You can’t see, you can’t even see from a thick cloud. That’s how the forgiveness of God is. Can’t see your sins. He has forgiven you to the point that your sins are no more. It’s not no more it doesn’t exist, it exists; you sin, you have remaining sins, but God chose not to remember them. That is how Christ, that is how Christ forgives us. That is how God in Christ has forgiven all of us and I present the same… I present the same challenge to all of you. I present the same challenge to you. (firstly, forgive me, sorry, thank you Deacon, ayan)
The Challenge Is Forgive Like Christ, Extend Mercy And Grace To Others. It should not be a question whether to forgive or not. I mean, imagine, nagtanong ba ang Diyos ng ganun? Patawarin ko kaya ito? Forgive! Cultivate forgiveness by extending grace. And as you cultivate such by extending grace by giving grain, by giving the money back, by giving more money in their journey, that kind of grace. Of course not materially, but spiritually is what I’m saying. Extend grace. That is how you cultivate forgiveness. Cultivate relationships with your.. with people whom you have problems forgiving. And as you do it, mortify the urge to take revenge. The problem is at times we can’t forgive because we cannot forget the sins. But brethren, forgiveness does not mean you will forget the sin.
Forgiveness doesn’t doesn’t mean that you have to wait for you to forget it. No. You may die not forgetting it. Hindi mo hihintayin na makalimutan mo yung kasalanan nung tao, tsaka okay, tsaka ako magpapatawad. Rather, you must have an active disposition of forgetting the sins to actively forget. And you do that by cultivating relationships with those who sinned against you, if possible. Bakit yun ang sinasabi natin? Kasi ganun ang ginawa ng Diyos. Ganito ang ginagawa ng Diyos. Jeremiah chapter 31 verse 34 it was read a while ago in this morning. But I just want you to read verse 34. Jeremiah chapter 31 verse 34. This is about the New Covenant that every Christian has with Jesus Christ. What privilege do we have it says in verse 34 of Jeremiah chapter 31. It says: no longer shall each one teach his neighbour and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, in this newer covenant, all who are in this new covenant will know Christ.. from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. And then, what does it say? For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
Remember the kind of forgiveness that God has. It is a kind of forgiveness that now wants the good of the person and there is an active disposition of forgetting the sin. Of course you will remember it. But you want to forget it.
Ganun ang heart ng Panginoon. Do you think God does not remember, remember? As in no? Of course He knows. Of course He sees the sin. That’s why Christians are disciplined in life. So God knows our sins. But see God will not remember our sins no more. This is the kind of forgiveness too that we must extend to others. Another problem is we want, we keep records; we keep records from 1980s to 2000s. Many chapters of sins of our family members and we can immediately..kumbaga, ilalabas na lang natin yun di ba? Sometimes it’s our weapon. That’s not what God is doing to us. That is not the kind of forgiveness that God has for us. God does not break us. In fact, God comforts us and reminds us of who we are in Jesus Christ. God wants the good. God wants our good. Therefore, as we forgive others, we forgive like God, like Christ. There should be an active disposition of forgiveness, actively forgetting, but also wanting their good.
When you struggle with unforgiveness, look at the mirror and see a person forgiven by Christ. Undeserving, but graciously forgiven. And then look to Jesus Christ and exemplify the same forgiveness to others. Do you struggle with unforgiveness? Is there someone whom you cannot even or are there other sins that are done against you that you cannot even forget? Meron ba? I present to you the work of our Lord. He loves us, He has forgiven us what He sees. What God sees is not our sins anymore but the work of His Son. And yes, we will disobey, but the beauty of the Gospel is that what God sees, even in our disobedience, what He sees is the obedience of Christ. This is why you are not condemned anymore. Even the smallest sin that you commit now is covered by the blood of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
In Christ, there will be no reckoning for us for Christ already became the recipient of our punishment. May we respond not in fear, just like the brothers of Joseph; but with gratitude and say what is this that God has done to us? What mercy He has? What grace He has for all of us?
when you struggle with repentance look to Christ. When you struggle with unforgiveness, look to Christ because the gospel alone can bring us to humble repentance and it reminds us to extend forgiveness as God in Christ has forgiven us. May the word of God enrich our knowledge of Him and may it stir us to live in light of these truths Let us pray. Our great God and gracious Father, thank You Lord. Thank You for the assurance that You will not remember our sins. Lord, we do remember our sins and Lord, it reminds us Lord that we don’t deserve what we have now and what we deserve serve is a Your just punishment for us. But Lord, you are mercy, You are rich, You are full of mercy, You’re are full of grace that Your grace is truly greater than our sins. And we can indeed cling to this truth. Lord, when we struggle with sin with unforgiveness, may we only look to Christ and remember the forgiveness that You have given us. And Lord, may You give us strength. Lord, we know that it’s so difficult to forgive. But Lord, may You allow us to see the kind of forgiveness that You have for us. Give us strength to forgive others. Give us strength to desire for their good. And Lord, I pray that You would allow us to live
a life of repentance. Give us strength also to always turn away from sin and always turn to Christ. When the time of temptation comes, Lord, strengthen us to say no and flee from temptations. And when we commit sins, and we will, grant us repentance, grant us the desire to pursue holiness, make us truly haters of sin. So Lord, thank You for what Christ has done for us. He is truly our justification. He is our sanctification and He is our glorification. We thank You. We praise You in His Name, amen.