
I. Forgiveness
If we are going to express our gratefulness with action The first thing we need to do is forgive.
A. Why would Jesus want this first? He forgave you!
Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a grievance against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you are also to forgive. —Colossians 3:12-13
Jesus has forgiven you. He paid your price.
We show our gratefulness by forgiving others.
Peter asked Jesus, “How many times do I have to forgive?” Jesus said 7 times 70! Why is it so important? Why can’t we just let Jesus forgive.
B. Un-forgiveness places chains on our lives.
When we refuse to forgive someone else has control over us.
Jesus ultimate goal for your life is freedom! If there is someone you can’t forgive you will never be free.
You have to forgive and give that person who hurt you over to God and trust Him to deal with it.
This is the toughest thing you can do in life. It is also the most Godly!
C. Sometimes we need help
Most of the time you can, with an act of your will, tell God I choose to forgive him. It takes a few times but it works.
Sometimes what they have done to you repeatedly or over the years has really impacted your mind and soul and we need help. A good Christian counselor can really help you give that over to God.
What Jesus wants is for you to be free! Free of all those who have hurt you or want to hurt you. You can do that by forgiving them. The disciples asked him Jesus to teach them to pray. What did he tell them to pray to the father. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us…
II. Goodness
Act in concert with your purpose
For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—not from works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do. —Ephesians 2:8-9
A. Step into your purpose
We have been created in Christ for good works.
Simply be the person you were created to be.
DO GOOD to those around you.
B. Salt and light for the people of the earth.
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It’s no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. —Matthew 5:13-16
We are Salt. What does salt do? It makes things taste better.
So many people’s lives are so bland. You have an opportunity to put some flavor in other people’s lives.
DO SOME GOOD! This is Christmas do more Good! Make someone’s day have some flavor.
Salt preserves things. Preserve the relationships around you. Be a peacemaker.
We are light. Let you light shine! Don’t hide it.
16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds
Good deeds, Good things. Make it a habit to do something good for someone each week! Yes, this includes your family!
C. We were created for doing Good
This is what you are created in Christ to do. You will love it.
Is it time to help at a shelter?
Is it time to be a child’s advocate or a big brother or big sister? Meals on Wheels? Second harvest.
It might be time for you to give your talents to FW Kids.
You need forgiveness and Goodness to have what Jesus wants! Life! In Goodness you get to experience the things he has had for you before the beginning of time. Our enemy wants you to be selfish because when you are it sucks the life out of you. Jesus wants you to have life and have it to the full!
III. Life to the full
I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. —John 10:9-10 NIV
A. He wants you to love life.
He came so you can enjoy life
You Life isn’t to fight a culture war. It is to show others through His love that what he has is better.
In Acts 19 there is a riot in Ephesus. It is a riot because people who loved God proved by the way the lived and it was changing the culture.
Sometimes we need to stand up in this country, but EVERYTIME we need to live life to the full by being Salt and Light.
B. He wants your life to be free.
For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of his resurrection. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin, 7 since a person who has died is freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him, 9 because we know that Christ, having been raised from the dead, will not die again. Death no longer rules over him. 10 For the death he died, he died to sin once for all time; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. —Romans 6:5-11
Our old nature was crucified. We are no longer slaves to our selfishness.
You cannot die! We live with Him.
The death he died, he died to sin once and for all.
He is our righteousness. He took our death the only thing that is left is LIFE!
Your life is not an audition for the afterlife. You feel that?
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. —John 8:36 NIV
C. He wants to be part of that life.
- He wants to be present in that life.
You reveal the path of life to me; in your presence is abundant joy; at your right hand are eternal pleasures. —Psalm 16:11
He wants joy for you. He wants eternal pleasures that continue on after this life.
He wants you to drink deeply from Him. So you will never thirst again. Fill yourself with Jesus!
But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again. In fact, the water I will give him will become a well of water springing up in him for eternal life.” —John 4:14
He wants you to know him, understand Him, the deep things about Him
My goal is to know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, —Philippians 3:10
Summary
How should we express are gratefulness for Jesus, for what he has done on the cross for everyone of us? What would he want us to do? Have life to the full! He paid so that you can be free. Break the chains of un-forgiveness on your life and step into the goodness that He had planned for you from the beginning. Drink deeply of Jesus. He wants you to know Him. He wants to walk this life with you. A life that stretches into eternity!