In this sermon, Steve Hopkins discusses the concept of forgiveness as presented in Matthew 18, where Peter asks Jesus how often he should forgive others. Jesus replies that forgiveness should be given not just seven times, but seventy times seven. Hopkins emphasizes the importance of considering forgiveness from both perspectives: the one giving forgiveness and the one seeking it. He encourages the congregation to reflect on the last time they were humbled, broken, and grieved by their own actions and asked for forgiveness. The sermon also highlights the importance of immediate forgiveness when someone sincerely apologizes.

I've been thinking about forgiveness this week and and had intended to passed out a a scripture meditations on forgiveness kind of tracked, but I I I didn't complete that yet. But I want to draw your attention to Matthew eighteen beginning with verse twenty one where Peter comes to the Lord it says Lord, how often shall, my brother sent against me, and I forgive him till seven times, and Jesus say unto to him, I say not into thee until seven times, but until seventy times seven. I just want to comment on that for just a moment. You know that doesn't mean, of course that when someone thins us and they come to us and they bring that they're sorrow full, And they bring something to us and they're asking for a forgiveness that, you know, we get to four hundred and eighty, and we start counting you know, because when we get to four ninety, then we can we can dump them, you know, and and stop forgiving. No, we we continue to forgive. But but what I've been thinking about in the last few hours today is the other side of this the other side because we read that and we and we think about, you know, if someone comes to me, and they ask forgiveness of me, then I need to forgive them. And and that's the way it's presented here. But but think about it for a minute from the other side. How often are you the one who's on the other side? When is the last time you were on the other side. When is the last time when you were on the side of the the humbled On the side of the broken, on the side of the one, grieve over their offense and coming humbly and broken as to another person saying, please forgive me. How many times have you been on on that side? When is the last time you were on that side? Because we we get what what Jesus is saying here Yeah. If someone comes to me and they asked my forgiveness, even if they do it over and over and over again seventy times seven, I need to forgive them. What about when you're on the other side. And how many times have you been on on that other side? How many times are you the one that is humbled broken and grieve by what you've done and coming to another person and saying, please forgive me. When's the last time you went to a brother or sister, you young people in the household and said, please forgive me or to a parent. Or to the spouse, husbands and wise and the last time it was you going not asked, not under comp, but just because you were humbled and you were broken, and you felt I need to go to my spouse or my child. The last time you went to your child, a child and say, I'm sorry. When's the last time child, you went to a parent, so, I'm really sorry, not because they they p you with something. Because you you're broken because it's in God's word, and the holy spirit is taking those word and it's place applying it to your life and you're humbled and you're sad. And you and you you've done on defense and you want to be forgiven. When's the last time you said, please forgive me to someone else. And then finally, when you do forgive, how long does it take you to forgive? When someone does come and say, sorry, how long does it take you to to forgive. How long did it take Jesus to forgive you? It should be immediate. Should be immediate forgiveness.