FORGIVING THE UNFORGETTABLE
BIBLE PASSAGE: ACTS 15:36-40
Picture taken from Google
Lesson Prepared by: Krisha of
Solomon’s Wisdom FB page
Lesson
taken from: https://alfredStreetBaptistChurch
MARCH 27, 2022
MEMORY VERSE
Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass
against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass
against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee,
saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.
LUKE 17:3-4
INTRODUCTION:
When was the last time somebody
hurt you? Maybe somebody treated you bad, disrespect you, spoke to you harshly,
or anything that made you upset. Maybe you experienced just last week or
possible today before you go to church. Possible today, your mind is rewinding
your past experiences and still remember the things made you angry. Because it’s
still fresh in your mind, you can still remember what you were wearing that
time, or you knew where the direction of the wind blowing when that happened.
The details are so detailed that it’s hard for you to forget. I don’t know our
individual experiences and some of us might have carrying some wounds; some
deep wounds that are not still healed until today. In Luke 17:1 says, Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible
but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come!
Sinabi ni Jesus sa kanyang mga alagad, “Tiyak na
darating ang mga sanhi ng pagkakasala; ngunit kakila-kilabot ang sasapitin ng
taong panggagalingan niyon (Tagalog). Time will come that you’ll be mistreated, and you
know what even the saved saints of God, know what is like to be hurt. When you
are hurt and wounded, this is the start the devil uses these to destroy your
relationship to God. Satan holds you, hostage; he uses your hurt and wounds and
these is his one of the tools. Holding on to past hurt is an unproductive thing
we do in our lives. We’re still holding on to anger and resentment. Devil loves
to put us in a place where we believe we can’t forgive. He’ll give us more
reasons not to forgive; then forgiving is hard to do. We know that forgiving is
easier said than done. It’s challenge for us when Peter asked Jesus how many
times a person should be forgiven in the book of Matthew which the Lord replied
seventy times seven. Now, Let’s look the 17th chapter of Luke verses
3 & 4,
3 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee,
rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. 4 And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven
times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.
The Bible gave us a warning in verse 3 and this time somebody hurt
you seven times in just one day. Imagine this hurt in one day but the Bible
said we should forgive if that somebody asked forgiveness.
Every day we’ve got reasons not to forgive and every day, the
devil gives you more reasons, but we are called to forgive.
LESSON BACKGROUND:
We have read Acts 15:36-40. This is
about Barnabas and Paul. If we were asked us to describe apostle Paul, we could
say many things because he is familiar especial to those who have been in the
church for so long. As a matter of fact, Paul, more than anyone else, who teaches
us what it means to follow after and walk in faith in Jesus Christ. He wrote
more than half of the books in the New Testament. He is powerful preacher that
pastor, that counsellor, and that theologian. We can say that he might be the
MVP in early Christianity for no one does much in spreading the Gospel like
Paul. But it might surprise us to find out that Paul, like many of us,
struggled with forgiving. That Paul had an issue with learning to let things
go. We’ll see that evidently in the brother named “John Mark.” We probably better
know him as Mark; he is the writer of the second book of the New Testament. He
had relationship with Paul that quite contentious.
To understand the relationship of
Paul and Mark, let’s go back to Acts chapter 7. Bear with me as I tell you the
story of this relationship. In this book, Stephen is stoned to death; he’s the
first martyr. When this happened, disciples panic, scattered to escape. They
went to different cities like Cyprus and Cyrene but in Antioch where the
Christians have fled from Jerusalem where the gospel begins to thrive. The
fugitives from Jerusalem goes to Antioch and the Gospel begins to grow. Antioch
is important in Christian history; this is the first city and first time the
followers of Jesus Christ are called “Christians.” With this success the
Christians in Jerusalem want to make sure that the gospel is preached rightly
so they send Barnabas to Antioch to help but the ministry So then Barnabas went
to Antioch, but the spreading of the gospel is so great that he needs help too.
So then, he was partner to Paul to pastor the church in Antioch. While they were in Antioch, a prophet was
sent names “AGABBus” and said there will be famine in Jerusalem and the
brethren in Antioch are concern with the brothers and sister in Antioch, so they
make up a love offering. Barnabas and Paul go back to Jerusalem to give the
Love offering. When they come back to
Antioch, Paul and Barnabas was accompanied by a young man named, “John Mark.”
Some believe that John Mark is probably a nephew or relative of Barnabas. So
now, Barnabas, Paul and John Mark.
Then in Acts chapter 13, the
Christians are praying and fasting and when they were praying and fasting, the
Holy Spirit said, “Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work
whereunto I have called them.” Paul and Barnabas ordained by the Holy Spirit to leave
Antioch and to sail cities to preach the good news. The Holy Spirit says, “Go
to Pergus, to Pamphylia, go to Iconium, go to Lystra go to Derbe and preach the
good news of Jesus Christ. So, Paul and Barnabas with the ordination of the Holy
Spirit grabbed John Mark and they sailed to begin preaching the good news. The
first stop on their journey is the little town called Paphos. When they got
there, they had unpleasant experience there with a sorcerer named Elymas who
also called BarJesus. It had some tensions, but Paul worked it out. They had
success in Paphos and then sailed in island called Pamphylia. When they got
there, Mark tenders his letter of resignation. They’d been to one city and
they’d one issue and then he quitted and say “No” to proceed. Mark quits. He
went back to Jerusalem then Paul and Barnabas kept on their journey. They go
to: Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe and they kept preaching the good news of
Jesus Christ. After their journey in Acts 15, they went to Jerusalem to have a
debate over the necessity of circumcision with the apostles in Jerusalem. After
Paul won that debate, the Holy Spirit says to him, “Go back to the cities
you’ve just came from and see how the gospel is.” Then Paul told Barnabas that
they needed to back to the cities they’d preached but Barnabas wanted to bring
Mark with them. In Acts 15:37 & 38 say, “And Barnabas determined to take with them John,
whose surname was Mark. But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who
departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work.” Let’s paraphrase,
“Oh no, this can’t be. Don’t you forget he left us in our previous trip?” Paul
in Acts 15 hasn’t forgotten that Mark left them in chapter 13. Paul didn’t like
to bring Mark and in Acts 15:39 says, “And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder
one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus;”
They argued about Mark so deeply that they split ways. In
Acts 15 you see a Paul hasn’t forgotten and forgiven.
LESSON OUTLINE:
1. SOME RELATIONSHIP CANNOT BE RESTORED
AND YOU CANNOT RUSH RESTORATION
Hurt can be damaging that can’t be restored.
Sometimes things don’t go back to the way they were. You can forgive but still
the relationship is not restored the way it was. Forgiveness can be granted but
restoration (panunumbalik) is not automatically there. Even the disciples are
not exempted with this; Mark is the writer of 2nd book of the New
Testament and Paul wrote half of the New Testament. Even leaders and pastors
are prone to this kind of contention. That’s why I’m encouraging you to look
unto Jesus not to the people around you because they are not perfect like you
do. If you look to them, you will fall. I remember one of my personal
experiences in living with pastors, leaders, pastors’ sons and daughters,
workers and also “fake workers.” I lived with male workers here in the church
and one of them is I think had the weakness that he can’t control. He used to
peep every time I took a bath. I caught him and made me angry. I mentioned this
to our pastors that time, but I don’t know what discipline they did. If you were
in situation like that, you will be careful next time, am I right? You won’t
get too close to that person anymore, it takes time. For clarification, “some
relationships not all relationships.” Let’s go back to the person I was
talking. This person hadn’t asked forgiveness so what I did I talked to him and
told him that what he did hurt me and got disappointed to him but at the end, I
gave him my forgiveness. After that, we
didn’t eat and sit together, everything changed. I realized he still a “man”
and prone to temptation, so I gave a space.
I searched if Paul and Barnabas had
come together after this contention but nothing found but there’s one verse in
Colossians but that is not clear about this matter. So, we can say that they
never work together again like what they were. Then Paul refused to partner
with Mark again.
If you remember in Acts chapter 13 that Paul and
Barnabas are ordained by God, but they took John Mark. God hasn’t ordained
someone to be part in your life or in the ministry, but you allowed it.
Sometimes God allows an offence to break the relationship he never ordained for
you in the first place. God ordained Paul and Barnabas to be together, but John
Mark came by their own invitation. John Mark was never ordained by God to be
part of the partnership of Paul and Barnabas and sometimes the offence comes
for God to exit out of your life people He never ordained to be part of His
plan. Barnabas didn’t see this. You can’t force in partnership with God hasn’t
created in providence (protective care of God).
We mentioned earlier that it’s hard to find in the
Bible that Paul and Barnabas worked together again after the contention but
there is one in Colossians Paul mentioned Barnabas. So we see that Paul and
Barnabas didn’t work together as they were. How about Paul and Mark? In 2
Timothy 4:10-11, where Paul dying moment when he wrote this letter.
10 For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and
is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia. 11 Only Luke is with me. Take
Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.
Paul was forsaken by Demas and Crescens
went to Galatia and Titus in Dalmatia and see only Luke with him, a disciple
who wrote the 3rd book of New Testament. When he said to Timothy to
visit him and told him to bring Mark with him too for he is profitable in the
ministry. This time, he wants to deal with Mark again; he wants to restore the
relationship.
2. UNFORGIVING HEART WILL CAUSE YOU TO
LOSE OTHER PRODUCTIVE RELATIONSHIPS IN YOUR LIFE (ACTS 15:39)
If you look in
the Bible and, in any relationship, there was no more productive than that with
Paul and Barnabas. Paul and Barnabas together get the job done. When Paul was
converted from Saul he went to Jerusalem and tried to become an apostle, who
was there to recommend him to be accepted? Barnabas did that. When the church
in Antioch was growing and Barnabas needs help, guess who he got – Paul. When
the gospel spread in the cities who preached for revival work? – Paul and
Barnabas. When Paul was stoned in Derbe and left for dead guess who laid hands
on him – it’s Barnabas. Their relationship ws productive and there’s no
relationship in the Bible as productive as Paul and Barnabas. BUT Paul’s
unwillingness to forgive Mark caused him to lose his partnership with Barnabas.
Barnabas
wants John Mark, but Paul didn’t. Paul made a critical mistake to force Barnabas
to choose between him and Mark but sad to say, Barnabas chose Mark. Possible,
Paul assumed he would be chosen but it’s painful that was not he expected. Only
to find out that Barnabas had a deep attachment to John Mark. Sometimes we want
somebody especially our friends or partners in the ministry to have the same
feelings as we have. If we have a bad feeling with another person, we want our
friends to feel the same way or understands our feelings. If you’ve hurt and
offended and you won’t forgive, you naturally have an issue with anybody else
who favors the person who hurt you and your unforgiving heart can sit still
with people who like the one you won’t forgive. For example, I got you offended,
and you won’t forgive me. Let’s see how the enemy works on this to make the
relationship unproductive. You attended a choir practice and as you enter you
heard how much they like me maybe because of something I did to them or in the
ministry. Then in your unforgiving heart can’t stand to hear somebody talking
about nice things about me. Then now you’ve got to tell everybody the real
truth about me because you need everybody else to not like me the same way you
don’t like me. The result, the people who like doesn’t want to be bother with
you. An unforgiving heart makes you
unattractive person. People don’t want to hear your bitterness. People
don’t want to be with someone who always angry and telling stuff of others.
Bitterness makes you ugly.
3. AN UNFORGIVNG HEART IS ALSO AN UNGRATEFUL
HEART
When you
don’t forgive you literally are saying, you’re not grateful. When Mark left
Paul and Barnabas in Acts 13, Paul was hurt, felt disrespected and he was
angry. By the time we get to chapter 15 of Acts, he was still holding on to the
anger what John Mark did. The problem, he seemed to forget everything God had
done since Mark hurt him.
In chapter
13-15 we can see the cities the journey they went through. After Mark hurt him,
they sailed from Pamphylia to Pisidia, then from Pisidia to Iconium, from
Iconium to Lystra, from Lystra to Derbe, from Derbe to back to Antioch, from
Antioch to Jerusalem and from Jerusalem to Antioch. God gave him travel to
twelve different cities after Mark hurt him. After Mark hurt him, look at the
success of the gospel. After Mark hurt him, they preached the good news to the
whole city in Pisidia. After Mark hurt him, the Holy Ghost filled thousands of
disciples in Iconium. After Mark hurt
him, he preached in Lystra and raised the crippled brother. Look how God
protected Paul after Mark hurt him, After Mark hurt him, he was stoned in Derbe
and God allowed him to survive. Also, he won in the debate in Jerusalem. All of
these things happened after Mark hurt him.
Let’s ask,
what did Paul lose? … Even somebody hurt you, God still bless you! Even Mark
disrespected Paul, God gave him more what he deserves. Don’t let your
bitterness on what they did to you causes you to be ungrateful for what God has
done for you.
CONCLUSION:
I know
some situations in our life where somebody deeply hurt us. It’s not in the skin
surface. it’s in the core; it’s deep. Let’s remember that the enemy gives us
more reasons not to forgive. The question is, in spite of people did to you,
has the Lord been good to you? In spite of what they said, did the Lord bless
you anyhow? In spite of how much they hurt you, did God make a way anyhow? If
you know how good God has been don’t come in bitter; come in grateful because
God has blessed you, in spite of it. God was still good. Let’s learn to forgive what you can’t forget.
