1.11.09 CBC John Redfearn CBC WS 10:49 AM

Ecclesiastes 3:1
3:1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

As we enter a new year, it is a good time to reflect and see where God has taken us, where we have been, and where we are going. It is a time to reflect and a time to look forward to the things that God has in store for us.

Years pass by faster and faster as we get older. When we once felt like a year would never go by, no two or three can fly by before we realize it.

God, by His Grace, makes it possible for us to start over again and again. This is because we are all sinners and continually miss the mark–again and again.

Romans 3:21-24
21    But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

Isaiah 53:6
6    We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

We can begin again through Christ.

If we ever feel like we cannot begin again and are unable to continue, this passage in Psalm is where we should look
Psalm 103:1-14
1    Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6    The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.
7    He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:
8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
9 He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
14 for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.

For His people, God is willing to do whatever it takes to show us that He loves us and cares for us. Sometimes it may seem like God isn’t there or He doesn’t care. However, He loves us in all He has in store for us in life.

Matthew 18:21-35
1    Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

6    The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.

7    He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:
8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
9 He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
14 for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.
21    Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”

22    Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

23    “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

26    “The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

28    “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

29    “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’

30    “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.

32    “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

35    “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

God is calling us to forgive, as He forgives. He is asking us to give mercy, as He gives mercy. He is calling us to love, like He loves.

Knowing we need the mercy of God, He is calling us to show that same mercy to others around us in every moment of every day. We have no right to judge or accuse others because God does not hold us accountable to this.

Proverbs 28:13
13    He who conceals his sins does not prosper,
but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.

1 John 1 – 2:6
1John 1:1    That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete.

5    This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

8    If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

2:1    My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

3    We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. 4 The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

He is calling us to return to God

Galatians 2:20
20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Jesus Christ wants to live His life through us. Because of this, we always have the opportunity to begin again. It is recognizing the Grace of God and allowing Him to do the Will of His pleasure in your life.

1 Corinthians 15:9-10
9    For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

Paul knew that His only hope and the only reason He was who He was today was because of the Grace of God strong at work in His life day after day. He depended on it day after day for all of His life. We too need to do this as well and our life can have even as much of an impact as Paul’s life did. No, that doesn’t mean we will pen Holy Scriptures, but we can be used to impact our culture and change lives for all of eternity.

Are you willing to forgive others like Jesus has forgiven you?