January 6, 2025 • 50 mins
Discover the profound impact of faith and forgiveness in these challenging times, as we explore the incredible work of Cornerstone Christian Center and their global outreach. Pastor Bridget Metcalf and her husband Dana are making waves in Bangkok, Thailand, reaching out to a nation where believers are scarce. Through heartwarming initiatives like the Sealed Kids Club and efforts to combat human trafficking, they shine a beacon of hope in spiritually dark places. We'll also celebrate the establishment of new church campuses in Thailand and Nepal and share their inspiring vision for providing educational opportunities for refugee children.
Forgiveness is more than a feeling; it's a liberating path to aligning closer with God's heart. Through engaging stories, biblical parables, and transformative personal experiences, we tackle the burdens of grudges and anger. Learn from a creative classroom activity about the weight of unforgiveness and explore the parable of the unforgiving servant, illustrating how grudges can burden our spiritual journey. This thought-provoking discussion invites you to embrace limitless forgiveness as a testament to your faith, freeing yourself from the bonds of bitterness.
As we gear up for an exciting year ahead, join us in a transformative 21-day journey of prayer and fasting. It's an opportunity to renew your life through faith, forgiveness, and community, and to experience the empowering love of the Lord. Whether you're seeking a new relationship with Jesus or looking to deepen your spiritual journey, we extend a heartfelt blessing and remind you that you are deeply loved here at Cornerstone Christian Center. Embrace this chance for spiritual growth, and let it guide you toward a year of freedom, deliverance, and fulfilled dreams.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
We're so excited that we get to be a chance of those
who go and take the message ofGod's good news to every person
around us.
It's an exciting day, we'restarting a new year for us and
we are blessed because we arepeople who know a creator who
loves us, and we've beenforgiven by him and we are
living in that relationship,amen.
We know this about ourselveshere at Cornerstone.
(00:21):
We know that we are people whoare not perfect, but we are
people who are following afterJesus and it's our ambition to
be more like Jesus, and so we dothat by following after him
where he's leading us to go.
We use this imagery of Jesuswalking with his disciples
because that's how we seeourselves, is that we're going
where he's asking us to go andfollowing him.
(00:44):
It's our ambition to love Godand make disciples and reach the
world.
Part of that is that we wannabe those who are giving in
generosity, and we do thatmonthly in our support of
missionaries across the world.
We wanna be those who arekingdom builders amen and in
doing so we get to participatewith some of our heroes that
(01:05):
serve the Lord across the worldin being the light of Christ in
spiritually dark places.
One of those people is PastorBridget Metcalf.
She and her husband Dana areamazing friends of ours.
They pastor an amazinginternational church in Bangkok,
thailand, where they're doingmuch more than that.
She's going to explain some ofthat today, but please welcome
(01:26):
Pastor Bridget Metcalf as shecomes today to share with us.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Well, what an honor and a privilege it is to be with
you, cornerstone ChristianCenter, today, and I want to say
thank you from the bottom ofour hearts.
We could not do what we do onthe field in Bangkok, thailand,
if it wasn't for your love, yourprayers, your support and your
faithful giving.
It really is an extension ofeverything that you're going to
(01:55):
witness today, is an extensionof you, and maybe sometimes you
can think, oh, I'm here, I'm inthis area, but you are making an
impact around the world, as youare kingdom builders In a
country that has less than 1%believers.
We are seeing a shift in thatarea and I want to show you a
(02:15):
collage of pictures to just kindof give you a little bit of
what God has done.
This last year we have beengoing on the streets every
Thursday.
We feed 300 homeless and wehave such a fantastic time.
We go out into the red lightarea, which is a trafficking
area.
There's a lot of prostitution,but there's human and sex
(02:35):
trafficking happening, and we'reout there every week on
Saturdays.
We pray in the morning, we goback and do ministry in the
evening.
Matter of fact, our newestministry is down here in this
corner.
We have our Sealed Kids Club,which we just launched this last
year, just a few months ago,and we have, if you've ever seen
, the movie Aladdin.
(02:55):
It's kind of like those littlekids like Aladdin is that little
street rat out in themarketplace stealing things and
doing that.
Those are these kids right here.
Many of their guardians ortheir parents are working in the
marketplace stealing things anddoing that.
Those are these kids right here.
Many of their guardians ortheir parents are working in the
trafficking area and those kidsare there from about three in
the afternoon until about two inthe morning and they're exposed
to ungodly things, just corruptand dark things.
(03:19):
And we had had this dream andthis vision to say God, can you
give us the children of thestreets?
And he's starting to give usthese children and we are so
excited.
They got introduced to whatChristmas was really all about
and they were so excited.
There's a little kid there he'sactually the second one to the
right, on your right.
He's the second one that'sgoing like this His name is A
(03:43):
and he is literally like littleAladdin.
When we go to grab him for kidsclub, he comes out of this
little.
It's like a little hole that hecomes out of and he does a
little jig and a little danceand then he goes and gets all
the other kids and brings themin to our ministry.
So we're very excited aboutthat.
(04:04):
God has also blessed us with alanguage center that allows us
to go into the prisons, onto thestreets, and we go into the
Thai government schools, that weintroduce English to them, but
through the gospel of JesusChrist, and there's an open door
there.
We actually have planted fivechurches in Nepal, but also,
(04:25):
just this last year, we'veplanted two churches in Thailand
itself.
So now we have three campusesone in the southern tip of
Thailand, which borders Malaysia.
It's a very high Muslim area,but there was literally only out
of I think there was 1 millionpeople in that province and only
4,000 believers.
(04:46):
Can you imagine that?
That's not even a percentage.
And God is moving.
And we just celebrated twoyears in that area with our
church plant and there's 80believers gathering together
every Sunday morning.
Can you believe that God is sogood?
Yes, and then we, just beforewe came home for Christmas, we
(05:06):
launched our third campus inKarat, which is in the northern
part of Thailand, and God ismoving the churches right across
from the university, we have 40people that are gathering
together.
God is moving in great andmighty ways.
There is a desire that I have inmy heart that I'd like to see
in 2025.
And I just want to launch thisto you.
(05:26):
But we are praying and hoping.
We have a lot of refugees inThailand and they are scattered.
They have ran for refuge inthat area because of their
Christian background, mostly inPakistan.
We have 30 kids.
We try to give scholarships tothem and we can only afford
about 10 scholarships, but wehave 30 kids.
(05:48):
We try to give scholarships tothem and we can only afford
about 10 scholarships, but wehave 30 kids, and so we have
these families that have tochoose which child gets a
scholarship for their educationand which two have to stay
behind, and it's literally justbroken my heart.
So God gave me a vision thathow about we host an online
school at our church campus andwe take that money that we could
(06:10):
do for scholarships andactually be able to educate all
of those kids at one time?
And so that is our prayer isthat in the fall of 2025, that
we get to launch that.
But also, when we were here last, you got to hear a little bit
about our lasso truck.
This is our first ever BAMproject, which is a business as
missions, and we've launchedthat in the streets, in the red
(06:31):
light.
God is moving powerfully.
It's opened up so many doors.
Matter of fact, this Christmaswe gave 500 lemonades out to the
streets and they were just soexcited and it's a way for us to
be able to take territory andshare the gospel of Jesus Christ
.
So, thank you for your faithfulgiving, thank you for your love
(06:52):
, and I have to say that yourpastors are very, very special
to us.
They're dear to our hearts.
They were here this last summerand got to spend a little time
with us with their family, and Itell you they made such a big
impact that our youth are sayingcan we have Javen and Shiloh
and Amelia come back?
We want them to come back.
(07:13):
I was just telling Shiloh whydon't you spend a summer with me
and intern with me after school?
And we're so excited.
They've made such an incredibleimpact on our church and in our
land.
Well, today I want to share aword with you, and it's
something for 2025.
It's a way that you might lookat the picture behind me and say
(07:34):
how do you guys do what you do?
This is the key element of howwe walk in the vision of Christ,
with freedom, and be able tolive out the goals and the
dreams that God has given us,and so I want to give this to
you today.
I want to talk aboutforgiveness for your soul.
It's a soul care item.
(07:54):
I used to be kind of againstsoul care, like, oh you know,
like maybe not, but God hasshown me this is something so
important for all of usForgiveness for your soul.
Forgiveness is not for me.
If you forgive, it doesn'taffect me, it affects you.
You can walk into 2025 totallyfree, totally liberated, and
(08:19):
maybe those little dreams andthose goals, or maybe the very
destiny of why you were born isjust burning inside of you, but
you haven't seen the fullfruition of it, and I'm going to
tell you that that is due tothat investigation of your soul,
of is there anything that Ineed to release and forgive?
I want to share a little storywith you.
(08:42):
There was a teacher Her name wasTeacher Sally.
She had a second grade class 18students and these kids started
off the year very good, butafter time these kids were
starting to get a little rough.
They came in angry, they weremad.
They were mad at their sistersand their brothers and each
other.
They're starting to bully eachother, they're talking mean to
each other, and she, as ateacher, thought this is really
(09:04):
disrupting my class.
What can I do to teach a lessonto these kids so that we can go
on and we can grow as aclassroom?
So she got this brilliant ideato create an assignment.
That next Monday the kids camein and all of their desks were
against the wall, all theirseats, and just in the middle of
(09:27):
the room was a pile of potatoes.
There was little bags for eachstudent, and she had the kids
come in and she said we're goingto sit in a circle around this
pile of potatoes.
Kids are confused, they don'tknow what's going on, and so she
had explained this assignment.
It's going to be a week-longassignment and I want you to
(09:49):
each grab a bag and for everyperson that you feel hurt by or
angry at or frustrated with, Iwant you to put a potato in the
bag.
That potato represents thatperson and put it in your bag.
Well, some kids put all thesepotatoes in their bag.
I don't like my mother, I don'tlike my brother, I don't like
anybody, I don't like you, you,you.
(10:10):
And they just filled their bagswith potatoes.
Some kids felt guilty andthought well, I need to at least
put one potato in my bag.
I don't have that hurt or thatpain, but I'll just put one
potato in the bag.
The teacher explained to themyou're going to take the sack of
potatoes with you everywhereyou go the bathroom, your sports
(10:34):
, your home, your church, to thegrocery store, everywhere you
go.
For one week you have to bringthat bag of potato or you lose a
point.
Some of the kids were like what?
Well, not big deal, I can dothat.
Well, as the week progressedand they had to bring these
potatoes with them, they startedto kind of rot and smell.
(10:55):
The potatoes got heavier andheavier and the kids were
complaining.
The teacher, with her brilliantidea that next Monday, came in
and she said I want to hear howyou felt about this assignment.
The kids complained.
They said everywhere we wentwith these potatoes, people
(11:17):
could smell the smell and itstunk and it was heavy and it
weighed us down.
And so she explained to thekids as they dumped their bags
of potatoes in the middle of thefloor again, she said and that
is what it's like when you walkin unforgiveness towards others
it's stinky, it's smelly and itholds you back, it's a weight
(11:41):
upon you.
I heard this story and I thoughtthis is not just a story for
little kids.
This is something that we couldall learn and grow from.
I want you to turn to Matthew18, 21 through 35.
And I want to unpack a storythat Jesus shared with Peter and
(12:04):
his disciples.
It started off with Peter, itsays.
Then Peter came to Jesus andasked Lord, how many times shall
I forgive my brother or sisterwho sins against me?
Up to seven times, jesusanswered.
I tell you, not seven times,but 70 times seven.
What does that mean?
(12:24):
Times, but 70 times seven.
What does that mean?
That means infinite amount oftime.
He wasn't just talking aboutnumbers, but he was basically
saying Peter, this isn't enough.
I want you to forgive so muchthat you literally start to
forget what the problem was.
But he went further.
(12:44):
Start to forget what theproblem was, but he went further
.
He used this as an opportunity,just like teacher Sally did
with her students, and began toshare a parable.
Therefore, the kingdom of heavenis like a king who wants to
settle his accounts with hisservants and he began the
settlement.
A man who owed him 10,000 bagsof gold was brought to him.
(13:07):
Since he was not able to pay,the master ordered that he and
his wife and his children andeverything he owned be sold to
repay his debt.
At this, the servant fell onhis knees before him.
Be patient with me, he beggedand I will pay back everything.
(13:29):
The servant's master took pityon him, canceled the debt and
let him go.
But when the servant went outnow we don't know the time frame
, but it sounds like almost assoon as he was free from his
debt he went out right afterthat and he found one of his
(13:49):
fellow servants who owed him 100silver coins.
I want to just unpack this forjust a second.
He owed 10,000 talents.
One talent at that time waslike a bag of gold that weighed
135 pounds.
Can you imagine the debt of hisweight was?
(14:11):
I calculated it, I was doingsome research on it cost close
to 3.5 billion dollars.
Him and his children and hischildren's children would be
paying this debt forever.
Him and his children and hischildren's children would be
paying this debt forever.
But he was forgiven this debt.
But as soon as he went out hewent and found the other servant
(14:33):
.
He found this servant and hesaid you owe me 100 silver coins
.
You know how much 100 silvercoins or denarii amounted to at
that time was really 5,800.
I think it was like $5,800.
Can you imagine the difference?
On that Very little.
(14:54):
He was just freed from thisamazing debt, but yet he is not
showing mercy forward.
But when the servant went out,he found one of his fellow
servants who owed him a hundredsilver coins.
He grabbed him and began tochoke him.
Pay back what you owe me, hedemanded.
His fellow servant fell to hisknees and begged him Same words
(15:17):
Be patient with me, I will payyou back.
But he refused.
Instead he went off and had theman thrown into prison until he
could pay his debt.
When the other servants sawwhat had happened, they were
outraged and went out and toldtheir master everything that had
(15:38):
happened.
Then the master called theservant in you, wicked servant.
He said I canceled all yourdebt of yours because you begged
me to.
Shouldn't you have had mercy onyour fellow servant just as I
had on you?
In anger, his master handed himover to the jailers to be
tortured until he could pay back.
(16:00):
This is a powerful message.
It's a powerful message to walkinto 2025 with, and I want to
(16:23):
really just highlight threeaspects to this of how important
it is to walk in forgiveness.
One is unforgiveness is aweight that you must shake off.
Two, I want to expose some ofthe myths and the lies of
forgiveness that keeps us fromforgiving.
(16:44):
And three, in order to imitateJesus, you must forgive.
You cannot be imitators ofJesus Christ.
Unless you forgive, we can'treflect him.
So let's start withunforgiveness as a weight.
It's a weight that affects ourhealth, our wealth, our emotions
(17:13):
and our spirit.
John Hopkins Medical ResearchCenter and Harvard University
did a study on forgiveness.
The studies found that the actof forgiveness can reap huge
rewards for your health Loweringthe risk of heart attack,
improving cholesterol levels andsleep, reducing pain, blood
(17:33):
pressure and levels of anxiety,depression and stress, and build
your immune system.
Well, just that alone says, ifI walked in forgiveness, that
actually helps me in these areas?
Yes, because unforgiveness is aweight on your body.
It's a weight on your physicalbeing.
(17:56):
It says in Ephesians 4.32, bekind and compassionate to one
another, forgiving each otherjust as Christ forgave you,
giving each other just as Christforgave you.
It's a weight on our bodiesphysically, literally.
It can keep you physically frommoving forward, but it also is
(18:20):
a weight on our wealth.
Look at the wicked servant.
How deep he went into debt withthat 10,000 talents.
He really needed a financialpeace class or something like
that.
I'm thinking how did he go thatfar down into this debt?
But his generations wasimpacted.
This is not even.
The debt was such a magnitudethat even in his lifetime he
(18:44):
could not pay back that debt.
His family and his family'sfamily and his family's family
family was going to have to paythis debt back.
But yet, because of forgiveness, he was released.
But because he didn't pay thatforgiveness forward, he was back
(19:05):
in debt.
Paying forgiveness forward, hewas back in debt.
Paying forgiveness forwardreleases our wealth.
Can you imagine?
I can't even imagine owing $3.5billion.
I just can't even imagine that.
And then the moment that masterhad mercy on him and said it's
(19:28):
free, I'm going to give it toyou.
Man, I'd be leaping and excitedand joyful and walk out that
door.
But not him.
He forwarded revenge.
He was just freed from this,yet goes after his fellow
servant for just a few pennies.
Hmm, just freed from this, yetgoes after his fellow servant
(19:50):
for just a few pennies.
But imagine the emotionalweight.
It says that he was turned overto the torturers and I don't
believe that that torturing wasjust a physical torture, but I
think it was a mental torture.
Can you imagine that thought ofhow stupid I was.
(20:11):
I was free.
Why did I do that?
Why did I just get free?
And then I'm back in bondageand torture again just because I
went after my fellow servant.
It emotionally grieved him, notonly physically and with his
wealth, but it also affects ourspiritual well-being.
(20:35):
When we walk in unforgiveness,you know that there's a call in
each one of your lives, each oneof you you're not done.
You might be retired and thinkI'm done.
No, you're not done.
You might be retired and thinkI'm done.
No, you're not done.
Not in the kingdom of God.
We're never done in the kingdomof God.
We need you.
God needs you.
He needs your hands, he needsyour feet, he needs your
(20:56):
encouragement with others.
There's so much that's outthere that you can do.
Maybe you have sinned andyou've done things and you've
just fallen short.
God is just waiting to releaseyou into the things that he has
for you, but we hold ourselvesback.
It's not God holding us back,but we have to investigate.
(21:18):
Is there any unforgiveness, isthere anything holding me back
from the things of God that hehas for me?
I can tell you right now is itas easy as just shaking it off?
It is.
It's a daily practice.
Now I was talking to somebodyin between the services.
(21:39):
She says it comes off in layers, doesn't it?
I said absolutely, forgivenessis not always one and done.
There's times I wake up in themorning I have a forgive list
because something happens everyday, right, and I actually go to
bed also saying God, I justforgive, I just let that.
I don't want to defile my bed,I don't wanna bring this into my
(21:59):
sleep.
So, god, I just forgive and Irelease, and sometimes I have to
do this on a constant basis.
I used to live in Cottonwood andall we had was a Walmart and we
were pastoring in Cottonwoodand I would go down the aisles
and I'm telling you, you know,people were rough at times and
people would say things and dothings and I would call it my
(22:20):
Walmart test.
I'd go down, I could see theentire church at Walmart, and so
I'd be walking down the aisleand if somebody had said
something and it hurt myfeelings or something like that,
I'd be going down the aisle andthen I'd see them ahead and I'd
be, like you know, turn theother direction and try to avoid
them and I use that as myWalmart test.
Can I face that person?
(22:41):
Have I forgiven that person?
Can I look at them?
Can I look at them?
Can I do?
And you know what, even to thenext level, can I bless them?
You know that's the next level.
You really know you're freewith forgiveness when you can
bless somebody.
Yes, it's a daily routine, it'sa daily thing.
(23:05):
Routine, it's a daily thing.
And as you daily shake it off,god just starts to peel the hurt
and the layers and, you know,god starts to heal you from the
hurt, even from the mostunspeakable things.
Is it a sin to be unforgiving?
Yes, it is a sin.
Some people hold it in and theythink, oh, you know I'm not
(23:26):
sinning, I'm not hurting anybody.
Yes, you are.
You're hurting yourself andyou're hurting the generations
after you.
Just like in this story, you canput a spirit or a curse on your
family by walking inunforgiveness and God wants to
go to the root.
You might be struggling withbitterness, anger, wrath, all
(23:49):
kinds of things.
It literally says thatbitterness is something that
makes you undefiled.
It defiles your soul, it makesyou dirty.
Have you ever been aroundsomebody that's really bitter
and you just kind of want towalk away?
You want to be away from them.
They're not easy to be around.
That is a spirit ofunforgiveness that's been rooted
(24:14):
in them and you know very well,when you see weeds coming up,
you can't just clip the weed off.
You have to go to the root andpull it out to really deal with
it.
And the root is forgiveness.
Hebrews 12, 15, lookingcarefully lest anyone fall short
of the grace of God, lest anyroot of bitterness springing up
(24:34):
causes trouble and by this manybecome defiled.
It creates slander, it createsgossip, hatred, rage, jealousy,
wrath.
There's so much that getsbirthed from unforgiveness and
it stinks just like those stinkypotatoes.
But we got to uproot it andshake it off.
(24:57):
I love Hebrews 12.1.
It says therefore, since we aresurrounded by such a great
cloud of witnesses, let us throwoff, shake it off everything
that hinders us and the sin thatso easily entangles us, and let
us run with perseverance therace that marked out for us.
(25:18):
This is so important for ourlives as a believer.
You don't want to run a raceweighted down.
You're not going to go very far, you're not going to win that
race, but literally shaking offand throwing off those things.
We have to investigate thoseareas of unforgiveness in our
(25:40):
lives.
So I want to expose the myth offorgiveness, and the reason why
I say the myth of forgiveness isbecause there's certain things
that we adopt saying that Ican't forgive because of these
reasons.
So let's blow the top off onthat.
If you forgive, you must forget.
That is not a requirement.
(26:02):
It doesn't mean that it justerases out of your mind.
You can forgive and not forget.
But I will tell you, when yougo through the process of
forgiveness and you go 70 times7 on forgiveness, eventually you
forget.
Eventually you can go toWalmart and see that person and
walk right up to them and it'sokay, it works out.
(26:28):
I've heard this many times andI've actually said this myself.
I can't forgive.
And let me tell you somethingthe truth of that is that it's
not that you can't, it's thatyou won't.
When you say I can't forgive,you're saying I won't forgive.
But God is a forgiving God andforgiveness is not a request,
(26:57):
it's a command.
He says I cannot forgive you ifyou don't forgive others.
We must forgive.
We allow God to be God when weforgive and we take ourselves
out of that judgment place.
Forgiveness means I must trustin the person.
Nowhere show me in the Biblewhere it says trust in man.
(27:21):
Nowhere in the Bible does itsay to trust in man.
It doesn't also say to trust inyourself.
It doesn't also say to trust inyourself.
It says who do we trust in?
The Lord, the Lord, our Savior,our God.
We must trust in God.
So oftentimes I hear people sayI can't forgive because then I
(27:43):
have to trust that person again.
That's not what forgiveness isall about.
Proverbs 3, 5, and 6,.
I know you know this verse well.
Trust in the Lord with all yourheart and lean not in your own
understanding.
In all your ways, submit to himand he will make your paths.
What Straight.
He'll make it easy.
(28:05):
He'll make a way for you.
We also can say I forgave somany times before.
Well, jesus addresses this withPeter 70 times, 7.
So many times that you can'tremember anymore.
Forgiveness is only a feeling.
I can't forgive because I don'tfeel like forgiving, then I'm
(28:29):
not being real and I'm not beingauthentic and I'm not really
doing it from my heart.
Can I tell you that almostevery act of obedience in the
kingdom of God is not based on afeeling.
If you're gonna base it all ona feeling, you're never gonna go
anywhere.
Even our salvation is not basedon a feeling.
It's based on obedience.
(28:50):
God isn't wanting you to be apeople that just dictates all by
your feeling.
He wants you to do it out ofobedience.
It is authentic, it is realbecause it's a commandment from
God.
So here's what I have foundwhen I forgive out of an act of
obedience, my heart follows, myheart follows.
(29:14):
Do you know?
Worship is like that.
If we base worship on ourfeelings, we'll never worship
God.
I don't like this song.
I don't.
It's too loud, it's too soft.
It's this when is it about us?
When is it about our feelings?
It is nothing about ourfeelings, it is about God, and
God is pleased whenever weworship him.
(29:34):
So take out that out of theequation and just give God the
praise and the thanks and theglory for what he has done.
That is true worship.
And then guess what happens?
Your heart follows.
Your heart follows.
Forgiveness approves theiractions.
It does not approve theiractions.
(29:56):
None of us are deserving offorgiveness, but yet Jesus gave
us forgiveness, us forgiveness.
And let me tell you somethingYou're not getting revenge by
holding unforgiveness towardssomebody.
I've heard people say this.
Matter of fact, I think I'veeven had these thoughts in my
(30:17):
own mind.
Well, if I hold on tounforgiveness, it's the only
thing I have.
I can't say anything, I can'tdo anything, I can't get them
back.
Revenge is the Lord's, not ours.
So you're not hurting them,you're hurting you and your
(30:38):
generations.
Let it go, shake it off.
Forgiveness is unnecessary, outof sight, out of mind.
Some of us think, just becausewe don't think about it anymore
or we ignore it, that we haveforgiven.
But it's just like our Walmarttest, right, all it takes is
that name or that word or amemory of it, and then, all of a
(30:59):
sudden, it rises back up.
It is necessary for our lives.
What is forgiveness versusunforgiveness?
Forgiveness is trusting God tobe God.
Unforgiveness is you are God,you are the judge.
Forgiveness is freedom, freefrom its grip.
Unforgiveness is bondage.
You are literally tethered toit forever until you let it go.
(31:24):
The very thing that you hate,the very thing that you're angry
about, you're tethered to untilyou forgive.
Forgiveness gives youperspective.
Unforgiveness is blinding.
You've lost the ability to seeand have perspective.
Matter of fact, it's almostimpossible to have vision when
(31:46):
you can't see, when the obstacleof unforgiveness is in your way
.
Forgiveness allows you to beclose to God's heart, because
God is close to the humble andthe contrite heart.
Unforgiveness createsseparation.
It's pride, it's control.
You are the judge.
God opposes the proud.
(32:08):
He separates from you.
Forgiveness is Christ's lifeexample in ministry.
It is what Jesus did on thecross, as he hanged there, with
two criminals on either side.
There, with two criminals oneither side, bleeding, this
(32:28):
spotless lamb, this undefiledson of God, being crucified for
our sins, taking on your sins,forgiving you for your sins.
He was on that cross.
(32:51):
He's the perfect example offorgiveness, and Satan is the
perfect example of unforgiveness.
He was cast out of heaven.
He's eternally separated fromGod, and guess what?
His goal is?
To keep you separated from Godtoo.
Matter of fact, some of youhave maybe given your life to
the Lord and you're fullycommitted, and Satan knows I
cannot pluck them out of theircommitment they're not going to
(33:14):
turn their back on God.
But guess what he does?
If he can keep you unforgiving,he's keeping you separate,
because God needs you to walk inforgiveness and the body of
Christ needs you to walk inforgiveness, and your family and
your co-workers, they, need tosee the example of forgiveness
(33:36):
in your life.
I appeal to you, brothers andsisters, in the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ, that all of youagree with one another in what
you say and that there be nodivision among you, but that you
be perfectly united in mind andthought.
Ephesians 5.1.
It says follow God's example,therefore, as dearly loved
(33:59):
children, and walk in the way ofthe love, just as Christ loved
us and gave himself up for us asa fragrant offering and a
sacrifice of God.
In order to walk in forgiveness, we must imitate Jesus.
In order to imitate Jesus, wemust forgive.
(34:25):
You see that perfect example inLuke 23, 34, where it says
Father, forgive them, for theyknow not what they do.
He hung on that cross, thisgruesome death, and yet he's
(34:45):
still springing up those wordsof forgiveness as he's being
mocked and spit on.
In the midst of the pain, he'sreleasing forgiveness.
What a great example, if Jesuscan lay that example for us.
Can we pay it forward for others?
Ephesians 4, 31 through 32, itsays get rid of all bitterness,
(35:13):
rage, anger, brawling andslander, along with every form
of malice.
Be kind and compassionate toone another, forgiving each
other, just as in Christ, godforgave you.
And I want to end with this.
One of the last myths that I'veheard so many times is that
(35:35):
person is dead or never askedfor forgiveness.
How can I forgive them?
Or never asked for forgiveness.
How can I forgive them?
I want to say that forgivenessis not based on somebody asking
for forgiveness.
If somebody's asking youforgiveness, you've gone too
long you should be able tofreely give it forward without
(35:56):
even the ask.
It's never too late to forgive,and I want to share a story
with you.
One of the greatest examples ofan imitator of Jesus Christ that
walked and forgave us wasactually my father.
When I was a seven-year-oldlittle girl, my grandfather, my
(36:22):
dad's dad, was missing.
My father and him both hadconstruction businesses in Yuma,
arizona, in the hot sun.
I was born in Yuma, nativeArizonan, and you can imagine
how hot and sweaty it is duringthe summer, especially in
construction, but my dad'sbusiness and my grandfather's
business were literally down thestreet from each other and they
(36:45):
would exchange, you know,favors and words and equipment
and things like that, but mygrandfather was missing.
Nobody could find him.
A couple days went by, a coupleweeks went by.
Eventually it was a couplemonths, and this was during the
summertime and my dad literallythere was an investigation, the
(37:09):
police were out trying to lookfor what was happening and my
dad felt like the Lord told himgo walk grandpa's construction
yard, Just walk and pray.
So my dad started walkingaround this big yard and he saw
one of the semi trucks and henoticed that it was locked.
(37:30):
But there was a smell comingfrom it and he it was.
It was just kind of a putridsmell.
So as he got closer the smellgot more strong and he noticed
it was locked.
But he thought, wow, you know,I've got to do something about
this.
So he broke the lock, opened upthis semi-truck and there was
(37:52):
my grandfather.
He'd been shot in the back ofthe head, his wallet was stolen
and he had just been decaying inthis semi-truck for a few
months in the hot Yuma sun.
My dad.
I remember being thisseven-year-old child and every
(38:14):
night I could hear my dadscreaming and crying.
I asked my mom what's wrongwith dad and she tried to
explain it, but I think just thethought and what he saw and the
smells it just broke his heartthat his father died such a
(38:35):
gruesome death.
He was hurt, he was mad andthen one day it was just a few
months later he wanted to have afamily meeting with us.
He gathered us all to thedinner table and he said I'm
going to go on a quest toforgive whoever killed my father
(38:56):
.
I remember as a little girlstill seven years old at this
time and I remember thinking howcan you forgive that?
That person doesn't deserveforgiveness.
How could they do that?
And even inside of me,something lodged inside of me
the hatred and the anger.
But yet my dad said I'm goingto go on a quest to forgive.
(39:18):
And I saw that the dreams andthe nightmares all stopped.
My dad had life again.
But let's advance.
When I was 30 years old, 23years later, my dad received a
call from a judge in Washingtonstate and he said I want to let
(39:40):
you know and invite you to thecourt that the man that killed
your father has turned himselfin.
He said he couldn't live withhimself anymore and he'd been
running from the law.
And I want you to come and be awitness.
My dad asked me if I would gowith him and I went with him to
the courts and it was at thattime that I saw that imitation
(40:04):
of Jesus and forgiveness in reallife.
I watched my dad as the manconfessed to the murder of my
grandfather and he cried and hewept and he begged for
forgiveness.
He asked, he looked in my dad'seyes and said would you give me
(40:25):
mercy?
My dad asked the judge can Iapproach the witness or can I
approach the criminal?
And he went to him and thejudge allowed it and he said I
forgave you 23 years ago.
And he hugged him and he lovedhim and those two men just
(40:47):
embraced each other.
That example marked my lifeforever.
It wasn't just Jesus on thecross, but I saw this beautiful
example of true forgiveness andI thought, god, let me be like
(41:09):
that, help me to walk in thatkind of love and that kind of
freedom.
My dad was authentic, it wasreal.
It was authentic, it was real,it was beautiful.
Some people ask me Bridget, howdo you guys do what you do on
the mission field.
Are there obstacles, are theredivisions?
(41:33):
Is there things that happen,corruption, things like that?
Yes, there's all kinds ofwickedness that happens.
But you know what I do?
I follow the example of JesusChrist and I follow the example
that my father imitated.
I say if my dad can do it, ifJesus can do it, then I'm going
(41:59):
to live it.
If you want to see freedom, ifyou want to see deliverance, if
you want to see breakthrough, ifyou want to see goals reached,
things that maybe have beendormant in your life, and it's
like man, I love God, but maybeI don't love people.
I love God, but maybe I don'tlove the church because I've
(42:20):
been hurt.
People, I love God, but maybe Idon't love the church because
I've been hurt, I've had mywounds, but it's like, why am I
not living out my call?
Maybe it's for this.
Forgive, forgive, Simply forgive.
Shake off the weight, break offthe myths and just imitate
(42:43):
Jesus Christ.
Let me pray for you as PastorJay comes and closes the service
.
Lord, I thank you that you gaveus the incredible example of
forgiveness.
You gave us the freedom.
You've paid our debt.
We owed so much.
God and Lord.
(43:04):
I pray that we can advance andpay forgiveness forward.
It's not based on if peopledeserve it, but, lord, we didn't
deserve it, but we still giveit freely, just like you did on
the cross.
But we still give it freely,just like you did on the cross.
And God, we praise you and wehonor you and we commit 2025 to
(43:26):
be a year of freedom, a year ofdeliverance and a year of dreams
come true.
In the name of Jesus Christ,amen, god bless you, church.
Speaker 1 (43:40):
We have a hand of appreciation for Pastor Bridget.
Friends, that's a challenge forus is that we would be those
who forgive.
God has forgiven us from somuch.
He's forgiven us for so muchthat we too would be those that
(44:00):
forgive.
We don't keep ourselves backfrom what he wants to do in our
lives going forward in this year, what he wants to do in your
life going forward, so he canuse you for the plans and the
purposes he has for your life.
Maybe you're here and you'venever made a commitment to
follow after Jesus.
You're hearing all this storyand this amazing story from her
(44:24):
own life of forgiveness and howshe forgave and how her father
forgave, and you yourself havenever received a forgiveness
from God because you've neverbeen one to say Lord, forgive me
.
I want to draw near to you, Iwant to have a new relationship
with you.
Today is your opportunity toembrace Jesus.
(44:46):
It's your opportunity to sayyes to him.
You know, bridget talked aboutJesus going and taking all of
our sin and all of our mistakesupon himself, and he did so,
taking it to his death on thecross.
And that's why the symbol ofthe cross is so powerful for us,
because it's a symbol offreedom.
It's a symbol of forgiveness.
(45:08):
It's where he loved us first.
See, we could never go or doenough to go towards a holy God.
We can't buy our way in or doenough good works, it's not
possible.
But God, while we were stillsinners, he came all the way to
(45:29):
us and he gave his life for usso that we could be reconnected
back to him.
The apostle Paul.
He writes to the church at Romeand he says this because if you
confess with your mouth thatJesus is Lord and believe in
your heart that God raised himfrom the dead, you will be saved
.
For with the heart one believesand is justified.
(45:50):
With the mouth, one confessesand is saved.
Friends, today is your day.
It's your day to make adecision to follow Jesus.
I'm going to ask, if you're herein the room, if you would just
stand to your feet and bow yourhead.
If you're online, prepare yourheart, wherever you are, for
what God wants to do in thismoment.
His heads are bowed here in theroom.
(46:19):
If that's you and you'd say,pastor, that's me.
I wanna make a commitment tofollow Jesus.
I wanna invite him into myheart and life.
Maybe you've even made thatdecision in the past, but you
haven't been living it.
You need to recommit your lifeback to Christ.
His head's about here in theroom.
If you just make that decision,you just raise your hand right
where you're at, say pastor,that's me, I wanna make the
(46:39):
decision to follow Jesus today.
Thank you Lord.
Thank you Lord.
It's hands.
I see that hand.
I see that hand.
People making decisions, friendsonline, wherever you are in the
world, making decision tofollow after Jesus today.
I'm gonna ask if everyone wouldjust pray this prayer aloud
after me Lord, thank you forloving me.
Thank you for sending Jesus.
(47:03):
I believe Jesus died on thecross for my sins.
I believe he rose again.
Forgive me of my sins.
I surrender my life to you inChrist's name.
I pray amen, amen.
(47:25):
Friends, we rejoice in youmaking a decision to follow
Jesus today.
Several people raising theirhand in this service.
We encourage you in this, ifyou're online or here in person,
that you would connect with us.
We want to put some materialsinto your hand so that you could
be successful in living thislife for Jesus.
Friends, the word that wasbrought to us today was so
(47:45):
powerful, so timely, that wewould not be held back by these
things, this unforgiveness inour life, that we wouldn't try
to make excuses, like the mythsthat Pastor Bridget debunked,
but instead we would be thosethat give these things over to
Jesus.
Let him be the just judge forall of these things.
(48:05):
That we would forgive and walkin freedom.
That only comes from JesusChrist.
Today, as we come into worship,we do so as a response, saying
Lord, I want to be empowered tolive for you.
As I come to this altar, I do soasking for you to help me walk
this thing out every day so thatI can be empowered to do the
next thing you.
So asking for you to help mewalk this thing out every day so
that I can be empowered to dothe next thing you'd have for me
(48:27):
in this 2025.
Lord, we thank you so much.
Lord, as we come to this altar,we do so with intentionality,
lord, and we forgive any Lordthat we've held a grudge against
or we've held unforgivenessagainst Lord.
And instead of making excuses,lord, we give those things over
to you, lord.
We say I forgive them for this,lord, even ourselves, lord,
(48:49):
that we would ask Lord, forgiveus, lord, of where we've fallen
short.
Lord, that we would draw nearto you, lord, in this time.
As we open this altar, we do sowith intentionality to go after
you, asking for yourempowerment and your blessing as
we walk in obedience.
We pray this in the powerfulname of Jesus Christ, amen.
Speaker 3 (49:08):
How many of you were blessed today by that word
Amazing, amazing.
Thank you, bridget.
Thank you very much, and I wantto let you know that Bridget
will be back there.
There's a table and there aresome goodies back there if any
of you are interested.
It helps their ministry inThailand and they're headed back
this week to go out there.
So if you want to just stop byand say hi, she'll be available.
But isn't it going to be anincredible year?
(49:30):
Are you ready for 2025?
Speaker 1 (49:35):
It's going to be amazing.
Part of that is we're going tobe doing 21 days of prayer and
fasting, starting next Sunday.
So we have some more messagingabout that coming to you next
Sunday.
So we have some more messagingabout that coming to you.
But go ahead and pre-decidethat you're going to participate
with us, that you would drawnear to the Lord in that season,
in this time ahead, we'd beintentional to quiet our hearts
and to seek him and what he'ssaying to us Amen.
Before we go, pray thisblessing over us today.
(49:58):
The Lord bless you and keep you.
Lord, make his face to shineupon you and be gracious to you.
Lord, lift up his countenanceupon you and give you peace.
Lord, I pray a blessing uponyour church, your people, lord,
(50:20):
that you would empower us byyour spirit to live your love
out to those around us.
We pray this in the powerfulname that is Jesus Christ.
Amen, amen.
Know this.
We love you very much here atCornerstone.
God bless you and have a greatweek.
We're so excited that we get to be a chance of those
who go and take the message ofGod's good news to every person
around us.
It's an exciting day, we'restarting a new year for us and
we are blessed because we arepeople who know a creator who
loves us, and we've beenforgiven by him and we are
living in that relationship,amen.
We know this about ourselveshere at Cornerstone.
(00:21):
We know that we are people whoare not perfect, but we are
people who are following afterJesus and it's our ambition to
be more like Jesus, and so we dothat by following after him
where he's leading us to go.
We use this imagery of Jesuswalking with his disciples
because that's how we seeourselves, is that we're going
where he's asking us to go andfollowing him.
(00:44):
It's our ambition to love Godand make disciples and reach the
world.
Part of that is that we wannabe those who are giving in
generosity, and we do thatmonthly in our support of
missionaries across the world.
We wanna be those who arekingdom builders amen and in
doing so we get to participatewith some of our heroes that
(01:05):
serve the Lord across the worldin being the light of Christ in
spiritually dark places.
One of those people is PastorBridget Metcalf.
She and her husband Dana areamazing friends of ours.
They pastor an amazinginternational church in Bangkok,
thailand, where they're doingmuch more than that.
She's going to explain some ofthat today, but please welcome
(01:26):
Pastor Bridget Metcalf as shecomes today to share with us.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Well, what an honor and a privilege it is to be with
you, cornerstone ChristianCenter, today, and I want to say
thank you from the bottom ofour hearts.
We could not do what we do onthe field in Bangkok, thailand,
if it wasn't for your love, yourprayers, your support and your
faithful giving.
It really is an extension ofeverything that you're going to
(01:55):
witness today, is an extensionof you, and maybe sometimes you
can think, oh, I'm here, I'm inthis area, but you are making an
impact around the world, as youare kingdom builders In a
country that has less than 1%believers.
We are seeing a shift in thatarea and I want to show you a
(02:15):
collage of pictures to just kindof give you a little bit of
what God has done.
This last year we have beengoing on the streets every
Thursday.
We feed 300 homeless and wehave such a fantastic time.
We go out into the red lightarea, which is a trafficking
area.
There's a lot of prostitution,but there's human and sex
(02:35):
trafficking happening, and we'reout there every week on
Saturdays.
We pray in the morning, we goback and do ministry in the
evening.
Matter of fact, our newestministry is down here in this
corner.
We have our Sealed Kids Club,which we just launched this last
year, just a few months ago,and we have, if you've ever seen
, the movie Aladdin.
(02:55):
It's kind of like those littlekids like Aladdin is that little
street rat out in themarketplace stealing things and
doing that.
Those are these kids right here.
Many of their guardians ortheir parents are working in the
marketplace stealing things anddoing that.
Those are these kids right here.
Many of their guardians ortheir parents are working in the
trafficking area and those kidsare there from about three in
the afternoon until about two inthe morning and they're exposed
to ungodly things, just corruptand dark things.
(03:19):
And we had had this dream andthis vision to say God, can you
give us the children of thestreets?
And he's starting to give usthese children and we are so
excited.
They got introduced to whatChristmas was really all about
and they were so excited.
There's a little kid there he'sactually the second one to the
right, on your right.
He's the second one that'sgoing like this His name is A
(03:43):
and he is literally like littleAladdin.
When we go to grab him for kidsclub, he comes out of this
little.
It's like a little hole that hecomes out of and he does a
little jig and a little danceand then he goes and gets all
the other kids and brings themin to our ministry.
So we're very excited aboutthat.
(04:04):
God has also blessed us with alanguage center that allows us
to go into the prisons, onto thestreets, and we go into the
Thai government schools, that weintroduce English to them, but
through the gospel of JesusChrist, and there's an open door
there.
We actually have planted fivechurches in Nepal, but also,
(04:25):
just this last year, we'veplanted two churches in Thailand
itself.
So now we have three campusesone in the southern tip of
Thailand, which borders Malaysia.
It's a very high Muslim area,but there was literally only out
of I think there was 1 millionpeople in that province and only
4,000 believers.
(04:46):
Can you imagine that?
That's not even a percentage.
And God is moving.
And we just celebrated twoyears in that area with our
church plant and there's 80believers gathering together
every Sunday morning.
Can you believe that God is sogood?
Yes, and then we, just beforewe came home for Christmas, we
(05:06):
launched our third campus inKarat, which is in the northern
part of Thailand, and God ismoving the churches right across
from the university, we have 40people that are gathering
together.
God is moving in great andmighty ways.
There is a desire that I have inmy heart that I'd like to see
in 2025.
And I just want to launch thisto you.
(05:26):
But we are praying and hoping.
We have a lot of refugees inThailand and they are scattered.
They have ran for refuge inthat area because of their
Christian background, mostly inPakistan.
We have 30 kids.
We try to give scholarships tothem and we can only afford
about 10 scholarships, but wehave 30 kids.
(05:48):
We try to give scholarships tothem and we can only afford
about 10 scholarships, but wehave 30 kids, and so we have
these families that have tochoose which child gets a
scholarship for their educationand which two have to stay
behind, and it's literally justbroken my heart.
So God gave me a vision thathow about we host an online
school at our church campus andwe take that money that we could
(06:10):
do for scholarships andactually be able to educate all
of those kids at one time?
And so that is our prayer isthat in the fall of 2025, that
we get to launch that.
But also, when we were here last, you got to hear a little bit
about our lasso truck.
This is our first ever BAMproject, which is a business as
missions, and we've launchedthat in the streets, in the red
(06:31):
light.
God is moving powerfully.
It's opened up so many doors.
Matter of fact, this Christmaswe gave 500 lemonades out to the
streets and they were just soexcited and it's a way for us to
be able to take territory andshare the gospel of Jesus Christ
.
So, thank you for your faithfulgiving, thank you for your love
(06:52):
, and I have to say that yourpastors are very, very special
to us.
They're dear to our hearts.
They were here this last summerand got to spend a little time
with us with their family, and Itell you they made such a big
impact that our youth are sayingcan we have Javen and Shiloh
and Amelia come back?
We want them to come back.
(07:13):
I was just telling Shiloh whydon't you spend a summer with me
and intern with me after school?
And we're so excited.
They've made such an incredibleimpact on our church and in our
land.
Well, today I want to share aword with you, and it's
something for 2025.
It's a way that you might lookat the picture behind me and say
(07:34):
how do you guys do what you do?
This is the key element of howwe walk in the vision of Christ,
with freedom, and be able tolive out the goals and the
dreams that God has given us,and so I want to give this to
you today.
I want to talk aboutforgiveness for your soul.
It's a soul care item.
(07:54):
I used to be kind of againstsoul care, like, oh you know,
like maybe not, but God hasshown me this is something so
important for all of usForgiveness for your soul.
Forgiveness is not for me.
If you forgive, it doesn'taffect me, it affects you.
You can walk into 2025 totallyfree, totally liberated, and
(08:19):
maybe those little dreams andthose goals, or maybe the very
destiny of why you were born isjust burning inside of you, but
you haven't seen the fullfruition of it, and I'm going to
tell you that that is due tothat investigation of your soul,
of is there anything that Ineed to release and forgive?
I want to share a little storywith you.
(08:42):
There was a teacher Her name wasTeacher Sally.
She had a second grade class 18students and these kids started
off the year very good, butafter time these kids were
starting to get a little rough.
They came in angry, they weremad.
They were mad at their sistersand their brothers and each
other.
They're starting to bully eachother, they're talking mean to
each other, and she, as ateacher, thought this is really
(09:04):
disrupting my class.
What can I do to teach a lessonto these kids so that we can go
on and we can grow as aclassroom?
So she got this brilliant ideato create an assignment.
That next Monday the kids camein and all of their desks were
against the wall, all theirseats, and just in the middle of
(09:27):
the room was a pile of potatoes.
There was little bags for eachstudent, and she had the kids
come in and she said we're goingto sit in a circle around this
pile of potatoes.
Kids are confused, they don'tknow what's going on, and so she
had explained this assignment.
It's going to be a week-longassignment and I want you to
(09:49):
each grab a bag and for everyperson that you feel hurt by or
angry at or frustrated with, Iwant you to put a potato in the
bag.
That potato represents thatperson and put it in your bag.
Well, some kids put all thesepotatoes in their bag.
I don't like my mother, I don'tlike my brother, I don't like
anybody, I don't like you, you,you.
(10:10):
And they just filled their bagswith potatoes.
Some kids felt guilty andthought well, I need to at least
put one potato in my bag.
I don't have that hurt or thatpain, but I'll just put one
potato in the bag.
The teacher explained to themyou're going to take the sack of
potatoes with you everywhereyou go the bathroom, your sports
(10:34):
, your home, your church, to thegrocery store, everywhere you
go.
For one week you have to bringthat bag of potato or you lose a
point.
Some of the kids were like what?
Well, not big deal, I can dothat.
Well, as the week progressedand they had to bring these
potatoes with them, they startedto kind of rot and smell.
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The potatoes got heavier andheavier and the kids were
complaining.
The teacher, with her brilliantidea that next Monday, came in
and she said I want to hear howyou felt about this assignment.
The kids complained.
They said everywhere we wentwith these potatoes, people
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could smell the smell and itstunk and it was heavy and it
weighed us down.
And so she explained to thekids as they dumped their bags
of potatoes in the middle of thefloor again, she said and that
is what it's like when you walkin unforgiveness towards others
it's stinky, it's smelly and itholds you back, it's a weight
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upon you.
I heard this story and I thoughtthis is not just a story for
little kids.
This is something that we couldall learn and grow from.
I want you to turn to Matthew18, 21 through 35.
And I want to unpack a storythat Jesus shared with Peter and
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his disciples.
It started off with Peter, itsays.
Then Peter came to Jesus andasked Lord, how many times shall
I forgive my brother or sisterwho sins against me?
Up to seven times, jesusanswered.
I tell you, not seven times,but 70 times seven.
What does that mean?
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Times, but 70 times seven.
What does that mean?
That means infinite amount oftime.
He wasn't just talking aboutnumbers, but he was basically
saying Peter, this isn't enough.
I want you to forgive so muchthat you literally start to
forget what the problem was.
But he went further.
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Start to forget what theproblem was, but he went further
.
He used this as an opportunity,just like teacher Sally did
with her students, and began toshare a parable.
Therefore, the kingdom of heavenis like a king who wants to
settle his accounts with hisservants and he began the
settlement.
A man who owed him 10,000 bagsof gold was brought to him.
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Since he was not able to pay,the master ordered that he and
his wife and his children andeverything he owned be sold to
repay his debt.
At this, the servant fell onhis knees before him.
Be patient with me, he beggedand I will pay back everything.
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The servant's master took pityon him, canceled the debt and
let him go.
But when the servant went outnow we don't know the time frame
, but it sounds like almost assoon as he was free from his
debt he went out right afterthat and he found one of his
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fellow servants who owed him 100silver coins.
I want to just unpack this forjust a second.
He owed 10,000 talents.
One talent at that time waslike a bag of gold that weighed
135 pounds.
Can you imagine the debt of hisweight was?
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I calculated it, I was doingsome research on it cost close
to 3.5 billion dollars.
Him and his children and hischildren's children would be
paying this debt forever.
Him and his children and hischildren's children would be
paying this debt forever.
But he was forgiven this debt.
But as soon as he went out hewent and found the other servant
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.
He found this servant and hesaid you owe me 100 silver coins
.
You know how much 100 silvercoins or denarii amounted to at
that time was really 5,800.
I think it was like $5,800.
Can you imagine the difference?
On that Very little.
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He was just freed from thisamazing debt, but yet he is not
showing mercy forward.
But when the servant went out,he found one of his fellow
servants who owed him a hundredsilver coins.
He grabbed him and began tochoke him.
Pay back what you owe me, hedemanded.
His fellow servant fell to hisknees and begged him Same words
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Be patient with me, I will payyou back.
But he refused.
Instead he went off and had theman thrown into prison until he
could pay his debt.
When the other servants sawwhat had happened, they were
outraged and went out and toldtheir master everything that had
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happened.
Then the master called theservant in you, wicked servant.
He said I canceled all yourdebt of yours because you begged
me to.
Shouldn't you have had mercy onyour fellow servant just as I
had on you?
In anger, his master handed himover to the jailers to be
tortured until he could pay back.
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This is a powerful message.
It's a powerful message to walkinto 2025 with, and I want to
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really just highlight threeaspects to this of how important
it is to walk in forgiveness.
One is unforgiveness is aweight that you must shake off.
Two, I want to expose some ofthe myths and the lies of
forgiveness that keeps us fromforgiving.
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And three, in order to imitateJesus, you must forgive.
You cannot be imitators ofJesus Christ.
Unless you forgive, we can'treflect him.
So let's start withunforgiveness as a weight.
It's a weight that affects ourhealth, our wealth, our emotions
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and our spirit.
John Hopkins Medical ResearchCenter and Harvard University
did a study on forgiveness.
The studies found that the actof forgiveness can reap huge
rewards for your health Loweringthe risk of heart attack,
improving cholesterol levels andsleep, reducing pain, blood
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pressure and levels of anxiety,depression and stress, and build
your immune system.
Well, just that alone says, ifI walked in forgiveness, that
actually helps me in these areas?
Yes, because unforgiveness is aweight on your body.
It's a weight on your physicalbeing.
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It says in Ephesians 4.32, bekind and compassionate to one
another, forgiving each otherjust as Christ forgave you,
giving each other just as Christforgave you.
It's a weight on our bodiesphysically, literally.
It can keep you physically frommoving forward, but it also is
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a weight on our wealth.
Look at the wicked servant.
How deep he went into debt withthat 10,000 talents.
He really needed a financialpeace class or something like
that.
I'm thinking how did he go thatfar down into this debt?
But his generations wasimpacted.
This is not even.
The debt was such a magnitudethat even in his lifetime he
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could not pay back that debt.
His family and his family'sfamily and his family's family
family was going to have to paythis debt back.
But yet, because of forgiveness, he was released.
But because he didn't pay thatforgiveness forward, he was back
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in debt.
Paying forgiveness forward, hewas back in debt.
Paying forgiveness forwardreleases our wealth.
Can you imagine?
I can't even imagine owing $3.5billion.
I just can't even imagine that.
And then the moment that masterhad mercy on him and said it's
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free, I'm going to give it toyou.
Man, I'd be leaping and excitedand joyful and walk out that
door.
But not him.
He forwarded revenge.
He was just freed from this,yet goes after his fellow
servant for just a few pennies.
Hmm, just freed from this, yetgoes after his fellow servant
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for just a few pennies.
But imagine the emotionalweight.
It says that he was turned overto the torturers and I don't
believe that that torturing wasjust a physical torture, but I
think it was a mental torture.
Can you imagine that thought ofhow stupid I was.
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I was free.
Why did I do that?
Why did I just get free?
And then I'm back in bondageand torture again just because I
went after my fellow servant.
It emotionally grieved him, notonly physically and with his
wealth, but it also affects ourspiritual well-being.
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When we walk in unforgiveness,you know that there's a call in
each one of your lives, each oneof you you're not done.
You might be retired and thinkI'm done.
No, you're not done.
You might be retired and thinkI'm done.
No, you're not done.
Not in the kingdom of God.
We're never done in the kingdomof God.
We need you.
God needs you.
He needs your hands, he needsyour feet, he needs your
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encouragement with others.
There's so much that's outthere that you can do.
Maybe you have sinned andyou've done things and you've
just fallen short.
God is just waiting to releaseyou into the things that he has
for you, but we hold ourselvesback.
It's not God holding us back,but we have to investigate.
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Is there any unforgiveness, isthere anything holding me back
from the things of God that hehas for me?
I can tell you right now is itas easy as just shaking it off?
It is.
It's a daily practice.
Now I was talking to somebodyin between the services.
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She says it comes off in layers, doesn't it?
I said absolutely, forgivenessis not always one and done.
There's times I wake up in themorning I have a forgive list
because something happens everyday, right, and I actually go to
bed also saying God, I justforgive, I just let that.
I don't want to defile my bed,I don't wanna bring this into my
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sleep.
So, god, I just forgive and Irelease, and sometimes I have to
do this on a constant basis.
I used to live in Cottonwood andall we had was a Walmart and we
were pastoring in Cottonwoodand I would go down the aisles
and I'm telling you, you know,people were rough at times and
people would say things and dothings and I would call it my
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Walmart test.
I'd go down, I could see theentire church at Walmart, and so
I'd be walking down the aisleand if somebody had said
something and it hurt myfeelings or something like that,
I'd be going down the aisle andthen I'd see them ahead and I'd
be, like you know, turn theother direction and try to avoid
them and I use that as myWalmart test.
Can I face that person?
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Have I forgiven that person?
Can I look at them?
Can I look at them?
Can I do?
And you know what, even to thenext level, can I bless them?
You know that's the next level.
You really know you're freewith forgiveness when you can
bless somebody.
Yes, it's a daily routine, it'sa daily thing.
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Routine, it's a daily thing.
And as you daily shake it off,god just starts to peel the hurt
and the layers and, you know,god starts to heal you from the
hurt, even from the mostunspeakable things.
Is it a sin to be unforgiving?
Yes, it is a sin.
Some people hold it in and theythink, oh, you know I'm not
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sinning, I'm not hurting anybody.
Yes, you are.
You're hurting yourself andyou're hurting the generations
after you.
Just like in this story, you canput a spirit or a curse on your
family by walking inunforgiveness and God wants to
go to the root.
You might be struggling withbitterness, anger, wrath, all
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kinds of things.
It literally says thatbitterness is something that
makes you undefiled.
It defiles your soul, it makesyou dirty.
Have you ever been aroundsomebody that's really bitter
and you just kind of want towalk away?
You want to be away from them.
They're not easy to be around.
That is a spirit ofunforgiveness that's been rooted
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in them and you know very well,when you see weeds coming up,
you can't just clip the weed off.
You have to go to the root andpull it out to really deal with
it.
And the root is forgiveness.
Hebrews 12, 15, lookingcarefully lest anyone fall short
of the grace of God, lest anyroot of bitterness springing up
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causes trouble and by this manybecome defiled.
It creates slander, it createsgossip, hatred, rage, jealousy,
wrath.
There's so much that getsbirthed from unforgiveness and
it stinks just like those stinkypotatoes.
But we got to uproot it andshake it off.
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I love Hebrews 12.1.
It says therefore, since we aresurrounded by such a great
cloud of witnesses, let us throwoff, shake it off everything
that hinders us and the sin thatso easily entangles us, and let
us run with perseverance therace that marked out for us.
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This is so important for ourlives as a believer.
You don't want to run a raceweighted down.
You're not going to go very far, you're not going to win that
race, but literally shaking offand throwing off those things.
We have to investigate thoseareas of unforgiveness in our
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lives.
So I want to expose the myth offorgiveness, and the reason why
I say the myth of forgiveness isbecause there's certain things
that we adopt saying that Ican't forgive because of these
reasons.
So let's blow the top off onthat.
If you forgive, you must forget.
That is not a requirement.
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It doesn't mean that it justerases out of your mind.
You can forgive and not forget.
But I will tell you, when yougo through the process of
forgiveness and you go 70 times7 on forgiveness, eventually you
forget.
Eventually you can go toWalmart and see that person and
walk right up to them and it'sokay, it works out.
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I've heard this many times andI've actually said this myself.
I can't forgive.
And let me tell you somethingthe truth of that is that it's
not that you can't, it's thatyou won't.
When you say I can't forgive,you're saying I won't forgive.
But God is a forgiving God andforgiveness is not a request,
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it's a command.
He says I cannot forgive you ifyou don't forgive others.
We must forgive.
We allow God to be God when weforgive and we take ourselves
out of that judgment place.
Forgiveness means I must trustin the person.
Nowhere show me in the Biblewhere it says trust in man.
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Nowhere in the Bible does itsay to trust in man.
It doesn't also say to trust inyourself.
It doesn't also say to trust inyourself.
It says who do we trust in?
The Lord, the Lord, our Savior,our God.
We must trust in God.
So oftentimes I hear people sayI can't forgive because then I
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have to trust that person again.
That's not what forgiveness isall about.
Proverbs 3, 5, and 6,.
I know you know this verse well.
Trust in the Lord with all yourheart and lean not in your own
understanding.
In all your ways, submit to himand he will make your paths.
What Straight.
He'll make it easy.
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He'll make a way for you.
We also can say I forgave somany times before.
Well, jesus addresses this withPeter 70 times, 7.
So many times that you can'tremember anymore.
Forgiveness is only a feeling.
I can't forgive because I don'tfeel like forgiving, then I'm
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not being real and I'm not beingauthentic and I'm not really
doing it from my heart.
Can I tell you that almostevery act of obedience in the
kingdom of God is not based on afeeling.
If you're gonna base it all ona feeling, you're never gonna go
anywhere.
Even our salvation is not basedon a feeling.
It's based on obedience.
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God isn't wanting you to be apeople that just dictates all by
your feeling.
He wants you to do it out ofobedience.
It is authentic, it is realbecause it's a commandment from
God.
So here's what I have foundwhen I forgive out of an act of
obedience, my heart follows, myheart follows.
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Do you know?
Worship is like that.
If we base worship on ourfeelings, we'll never worship
God.
I don't like this song.
I don't.
It's too loud, it's too soft.
It's this when is it about us?
When is it about our feelings?
It is nothing about ourfeelings, it is about God, and
God is pleased whenever weworship him.
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So take out that out of theequation and just give God the
praise and the thanks and theglory for what he has done.
That is true worship.
And then guess what happens?
Your heart follows.
Your heart follows.
Forgiveness approves theiractions.
It does not approve theiractions.
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None of us are deserving offorgiveness, but yet Jesus gave
us forgiveness, us forgiveness.
And let me tell you somethingYou're not getting revenge by
holding unforgiveness towardssomebody.
I've heard people say this.
Matter of fact, I think I'veeven had these thoughts in my
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own mind.
Well, if I hold on tounforgiveness, it's the only
thing I have.
I can't say anything, I can'tdo anything, I can't get them
back.
Revenge is the Lord's, not ours.
So you're not hurting them,you're hurting you and your
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generations.
Let it go, shake it off.
Forgiveness is unnecessary, outof sight, out of mind.
Some of us think, just becausewe don't think about it anymore
or we ignore it, that we haveforgiven.
But it's just like our Walmarttest, right, all it takes is
that name or that word or amemory of it, and then, all of a
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sudden, it rises back up.
It is necessary for our lives.
What is forgiveness versusunforgiveness?
Forgiveness is trusting God tobe God.
Unforgiveness is you are God,you are the judge.
Forgiveness is freedom, freefrom its grip.
Unforgiveness is bondage.
You are literally tethered toit forever until you let it go.
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The very thing that you hate,the very thing that you're angry
about, you're tethered to untilyou forgive.
Forgiveness gives youperspective.
Unforgiveness is blinding.
You've lost the ability to seeand have perspective.
Matter of fact, it's almostimpossible to have vision when
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you can't see, when the obstacleof unforgiveness is in your way
.
Forgiveness allows you to beclose to God's heart, because
God is close to the humble andthe contrite heart.
Unforgiveness createsseparation.
It's pride, it's control.
You are the judge.
God opposes the proud.
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He separates from you.
Forgiveness is Christ's lifeexample in ministry.
It is what Jesus did on thecross, as he hanged there, with
two criminals on either side.
There, with two criminals oneither side, bleeding, this
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spotless lamb, this undefiledson of God, being crucified for
our sins, taking on your sins,forgiving you for your sins.
He was on that cross.
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He's the perfect example offorgiveness, and Satan is the
perfect example of unforgiveness.
He was cast out of heaven.
He's eternally separated fromGod, and guess what?
His goal is?
To keep you separated from Godtoo.
Matter of fact, some of youhave maybe given your life to
the Lord and you're fullycommitted, and Satan knows I
cannot pluck them out of theircommitment they're not going to
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turn their back on God.
But guess what he does?
If he can keep you unforgiving,he's keeping you separate,
because God needs you to walk inforgiveness and the body of
Christ needs you to walk inforgiveness, and your family and
your co-workers, they, need tosee the example of forgiveness
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in your life.
I appeal to you, brothers andsisters, in the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ, that all of youagree with one another in what
you say and that there be nodivision among you, but that you
be perfectly united in mind andthought.
Ephesians 5.1.
It says follow God's example,therefore, as dearly loved
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children, and walk in the way ofthe love, just as Christ loved
us and gave himself up for us asa fragrant offering and a
sacrifice of God.
In order to walk in forgiveness, we must imitate Jesus.
In order to imitate Jesus, wemust forgive.
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You see that perfect example inLuke 23, 34, where it says
Father, forgive them, for theyknow not what they do.
He hung on that cross, thisgruesome death, and yet he's
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still springing up those wordsof forgiveness as he's being
mocked and spit on.
In the midst of the pain, he'sreleasing forgiveness.
What a great example, if Jesuscan lay that example for us.
Can we pay it forward for others?
Ephesians 4, 31 through 32, itsays get rid of all bitterness,
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rage, anger, brawling andslander, along with every form
of malice.
Be kind and compassionate toone another, forgiving each
other, just as in Christ, godforgave you.
And I want to end with this.
One of the last myths that I'veheard so many times is that
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person is dead or never askedfor forgiveness.
How can I forgive them?
Or never asked for forgiveness.
How can I forgive them?
I want to say that forgivenessis not based on somebody asking
for forgiveness.
If somebody's asking youforgiveness, you've gone too
long you should be able tofreely give it forward without
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even the ask.
It's never too late to forgive,and I want to share a story
with you.
One of the greatest examples ofan imitator of Jesus Christ that
walked and forgave us wasactually my father.
When I was a seven-year-oldlittle girl, my grandfather, my
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dad's dad, was missing.
My father and him both hadconstruction businesses in Yuma,
arizona, in the hot sun.
I was born in Yuma, nativeArizonan, and you can imagine
how hot and sweaty it is duringthe summer, especially in
construction, but my dad'sbusiness and my grandfather's
business were literally down thestreet from each other and they
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would exchange, you know,favors and words and equipment
and things like that, but mygrandfather was missing.
Nobody could find him.
A couple days went by, a coupleweeks went by.
Eventually it was a couplemonths, and this was during the
summertime and my dad literallythere was an investigation, the
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police were out trying to lookfor what was happening and my
dad felt like the Lord told himgo walk grandpa's construction
yard, Just walk and pray.
So my dad started walkingaround this big yard and he saw
one of the semi trucks and henoticed that it was locked.
(37:30):
But there was a smell comingfrom it and he it was.
It was just kind of a putridsmell.
So as he got closer the smellgot more strong and he noticed
it was locked.
But he thought, wow, you know,I've got to do something about
this.
So he broke the lock, opened upthis semi-truck and there was
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my grandfather.
He'd been shot in the back ofthe head, his wallet was stolen
and he had just been decaying inthis semi-truck for a few
months in the hot Yuma sun.
My dad.
I remember being thisseven-year-old child and every
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night I could hear my dadscreaming and crying.
I asked my mom what's wrongwith dad and she tried to
explain it, but I think just thethought and what he saw and the
smells it just broke his heartthat his father died such a
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gruesome death.
He was hurt, he was mad andthen one day it was just a few
months later he wanted to have afamily meeting with us.
He gathered us all to thedinner table and he said I'm
going to go on a quest toforgive whoever killed my father
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.
I remember as a little girlstill seven years old at this
time and I remember thinking howcan you forgive that?
That person doesn't deserveforgiveness.
How could they do that?
And even inside of me,something lodged inside of me
the hatred and the anger.
But yet my dad said I'm goingto go on a quest to forgive.
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And I saw that the dreams andthe nightmares all stopped.
My dad had life again.
But let's advance.
When I was 30 years old, 23years later, my dad received a
call from a judge in Washingtonstate and he said I want to let
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you know and invite you to thecourt that the man that killed
your father has turned himselfin.
He said he couldn't live withhimself anymore and he'd been
running from the law.
And I want you to come and be awitness.
My dad asked me if I would gowith him and I went with him to
the courts and it was at thattime that I saw that imitation
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of Jesus and forgiveness in reallife.
I watched my dad as the manconfessed to the murder of my
grandfather and he cried and hewept and he begged for
forgiveness.
He asked, he looked in my dad'seyes and said would you give me
(40:25):
mercy?
My dad asked the judge can Iapproach the witness or can I
approach the criminal?
And he went to him and thejudge allowed it and he said I
forgave you 23 years ago.
And he hugged him and he lovedhim and those two men just
(40:47):
embraced each other.
That example marked my lifeforever.
It wasn't just Jesus on thecross, but I saw this beautiful
example of true forgiveness andI thought, god, let me be like
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that, help me to walk in thatkind of love and that kind of
freedom.
My dad was authentic, it wasreal.
It was authentic, it was real,it was beautiful.
Some people ask me Bridget, howdo you guys do what you do on
the mission field.
Are there obstacles, are theredivisions?
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Is there things that happen,corruption, things like that?
Yes, there's all kinds ofwickedness that happens.
But you know what I do?
I follow the example of JesusChrist and I follow the example
that my father imitated.
I say if my dad can do it, ifJesus can do it, then I'm going
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to live it.
If you want to see freedom, ifyou want to see deliverance, if
you want to see breakthrough, ifyou want to see goals reached,
things that maybe have beendormant in your life, and it's
like man, I love God, but maybeI don't love people.
I love God, but maybe I don'tlove the church because I've
(42:20):
been hurt.
People, I love God, but maybe Idon't love the church because
I've been hurt, I've had mywounds, but it's like, why am I
not living out my call?
Maybe it's for this.
Forgive, forgive, Simply forgive.
Shake off the weight, break offthe myths and just imitate
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Jesus Christ.
Let me pray for you as PastorJay comes and closes the service
.
Lord, I thank you that you gaveus the incredible example of
forgiveness.
You gave us the freedom.
You've paid our debt.
We owed so much.
God and Lord.
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I pray that we can advance andpay forgiveness forward.
It's not based on if peopledeserve it, but, lord, we didn't
deserve it, but we still giveit freely, just like you did on
the cross.
But we still give it freely,just like you did on the cross.
And God, we praise you and wehonor you and we commit 2025 to
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be a year of freedom, a year ofdeliverance and a year of dreams
come true.
In the name of Jesus Christ,amen, god bless you, church.
Speaker 1 (43:40):
We have a hand of appreciation for Pastor Bridget.
Friends, that's a challenge forus is that we would be those
who forgive.
God has forgiven us from somuch.
He's forgiven us for so muchthat we too would be those that
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forgive.
We don't keep ourselves backfrom what he wants to do in our
lives going forward in this year, what he wants to do in your
life going forward, so he canuse you for the plans and the
purposes he has for your life.
Maybe you're here and you'venever made a commitment to
follow after Jesus.
You're hearing all this storyand this amazing story from her
(44:24):
own life of forgiveness and howshe forgave and how her father
forgave, and you yourself havenever received a forgiveness
from God because you've neverbeen one to say Lord, forgive me
.
I want to draw near to you, Iwant to have a new relationship
with you.
Today is your opportunity toembrace Jesus.
(44:46):
It's your opportunity to sayyes to him.
You know, bridget talked aboutJesus going and taking all of
our sin and all of our mistakesupon himself, and he did so,
taking it to his death on thecross.
And that's why the symbol ofthe cross is so powerful for us,
because it's a symbol offreedom.
It's a symbol of forgiveness.
(45:08):
It's where he loved us first.
See, we could never go or doenough to go towards a holy God.
We can't buy our way in or doenough good works, it's not
possible.
But God, while we were stillsinners, he came all the way to
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us and he gave his life for usso that we could be reconnected
back to him.
The apostle Paul.
He writes to the church at Romeand he says this because if you
confess with your mouth thatJesus is Lord and believe in
your heart that God raised himfrom the dead, you will be saved
.
For with the heart one believesand is justified.
(45:50):
With the mouth, one confessesand is saved.
Friends, today is your day.
It's your day to make adecision to follow Jesus.
I'm going to ask, if you're herein the room, if you would just
stand to your feet and bow yourhead.
If you're online, prepare yourheart, wherever you are, for
what God wants to do in thismoment.
His heads are bowed here in theroom.
(46:19):
If that's you and you'd say,pastor, that's me.
I wanna make a commitment tofollow Jesus.
I wanna invite him into myheart and life.
Maybe you've even made thatdecision in the past, but you
haven't been living it.
You need to recommit your lifeback to Christ.
His head's about here in theroom.
If you just make that decision,you just raise your hand right
where you're at, say pastor,that's me, I wanna make the
(46:39):
decision to follow Jesus today.
Thank you Lord.
Thank you Lord.
It's hands.
I see that hand.
I see that hand.
People making decisions, friendsonline, wherever you are in the
world, making decision tofollow after Jesus today.
I'm gonna ask if everyone wouldjust pray this prayer aloud
after me Lord, thank you forloving me.
Thank you for sending Jesus.
(47:03):
I believe Jesus died on thecross for my sins.
I believe he rose again.
Forgive me of my sins.
I surrender my life to you inChrist's name.
I pray amen, amen.
(47:25):
Friends, we rejoice in youmaking a decision to follow
Jesus today.
Several people raising theirhand in this service.
We encourage you in this, ifyou're online or here in person,
that you would connect with us.
We want to put some materialsinto your hand so that you could
be successful in living thislife for Jesus.
Friends, the word that wasbrought to us today was so
(47:45):
powerful, so timely, that wewould not be held back by these
things, this unforgiveness inour life, that we wouldn't try
to make excuses, like the mythsthat Pastor Bridget debunked,
but instead we would be thosethat give these things over to
Jesus.
Let him be the just judge forall of these things.
(48:05):
That we would forgive and walkin freedom.
That only comes from JesusChrist.
Today, as we come into worship,we do so as a response, saying
Lord, I want to be empowered tolive for you.
As I come to this altar, I do soasking for you to help me walk
this thing out every day so thatI can be empowered to do the
next thing you.
So asking for you to help mewalk this thing out every day so
that I can be empowered to dothe next thing you'd have for me
(48:27):
in this 2025.
Lord, we thank you so much.
Lord, as we come to this altar,we do so with intentionality,
lord, and we forgive any Lordthat we've held a grudge against
or we've held unforgivenessagainst Lord.
And instead of making excuses,lord, we give those things over
to you, lord.
We say I forgive them for this,lord, even ourselves, lord,
(48:49):
that we would ask Lord, forgiveus, lord, of where we've fallen
short.
Lord, that we would draw nearto you, lord, in this time.
As we open this altar, we do sowith intentionality to go after
you, asking for yourempowerment and your blessing as
we walk in obedience.
We pray this in the powerfulname of Jesus Christ, amen.
Speaker 3 (49:08):
How many of you were blessed today by that word
Amazing, amazing.
Thank you, bridget.
Thank you very much, and I wantto let you know that Bridget
will be back there.
There's a table and there aresome goodies back there if any
of you are interested.
It helps their ministry inThailand and they're headed back
this week to go out there.
So if you want to just stop byand say hi, she'll be available.
But isn't it going to be anincredible year?
(49:30):
Are you ready for 2025?
Speaker 1 (49:35):
It's going to be amazing.
Part of that is we're going tobe doing 21 days of prayer and
fasting, starting next Sunday.
So we have some more messagingabout that coming to you next
Sunday.
So we have some more messagingabout that coming to you.
But go ahead and pre-decidethat you're going to participate
with us, that you would drawnear to the Lord in that season,
in this time ahead, we'd beintentional to quiet our hearts
and to seek him and what he'ssaying to us Amen.
Before we go, pray thisblessing over us today.
(49:58):
The Lord bless you and keep you.
Lord, make his face to shineupon you and be gracious to you.
Lord, lift up his countenanceupon you and give you peace.
Lord, I pray a blessing uponyour church, your people, lord,
(50:20):
that you would empower us byyour spirit to live your love
out to those around us.
We pray this in the powerfulname that is Jesus Christ.
Amen, amen.
Know this.
We love you very much here atCornerstone.
God bless you and have a greatweek.
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