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It Is Written

John Bradshaw

Seventy Times Seven

Our Father in heaven, what a blessing to come to you in your Word.

I ask for the guidance, the very real presence of your Holy Spirit.

A major league baseball pitcher was 1 out away from pitching a perfect game.

That's when the pitcher doesn't allow the other side to get a single batter to first base.

1 more out and he would become only the 21st pitcher ever to pitch a perfect game.

I know it's just a game, but in baseball, that's a big deal.

Except that inexplicably, the first base umpire ruled the batter was safe.

And that mistake cost the pitcher his perfect game.

But the pitcher, a man named Armando Galarraga, who was pitching for the Detroit Tigers against the Cleveland Indians, When he saw the batter was called safe.

People charge the mound and they get into big brawls and so on, not Galarraga.

When the batter was called safe, He smiled, went back to the mound, got the next guy out.

Robbed of a place in American sporting history.

He met with the umpire, who admitted he made a mistake and apologized tearfully.

And the baseball player hugged him and forgave him, which in the emotionally charged world of professional baseball is pretty remarkable.

Forgiveness, even when the other guy was wrong and robbed him of something.

He asks us to forgive and to make it clear, so clear that we couldn't miss it, that God wants us to forgive, Jesus taught this parable.

We start in Matthew chapter 18 and verse 21, and the Bible says there that Peter then came to him, that's to Jesus, and he said to him, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him?" And Peter came off, I think, it doesn't say this, but I'm assuming, presuming most likely, probably felt pretty good about himself.

Cause he said, how many times should I forgive this guy who sins against me?

But Jesus said to him, I say not unto thee until 7 times.

This is Matthew 18 and verse 22, but until 70 times 7.

Do you think Jesus was saying, there's a limit on forgiveness, you need to forgive 490 times?

You know, I don't think he really was, although what's fascinating is if you study the prophecies in Daniel chapter, in the book of Daniel, you get the 70 weeks prophecy.

I think Jesus was sowing some seeds here.

I think Jesus was making some connections here.

I think Jesus was saying in this, that there is a prophecy that says God is giving Israel a certain amount of time to get their act together.

But Jesus wasn't saying forgive this much or even this much.

There ought to be no limit on the forgiveness that you extend to others, which is a challenge for somebody like me and for somebody like you.

Truthfully, because of the way different people are wired, some have a harder time with this than others, but every person alive has challenges with forgiveness.

Every person alive, there's somebody that you feel badly about, some experience that troubles you to this day.

There's someone that hovers around in your consciousness, some a little closer, some a little further away.

An old friend, an old boyfriend or girlfriend, a former spouse, a child, a parent, a teacher, an administrator, an employer or an employee.

It's difficult sometimes, challenging to forgive, but forgiveness is 1 of the attributes of God, you understand.

When Moses asked God to show Moses God's glory, the Lord, the Lord God, and God proclaimed the name of the Lord, making clear in there that God is merciful and that God is a forgiving God.

This is what God is like And he doesn't give us the option of being unforgiving.

Now you might say that's just too hard, but no, that's not actually right.

Because all of God's biddings are his enablings.

And he never asks us to do anything at all.

You might be thinking, oh, he's going to say, God never asks us to do anything that we can't do.

He asks us to do plenty that we can't do.

But he doesn't ask us to do anything that he cannot do in us and through us.

And there's a big difference there, and I hope that you're gonna grab that difference.

And so Jesus spoke to Peter in Matthew 18, verse 23.

Therefore is the kingdom of God likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants." Now, what does that sound like to you?

And God will 1 day, we must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

And when he had begun to reckon, 1 was brought unto him which owed him 10, 000 talents.

You know, you can look that up, and it's a challenge to try to find out how much that actually is, but it's more than you can even get your head around.

It's more than you could earn in a lifetime.

It is a gargantuan sum, and I don't know how come this fellow owned the king 10, 000 talents.

I mean, that'd be half the king's kingdom practically.

But this is a parable, and in parables, not every detail is to be taken literally.

And so, this fellow owned the king a gargantuan sum.

But for as much as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.

Verse 26, The servant therefore fell down and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

If you're thinking about this, there is no way that when we are in debt to God, that we can say, Lord, I will pay you all.

We cannot repay or pay to God what we owe him.

The sum, the total of our debts is, well, the only way you can measure that is by saying, our sin cost the life of Jesus.

There's no way we can give that back or pay that back.

We are underwater again and again and again and again.

We don't say to God, I'll make it up to you, cause we can't, except that there's 1 way that our sin record can be settled with God.

And that's by the blood of Jesus, as we surrender our life to Christ and the sacrifice of Jesus covers our sins.

Matthew 18, verse 27, then the Lord of that servant was moved with compassion and loosed him and forgave him the debt.

But the same servant went out and found 1 of his fellow servants which owed him a hundred pence." A hundred days wages, loosely speaking, based on what we read in the Bible.

He laid hands on him, took him by the throat.

Verse 29, "'And his fellow servant fell down at his feet and besought him saying, have patience with me and I will pay thee all.

They should be because those are exactly the same words that the other fellow used when speaking to the king.

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Seventy Times Seven

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