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The Merciful Master - The Gospels · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. Then the Lord of that servant was
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  Speaker 1: moved with compassion and loosed him and forgave him the debt.
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  Speaker 1: Matthew 18.27 Dear Heavenly Father, Today I acknowledge that one
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  Speaker 1: of the most powerful things I can do for myself
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  Speaker 1: is to forgive others when wrongs are done against me.
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  Speaker 1: I also acknowledge that the longer I harbor unforgiveness and resentment,
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  Speaker 1: the longer I rob myself of experiencing your freedom and
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  Speaker 1: your forgiveness when I mess up in life. Therefore, my
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  Speaker 1: life will be one of mercy and grace. Because I
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  Speaker 1: have been forgiven much, I now know I can forgive much.
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  Speaker 1: I decree and declare that as much as it remains
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  Speaker 1: with me, I will live at peace with all people.
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  Speaker 1: I will realize that life is too short for me
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  Speaker 1: to afford the enemy the luxury of keeping me stuck
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  Speaker 1: in past hurts. This is the time and this is
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  Speaker 1: the moment that I break free from unforgiveness, bitterness, and resentment.
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  Speaker 1: I declare that Satan has no hold over my life
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  Speaker 1: and over my peace. I declare that Satan has no
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  Speaker 1: hold over my joy and over my peace. I am
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  Speaker 1: free to love, and I am free to forgive, like
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  Speaker 1: the merciful Master in Matthew 18 and Luke 10. In Jesus' name, amen.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for making prayer a priority in your day.
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  Speaker 1: To learn more about the Bible, stay tuned for today's story.
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  Speaker 1: Brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: The Merciful Master In our last story, Jesus spoke of
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  Speaker 2: generosity through the story of a gluttonous rich man and
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  Speaker 2: a poor beggar. The rich man gorged on his wealth
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  Speaker 2: with no attention to the sick and cold beggar right
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  Speaker 2: at his door. As a result, the rich man suffered
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  Speaker 2: when he died, but the poor man was restored. In
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  Speaker 2: this story, Jesus teaches another valuable lesson on forgiveness through
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  Speaker 2: the intense story of a servant and his master, as inspired.
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  Speaker 3: By the Gospels. Welcome to another episode of The Bible
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  Speaker 3: in a Year. I'm Jack Graham. In our last episode,
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  Speaker 3: we heard about Lazarus and the rich man and how
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  Speaker 3: their earthly and eternal lives were vastly different. It was
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  Speaker 3: a picture of the complete restoration that awaits all who
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  Speaker 3: trust and follow Jesus and and the eternal separation and
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  Speaker 3: suffering for those who reject Him. Today we'll hear another parable,
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  Speaker 3: this time about a master who forgives a large debt,
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  Speaker 3: only to discover that his debtor failed to extend the
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  Speaker 3: same mercy to another. It's an important lesson about the
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  Speaker 3: forgiveness that we've been given and the forgiveness that we
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  Speaker 3: must give to others. So let's listen now to the
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  Speaker 3: reading of God's Word.
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  Speaker 2: It was midday. And Peter was walking silently behind Jesus
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  Speaker 2: along with the other disciples. The dust drug underneath his feet,
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  Speaker 2: and sweat dripped down his furrowed brow. Jesus knew what
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  Speaker 2: Peter was thinking. As many people do, Peter was thinking
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  Speaker 2: of past wrongs done to him. Friends, family, and tax collectors.
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  Speaker 2: Peter's memory was filled with people who had done him
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  Speaker 2: a great deal of harm. To make matters worse, he
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  Speaker 2: continually endured the backbiting in spite of the Pharisees because
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  Speaker 2: he followed Jesus. The mental stress was weighing on him.
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  Speaker 2: Good thing for Peter, he was not one to keep
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  Speaker 2: his emotions bottled up. Out of the silence, Peter spoke
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  Speaker 2: to Jesus, asking, How often should I forgive a brother
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  Speaker 2: who sins against me? Seven times?
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  Speaker 3: Less?
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  Speaker 2: More? Jesus smiled at Peter's question. It was a good inquiry. However,
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  Speaker 2: he was mistaken that there was supposed to be a limit.
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  Speaker 2: Seventy-seven times, Peter. As many as it takes for your
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  Speaker 2: heart to learn what forgiveness is, Jesus replied. Jesus pulled
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  Speaker 2: in his disciples closer to him. They walked along the countryside.
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  Speaker 2: The rolling green hills sprouted with lilies tossed in the wind.
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  Speaker 2: As they walked, Jesus told them another story. The kingdom
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  Speaker 2: of heaven is like a king who wished to settle
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  Speaker 2: his account with his servant. He borrowed money from him,
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  Speaker 2: and now it was time to pay. This servant owed
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  Speaker 2: him ten thousand talents, a very large sum of money. However,
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  Speaker 2: the servant was unable to pay his debts. Because of this,
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  Speaker 2: he was sentenced to be sold into slavery along with
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  Speaker 2: his wife and children. The thought of him and his
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  Speaker 2: family being sold off into the dark unknown broke him.
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  Speaker 2: He knelt before his master and cried aloud to him.
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  Speaker 2: He begged him to spare his life. He fell on
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  Speaker 2: his knees, saying, Please have patience with me, Show mercy!
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  Speaker 2: The master was a good man and decided to forgive
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  Speaker 2: his debt. So the servant left with joy. Later that day,
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  Speaker 2: the same servant went out into the marketplace. There was
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  Speaker 2: a man there that owed him a hundred denarii. Seeing him,
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  Speaker 2: the servant burst through the crowd and tackled him to
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  Speaker 2: the floor. The two of them tumbled in the dirt
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  Speaker 2: and the servant pinned him down. Pay me what you owe!
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  Speaker 2: The servant yelled as he slammed the man's head into
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  Speaker 2: the floor. The man begged for mercy, but the servant
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  Speaker 2: offered none of it. He refused to forgive him, and
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  Speaker 2: instead had him thrown into prison. One of the other
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  Speaker 2: servants saw what had taken place and brought the news
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  Speaker 2: back to his master. That evening the servant was called
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  Speaker 2: into the master's home. Rage boiled deep in his belly.
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  Speaker 2: The master pinned the servant to the ground.' You wicked man!
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  Speaker 2: I forgave you of your debt, and now I hear
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  Speaker 2: you could not show mercy to your brother?' The master
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  Speaker 2: threw him against the wall and called for the jailers,
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  Speaker 2: so the servant was taken away until he could pay
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  Speaker 2: his debt. Jesus finished his story, and the disciples had
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  Speaker 2: stopped walking to consider the meaning. Jesus looked at Peter
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  Speaker 2: and said, Whoever is forgiven much must also forgive. Your
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  Speaker 2: heavenly Father will do to you what you do to others.
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  Speaker 3: Today's scripture begins with Jesus continuing to teach in parables.
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  Speaker 3: Parables have been described as short stories with a long meaning.
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  Speaker 3: Jesus is teaching the true nature of the kingdom of God,
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  Speaker 3: who God is, what he is like, and how we
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  Speaker 3: can know him. Peter begins with a question, seeking to
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  Speaker 3: understand the requirement for forgiveness of others. But now the
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  Speaker 3: disciples would have known that forgiving others was really not
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  Speaker 3: a question to be asked. We are all to forgive.
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  Speaker 3: Jesus taught this in the model prayer. In teaching them
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  Speaker 3: to pray, Jesus had instructed them to ask God to
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  Speaker 3: forgive their debts just as they forgave their debtors. So
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  Speaker 3: Peter was simply trying to determine how much was expected
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  Speaker 3: of him. And in his mind, seven times was a
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  Speaker 3: pretty good number to forgive someone else. But Jesus' reply
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  Speaker 3: makes it clear that the bar is much higher. Not
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  Speaker 3: seven times, but 70 times seven, Jesus said. To drive
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  Speaker 3: home the point, Jesus tells them that God's kingdom can
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  Speaker 3: be compared to a king who was owed different amounts
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  Speaker 3: by his servants. One servant was called before him to
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  Speaker 3: settle his debt, but there was a problem. The man
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  Speaker 3: had absolutely no chance or ability to repay the debt.
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  Speaker 3: It was impossible. His fate was now in the king's hands.
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  Speaker 3: So the king ordered him sold, along with his wife
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  Speaker 3: and children, to pay the debt. He was no longer
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  Speaker 3: a free man. His life was basically now over as
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  Speaker 3: he had known it. So in desperation, he fell on
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  Speaker 3: his knees and pleaded for mercy. He asked to be
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  Speaker 3: allowed to work and pay off his debt. We need
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  Speaker 3: to remember that this was an impossible feat, and yet
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  Speaker 3: the king granted his release. Not only that, he canceled
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  Speaker 3: the man's debt, Jesus said. He was now free and forgiven.
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  Speaker 3: The parallel with this in our own lives is obvious,
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  Speaker 3: isn't it? You would think that a man like this,
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  Speaker 3: having received such grace and mercy, would be quick to
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  Speaker 3: forgive others, to give grace to others. Instead, when he
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  Speaker 3: ran into a man who owed him a small amount
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  Speaker 3: of money, he ordered him to pay it and pay
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  Speaker 3: it immediately. But just as he had been, this man
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  Speaker 3: couldn't pay up. And like the servant had done, this
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  Speaker 3: man pleaded for time and mercy. But the servant would
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  Speaker 3: hear nothing of it. He refused to even let the
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  Speaker 3: man go free and work off what he had owed. Instead,
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  Speaker 3: he ordered him thrown into prison until he could pay
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  Speaker 3: off his debt. This unforgiveness did not go unnoticed, and
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  Speaker 3: soon word got back to the king. Knowing just how
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  Speaker 3: much grace he had offered this man, his former servant,
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  Speaker 3: he was enraged. So he had the man brought before
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  Speaker 3: him and rebuked him for his lack of mercy. In
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  Speaker 3: Matthew 18.33, we read these words, And should not you
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  Speaker 3: have had mercy on your fellow servant as I had
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  Speaker 3: mercy on you? So the man was then bound in
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  Speaker 3: prison shackles, made to work, to repay his debt. Jesus
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  Speaker 3: then looked at Peter and the others, making sure they
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  Speaker 3: understood the meaning of the story, saying, this is how
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  Speaker 3: God will treat you if you're unwilling to forgive others.
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  Speaker 3: We have been forgiven infinitely more than we could ever
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  Speaker 3: hope to repay, and infinitely more than anyone could ever
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  Speaker 3: owe us. And God's desire is for us to forgive
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  Speaker 3: freely in the same way, because forgiven people forgive people.
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  Speaker 3: It doesn't mean we allow people to abuse us or
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  Speaker 3: walk over us again and again, but when someone honestly
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  Speaker 3: asks for forgiveness and is willing to repent, We should
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  Speaker 3: consider how gracious God is and how merciful he is
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  Speaker 3: toward us and show his mercy to others. We who
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  Speaker 3: have been forgiven so much should freely forgive others in Jesus' name.
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  Speaker 3: Dear Jesus, we thank you for the forgiveness of our sins.
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  Speaker 3: Though we owed a debt we could never pay, you
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  Speaker 3: died for us on the cross to pay a debt
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  Speaker 3: that you did not owe so that we could have
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  Speaker 3: eternal life. Thank you for your love, your grace, your mercy,
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  Speaker 3: the forgiveness and the freedom that we have in you.
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  Speaker 3: And may we tell this good news to everyone that
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  Speaker 3: we can until you come again. In Jesus' name, amen.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year.
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  Speaker 3: I'm Pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. You can download
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  Speaker 3: the Pray.com app and make Bible study and prayer the
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  Speaker 3: priority of your life. And if you appreciate this podcast,
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  Speaker 3: please share it with someone else. I also want to
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  Speaker 3: encourage you to go to jackgraham.org That's jackgraham.org for we
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  Speaker 3: have resources that are free and available for you so
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  Speaker 3: that you may know Christ and grow in him. God
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  Speaker 3: bless you.