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Your Inner Prison: The Only Key That Sets You Free
Forgiveness is not about excusing the wrong or denying the pain; it is about refusing to let hate and bitterness take root in our souls.
Sermon Summary
Forgiveness is one of the most challenging commands Jesus gives, yet it is also the key to true freedom. The reality of living in a fallen world means that every one of us will be sinned against—sometimes in small ways, sometimes in ways that shake us to our core.
The story of Athena Strand, a young girl whose life was tragically taken, reminds us of the depth of pain that can be inflicted by others. Yet, even in the face of such unimaginable loss, the call to forgive remains. This is not to minimize the pain or the injustice, but to recognize that holding onto unforgiveness is like locking ourselves in an inner prison.
The parable Jesus tells in Matthew 18 illustrates this truth. A servant, forgiven an unpayable debt, refuses to forgive a much smaller debt owed to him. The result is that he finds himself imprisoned, not just physically but spiritually. Unforgiveness is a poison that seeps into every part of our being—spirit, mind, and even body. It leads to bitterness, isolation, and ultimately, spiritual bondage. The consequences are not just future and eternal, but present and tangible, affecting our health, our relationships, and our ability to hear God’s voice.
We often think that by holding a grudge, we are somehow punishing the person who hurt us. In reality, we are only torturing ourselves, allowing the offense to take up residence in our minds and hearts. The story of Athena’s grandfather, who chose to forgive the man who murdered his beloved granddaughter, is a powerful example of the supernatural strength God provides to those who are willing to obey His command to forgive. Forgiveness is not about excusing the wrong or denying the pain; it is about refusing to let hate and bitterness take root in our souls.
Jesus Himself modeled this on the cross, forgiving those who crucified Him. If anyone had the right to hold a grudge, it was Jesus—betrayed, denied, beaten, and killed by those He came to save. Yet He chose forgiveness, and in doing so, opened the way for our own forgiveness and freedom. The key to escaping the inner prison of unforgiveness is to extend to others the same mercy God has shown us. In doing so, we honor Christ, protect our own souls, and experience the peace that only He can give.
“Forgiveness is not about excusing the wrong or denying the pain; it is about refusing to let hate and bitterness take root in our souls.”
Watch/Listen
Message Study Guide
Youtube chapters
[00:00] - Welcome
[00:33] - The Tragedy of Athena Strand
[02:30] - Peter’s Question: How Many Times Must I Forgive?
[05:00] - The Root of Suffering and Sin
[07:40] - Living in the World We Create
[09:00] - The Certainty of Being Offended
[10:18] - “Living Rent-Free” in Your Head
[12:09] - The Futility of Revenge
[13:33] - The High Price of Sin and Unforgiveness
[14:14] - Spiritual Causes of Physical Disease
[16:11] - The Story of Bitterness: A Personal Example
[19:34] - The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant
[20:49] - The Self-Inflicted Torture of Unforgiveness
[22:05] - The Key to Freedom: Radical Forgiveness
[23:27] - Athena’s Grandfather: A Testimony of Forgiveness
[27:55] - Who Can You Forgive Today?
[28:34] - Jesus: The Ultimate Example of Forgiveness
[29:52] - Invitation to Receive Forgiveness and Extend It
Key Takeaways
The universality of suffering and offense is rooted in the fall of humanity.Every person, regardless of background or circumstance, will experience being sinned against. The question is not if, but how we will respond when it happens. Our response determines whether we live in freedom or in bondage. [09:00]
Unforgiveness is not just a spiritual issue; it has profound physical and emotional consequences.Bitterness, envy, and resentment can literally rot us from the inside out, affecting our health and relationships. The refusal to forgive is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. [14:14]
The illusion of control through revenge or holding a grudge is just that—an illusion.Often, we cannot exact justice or revenge, and even if we could, it would not bring true peace. Instead, we allow the offender to occupy space in our minds, giving them power over us long after the offense. [12:09]
Forgiveness is not a one-time act, but a continual choice.Jesus calls us to forgive not just seven times, but seventy times seven—so many times that we lose count. This is not about keeping score, but about cultivating a heart that is quick to release offenses, trusting God with justice. [22:05]
The ultimate example of forgiveness is found in Christ, who forgave those who crucified Him.When we forgive, especially in situations of deep pain or injustice, we participate in the very heart of the gospel. Forgiveness sets us free from the inner prison of hate and allows us to continue hearing God’s gentle voice. [29:13]
Bible Reading
Matthew 18:21-35 (ESV) — 21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. 23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”
Observation Questions
In the parable Jesus tells, what is the difference between the debt the first servant owed the king and the debt owed to him by his fellow servant? Why is this important? [03:06]
According to the sermon, what are some of the physical and emotional consequences of holding onto unforgiveness? [14:14]
What does Peter suggest is a reasonable number of times to forgive, and how does Jesus respond? [02:30]
What did Athena Strand’s grandfather say about the struggle between his desire for revenge and the “gentle voice” telling him to forgive? [24:06]
Interpretation Questions
Why does Jesus compare unforgiveness to being imprisoned and tortured in the parable? What does this say about the effects of unforgiveness on a person’s life? [20:49]
The sermon says that “unforgiveness is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.” What does this mean in practical terms for our daily lives? [14:14]
How does the story of Athena’s grandfather illustrate the supernatural strength required to forgive in situations of deep pain or injustice? [24:06]
Jesus forgave those who crucified Him, even as He was suffering. What does this reveal about the kind of forgiveness He calls us to practice? [29:13]
Application Questions
The sermon says that everyone will be sinned against at some point in life. Who comes to mind when you think about someone who has hurt you? How have you responded so far? [09:00]
Are there any signs in your own life—such as bitterness, isolation, or even physical symptoms—that might be connected to holding onto unforgiveness? [14:14]
The parable shows that the servant was forgiven a huge debt but refused to forgive a much smaller one. Is there someone in your life you are struggling to forgive, even though God has forgiven you much? [03:06]
Athena’s grandfather said he chose to forgive for his own peace and to keep hearing God’s voice. Have you ever noticed a difference in your relationship with God when you are holding onto a grudge? [25:59]
Jesus said to forgive “seventy times seven.” Is there a situation where you feel like you’ve already forgiven enough? What would it look like to keep forgiving in that situation? [22:05]
The sermon mentions that holding a grudge is like letting someone “live rent-free in your head.” Is there someone or something taking up too much space in your thoughts because of unforgiveness? What practical step could you take this week to begin letting go? [10:18]
Jesus forgave those who crucified Him. What is one specific way you can follow His example of radical forgiveness this week, even if it’s just in your attitude or prayers? [29:13]
Ask a Question about this message
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Generosity this morning, and thank you to all those in ministry. Cannot do this without you all. Really do appreciate you.
If you have your Bibles, uh, let's turn to the book of Matthew, chapter 18. The book of Matthew, chapter 18. Kind of a lengthy portion of scripture, very familiar portion, but lengthy nonetheless, uh, that we would like to read together this morning.
I have an image—if the Faithful Sound Booth Ministry can put that up on the screen. Amen.
This is a little girl by the name of Athena Strand, 7 years old. On Friday, December the 2nd, 2022, authorities located her body during a search in Boyd, Texas after following a tip that led them to a delivery driver. The sheriff said that investigators believe the suspect kidnapped the girl and killed her. The suspect was a 31-year-old FedEx driver named Tanner Lynn. He later confessed to the crime. He was a contract driver for FedEx.
I'm thinking FedEx probably called the newspaper and said, "Make sure you say he's not one of our direct employees. He's a contract driver."
"It's one of the toughest investigations I've ever been involved with because it's a child," the sheriff said at a press conference alongside Athena's mother and other emergency response officials. He added, "Anytime there's a child that dies, it just hits you in your heart." Amen.
Finding the body brought a heartbreaking end to more than two days of searching, which involved dozens of law enforcement officials, helicopters, dog rescue teams, and more than 300 volunteers who joined in to help with this tragedy.
Obviously, this story is a horrible, horrible tragedy and injustice. And how many know, uh, in our day, we hear far too many stories just like this one.
Why am I sharing this with you, though? Why did I just share this terrible article? I think you're going to find out soon enough.
I want to go to our scripture in Matthew chapter 18. We're going to read verses 21 down through 35. I'm reading from the New Living Translation. It says:
"Then Peter came to him and asked, 'Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me?'
'Seven times?'
'No, not seven times,' Jesus replied, 'but seventy-seven times.'
Therefore, the kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. He couldn't pay. So his master ordered that he be sold along with his wife and children and everything he owned in order to pay the debt.
But the man fell down before his master and begged him, 'Please be patient with me and I will pay it all.' Then his master was filled with pity and released him and forgave his debt.
But the man left the king. He went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.
His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. 'Please be patient with me and I will pay it,' he pleaded. But his creditor wouldn't wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full.
When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that happened.
Then the king called in the man that he had forgiven and said, 'You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn't you have mercy on your fellow servant just as I had mercy on you?'
Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.
This is what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart."
I ask you to pray with me this morning as our heads are bowed.
Father, we come into your presence, God, and we're so grateful, Lord God, for your mercy and your grace this morning. I'm asking you, Lord God, that you would give me the ability to communicate what you have to say to this body of believers this morning. And I thank you for your grace, God. I thank you for the blood of Jesus, your forgiveness this morning, in Jesus' name. Amen.
And I want to preach a message I've entitled Your Inner Prison.
I want to look first with you at the root.
I want to make a controversial statement to you. Often atheists will ask this question when they're debating a Christian. They'll say, "If there's a God, why does he allow suffering in the world?" It's a good question. But I want to answer that question.
All suffering, all suffering in the world is the result of Adam and Eve sinning against God. All of creation was cursed—plants, animals, even the dirt was cursed. This resulted in multiplied pain, toil, jealousy, and of course, death.
You know, there was no death before sin. Do you realize that there was no such thing as death before sin entered the world? And now death has been passed down from the first humans rather, and now through every succeeding generation all the way down through the ages up till you and I here this morning.
Romans 5:12 says, "When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to everyone."
Or everyone sinned. We are all products of our environment whether we like it or not. We cannot help when and where we grew up. You know, some of us would have liked to have been born in a different time or a different place, but we were born where we were born and at the time we were born. We cannot help that.
We can't help who our parents are, or in my case, who my parents were. We can't control our immutable traits. We can't control our race, our ethnicity, our nationality. We can't control that. Those are our immutable traits.
But no matter whether you grew up in the lap of luxury or whether you grew up in a third world country, because of the original sin of Adam, all of us have been raised in an environment of sin. Whether it's the sins of others or our own, we humans create our own problems.
We like to blame the devil, but how many know often times the devil's like, "Man, they got me outflanked. They're doing a better job than I could have."
Pastor Campbell, that's our pastor back in Chandler, he often says, "You have to live in the world you create." We have to live with ourselves. Got to look in the mirror. We have to live with the consequences of our own decisions.
But too often, we allow others to dictate the terms of our lives.
How many know this is when other people sin against us. This is sometimes called a trespass. When someone has crossed a line. They've gone into an area of your life that you did not give them permission to go in.
And if you've been alive more than five minutes, someone has probably hurt you. Someone has offended you. Someone has upset you. Someone has broken your heart, perhaps even violated or abused you.
And unfortunately for all of us, this is and will remain a reality of our lives until Jesus comes back. Only when he returns will every tear be wiped away.
In our text, Peter asks Jesus how many times he should forgive someone that has sinned against him. Seven times.
Now, in other words, the question is not whether someone is going to sin against you. That part is already certain. Someone is going to sin against you. People are going to violate you, betray you, hurt you, on and on.
The question becomes, how many times do I allow this to happen? This tells us it's also certain that it's not going to be a one-time thing. We've all been lied to, ripped off, betrayed, amen, rejected, on and on.
But at some point, we have to decide how we're going to deal with this reality. What do I do when someone violates or sins against me? How do I handle it?
Have you ever heard the term living rent-free in your head? You ever heard this term?
This phrase originated from an advice columnist named Ann Landers. She used it to describe holding on to negative feelings towards someone.
In other words, someone has wronged you and now you just can't stop thinking about them. You are consumed with evil thoughts of that person.
But allowing someone to live rent-free in your head has little to do with the actual sin committed against you because that's going to happen. It's got everything to do with how you respond to it.
Peter understood based on Jewish teaching that forgiveness was a mandatory response. But only a certain amount of times did you have to forgive someone. After that certain amount of times had passed, then revenge was acceptable.
The famous saying goes, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice..." No, it's, "Can't get fooled again." I'm just kidding. No, I'm kidding.
The problem with that is revenge is not always possible. Maybe the person that sinned against you is in a more powerful position than you are. Maybe they hold some kind of direct influence over your life.
Like maybe they're a family member, a senior family member, or they're a boss. Or maybe they're distant, maybe they're, you know, a celebrity or a politician.
It drives me crazy how people just let Donald Trump live in your head for free. Stop it.
But there's someone who they're inaccessible. You're never going to get to them. And yet they live rent-free in your head because of some offense.
Or the person might live far away. They might live across the country, across the world from you, and even if you wanted to, you can't get to them to get at them. You know what I'm saying? You can't get to them. They're living far away. You'll never be able to exact revenge on them.
Then what do you do? Do you report them to the police? Well, if they have done something illegal, yes, please do that.
Problem is, it won't end there. Maybe you can just cancel them on social media. Let me tell you, that never works out. It's never helpful.
What most people do is they just resort to holding a grudge against the other person for their entire lives.
I want to look secondly with you at rotting from the inside out.
Sin comes with a high price tag.
Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death."
That means more than just not going to heaven when we die. The price we pay is both spiritual and physical. We carry it both here during our lifetimes and then into eternity.
Our sins and the sins of others that we hold on to, they cause mental and physical problems now and then they carry eternal problems later.
The Reverend Charles Keller identified eight spiritual causes of physical disease in the body. Here they are: fear, depression, grief, shame, envy, anger, jealousy, and bitterness.
These are the eight spiritual causes of physical disease in the body.
Proverbs 14:30 says, "A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body. Jealousy is like cancer in the bones."
The New King James Version of that scripture says, "A sound heart is life to the body, but envy is rottenness to the bones."
Author Quinn Jackson said, "Envy is a heartbreaking emotion. It's hurt, insecurity, and loneliness disguised as anger, bitterness, and resentment."
Becoming envious causes loneliness and isolation for everyone involved—the one experiencing the envy firsthand as well as the one that someone is envious of.
Envy invites comparison of relationships, success, status, or image, and can make you feel unknown and uncared for even by those you were once close to.
Have you ever seen maybe a decrepit elderly person? I'm sure you have. They're walking, you know, hunched over, right? Suffering from osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis, if you don't know, means you have holes in your bones.
You might talk to those people and at first you find that they are actually sweet or funny even. But you talk to them long enough and you find out that they've been carrying around a violation or possibly many of them for years, maybe even decades.
Someone has sinned against them, caused some kind of harm to them, ripped them off, took something from them—not necessarily material. Maybe they took a position or maybe they took their innocence from them.
And this person has refused to let it go.
My own grandmother suffered with osteoporosis for many, many years. She was one of those who, you know, walked all hunched over. But she seemed like such a sweet old lady.
You go over to her house. Oh my goodness, I loved going to grandma's house. She would let me eat fried chicken and cookies and Eskimo pies to my heart's content. I loved grandma's house. She'd let me watch TV just non-stop. It was great.
But you get her talking. I didn't know, I didn't realize this till I was a little older, you know, till I wasn't a kid that was just like, "Can I have more cookies?"
You get her talking and it's not long before you learn that she absolutely hated my grandpa. They had divorced many, many years, decades earlier.
He, my grandpa, couldn't hold a job. He caused many, many years of poverty for their family.
And then you get her talking a little more. You find out that she hates the Jews. It's weird. Like, what? You hate Jews?
What? She blamed them for keeping her from attaining a high position in school administration. She worked—she was a teacher and then she was a school administrator, a counselor—and she was convinced that the Jews were keeping her from advancing.
She could never become a vice principal or whatever because of the Jews.
Eventually, she lost her ability to reason. It was so sad.
You'd go over to her house and she thought that the televangelists on TV that were on all the time, you know, they had their little 1-800 number at the bottom so you can make a donation, right?
She thought that those televangelists were talking to her directly and that they were conspiring with some of her family members who she also hated and they were going to steal her inheritance.
They were doing it and she was convinced that they were taking her inheritance.
By the way, she didn't have an inheritance.
Then she lost the ability to recognize the ones she loved. She couldn't identify my mom, my aunt, me. Didn't know who we were. It was heartbreaking.
And finally, she lost the ability to speak.
You see, holding a grudge, unforgiveness, it rots you from the inside out.
In our text, Jesus tells the parable of the unforgiving servant.
Jesus tells that this man who had been forgiven a lot but he refused to give someone else forgiveness for a little, in the end, ended up in prison. Both of them did.
The man he refused to forgive was punished, but so was he, but much, much harsher.
Unforgiveness not only kills you slowly physically, but it imprisons you spiritually.
Had the servant simply forgiven the other man, he'd have avoided prison himself.
C.S. Lewis once said, "I willingly believe that the people in hell are in one sense successful. They are rebels to the end. That the doors of hell are locked on the inside."
Unforgiveness is rebellion against God and it's an insult to the work that Jesus did on the cross.
Verse 33 of our text, Jesus said, "Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had mercy on you?"
Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he paid his entire debt.
You may think that by carrying that contempt for that other person, having vengeful thoughts about them, talking bad about them, wishing death upon them, that by doing that, you're really getting back at them.
But really, you're only torturing yourself.
And Jesus says, though you may have been forgiven, your unwillingness to forgive them lands you back in unforgiveness yourself and it lands you in hell.
Let me ask you, who are you holding a grudge against right now? What person comes to mind when you ask yourself the question, "Who has hurt me?" Does somebody pop into your mind?
I want to look finally with you at the key to freedom.
Remember C.S. Lewis said that hell is locked from the inside.
Well, that means there must be a key to get out.
What is the key to freedom?
When Peter asks Jesus how many times he should forgive someone who sins against him, he offers up a generous number: seven. Seven's the perfect number.
Don't you know if someone wrongs you seven times? Let's just be honest. If somebody wrongs you seven times, most of us would have already exacted revenge against that person five or six times ago, right? Fool me once, right?
But Jesus responds, not seven times, seventy-seven times.
In other words, I want you to forgive them so many times that you lose count.
Doesn't mean it's easy.
Some of you have been personally sinned against, and that hurts enough.
But some of you have had people you love that have been violated. And let me tell you, that hurts worse.
And it makes the temptation to hold them in unforgiveness even stronger when somebody hurts someone you've loved.
At the beginning, I showed you that picture of Athena Strand, that precious murdered seven-year-old girl.
Think of the anguish and the grief and the despair her family must have been going through.
This happened in December of 2022.
No doubt they had already gotten her some Christmas presents to put under the tree.
They likely had hopes and dreams for her.
Yet here they are having to bury their precious little girl because of some sick psychopathic killer.
What the article didn't tell us about was Athena's grandfather.
She had a beloved grandpa who doted on her, adored her, often babysat her.
We actually have a picture. His name is Mark Strand. That's him with Athena, obviously, well before she was murdered.
On December 3, one day after her body was found, he took to Facebook and he wrote this message. Listen carefully:
"I can't quiet my mind and I have to share this.
A friend just asked me the other day if I believe God speaks to people. I happen to know He does and He is speaking to me now.
This flesh, this man that I am, is angry. And I want five minutes alone in a cell with the psycho that took our Athena away from us.
But there's a soft, gentle voice in the back of my head telling me I need to forgive him.
This flesh man talking about himself. This flesh man wants that psycho to burn in hell for all eternity.
Yet that gentle voice continues to tell me I need to forgive him.
This flesh man hopes he remains blind and deaf to the message of salvation and never sets foot in the same heaven that I know in my heart my darling Athena resides in now.
And yet that gentle voice persists.
Why, you ask?
Because hate is a powerful force that will take root in your soul.
God wants to protect us all from that hate.
Hate is the gateway for evil that we see growing in the world today.
If you stood that man before me right now, because of the hate that's trying to root itself in my mind, I would probably kill him.
Then that hate would root itself in my heart and I would be destroyed.
That gentle voice is the Holy Spirit of God speaking to me right now.
He's reminding me that my Savior Jesus willingly laid Himself on a cross and died in my place to reconcile me to God the Father, but also that He did that for all of us.
Even this man that my flesh so hates at the very moment.
I am a sinful man.
Yet I've heard this voice before and I miss hearing this voice.
If I allow this hate to consume me, that voice will fade and eventually be silenced.
Then that ugly spirit of hate will have succeeded.
And that's why this gentle voice persists to tell me I need to forgive this man.
It's for my protection and for my peace.
It's to set me free from this hate and allow me to continue to hear God's gentle voice.
There's not one ounce of my flesh that wants to do this or say this, but my spirit has heard God's voice.
And right now, while tears flood my eyes, I declare publicly that I forgive this man.
Hate will not win.
I hope my family will understand.
I don't do this for the sake of the man.
I do this for the sake of my family and myself and to honor the voice of God who is giving me the strength to say this.
I do this to honor our precious Athena who knew no hate.
This man won't be allowed any real estate to live in my brain.
He belongs to God and God's justice will be done.
Love conquers all and forgives.
Today I choose love and hate loses."
What about you this morning? Are you holding a grudge? Is this grieving?
If this grieving grandfather can forgive the man who murdered his beloved granddaughter, who can you forgive?
Maybe a former friend. They were a friend, but not now.
Maybe a relative, someone you trusted who betrayed you.
Who can you forgive today and be set free from your inner prison?
I would like every head bowed, every eye closed for just a moment.
Every head bowed, every eye closed, no one looking around for just a few moments as we begin to wrap up this service this morning.
If there was anyone who could have held a grudge, it was Jesus Christ.
Betrayed by one of his own disciples, denied three times by Peter—the same one who was asking, "Lord, how many times should I forgive my brother who sinned against me?"
He was betrayed by—or he was denied three times by his closest follower Peter.
Jesus was beaten until he was unrecognizable.
Crown of thorns, pulled the beard out from his face, all of that.
Nailed to a cross, spit on, mocked, ridiculed.
Yet, when he could have cursed those who were crucifying him, he didn't.
He could have said, "You know what? Forget it. These people aren't worth it. These people aren't worth me shedding my blood and dying for their sins."
But he didn't.
Instead, he looked at the people who were killing him and he said those powerful words, "Father, forgive them. They don't know what they're doing."
What about you this morning?
Maybe you're here in this place and you've never been forgiven yourself by Jesus.
You've never prayed and said, "God, I need you to forgive me. I've sinned against others. I've sinned against myself. I've sinned against you and I need you to forgive me."
Maybe you're here in this place and you're not saved.
You've never been born again.
You don't know with certainty that if you were to die today whether you would make heaven your home.
Is that you this morning?
If so, would you just be honest and just lift up your hand?
We want to just pray with you this morning.
Is there anyone here who's unsaved?
Maybe you're backslidden in your heart.
At one time, you were right with God.
But then life happened.
You strayed off course and one day you looked up and you were far, far from God.
And you don't know now if you were to die today whether you'd make heaven your home because sin has crept back into your life.
And sin cannot be in the presence of a holy God.
Is that you?
Are you backsliding in your heart?
Would you lift up your hand?
We can pray with you.
Not trying to embarrass anybody.
Not trying to get you to join this church, fill out a membership card, anything like that.
We just want to see you make heaven your home.
If you're unsaved, I'm going to make one last call.
If you're unsaved or if you're backslidden in your heart, would you lift up your hand?
We can just have somebody pray with you very quickly.
Anyone at all?
Praise God.
Church, this message of Jesus resonates with every one of us.
All of us have been hurt, betrayed.
We've had people hurt those we love and we've held people in unforgiveness.
I want to open up the altar this morning.
If you are holding a...
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