Josh Howerton - Forgiveness Sets You Free (01/11/2026)

Summary:

In the kickoff to the «‘Tis the Season» series, Pastor Josh Howerton teaches from Matthew 24 that unforgiveness builds walls of offense leading to division and imprisonment. Using a live illustration with a young married couple and fence slats, he shows how small offenses accumulate into relational barriers. Jesus warns that offense will characterize the end times, progressing to betrayal and hatred. Forgiveness—releasing others from debt—is the only escape, freeing the offended more than the offender. He dispels myths: forgiveness is not forgetting, waiting for apology, ceasing pain, one-time, trusting, or reconciliation (though reconciliation is ideal when possible). Justice ultimately comes from Jesus on the cross or in eternity. Deeper forgiveness brings greater anointing and Holy Spirit power. The sermon closes with Shelby Houston’s testimony of forgiving her father’s killer and an altar call for salvation.

Series Introduction: ‘Tis the Season
Hey, alright, LakePointe Family, it’s good to see you guys! If you have your Bibles, head over to Matthew 24. We are starting a new series this week that I am extremely excited about. The title of the series is «Tis the Season.» Now here’s what I figured out very quickly: there is a lot of controversy about what it is the season for. So, because I love you and because I just want to see families and marriages thrive, we are right now going to settle all your family Christmas disputes. We’re going to legislate this; we’re going to do it via applause. So, I need you to practice.

Okay, would you give me a little cheer? Come on, all of our campuses! Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. Now, whatever is agreed on in the room right now, your family has to abide by that. Those are the rules! Okay, here we go! So, number one, where are my people who are like, «The Christmas tree never goes up before Thanksgiving»? We love America! Where are those people? Okay, that’s it! Okay, that’s great! Where are the people who, you know, maybe like me, who are like, «I just love Jesus so much; I want to celebrate Him early»? Where are you? Okay—oh man, that felt very gendered, and I was on the wrong side of that!

Okay, let me just say that! Now, where are my people in this room who are like, «This is my family! Elf on the Shelf»? People think it’s kind of cool, kind of fun! Okay, I see you! Jan and I are split on this. Where are the people who, like me, think, «Actually, that’s the Christmas version of Chucky»? Where are y’all at? It’s like, «I don’t know, man, I don’t know.» Okay, I feel like the Chucky side won that one.

Now, I’m about to find out who my friends are! Where are the people who would say «Die Hard is NOT a Christmas movie»? You’re like, «No way! I don’t want to see it! Give me Hallmark Channel!» Okay, now is where I find out who my friends are! Where are the people who are like, «It ain’t Christmas till I see Hans Gruber fall off the Nakatomi Plaza»? Come on, man! That’s right, yes sir, yes sir, that’s it! I see it!

Now, this is one only like six people are going to cheer about, but I just found this out this week. Let me just say, I still don’t know what to do with this. Where are the people who do a Christmas pickle on your tree? Where are y’all at? I have never heard of this ever in my life! Y’all are weird! Like, I don’t know what to deal with this—ask somebody else about it later.

Now, this is the last one! Let me just say, I really need my side of this one to win, like, really bad! Jan and I are very strongly divided on this. I’m going to play a song—not yet. I’m going to play a song; all I need is for you to start either cheering or booing when the song starts. Whichever one is louder, that is what has to happen in all LakePointe households moving forward. Okay, now cheer—boo! Here we go, do it right now!

Well, there’s controversy about those things; here’s what there is not controversy about. In the next four weeks, what we want to do is disciple and help you with four things that it is absolutely the season to do. Here’s what these four things are, here’s where we’re going with the series: ‘Tis the season to grieve a loss; some of you get that one. ‘Tis the season to help the needy; ‘tis the season to remember the reason for the season; and ‘tis the season to—here’s what we’re doing today—‘tis the season to reconcile a relationship.

Now this just got real! Just got real! Now you may be going, «Josh, why are we talking about forgiveness and reconciliation at Christmas?» Let me just lean in! Here’s why! Y’all understand this: they’re coming. He’s coming; she’s coming. They’re going to be at your house at your dinner table in three weeks. They’re going to be there.

And then, if I could just like emotionally gear shift for a second—let me just be for real about something that’s not as funny for some of you. You’re going, «Man, actually what’s tough is this is the year they’re not coming. Kids aren’t coming this year; daughter’s not coming; I’m not going to go see Dad this year; my brother and I don’t talk anymore.» And what I want to say, what I came here to say today is that Jesus has the power and the resources, the redemption and the glory to bring change to that! That’s what we believe!

Matthew 24: Offense in the End Times
Master, let me just dive right in. Here’s why I say that; let me talk about why we’re doing this. Jesus one time was talking about when He’s going to return in Matthew 24. His disciples asked Him, «Hey, so what’s going to be the sign of your return?» Jesus said, «Okay, here’s going to be one of the signs that I’m coming soon.» Now watch this language! Jesus said, «And then many will be”—everybody say it out loud—“and many will be offended.» Now here’s what’s interesting: that word «many» is the Greek word that means «majority.» So Jesus says that when it’s getting close, the majority of people are going to be like making a decision to be—and stay—offended.

And then He says, «Here’s what’s going to happen: many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.» Now what you’ve got to know is that this is a progression: offense, betrayal, hatred. That’s always how it goes. If you take offense into your heart, offense is a moment; living offended is a decision. If you take offense in your heart, and you live offended, you will eventually prioritize your needs over the needs of that person, and you will betray them. When you betray them, you will eventually—the word is—hate. What it means is there will be distance between you—something between you.

Now what the Bible is giving us is this image of a wall: offense, betrayal, hatred. It leads to walls that Satan uses to divide people.

Now you may go, «Josh, where do you get that?» Proverbs 18:19 says, «A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city.» You tell me, thousands of years ago, what surrounded a city to make it strong? A wall! And the goal of the wall was to keep people who would hurt you out and to let only the people who might be able to help you in. That is what an offended person is trying to do; they build emotional walls and think they’re building walls of protection to keep people who will hurt you out. Jesus is going to show you, «You thought that’s what you were doing? Satan tricked you! That’s not what you did.» He says it in Matthew 25.

Jesus gives His Sermon on the Mount; Jesus is talking about the time in the service when the offering bucket comes, and Jesus goes, «Hey, the unity of my people is so important that when that bucket comes—yes, because I am first—you return your first to me; that’s really important. But He goes, ‘Man, actually there’s something more important than you returning your first to me immediately.’ That is the unity of the brothers—no bitterness, no unforgiveness.»

And then Jesus says, «If that happens, He goes, here’s what I want you to do: I want you, before you even give, to get up and go be reconciled to that person. That’s more important to me than getting your first immediately.» And then He says this: «Watch this! Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may”—here it is again—“thrown into prison.»

Now, what imprisons people is bars, it’s walls. So He’s going, «Man, unforgiveness is always going to result in you living in a prison—a walled-off prison.» Truly, I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny. Now this is what happens when you take offense or woundedness into your heart and hold on to it: it eventually becomes a wall that separates you from the people that you love the most and that you actually need relationship with.

Live Illustration: Building a Fence of Offenses
Now I want to show you a visual of how this happens. Here’s what I’m saying: let me say it, and I’m going to show you a visual. Satan’s goal is destruction; his strategy is division, but his tactic is offense. Now I’m getting ready to show you an illustration. This is not original to me; I’ve seen this, it’s an amazing old illustration, and I got some helpers who are going to help me! Please help me welcome Miles and Abby on up to the stage! Come on, man! Miles and Abby, come on up here, man! Now, come on over here, Miles and Abby! Y’all have been married for two years, by the way! Come on, somebody! Married two years right here!

So Miles, I want you right here; Abby, I want you right here. We’re going to do some marital counseling right now! We’re going to get y’all to twenty—that’s our goal! We’re going to get you to twenty right here! Now, Miles and Abby, what you’re looking at here, imagine this is like a potential garden, so this represents what your relationship could grow into. Okay? And this is a slat; it’s like, «Imagine this is like an offense.» It’s a fence—you see? Yep, a fence slat. And here’s what’s going to happen: this is where we want the relationship to grow, but here’s what can happen.

Do y’all understand that—have you figured out you’re going to offend one another yet? Have you? Okay, you figured that out! Let me just say, you’re going to offend one another! So by the way, we want to reward you for helping us! What’s her favorite restaurant? Mikina? Okay! We’re going to take you to Mikina!

What’s going to happen is offenses—they’re going to come. So at some point, he’s going to offend you. He’s going to give you an offense, but the decision you have is what you’re going to do with it. So it’s going to happen; he’s going to give it to you, but you get to decide what you’re going to do with it.

Now I want to give you an illustration, and we’re going to do this. What can happen is little things—like, Miles, you’re going to do the dumbest stuff, and it’s going to be a true story! So, like, in prep, I was talking to Jan about this yesterday. Jan and I—was Abby a good cook? Good? You always say «Yes, » no hesitation! You just go right in! Jan and I were talking about this: the third year we were married, this is a true story, Miles—third year we were married, Jan and I went over to a friend’s house. Her name was Sarah, and she made this macaroni and cheese with like all the crumbles on top; it was perfectly toasted, all the things!

And we’re over there, and I take a bite, and I’m immediately like, «This is so good!» And then I said, «This is the best macaroni and cheese I have ever had!» Do you understand what I–I have ever had! And then I went a step further, Miles. I said, «Jana, will you get with Sarah and get the recipe? Because this is the—» Do you, Abby? Yeah, you get it! And I learned on the way home that what Jana was thinking is, «Oh, Josh, I don’t need the recipe. You will never get macaroni and cheese again, and you don’t need to give me the recipe because from now on, if you want macaroni and cheese, you can ask Sarah!» Is what she now thinks!

I asked Jan if I could tell that story; she gave me permission as long as I noted that she actually makes better macaroni and cheese than Sarah, is what she says! So what will happen is, Miles, you’re going to be doing this—we’re just going to be talking—you’re just going to be saying stupid stuff because you’re a man; you’re just going to say stupid things! And then in that moment, he’s going to give you an offense, and that’s going to happen, but you get to choose what to actually do with it!

Or, you know, it could be different things. Abby, sometimes you’re going to give him an offense, and it’s not something you said; sometimes it’s what you didn’t say. So like, Miles, you may—this may happen. You may get in the car, and Abby, he may ask you, «Hey babe, where do you want to go for dinner?» And Abby, you’re going to say, «Actually, I don’t know, “ or, „I don’t care, “ and that’s a lie! You’re going to lie, but you won’t answer the question. And when you—now, real quick, before I do this, Miles, let me just tell you. Because Miles is on staff with us—he’s one of our pastors—so we’re going to do a theology lesson.

Miles, Abby is a woman, and the reason that women cannot decide where to eat is because it actually has biblical roots. It goes back to the Garden of Eden. The reason that they can’t decide where to eat is because the first time they chose what to eat, they doomed all of humanity. And so this is where this is from; she’s just acting out of her nature.

Actually, Abby, would you close your ears real quick, Miles? I’m going to help you and every man in this room! Miles, what you need to do is, you get in the car, and you say, „Hey babe, I’m going to surprise you today. I’m going to take you to your favorite place! Guess where it is?“ And wherever she says first, go there! Okay, you’re good! You can take that!

So you’re getting in the car, and you’ll ask her that question. „Hey babe, where do you want to go?“ And you wait; I did it backwards! He’s going to ask you „Where do you want to go?“ and you’re going to say, „I don’t know“ or „I don’t care.“ And when you say that, what you didn’t realize is he’s saying, „I just want to bless you! I just want to help you! Please help me help you!“ And then you’re going to get—and she’s going to give you an offense. Now you’re going to get it, but you get to choose what to do with it!

Or it’s even—let me do this other one: many times, it’s expectations! Do you guys know? The breeding ground of offense is expectations, and watch this—especially uncommunicated expectations! That’s the breeding ground of offense! So, you’re not even meaning to do this, but like, Abby, in your family, let’s do birthdays. Let’s say, in your family, you grew up and it was like birthdays were a big deal; you woke up, Dad took the day off work, he had the chocolate chip pancakes with all the sprinkles on top. Maybe he had like a special song he sang, and so you brought that expectation in.

He didn’t know about that expectation; you brought that in! But then Miles, maybe in your family, like birthdays—nobody even celebrated birthdays because it’s like, „What did you do? You just came out! What did you accomplish?“ And so it’s just like, „Happy birthday, bro!“ And that was it! So what happens is, watch this, Abby, you wake up and you have these uncommunicated expectations. On the first birthday y’all do, you wake up and you’re waiting for the pancakes with the sprinkles, but then Miles didn’t take the day off! He just pecks you on the forehead, says, „Happy birthday, babe!“ walks out the door, and actually, it went this way: walks out the door, and boom! An offense just took place!

Or—and let me visually show this one! Miles, come back here with me! Or, like Miles, you may figure out that Abby’s recreational activity is buying things! You may—oh, what she loves to do is she loves to buy stuff! So she may come home on a Saturday; she just trying to have a good time; she walks in the door with all these bags. She’s walking in with a bag, but they don’t look like bags to you; they look like grenades she’s throwing onto the spreadsheet of your budget!

And you’re like, „Bro, I’m working hard!“ And then she sees on your face, „Oh, he’s not cool with this!“ So she says this—y’all help me out—she says, „Don’t worry! I got it on sale!“ You see how that—you see that? And then you’re like—you’ve got to now come back here with me, Miles!

So what you’re doing—some of you are hearing this and here’s what the devil wants you to do: he wants you to take this offense and like drive it into your soul! So you’re like going, „You leave and you don’t let it go! You just like, ‘Well, she doesn’t care about how hard I work! She does—does she not understand? Man, all these shopping bags! ’ And she even said, ‘Oh, I got two of them 50% off, so it was free! ’“

And then she’s driving it in, and so now, do that thing, Miles! And so every time you’re thinking, you’re just driving it deeper and deeper and deeper! Is what you’re doing, and you’re needing—and so you’re doing that thing!

Now, okay, now go back up there; that’s awesome! Now, you may—let me do another one! Sometimes it’s like, it’s the stuff that before marriage you loved; after marriage, you hate! So there’s an old country preacher thing—country preacher said before marriage, „Opposites attract;“ after marriage, „Opposites attack!“ That’s not original to me!

And so like, Miles, before marriage your favorite thing was that you said, „She’s mysterious!“ Then after marriage you were always like, „Just tell me what you think! Just—I don’t know what you think!“ And then Abby, for you it was like, before marriage, what you loved about him—the life of the party! —but then what happens is after marriage, you get in, and what was the life of the party? Now, everywhere you go, you’re like, „Shut up, Miles! Shut up!“

Shut up, Miles! Just why won’t you stop talking? And all the stuff that you loved the most—you see it changed, and now, what you used to love becomes an opportunity for offense!

Or sometimes, it’s even little stuff. Like, Miles, come back here—it’s little stuff! Like you may be going on a date and on the date she’s texting in the car! And you’re just sitting in the driver’s seat and you’re stewing the whole time! You just keep thinking about it! You’ll lay in bed later thinking about it, and what you’re thinking is, „Man, like when I’m at work and I text you at home, you never pick up! But when we’re on a date, all you do is text? What are you doing?“

You know, does that land for anybody? And so every time, you just think about it—just drive that thing deeper! „Man, stop texting, woman! Why are you always texting? Can’t you do any—“ and just driving the offense deeper and deeper and deeper!

And it just gets worse and worse and worse. Or Abby, come back here! You may be like—you may be like, Abby, for us it’s driving! Like, we got a problem in the Howton family; the problem is Jan—Abby, Jana has an amazing sense of direction, but she can’t drive! She is a terrible driver!

And then, Miles, my problem is I have a terrible sense of direction; I’m an amazing driver. Terrible sense of direction! So literally, if anybody asks me where it is, I’m like, „I put it in Apple Maps, and I follow the blue line. That’s it!“ To my parents’ house, I put it in Apple Maps, and I follow the blue line— that’s all!

And then what will happen is, like, two weeks—Abby, you do this! Come over here! Like, this is literally two weeks ago; we’re on a date, and Jana’s driving, and she almost gets us killed! Abby! And I’m making snarky little comments about her driving. And then this is where you start— you know, putting it in!

And then she’s like, „If you want to control the car, there’s a seat that you could be sitting in!“ And then the whole time I’m making a comment, she’s like, „This freaking guy—he’s the—“ I won’t do that! I shouldn’t have said that! This stinking guy—he’s some of you! That’s going to be your offense later! You’re going to be thinking about me saying that word and then doing that!

And you just drive it in and drive it in and drive it in! And then more and more and more! Now, Abby, you come back up here in the front, and it’s just all these little things! It may even be like the trash!

Every time you take out the trash, you’re literally going, „Why does he never take out the trash? Am I the only one who can take out the trash?“ You know? And then you’re doing this thing where it’s like, what I say to Jan is, „You’re not doing that for me; you’re doing it at me!“ „Won’t you just take out the trash?!“

And all this stuff is happening, and then all of a sudden, Miles—watch this! All of a sudden this thing that God had joined together has now been separated by a fence! See, this is what happens! Then someday, like, twenty years from now, this is what your relationship ends up looking like: „Abby, hey, where’d the love go? Abby? Abby! We haven’t been to Mikina in six years! Abby! Can I—can I drive, babe? Would you do that?“

But what God had joined together all of a sudden gets separated by offense. What you didn’t realize is those little things that you were holding onto—someday that ends up with two people sitting across from a lawyer dividing assets. But what it started as, it didn’t start with a legal separation; it started with an offense! Can y’all give a hand to Abby and Miles? Would y’all do that? Thank you!

The Pain of Offense and the Call to Forgiveness
And can I just say something to you? Some of you—this isn’t just in your marriage. Some of you—here’s what’s going to happen: somebody’s going to—because some of this was big stuff in your life! It wasn’t trash and texting and Mikina! For some of you, what it was is like, like somebody that was supposed to protect you abused you when you were a kid. Or you stood across from somebody at a wedding and said, „Forsaking all others!“ And you meant it, but they didn’t!

Or the people who you were closest to betrayed you, and you’re going to see some of them this Christmas. And here’s what’s going to happen: they’re going to walk in the door, and here’s how it’s going to feel: you’re going to be standing way back here! And you’ll say, „Hey, Mom! Hey! Hey, brother!“ And it’s going to feel awkward!

And the reason it feels awkward is because you’re separated by offense! Let me get for real, for real! Do you know what’s going to happen to some of you? Some of you cut off your parents or you cut off your kids in 2020 because of a stupid argument about politics! And can I just say something to you? Listen—listen to me! Politicians have term limits, but family members and friends do not!

And so why would you ever sacrifice a relationship on the altar of some politician you never met before? Don’t do that! And so, all of a sudden it becomes this thing, and now I’m separated here! Can I say something to you? The only way out is by forgiveness!

Forgiveness is setting someone else free and realizing it was you! You thought that you were building a wall of protection—it was a prison of offense! And now you can’t have relational intimacy; you can’t have joy; you can’t move toward your calling because you’ve been separated by offense.

Let me just read this verse; this is what Jesus said: „You are commanded to do: love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you! Bless those who curse you! Pray for those who mistreat you! If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also!“ Can I be honest? I hate that verse!

I do not like that! In fact, I sat down this week and wrote out what I wish that verse said! This is a Josh Standard Version: „Stick it to your enemies! Gossip about those who hate you! I don’t know if I’m allowed to say this in church, but I wrote it anyway! Give the finger to those who curse you! I’m not saying that’s what I do; I’m saying that’s how I feel! I’m just being honest!“

Okay? And spill the tea all over Instagram on anybody who mistreats you! „If someone slaps you on one cheek, you choke-slam them!“ That’s what—listen, that’s what I wish Jesus said, but that’s not what He said!

But listen, that’s because the wisdom of God is wiser than the foolishness of man! Because Jesus knows that if you stay in bitterness and unforgiveness, you will die in a prison! And He’s going, „Man, I came to set captives free! I’m not asking for you to make them free; I’m asking for you to set YOU free!“

Now this is the only way out of that prison—it’s forgiveness! There is no other way!

Dispelling Myths About Forgiveness
Now right now, here’s what I need to do. As soon as I say that, internal defense mechanisms are rising up because you think I’m asking you to do things that I am actually not asking you to do.

And you believe that because there are stupid things that smart Christians believe about forgiveness! So I need to dispel some myths! These are seven stupid things that smart Christians sometimes believe that are lies about forgiveness. I need to do these really fast; this is how I need to close the message.

Number one: forgiveness is not forgetting! Some people think they’re like „forgive and forget.“ No! If somebody abused you, if somebody cheated on you, if the people who were supposed to protect you betrayed you—you’re never going to forget it! And some people point to that verse in Isaiah, and they’re like, „Yeah, but God remembers our sin no more because He forgave us!“ That’s not what that verse means!

That doesn’t mean that God suddenly stopped being omniscient! What that means is that He chooses not to relate to us on the basis of our sin anymore! You can choose not to stew about it; you can choose not to replay it over and over again in your head, you can choose not to relate to the person on the basis of their sin. You cannot choose to forget it! Forgiveness is not forgetting!

Number two: forgiveness is not waiting for an apology! Some of you are like, „Well, I’ll forgive if they apologize; then I’ll forgive.“ Can I just be honest with you? If that’s your mentality, „Well, I’m not going first because I apologized first last time!“ Fine! Then you will die in this prison! You will die in this prison!

Because some people are so arrogant, so wicked, so narcissistic, so prideful—they will never apologize to you! And when you choose to forgive them, you are not doing something for them primarily; you are doing something for you! Forgiveness is not waiting for an apology!

Man, listen! Forgiveness is not ceasing to feel pain! Some people think this, and can I just say this? When you believe this or tell other people this, it’s actually cruel! When you tell other people, „Well, if it still hurts, that means you haven’t forgiven.“ That is actually cruel! Okay?

Remember what Jesus said in Revelation 21? When Jesus returns at the end of time, it says He will wipe away every tear from every eye—that’s at the end! What that means is that we’re going to be crying all the way to Jesus! Just because it still hurts doesn’t mean you failed to forgive!

Number four: forgiveness is not a one-time event! Can I just—listen! I love you; I’m just going to speak honestly with you! Forgiveness is a lifetime sentence! Forgiveness is a lifetime sentence! There’s a Korean pastor that I heard one time say it like this: „Every day I forgive so many people because I hate so many people.“

That’s what he said! Forgiveness is not a one-time event! There was a lady at my church in Nashville whose husband had cheated on her ten years earlier, and she had forgiven him; relationship reconciled, married, strong! But she was honest with me—she’s like, „Man, sometimes I’ll see my husband doing totally normal, non-sinful things, like I’ll see him just talking, saying hi to a woman in the lobby at church, and all of those emotions come flooding right back!“

And she was wise enough to say this: „In that moment, I have to forgive him again!“ Forgiveness is not a one-time event! When Jesus said you must forgive seven times seventy times, sometimes all of those times relate to one person and one offense, and you’ll have to forgive over and over again!

Number six: forgiveness is not trusting! This is so important! Listen, if you’re young, you need to hear this! Some of you—I just love you; I just need to say it! Some of you are naive; you need to hear this! Some of you are wired like me! I am a naturally trusting person! I like lending trust! If this is you, you need to hear this! Listen: forgiveness is not trusting!

So let me give you an example: Uncle Billy abused the kids. You legitimately forgave him, but does that mean he can ever babysit again? No! Never! Why? Because forgiveness is not trusting! „Oh, well you won’t let me babysit! Don’t be bitter!“ That’s not bitterness; that’s wisdom!

Trust should be slowly gained and quickly lost! Trust is gained in drops; it’s lost in buckets! Forgiveness is not trusting! Number six: forgiveness is not reconciliation! Forgiveness takes one person and is always possible! Reconciliation takes two people and is not always possible!

It takes one person to repent and one person to forgive. It takes two people to reconcile! Listen to how the Bible says it in Romans 12: it just says this: „If it is possible”—implication: it’s not always possible. „As far as it depends on you”—implication: some aspects of this are out of your control—“live at peace with everybody!“

This is not always possible! You can forgive someone of their sin and still set boundaries based on their sin against you at the same time! And listen, some people— they need to be loved at a distance! George Burns had his little joke; he said, „Happiness is having a loving, caring, close-knit family that lives in another city!“ Some people need to get that.

So for some people, „If you really forgave me, it means the relationship will stay the same!“ Nope! That’s not what it means! Forgiveness means I’m releasing you from your debt to me—that’s what it means!

Now, some of you— as I say this, you’re like my wife Jana; she has a very strong sense of justice! And some of you right now, you’re like, „Well, how’s that fair, man? Like, what they did to me? And they just get off? Where’s the justice? How’s that fair?“ And this is where our Christian theology is everything!

Listen, my friends, you must understand this: ultimately, justice comes from Jesus! If the person who sinned against you was a Christian, then Jesus was crucified for that sin, and justice happened for that sin in the body of the Son on the cross 2,000 years ago! If the person who sinned against you was not a Christian, I’m going to speak to you in a straightforward way then justice for that will be meted out by God, as they experience an eternity in hell!

One way or another, justice for that sin will be done! Justice ultimately comes from Jesus! Whoa, I don’t need to knock that over! Now, some of you will hear that and you’ll be like, „Josh, but you don’t understand what they did!“ No, no, you don’t understand what you did!

You’re saying, „You don’t understand what they did to me!“ You don’t understand what you did to Him! My friends, you must understand: no one will ever commit a greater sin against you than you committed against the Son of God! God—it was our sin that nailed Him to the cross! We brutalized—yes, we brutalized Him! We brutalized the Son of God! We abused the Son of God! We murdered the Son of God! It was our sin that held Him there!

We did all of that to Him and God will never ask you to forgive someone else more than He has forgiven you in the person of His Son! This is simply the reality of Christian forgiveness: that justice ultimately comes from Jesus! Let me just—guys, we cannot carry our crosses and our grudges at the same time! You will have to put down one to pick up another; it’s your choice!

Now, this brings me to the last lie. Let me close this sermon like this: forgiveness is not losing! Some of you, if you’re like, you’re wired like Alpha, you’re like competitive—like, me, I like to win! I have to win! And it’s like, „Man, there’s something in you that’s like, ‘Man, I can’t forgive them because if I forgive them, if I let them off, it means I lost and I’m weak! ’“

Listen to me: holding a grudge doesn’t make you strong; it makes you bitter! And forgiving somebody doesn’t make you weak; it sets you free! You must understand this: you didn’t lose a battle; you will gain the presence and power of the Holy Spirit when you release them in forgiveness!

Deeper Forgiveness, Greater Anointing
Can I do a little Bible theology? I just want to close it with Bible theology! Check this out! Have you ever noticed in your Bible how often there is a connection between bitterness and unforgiveness and demonic activity? This is a very real thing! In 2 Corinthians, Paul says, „We have forgiven anything so that we would not be outwitted by the devil’s schemes!“ The Book of James describes bitter people as, „Listen! Earthly, unspiritual, demonic!“

The Book of Ephesians says not to let the sun go down on your anger so that you give no opportunity to the devil! Here’s why the Bible connects unforgiveness and demonic activity! If hell is the place where nobody’s forgiven, and Heaven is the place where everybody’s forgiven, when we choose to forgive, we pull Heaven down into our lives!

But when we choose not to forgive, we pull hell up into our lives! And we cannot have the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives when we are inviting the presence of unholy spirits into our lives through bitterness and unforgiveness!

Whole sermon builds to this! I felt like in sermon prep this week, the Holy Spirit specifically told me to say this thing! There will be people in this service that God prepared you to hear exactly what I’m about to say!

At the end of the Book of Genesis, there was a little kid; his name was Joseph. You guys remember „The Coat of Many Colors, “ all the things? Joseph foolishly tells his brothers about God’s visions he’s been given that God will elevate him! His brothers—listen—the people that Joseph loved and trusted the most betrayed him! In their envy and jealousy, they injured him; they threw him into a pit; they sold him as a human trafficking victim into slavery! And he went into Egypt as a slave!

In Egypt, Joseph eventually found himself in a prison! In that prison, Joseph made a decision to forgive his brothers! When he makes the decision to forgive his brothers, God immediately begins to elevate him! And Joseph is eventually elevated to the king’s table—the highest position in the land!

Here’s the big idea—listen to me! The deeper the forgiveness in your life, the greater the anointing on your life! Here’s what God wanted me to say to some of you: some of you had some people in your life; they did a Joseph to you! And the people who loved you the most, that were supposed to protect you the most—they betrayed you! And a choice stands before you right now: if you will not forgive them, you will die in a prison!

But if you choose to forgive them, the deeper the forgiveness, the greater the anointing! If you choose to forgive them, then God will elevate you and give you the presence and power of His Holy Spirit in a way that you’ve never experienced it before! That is what God needed some of you to hear today!

Testimony: Shelby Houston Forgiving Her Father’s Killer
Now, lest you don’t believe me, the last thing I want you to see—I want you to see an example of this! So the 90-second video you’re getting ready to see—the girl that’s talking is standing exactly where I’m standing right now! Two years ago, there was a Mesquite police officer named Richard Houston who was shot and killed in the line of duty. First responder—a good dude, Christian man, great godly husband and father; shot and killed in the line of duty!

LakePointe, as we often do, we love first responders! We hosted the funeral here! At this service, thousands of people were here! And Richard Houston’s daughter, Shelby, was asked to say a few words. His teenage daughter was asked to say a few words about her deceased father at the funeral! And I want you to see what she had to say!

„I remember having conversations with my dad about him losing friends and officers in the line of duty. I have heard all the stories you can think of, but I’ve always had such a hard time with how the suspect is dealt with. Not that I didn’t think there should be justice served, but my heart always ached for those who don’t know Jesus—their actions being a reflection of that.

I was always told that I would feel differently if it happened to me, but as it happened to my own father, I still feel the same. There has been anger, sadness, grief, and confusion; and part of me wishes I could despise the man who did this to my father, but I can’t get any part of my heart to hate him. All that I can find is myself hoping and praying for this man to truly know Jesus.

I thought this might change if the man continued to live, but when I heard the news that he was in stable condition, part of me was relieved! My prayer is that someday down the road, I’d get to spend some time with the man who shot my father—not to scream at him, not to yell at him, not to scold him—simply to tell him about Jesus.“

Man, some of you, when you see that, what you’re thinking right now is like, „Man, like where did she get that power?“ Supernatural power for forgiveness! Well, there’s a reason that the person that talked the most about Jesus had the most supernatural power for forgiveness! Here’s why: because ultimately, forgiveness flows through you, and you cannot do supernatural forgiveness without receiving forgiveness supernaturally by being reconciled to God through the person of Jesus in faith!

Altar Call for Salvation
Man, some of you, just being really honest right now, there’s like something stirring in your heart and you’re realizing like, „Man, there’s like a relationship and a power I don’t have!“ And you’re like, „Man, I’m never going to be able to forgive without some supernatural help!“ And what you’re realizing is that, man, maybe you’ve been around LakePointe four, five, six weeks, and you’re realizing right now, „Oh, I need to cross a line of faith and develop a relationship with the One who’s forgiven me in Christ.“

And if that’s you, and you’re realizing that you need to cross that line of faith, man, I just want you to pray with me here in a second! So at all of our campuses, would you bow your heads and close your eyes right now? Bow your heads, close your eyes. And if you’re realizing you need to cross a line of faith and give your life to Christ, just pray this from a sincere heart silently in your seat. Just pray: „God, I know I’m a sinner, and I believe that I’ve put other things besides You first.

And then pray this: ‘But I believe You died for my sin! I believe somehow, in some way, the cross counted for me! And I believe that You rose from the dead, and now You live to give life to all who call on Your name! ’ And so pray this from a sincere heart: ‘From this day forward, as best as I know how, I will live for You first! I receive the free gift of grace apart from anything I’ve ever done just as a gift of forgiveness. Thank you, God, for adopting me as a son or a daughter! ’“

And right now, I want you to keep your heads bowed and your eyes closed! And, man, at all of our campuses right now, if you prayed that prayer to cross a line of faith—maybe for the first time—here in a second, on the count of three, I’m going to ask you to raise your hand right now! And the reason I’m doing that is because I believe something solidifies in you spiritually when you respond physically!

So, on the count of three, like, hand in the air, lock that elbow! Don’t ever let somebody make you ashamed of what God’s doing in your life! So if that’s you, count of three: one-God loves you! Two- you came here for a reason today! Three- right now, if that’s you, hands in the air right now! Wow! Right now, keep them up-like lock that elbow! Like, man, I need it! I’m coming home! Like, God, my life is Yours! I’m receiving forgiveness right now! Keep them up! Wow! Man, man! Amen! Amen! Amen!