En Casa Como En El Cielo, Abril 26, 2026

In the event, good morning church. What a joy to be with you this morning. And what a joy that the rain wasn't hitting as hard as I thought it would. So we're going to continue our series at home as it is in heaven. And let's remember that it's connected to our theme of the year that his kingdom come in our lives. And it's that prayer in Matthew 6 where Jesus prays let your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And as a part of this I want to remind you that you may have received our prayer guide that came with a bulletin this morning. So that as a family we can continue praying together every week. And it's our desire that throughout this series we might remember how the Lord calls us to live in the different areas where we're living. For some this applies at home with your spouse. For others it's with your spouse and your kids. For others that may be the children it applies in your relationship with your parents. For young adults it might be with roommates, coworkers. But wherever it is that you do your life, we need the kingdom of heaven to impact our lives so that we may live like he wants us to live. And in this series we've used the illustration of a house where each room represents an element of life. The living room reminds us that we need healthy relationships in which we spend time with each other. People have to know that we love them and that we care about them. And when this happens in a healthy way, we can see what the study means for those that may have a study in their house. We see that relationships are not enough if there's not biblical truth to go along with them. And nowadays we would be in the closet. Why the closet? Because that's where we throw everything where we don't want anyone to see it and we're just going to stuff it all in there. For some other people it may not be the closet. The closet may look nice, but what does the attic look like? For others it's that garage. For others it may be the car. And for other people it may just be all of the above. But these spaces create this effect on us. That's not the place where we would like to receive people. Usually we bring them into the nice, clean space. And that other area we're just going to close up so that no one can see it. So, what does the closet mean in our lives? Today it's going to serve as an illustration for unresolved conflict. Those little thorns that we've left in there that we carry with us. That small pain, those words that were said that we just kind of stuffed in the closet. And instead of ignoring all of this, that God is calling us to let Him come into that area of our lives, let other people in our lives come into that area, so that God can bring order into even the most secret places of our lives. But that's not easy. Needs a lot of work. Because even though we may love to be in relationships with other people, and a lot of times we love to learn about the Word, and we love what we're learning about the Word, we start getting close to other humans, this close, you're going to start feeling that rubbing up against each other. That friction, those things that make us feel uncomfortable with the other person. Other person's going to start saying all the things about us that they don't like either. And the question is, what are we going to do? You see, our tendency is to not do what God calls us to do.

Our tendency is to step away. Our tendency is to get angry, get frustrated. It's to break our relationships. But I hope today we're encouraged to do what God has called us to do. And the title for today starts this way. We must understand that God's grace is a grace that leads us to forgive and restore. It's illogical to think that I'm going to have a relationship with someone else, and that I will never have conflict. Because we're in relationships with other sinners, and you know what the root of all this conflict is? It's your sin. And the sin of the other person. So before we get into the passage, why don't you join me in prayer? Heavenly Father, we thank you this morning. We thank you that you not only transform the visible areas of our lives, but you also work on those deep areas of our lives. I ask, Lord, that as individuals we may bring these areas before you, and we know it hurts us because there are some deep wounds in these places. There are things that we would rather forget and never bring into light. Help us, Lord, bring them first before you, and then if possible and necessary to also carry that into our relationship, that we may experience a complete restoration in our lives. In the name of Jesus we pray, amen. One of the first things that grace takes us to is to forgive. What we need from God toward us is his forgiveness. That's the principle of our relationship with God. So grace takes us to forgiveness. Look at how it says it in Colossians 3 verses 12 through 14. Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against the other,

forgiving each other, as the Lord has forgiven you, you must also forgive. And above all these, put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And in Colossians chapter 3, Paul is basically telling the Christian how to live a Christian life. And as he's wrapping up these instructions that he's giving, he says, therefore, as chosen ones, holy and beloved, he begins by reminding us who we are in Christ. Why is it important for us to understand who we are in Christ? Because he's about to give us instructions to treat each other with compassion, with humility, forgiving each other, bearing with one another. But only those that have experienced God's forgiveness for their lives, only they can give God's forgiveness unto other people. Because only those that understand that they were chosen by God, not because of anything that we did, it's only those that understand that we are holy because we were set aside by God, only those that understand that they are loved by God, not because of anything that they did, then can someone act in this way. Because those three terms, being chosen, holy, and beloved, they were a gift for our lives. And so understanding that what has been given unto us in our lives was given by pure grace, I expect you to act unto others with the same grace that you have received. What tells me is that one of the areas that has to do with treating others with compassion, with kindness, humility, and meekness, is to remember who we are. And so when I'm being rough with someone else, in that moment I'm forgetting that God was compassionate with me. And so one of the strongest tasks we are called to is to remember what Christ has done for us. So when we remember who we are in Christ, then can we move on to obedience. And then it says, be dressed in compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness. Why does it say that word, be dressed in, or in English in the beginning it says, put on then. And it has to do with this idea that in the Christian life, it has to do with taking something off and putting something on.

It's this exercise that I just got home from work, and I'm dirty, and I'm sweaty, and I'm gross, and I have to take all my clothes off, and be washed, and be cleansed, and then put on some new clean clothes. How many of us wouldn't like that we come to Christ, and all of a sudden, bam, we're clean for the rest of our lives. It's a daily exercise. And what we have to dress ourselves in are the characteristics of Christ himself. So basically what he's saying is take off your ego, your me, and let Christ be the one that acts through you. What does compassion mean? Feeling what others feel. When there's a conflict, and one person offends someone else, the natural thing is for the offended person to assume the worst motives of the person who made the offense. It's not natural for me to think, oh, well, I bet they're having a hard time. Could it be that something is hurting them, bothering them, and in their frustration, they're acting this way with me? Could it even be that I said something that may have bothered the other person without even realizing it? And it's not in our nature to look at ourselves like that. One of my favorite values that we have as church staff here is that we always assume the best of the other person. And so when there's conflict, the way one person comes up to the next person, instead of coming with judgment saying, you did this because this, this, and that, one can come up and say, hey, what's going on? What's this? What's going on? I want to understand, because you're usually not like this. So that completely changes the context of the conversation. Instead of feeling attacked, this person feels invited. Come, let's resolve this, because this shouldn't be like this between us.

And when I start with compassion and assuming the best of the other person, then we want to exercise that kindness of doing what's best for the other person. The opposite thing in conflict is to wish upon them what's happening to you. And then, or if something bad does happen to them, it's like, see, that's what they deserve. They did something bad to me. And sometimes even we want to be the ones that are causing that pain, and that's why we must be humble. What is humbleness? Humility isn't thinking less of ourselves. It's to think less of ourselves, and to think more about others. It's not about trying to put myself down and ignore the qualities that God has given me. It's seeing about how I can serve others. And that takes us to an attitude of meekness. Those are two characteristics that Jesus said, learn from me, for I am humble and meek. Those are two characteristics that Jesus used to describe his heart. Out of the millions of qualities that Christ has, he chose this. those two. And this leads us to have patience with others. Have you stopped to think that most of these qualities are internal? These qualities tell you how they should be inside of you so that they may manifest outside of you. And that's why there has to be a way to cultivate those within ourselves before conflict comes. Because when conflict is here, whatever's inside, that's what's going to come out. And if there's vengeance within you, there's resentment within you, and that's all that's going to come out. But if we are cultivating these qualities in our hearts, it will culminate in a way that reflects the character of God in the most marvelous way, bearing with one another and forgiving each other. Now I do want to mention that bearing with one another or standing each other, as the

version in Spanish says, doesn't mean, oh boy, I have to bear with this guy, I have to stand him. Thanks, Pastor. Now you've told me I have to go and stand this guy, that I can't even stand? But no, as love takes me to look for the best for others, when this other person seems to be kind of tumbling, the idea of bearing is bearing with each other to be an anchor so that the other person won't fall. And the thing is, each one of our own sinful actions are evidence that we're inclining toward or falling toward sin. And at that moment, we don't need someone to come with a machete or the ax and just boom, I'll swallow them down. There you go. You're down and let me kick you out of the way. We don't even have to deal with you no more. No, we need someone to come by us, side by side, to help support us, bearing with one another. And this is going to lead us toward forgiveness. If anyone has complaint against another, where do we have to go? Go to Facebook. Have you ever found these stories on Facebook? Today, I met someone at the supermarket, and they got in line, and not just that. They also cut their cousin in, and then you see all the comment list, oh, poor you. Because what we're really looking for is that someone to support our feeling wronged. But what we really need is someone to come up in the comments and say, so how did that chance go to love like God loved? And how did you take the opportunity to forgive someone who was hard to forgive in that moment? But if we want to learn to forgive like Christ forgave, how are we going to do that without chances to forgive? So could it be that the difficulties that we sometimes have in our own homes are simply chances that God is giving us to exercise that gift that He gave us with other people?

And how should we forgive as Christ forgave us? And there's no better illustration than Jesus' parable in Matthew 18 about the two debtors. You can go home and read the story, starting in chapter 23, and it says there was this servant who owed the king 10,000 talents, a whole bunch of money, so much so that it was an amount that was impossible to pay at that day and age. He says, okay, you, your family are going to jail, and I'm going to take everything you owe until every last cent is paid. The servant falls to his knees and says, I'm sorry, forgive me, I cannot pay, possibly pay what you're asking of me. And it says that the king had compassion upon this servant and said, you know what, you're forgiven. And as he's coming out of the palace, this guy, he finds some dude that just owes him a hundred bucks. And it says that parable, he grabbed him by the neck and started to strangle him, demanding the money that was owed to him. And the palace guards are watching this, going, looking at this guy that was just forgiven this insane amount, strangling this other guy for such a minimal amount. And not just that, it says that he threw him in jail for those hundred denarii. And so this other servant gets called back in. And the king says, didn't I forgive you this immense amount? And then you turn around and throw this guy in jail for such a small thing? And he says, wicked servant. Throw him in jail until he pays everything he owes. This is the comparison that Jesus makes about the person who cannot forgive such a small debt when everything has been forgiven to them. And it's because God sees lack of forgiveness as an act of wickedness. In the eyes of God, His forgiveness unto us should be enough reason, more than enough for us to forgive others. Servant on the mount says, he who gives mercy will receive mercy. James 2 said, he who denies mercy will have mercy denied to them.

These are all reasons for which not forgiving is a problem. First because it shows that we either don't understand or we have forgotten God's forgiveness for us. Second because when we don't forgive, we're saying, my offense with this other person is much greater than my offense toward God. Because we can't rejoice or enjoy in God's forgiveness when we can't forgive someone else. Matthew 6 says, the Father will not forgive our offense, He will forgive our offenses as we forgive our debtors. What this means is that it breaks that communion with our Father. Forgiving is necessary in order to enjoy a genuine worship with God. It says, if your brother has anything against you, leave your, and you're about to leave, bring your offering. to the altar, go ahead, leave it to the side and go fix what's between you and your brother. And the last thing is that unresolved conflict or unforgiven conflict takes us to bitterness in our hearts. And this can cause a spiritual infection within us, a gangrene within us, that eventually will spread to other brothers as Hebrews chapter 12 says, it says that when that root of bitterness grows not only are you contaminated but everyone around you, it reminds me this one time of a friend of mine, they didn't necessarily like someone that was new at the job, I just don't like this person because of this, this and that, I'd never dealt with this person, I'd seen him here and there, and all of a sudden I'm starting to not like this guy. You know what, you're right, look at him. And then one day I invited a whole bunch of people to help me like move or something like that, and who was the only one that showed up? The one who I started disliking because someone else had talked to me about him. And we became friends. And I started to think, hey, maybe he's not as bad as I thought. But the lack of forgiveness my other friend had started to hit me. Instead of me saying, you know what, you should forgive him and deal with this conflict,

I started to participate in the same spirit. And instead of stopping there, I should have seen this opportunity to restore my brother. I was moving to the next and last point, I do want to remind you something. At this point you're probably thinking, gee, I really wish this one person were here so that they could hear this sermon. I hope this person next door is really going to realize what the pastor is saying. Let me remind you that someone else is thinking the same thing about you right now. And so I hope we all recognize that we are all doing things that are offending someone else. And just like you need to forgive someone else, believe me, none of us is a golden coin. And you're going to need a lot of grace and forgiveness from someone else. And that's why the next point is that grace leads us to restore those who have stumbled. And we're going to go quickly through this because some of these things I already mentioned in the previous passage. Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens and fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. We said conflict arises because of sin. A word that was said wrong. A judgment with bad intention. Maybe a selfish attitude. So we need to be restored, church. Instead of stepping away from people, we need to pray for each other. Get close to each other. Love each other. Resolve conflict. And that will help something that is crooked, a broken relationship, to be restored. How do we do this? With a spirit of meekness, because sometimes we want to restore with a hammer.

Before I used to be prideful, I'm a very direct person. I'm not going to shut anything up, I don't have hair on my tongue. I'm going to say things as they are. What I wasn't saying is that I was a hurtful person. I didn't want to admit that I was not showing meekness or humility with others. And so if you're trying to correct without meekness, it's really cruelty. And no one wants to listen to someone like this. But what about someone like Jesus? That when the adulterous woman comes to His feet, He says, where are those that accused you? He says, I don't accuse you either. Go and sin no more. But some of us sometimes think, oh, well, if I'm just a little bit harder, they're finally going to understand with meekness. And sometimes it's easy for us to try to help others from up on a platform. I cannot believe you did this. Church, as I'm preaching this passage today, this passage has been preaching to me all week. It's been humbling me all week. If someone comes up to teach you, telling you, oh, I've already mastered all of these principles, they probably didn't get it. Because the standard is Christ. The standard isn't that I'm not forgiving more than the person to my left. The standard is that I must forgive like Christ forgave. And so I need to look at myself. When I'm going to go correct someone else, one has to be upset with oneself first and say, Lord, I know that I mess up in this same thing a lot of times. When we're correcting our kids, we can say, hey, I struggle with the same thing that I'm getting on to you about today. Consider ourselves that we may fall in just the same way the other person did.

And we don't want to deceive ourselves, church. The person that has deceived themselves has great advice for everyone else. They don't look inside. And everyone outside can look outside going, starting by my wife, church, by my kids. But I'm not seeing it. I'm deceived. I'm blinded as to my own weaknesses. But what a blessing to be able to leave that mask aside. And to say, I know that these things are struggles in my life. And to invite people to walk this walk with us. We can finish with this thought. Grace keeps us united in love. And forgiveness is the manifestation of true love that seeks to restore those who have stumbled and relationships. You want to know what characteristic reflects God more than anything else? Is forgiving those that have offended us. In Christ most holy. hardest moment up on that cross, what did he desire as to others? Forgive them, for they do not know what they do. So I want to ask you this as we're closing, as the worship team comes up, do you need to forgive anyone? Either someone that is in your life today or someone that's no longer in your life. It may even be someone that's no longer living, but you're still carrying that resentment within your heart. Who do you need to forgive? Who do you need to go before God and say, God, help me forgive them as you forgave me? Or maybe you need to think of who you've offended recently and say, hey, I need forgiveness. And maybe you don't want to humble yourself and recognize that you messed up. I want to encourage you this week to go home and ask the Father to help us examine our hearts and take time to write down those things that you need to forgive, who you need to

forgive them to and bring them before God. Or who do you have to call and ask for forgiveness? I love what we're about to sing. I love what verse two says. Because I want to make clear that this idea of forgiving, it isn't about if we feel like it. It's a commandment. We have to do it at church. And so we need God to teach us to obey even when our emotions don't want to let us obey. And that's how we're going to finish singing this song. But verse two says this, teach us, Lord, full obedience. Holy reverence, true humility, test our thoughts and our attitudes. In the radiance of your purity, cause our faith to rise, cause our eyes to see. Your majestic love and authority, words of power that can never fail. Let their truth prevail over unbelief. Let's trust that the way of forgiveness is the better way for us, church. Let's stand and sing.