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Intro… Let me give you the setting for our

text… King Solomon has just completed all
the work to build the temple… They
dedicated that place to the Lord in a grand
display… They asked for God’s blessing
on that temple… Then the Lord spoke to
Solomon in a dream…

2 Chronicles 7:13-14 NKJV

13 When I… (God said when I… I’m afraid
we blame the poor devil for a lot of things
he had nothing to do with… maybe what
you’re going through has nothing to do with
the devil, and it’s just God trying to get
your attention…) When I shut up heaven
and there is no rain, or command the
locusts to devour the land, or send
pestilence among My people,
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14 if My people who are called by My
name will humble themselves, and pray
and seek My face, and turn from their
wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven,
and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Intro… This wonderful promise was given

to Israel at the dedication of Solomon’s
Temple… But today we understand that we
are His people called by His name… and
our bodies are the temples of the Holy
Ghost… I absolutely believe this promise
applies to the church… If we will turn… I
want to speak to you today for a little while
from the subject… 180… If we will make
that 180 degree turn… then God… will do
what only He can do…

I. I’ve shared this before… but if it ever

applied… it’s relevant today…
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A. I was preaching a little camp meeting
years ago in Alabama…
1. I was sitting on the front row next to
my brother…
2. A young preacher was up
speaking…
3. He was on re…
4. 100 miles an hour…
5. His face was red…
6. He was shaking…
7. He made this statement… when I
came to God I did a 360 degree
turn…
8. I just looked over at Charlie…
9. Make a 360 turn…
10. I guess he turned all the way around
and kept going the same direction…
B. When we come to God we make a
180 degree turn…
1. We were heading this direction…
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 2. and we turn in the opposite
direction…
C. 2 Chronicles 7 gives a beautiful
picture of repentance…
1. Humble yourself…
2. Pray…
3. Seek His face…
4. And… turn…
5. Turn from your wicked way…
D. Paul told the Corinthians, “Godly sorry
worketh repentance…”
1. Being sorry is just the start…
2. True repentance requires a
turning…
3. Jesus told the woman taken in the
act of adultery… neither do I
condemn you… go and sin no
more…
4. You need to make a turn…

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 5. Shall we continue in sin that grace
may abound… God forbid…
6. We need to turn…
7. We need to make a 180 degree
turn…
E. John Baptist preached a message of
repentance…
1. Repent for the kingdom of heaven is
at hand…
2. You need to make a change…
3. You need to turn…
4. You need to get yourself ready for
Jesus…
5. Jesus is coming…
6. He was the forerunner of Jesus
Christ…
7. He prepared the way…
8. Repentance prepares the way for
Jesus to come into our lives…

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F. Repentance is the rst step in coming
to God…
1. Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto
them, Repent… and be baptized
every one of you in the name of
Jesus Christ for the remission of
sins, and ye shall receive the gift of
the Holy Ghost. KJV
2. Repent…
3. Humble yourself and pray…
4. Turn from your sin…
5. Turn from the world…
6. Turn to the church…
7. Turn to Jesus…
G. Get baptized in Jesus name…
1. And you shall… it will happen…
2. I said it absolutely will happen…
3. You shall receive the gift…
4. It’s a gift that God wants you to
have…
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 5. You shall receive the gift of the Holy
Ghost…
6. God’s Spirit will live inside of you…
7. And the rst step is to repent…
H. True repentance is one of the most
powerful things you will ever
experience…
I. Jesus tells the parable of the lost
sheep…
1. “If a man has a hundred sheep and
one of them gets lost…
2. Won’t he leave the ninety-nine in the
wilderness and go to search for the
one that is lost?
3. And when he has found it, he will
joyfully carry it home on his
shoulders.
4. When he arrives, he will call together
his friends and neighbors, saying,

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 ‘Rejoice with me because I have
found my lost sheep.’
5. Luke 15:7 In the same way, there is
more joy in heaven over one lost
sinner who repents and returns to
God than over ninety-nine others
who are righteous and haven’t
strayed away! NLT
6. There is joy in heaven… when one
sinner repents…
J. God’s grace and mercy is amazing…
1. Grace is when God gives us what
we don’t deserve…
2. And Mercy is when God doesn’t give
us what we do deserve…
3. I’m thankful for the grace and
mercy of Jesus Christ…
4. Usually when we say life isn’t fair we
mean it in a negative way, but I’m

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 thankful that God hasn’t been fair to
me…
5. He’s blessed me in ways I do not
deserve…
6. And He’s given forgiveness so many
times… that I don’t deserve…
7. It’s just the unmerited favor of
God…
K. You’ll always be able to look around
and nd somebody that you think has
it better than you…
1. The grass is always greener on the
other side…
2. But you can also look around and
nd people who aren’t as blessed
as you…
3. Thank you God that life isn’t fair…
4. Thank you for blessing me in ways I
don’t deserve and showing mercy
that I also don’t deserve…
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L. Oh… do you remember…
1. Has it been so long…
2. And such were some of you…
3. Do you remember what you
felt???
4. You were wrong…
5. You sinned…
6. You were ashamed…
7. You were overwhelmed…
M. But God sent conviction… and you
came to an altar of repentance…
1. You laid it on the altar…
2. I can’t do this on my own…
3. It’s not my brother or my sister, but
it’s me God…
4. I’m the one who has sinned…
5. It’s my mistake…
6. I’m to blame…
N. True repentance requires
ownership…
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 1. Stop blaming everybody else……
2. I did it God…
3. I was wrong…
4. Often with tears in our eyes…
5. I’m sorry…
6. But today I want to turn…
7. I’m making a 180 degree turn…
8. I’m leaving all of this at the altar…
O. And because of the price that
Jesus paid on Calvary…
1. We are washed in red blood and are
made white as wool…
2. There’s nothing easy about
forgiveness of sin…
3. It was a high price…
4. The only thing is… Jesus paid it…
P. Oh… thank God for the blood…
1. Thank you Jesus for dying for my
sins…

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 2. He bought the right to say I forgive
you…
3. Neither do I condemn you… go and
sin no more…
4. And you get up from that altar a
new person…
5. Has it been so long since it was
you???
Q. The angels of heaven rejoice….
because I repented, and because
you repented…
1. That sin goes under the blood…
2. God separates us from our sin as
far as the east is from the west…
3. The prophet Micah tells us, God will
have compassion on us, “God will
trample our sins under His feet
and throw them into the depths of
the ocean…
4. He remembers them no more…
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 5. Our omniscient God… Who knows
everything… chooses to forget my
sin… and your sin…
6. One scripture tells us God casts
them behind His back…
7. When an omnipresent God casts
our sin behind His back… where do
they go??? They’re gone…
R. God has forgiven us of so much…
1. Oh how He loves us…
2. While we were yet sinners… Christ
died for us…
3. He rst loved us…
4. What a mighty God we serve…
5. What a merciful God we serve…
6. You’ll never regret making that
turn…
7. Conviction is in this place right
now…
8. You can make that turn today…
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 9. You can repent today…
10. You can experience His
boundless mercy today……
II. But there is one thing… that will cause
God to turn…
A. There is one thing… only one… that
will cause our loving God to do a 180
from His grace…
1. One thing that will give God second
thoughts about His own mercy…
B. It’s found in another parable of
Jesus…
1. 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.
2. In the process, one of his debtors
was brought in who owed him
millions of dollars.
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3. He couldn’t pay, so his master
ordered that he be sold—along with
his wife, his children, and everything
he owned—to pay the debt.
4. “But the man fell down before his
master and begged him, ‘Please, be
patient with me, and I will pay it all.’
5. Then his master was lled with pity
for him, and he released him and
forgave his debt…
6. “But when the man left the king, he
went to a fellow servant who owed
him a few thousand dollars.
7. He grabbed him by the throat and
demanded instant payment.
8. “His fellow servant fell down before
him and begged for a little more
time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will
pay it,’ he pleaded.

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9. But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He
had the man arrested and put in
prison until the debt could be paid in
full.
10. “When some of the other servants
saw this, they were very upset. They
went to the king and told him
everything that had happened.
11. Then the king called in the man he
had forgiven and said, ‘You evil
servant… I forgave you that
tremendous debt because you
pleaded with me.
12. Shouldn’t you have mercy on
your fellow servant, just as I had
mercy on you?’
13. Then the angry king sent the man to
prison to be tortured until he had
paid his entire debt.
14. Then Jesus goes on…
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 15. Matthew 18:35 “That’s what my
heavenly Father will do to you if
you refuse to forgive your
brothers and sisters from your
heart.” NLT
C. Jesus help us today…
1. There is one thing that can
remove the blood from our
covered sin…
2. There is one thing that can cause
God to reach into the sea and pull
our sin out of it’s depths…
3. One thing that will cause God to do
a 180…
4. One thing that will cause God to turn
from His rich mercy…
5. It’s our own unforgiveness…
D. You don’t understand today…
1. I’m not up here because I’m so
good…
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 2. I was not on anybody’s list of most
likely to succeed…
3. It’s not talent or ability…
4. I’ve had to go to an altar many
times…
5. I’ve had to tell God… I’m sorry…
6. Please forgive me…
7. I’ve messed up again…
8. I’ve failed again…
9. Conviction is such a beautiful
thing… when God draws you to
Himself…
E. If whatever you’re feeling doesn’t
draw you to Him it’s not from Him…
1. Conviction has drawn me to him…
2. I’ve humbled myself… prayed…
turned…
3. And time after time God has been
so faithful to me…
4. Faithful to forgive…
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 5. Faithful to help me back up…
6. He is rich in mercy…
7. I’m telling you it’s happened many
times…
F. And we understand… to whom
much is given… much is
required……
G. But now imagine this… Brian would
you stand…
1. Something happens between me
and Brian…
2. There’s a misunderstanding…
3. There’s a hurt…
4. I feel I’ve been wronged…
5. And for whatever reason I can’t or
won’t forgive Brian…
6. Can you even imagine how I could
do that???

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 H. I allow myself to become the
unforgiving debtor Jesus was
talking about…
1. After all Jesus has forgiven me of…
2. After the mountain of mercy that has
owed into my life…
3. It seems unthinkable to even
consider not forgiving…
I. And yet many of us do it all the
time…
1. We excuse our unforgiveness
because of how we were wronged
and hurt…
2. We are justi ed in our
unforgiveness…
3. Every bitter person has a
reason…
4. It’s not fair…
5. They don’t deserve forgiveness…

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J. But I also don’t deserve God’s
forgiveness…
1. I’ve been forgiven of millions and
you owe me a few thousand…
2. Why would I ever risk removing
the blood of Jesus from my
sin???
3. Why would I ever risk removing
His mercy from my life…
4. I can’t do it…
5. I won’t do it…
K. My relationship with God is too
important to risk over a hurt or a
misunderstanding…
1. I beg you today…
2. Forgive quickly…
3. First one to forgive wins…
4. Don’t let anything or anybody
separate you from the love of
Jesus Christ…
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L. Jesus told this parable in response to
Peter asking, “How many times
should we forgive? 7???
1. Jesus said 7 times 70…
2. And then he shared the parable of
the kingdom to remind all of us the
importance of forgiveness…
3. How important is forgiveness???
4. My soul depends on it…
M. Let me give you one of the most
powerful statements that can ever
come out of your mouth… I forgive
you……
1. Say it even before you feel it…
2. Say it until you mean it…
3. Say it until you feel it…
4. That statement can set you free…
N. Please remember Jesus words from
the cross…

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 1. Remember, he’s been slapped and
spit upon…
2. 39 lashes with a whip…
3. Stripped and shamed…
4. A crown of thorns…
5. Nails in His hands and feet…
6. They mock Him…
7. And understand… they never
asked for forgiveness…
8. But Jesus said, “Father forgive
them… they know not what they
do…”
9. Forgive them… they don’t really
understand……
O. Most of the people who have hurt and
wronged us don’t really understand
what they are doing to us…
1. Forgive them…
2. Forgive them quickly…
3. Restore the relationship…
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 4. Show the love of Jesus to them…
P. They didn’t say I’m sorry…
1. They never asked for forgiveness…
2. What does that matter… my soul is
at stake…
3. I can’t afford for God to turn from
mercy…
4. So I must turn from
unforgiveness…
5. 180…
6. do it today…
Q. Jesus said, “When you stand
praying… forgive…”
1. We should be praying every day…
2. And every prayer should include
forgiveness…
3. If you will pray… God will help you
to forgive…
R. In the Lord’s Prayer… which I believe
is not a poem for us to recite, but a
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 pattern for prayer that we should
model…
1. It includes… forgive us our debts…
as we forgive our debtors…
2. Forgive us our trespasses… as we
forgive those who trespass against
us…
3. If you’ll do it… If you’ll forgive every
time you pray…
4. God will heal every hurt and
wound…
5. You will become a new person…
6. I promise it will happen…
S. Matthew 6:14-15 NLT
1. 14 “If you forgive those who sin
against you, your heavenly Father
will forgive you.
2. 15 But if you refuse to forgive
others, your Father will not…
forgive your sins…
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T. Stand with me today…
1. A week ago at our Saturday morning
prayer… God moved in a very
special way… Many of you were
there…
2. There was a sovereign move of
the Holy Ghost…
3. Prayer lasted about twice as long as
it usually does…
4. There was so much conviction in this
room…
5. Someone would share what they
were feeling and God would move
again and again…
6. There were 2 tongues and
interpretations…
7. And there was a word of knowledge
from the Lord…
8. God sent our church a word through
Hope Lee…
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U. Prayer went so long that the recording
was going for our freedom group… I
was able to transcribe the message…
1. This is what God spoke to us…
2. I have broken souls that I want to
cross the threshold into this
sanctuary, and feel this presence
that you feel today…
3. But I have been grieved by your
unforgiveness…
4. I have broken my body in
forgiveness time and time again, and
yet you choose to not forgive…
5. Have I not said to you in my word
you cannot enter into my place
unless you forgive…
6. I have so much for this church… I
have revival that I want to send to
you. I have people that you have

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 never dreamed that would cross into
this place…
7. I beacon to you today… my
presence is as thick as it’s ever been
today, because I have so much I
long to do within this people.
8. I will ask you one more time…
forgive… love… show kindness,
show favor… Love one another as I
have loved you…
V. Can we lift up our hands???
1. Can we worship???

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