The Law of Cancellation
The sermon emphasizes the spiritual law of cancellation, encouraging believers to respond to negativity with positive actions to maintain a clear account of wrongs against others.
Alan Martin preaches on the concept of canceling out negativity with positivity, drawing parallels between mathematical cancellation and spiritual principles. He emphasizes the need to actively combat evil with good, following Jesus' teaching to overcome evil with goodness. By adding blessings to curses, doing good in response to harm, and praying for those who wrong us, we can maintain a record of wrongs at zero, mirroring how God cancels out our sins with His love and goodness.
Text
At our last gathering, Joe made a comment that "to count something means that you have assigned a value to it." This statement brought to my mind a way to cancel out a number that I re-learned while repeating highschool as Skyler's aide (Skyler was a blind student). When we need to cancel out a number in order to solve an equation and find the variable we can simply cancel the number by doing its mathematic opposite. To cancel a positive number - add the negative of the same. To cancel a multiple - simply divide by the same.
This is true spiritually as well. Jesus said - "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." We can not simply attempt to resist evil passively, but we must actively oppose evil with good. So, if you are hurt by some word spoken against you - you must add "a blessing" (a positive) to cancel out the curse (the negative). The positive you add to the negative may involve the other person or you may simply add the positive thanksgiving to God. Adding the blessing with the cursing will cancel out the negative value of your hurt and keep the value of the event at zero. If we do this each time we encounter a negative - the positive good we add will cancel out the negative and the account of wrongs we keep against others will stay at zero.
May the Lord teach us all how to keep all records of wrong done to us at zero by understanding the law of cancelation. When we are cursed - we must add the opposite blessing. When we are harmed - we must add the opposite by doing good. When are are despitefully used - we must add the opposite by praying for the offender. This will insure that all of our accounts against others will be ZERO at all times - just like we all want our account to be with the Lord. We must love others like the Lord loves us. Out of His goodness, He adds His positive to our negative and the account of our sins against Him becomes ZERO! This is how we must love others.
Sermon Outline
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I
- Understanding the concept of cancellation in mathematics
- The spiritual parallel of cancellation
- The importance of assigning value to experiences
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II
- Overcoming evil with good
- The active role in opposing negativity
- The significance of blessings in response to curses
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III
- Maintaining a zero account of wrongs
- The role of prayer in healing relationships
- Reflecting God's love in our actions
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IV
- Practical steps to apply the law of cancellation
- The impact of gratitude on our spiritual accounts
- Encouragement to practice love actively
Key Quotes
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” — Alan Martin
“When we are cursed - we must add the opposite blessing.” — Alan Martin
“Out of His goodness, He adds His positive to our negative and the account of our sins against Him becomes ZERO!” — Alan Martin
Application Points
- Practice responding to negativity with kindness to foster healing.
- Make a habit of prayer for those who hurt you to cultivate forgiveness.
- Reflect on God's grace by actively loving others despite their wrongs.