the freedom of forgiveness—very few things can be as liberating as forgiveness!
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The Freedom of Forgiveness—Very few things can be as liberating as forgiveness! Muslim Background Believer comes to Jesus . . . Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. 2 Clerics with 80 followers It’s an incredibly powerful force especially in situations where the person does not deserve it. The simple act of forgiveness is potent and life-changing. Not only that but it has the power to set you free as well.TRANSCRIPT
The Freedom of ForgivenessVery few things can be as liberating
as forgiveness!
Muslim Background Believer comes to Jesus . . . Father, forgive
them, for they do not know what they are doing. 2 Clerics with 80
followers Its an incredibly powerful force especially in situations
where the person does not deserve it. The simple act of forgiveness
is potent and life-changing. Not only that but it has the power to
set you free as well. What did Jesus say as He was nailed to the
cross?
Father, forgive them, for they dont know what they are doing. What
did Stephen, the 1st Christian martyr, say when they were stoning
him to death? Lord, do not charge them with this sin. Who was there
when Stephen made this powerful statement? Paul! Heres the point in
all this:
If Jesus had not forgiven us, we would have never been able to
receive Gods love and forgiveness. If Stephen had not forgiven,
Paul would have never been able to receive Jesus forgiveness. If
the new believer in Nigeria had not forgiven his tormentors, they
wouldnt have had that dream. Unforgiveness does 2 things: It places
a web over the offender which blocks them from receiving Gods love.
And, it puts a cancer in your heart. Romans 5:8 But God
demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us. (NASB) Before we even knew we needed
to ask for forgiveness, God forgave us and sent His only Son to die
on the cross for our sins. 2 Corinthians 5:21 [God] made [Jesus]
who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become
the righteousness of God in Him. (NASB) Do we deserve to die in our
sins? Yes! Was that fair to Jesus? Did He deserve to die? No! But
He did! Before we even knew we needed to ask for forgiveness, He
forgave us and died for our sins.
In fact, the sinless Lamb of God became sin, so we could be
completely exonerated from our guilt. All we have to do is to ask
for His forgiveness, and He will give it to us. And, an
unwillingness to forgive will put a spiritual cancer on the inside
which eats at your life.
Eventually unforgiveness will affect your physical health. Even if
we have a right to an offense, we must forgive. We cannot afford
not to. To choose to forgive does 2 things: Set us free on the
inside to receive Gods power. Set the offender free to receive Gods
love. Thats why it is the freedom of forgiveness. Holding onto
anger (unforgiveness) is like drinking poison and expecting the
other person to die.
Thats the irony of unforgiveness. It will kill you both spiritually
and physically, and the offender may never even know it. Show
Video: Fuggetaboutit! Matthew 18:23 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. (verses
24-31) 32 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. 33 Shouldn't you have mercy on your fellow
servant, just as I had mercy on you?' 34 Then the angry king sent
the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.
35 That's what My heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to
forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart. Like all Jesus
parables this is very simple yet has a profound message.
King = God The unmerciful servant = Christian When you were born
again, you were forgiven a debt of sin you could never repay. Why?
Because you asked the Lord to forgive you. Offender: the key is in
the humility of asking for forgiveness. It releases the power to be
forgiven. Then, that same servant went out and found a fellow
servant who owed him mere pocket change.
And, he could not find it in his heart to forgive but had him
thrown into a debtors prison! I dont know about you, but this story
always shocks me. How could a man who had been forgiven so much
could not forgive so little? Verse 35 reveals a sobering
reality:
Matthew 18:35 This is how My heavenly Father will treat each of you
unless you forgive your brother from your heart. Does God really
mean this? YES! We become guilty of the same shocking sin as this
unmerciful servant. When we, who have been forgiven a huge debt of
sin, cant find it in our hearts to forgive our fellow believers.
Several important points:
Not Right The issue is not so much who is right and who is wrong.
The issue for you is: What is your response to it? You cannot
control what others do, but you can control how you respond to it.
You must walk in love and forgiveness. Why? Because Jesus asks you
to. Offenses One of the tools of the devil in this hour is
offenses.
If he can divide us, he will conquer us. Forgiveness is not a
feeling but a choice! Its a simple act of your willa choice. Corrie
Ten Boom The Point: The feeling to forgive followed her decision to
forgive.
Dont wait until you have an inner witness to forgive because you
are not going to get it. Forgiveness is a choice. The world says
that you have a right to hold onto to that grudgedont forgive! But,
Jesus way, the way of the Kingdom of Heaven, is quite different. He
says that you cant afford to hold onto it. Not only will it destroy
you, but God will not forgive you. Allow me to take this a step
further: Not only are we commanded to forgive, but we are to
FORGET!
Corrie goes on and tells that when God forgives us, He throws our
sins into the Sea of Forgetfulness. He posts a sign on the banks of
that Sea which says, No Fishing Allowed! God forgives and forgets
our sins, and He desires to give each of us that same power to
forgive & forget. So, not only are we to choose to forgive, we
are to choose to forget. Just fugettaboutit! Just let it go! Joseph
chose to forgive his brothers who sold him into slavery.
And, he also chose to forgive Potiphers wife who lied about him and
had him thrown into prison. He is a good example of what happens to
you if you choose to forgive and forget. God elevated and blessed
him immeasurably! He went from the prison to the palace in one day
because he chose to keep his heart pure. Joseph named his sons: 1st
son Manasseh = Caused to Forget 2nd son Ephraim = Caused me to be
fruitful and blessed Who caused him to forget and to be fruitful
and blessed? God did! But, notice the order. The willingness to
forgive and to forget must come before the blessings of God will
flow in your life. If you choose to live a life of forgiveness, you
will also experience Gods fruitfulness and blessings. The choice is
yours to make.
Sickness or forgiveness? Love or hate? Joy or Anger? Answered
Prayer or Silence? Eternal separation from God or Eternal blessings
in His Presence? Joseph never saw himself as a victim. Rather, he
saw himself as someone who was prepared by God for a special
purpose. Our society, on the other hand, is filled with
abuse.
And, consequently, with victims of abuse, whether it is sexual,
physical, emotional or verbal. It could easily be said that it is
at epidemic proportions. It is impacting an entire generation of
our young people. And, it will consequently influence the future of
America in a very negative way. We are developing a generation of
Bitter Victims! Look at how abuse is rampant in our society:
3 Million child abuse reports are made each yearthat is 1 every 10
seconds! Well over half of all child abuse cases are directly
related to parental alcohol and/or drug abuse. 300,000 rapes are
reported each year (half are not reported). Child Abuse cases have
reached epidemic proportions in this country with a 322% increase
over a 10 year period. And all of this is just the tip of the
iceberg. Think about it: A generation of Bitter Victims! On top of
that, there are many who go around with a Victims Complex.
Their problems are always someone elses faulttheir parents,
teachers, employers, spouse and etc. They will not take ownership
of their faults, and because of that, they never honestly deal with
their short-comings. The victims of abuse often become the biggest
abusers in the future. Theyre caught in a cycle of violence &
bondage from which only the Power of Jesus can set them free. The
Truth is that the Devil hates all of us, and he desires to abuse
everyone of us!
He is the Author of Abuse. Many like to blame God, but Hes the
answer not the problem. John 10:10a The thief comes only to steal
and kill and destroy . . . The author of abuse is the devil. And,
he has a plan to destroy your life through bitter disappointments
and abuse. The GOOD NEWS I [Jesus] have come that they may have
life, and have it to the full.
BUT, God has a plan for your life, and it is a plan of abundant
blessings. The good news is that you can be free from the effects
of abuse by an act of your will. And, allow God to turn your scars
into stars. He can turn those stumbling blocks into stepping
stones. God is the Master of turning what the enemy meant for evil
into good. You can never see yourself as God sees you if you always
see yourself as a Victim!
Jesus wants you to be: the head and not the tail the top and not
the bottom more than a conqueror an overcomer victorious blessed
But, you hold the key! You must choose to allow Him to work in your
life and bring the healing. You may feel like you were the victim
and that you have a right to feel the way you do.
But, that is a right you need to lay at the feet of Jesus. Jesus
came to set the captives free. Then, you will experience the
freedom and the blessings of God just as Joseph did. Life is too
short to allow unforgiveness to rob you of Gods Presence and
abundant blessings. Verbally (that means out loud) forgive the
offender.
What must you do? Choose to forgive! Verbally (that means out loud)
forgive the offender. Ask God to fill your void with His love and
the Holy Spirit. Ask for apologies & make it right. Hurting
people hurt people. Victims become offenders. Then, let freedom and
healing ring in your heart!