Forgiveness is like a
Christmas gift... the most needed and practical gifts are the least exciting to receive. Where an exotic gift with no practical use in life are opened with great ahs and oowhhs. But the practical gifts that make life so much easier and better are received with very little excitement.
Forgiveness is both the most basic of subjects and yet most profound.
Basic – in that Forgiveness is the very door by which we come into a relationship with God with continual access to his presence. And Extend to others and from others is how we maintain healthy long-term relationships
Forgiveness is Profound – in that no one can fathom the magnitude of Christ’s sacrifice to secure our forgiveness or the depth of the fathers love to offer forgiveness Being forgiven by God is a Wonder that is difficult for our human minds to comprehend
Forgiveness – could very well be the most important issue facing our culture and families today.
a. both mental and physical illness can both be directly related to the withholding of Forgiveness. Un-Forgiveness becomes a poison to our system and body… Un-Forgiveness will keep people from receiving their Divine Healing or keep them from ever being healed.
b. Un-Forgiveness locks people in a prison and it is not that they can’t get free but that they choose not to be free, by choosing not to forgive.
c. somehow we think that after being wronged by a perpetrator, we cannot let them get away and “get off” so easily… they must pay for their wrong doing! Oh ya? Does God make you pay for your wrong doing? No way! Then how can we who have experienced God's unearned Forgiveness not forgive others?
d. Un-Forgiveness never gets even with the one who did you wrong, rather, the reality is that it only deepens the consequences of the wrongful act, and drives the pain down deep in.
e. Un-Forgiveness is death on an installment plan, .. a slow death.. that shows itself in stages beginning with Un-F, bitterness, head aches, panic disorders, envying, strife, division, hatred, slander, roots of bitterness, sickness, disease, physical death, and eternal death (hell).
Matt. 6:12, ...
and forgive us our trespasses, as we have forgiven those who have trespass against us.
Mat 6:15 ...But if you do not forgive people their offenses, your Father will not forgive your offenses."
Luke 7:47 (ASV) Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.
Notice that Jesus is teaching that Love and Forgiveness are synonyms. Love is not a noun but a verb; an action word. Therefore to love someone is to forgive them... and to forgive someone is to love them. Isn't that what God has done towards you?
Don’t Play God…. He is Better at it than you!
Anytime we make the choice to withhold Forgiveness or resentment, we begin to encroach on God’s sphere of authority and assume His sovereign position. Un-Forgiveness is a judicial decision that God has not given us authority to decide. When we choose to withhold Forgiveness, we place ourselves in position of playing God… to with hold Forgiveness is to exalt your hurt above the will of God and above the Cross of Christ.
Gen 50:15-21
Un-Forgiveness, can be like a God that controls us.. a demon spirit. If we give it place, it will consume our focus, captivate our passion and redirect our devotion, We become lifeless, bitterness in heart, cynical, judgmental, critical, fault finding, accusatory,
“ though Joseph was in slavery, he was never a slave. Though Joseph was in prison he was never a prisoner”
Eph 4:27 do not give the devil a foothold in your life… literally: a place, a foothold is a territory, or a piece of ground, a firm position from which he can set up headquarters to infect the rest of your life.
Rom 12:9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
Rom 12:17 Do not pay anyone back evil for evil, but focus your thoughts on what is right in the sight of all people.
Rom 12:18 If it be possible, as far as it be with you, be at peace with all men.
Rom 12:19 Do not take revenge, dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath. For it is written, "Vengeance belongs to me. I will pay them back, declares the Lord."
Rom 12:20 But "if your enemy is hungry, feed him. For if he is thirsty, give him a drink. If you do this, you will pile burning coals on his head."
Rom 12:21 Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.
Jas 2:12 You must make it your habit to speak and act like people who are going to be judged by the law of liberty.
Jas 2:13 For the one who has shown no mercy will be judged without mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
- We often rationalize our desire for vengeance with thinking we are acting in Justice / justly… the problem, is that justice is a two edged sword and it will pierce you too.
Mat 10:8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
Let me give you a few steps you can take to work out a Forgiveness lifestyle.
What to do when faced with needing to Forgive but it is hard.
1. Release Vengeance… it is Gods, if you release it to God He will deal with it.
- a. Active Vengeance: in the act of revenge.. going after someone.
- b. Passive Vengeance: in our attitudes, words, emotions, feelings towards them.
- Often, we hold on to attitudes, and replay the tape over and over, which further and deeper the poison goes. We separate ourselves from the person, then we withdrawal from them, then we avoid them, soon there is a big breach and a root of bitterness begins to grow
2. See the redemptive purpose in the wrongdoing. (Gen 50:20) Joseph “ you intended to do me harm, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”
3. Forgive the wrong done, wipe it clean, forget about it, brush it off, do not take the offense
- a. it starts as a choice without the emotions & feelings of Forgiveness.
- b. to Forgive who has wronged you does not mean their offense was not wrong..... Forgiveness is not a verdict / judgment of innocence, it simply is a choice to free ourselves from the torment of holding their sin.
- c. Until, we release them and forgive them, their offence will be continually before us… when we pray, worship, devotions, relate to others.
- d. Forgiving those who have wronged us, is a decision to break the imaginary video tapes that continually run in our mind
- e. F is not an option / suggestion, it is a command.
- Matt 6:12 , Eph 4:32, Col. 3:13 we are commanded to forgive as Christ did.
4. Demonstrate Forgiveness with actions ( gen. 50:21) this is where we mostly stop short of
Rom 12:20 But "if your enemy is hungry, feed him. For if he is thirsty, give him a drink. If you do this, you will pile burning coals on his head."
Rom 12:21 Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.
5. . Forget it! To be free from the torment and having to constantly work thru forgiveness over and over, … just forget it..
- a. to forgive and forget is a portrait of true freedom and liberty and love.
- b. Forget allows you to no longer feel the pain when the memory is comes back
Gen 41:51 Joseph named his firstborn son Manasseh because, he said, "God has made me forget all of my hard life and my father's house."
1Pe 4:8 Above all, continue to love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins.
These 5 steps are a lifestyle not an event nor a formula.
When we develop a habit and lifestyle of Forgiveness then we will daily demonstrate and act out God's love for all the world to see. As a result of the world around you seeing God's love thru you then they will believe in God and run to Him.
May His Kingdom Come to Earth thru us!