forgiveness

November 26, 2010

for the last couple of hours this evening my mind has been on "forgiveness". Not its definition but my experience on the road of forgiveness.  Do we realize how essential forgiveness is? And the reality that if we do not forgive those who offended us, whoever they are, God will not, I repeat WILL NOT forgive us?

Through out the bible there are many stories of forgiveness and acceptance after a sin has been committed against another.

Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, and suffered many years because of their betrayal.  But the Lord had given Him favor & power in the Land.  Joseph could have been arrogant and prideful & not forgiving of his brothers but not only did he forgive them but also invited them to eat in his palace.  

I truly believe that God wants this type if not deeper forgiveness from us.  Whatever is done to us, we must forgive.  WE MUST FORGIVE..  

If someone in the church; a member or someone in leadership has hurt you, you MUST FORGIVE  them. You don't really have an option, well you do the second option would be to spend eternity in hell for not repenting of un-forgiveness.  If a preacher told you lies and taught false doctrine,  YOU MUST FORGIVE THEM. You heart must be clean before the Lord.  You will not be pardoned to make excuses on judgement day as to why you would not forgive your brother or sister when they hurt you.

It's sad when some people don't realize they have un-forgivness.  But a good relationship with the Lord will cause the Holy Spirit to bring up things in us that need healing. Issues with un-forgivness will be  something that God will bring up and reveal to us that we need to clean that out of our hearts.   

Here's some signs of unforgivness & tools to help you if you think that you are harboring un-forgiveness;

1.  Do you manifest when you think about the person or situation (facial expressions [i.e. frown], saying evil words  to yourself, thinking evil thoughts, slandering the person that hurt you)

2.  Repeatedly talking about how the person hurt you, rehearsing the moment they hurt you over and over again? 

3.  Responding negatively at the sound of the persons name  ? 

4.  treating  others wrongly when you think they may hurt you like the person you have un-forgiveness for has ? 

If you feel this way about ANYONE , even if you feel this way about the Lord.  Ask Him to examine your heart and show you in his word his thoughts and feelings toward forgiveness.  God is  the Lord of healing and restoration.  He does not want us to be broken and battered vessels.  he wants us repaired and strong enough to hold the oil of His anointing.  He is able to heal set free and deliver us. Trust in Him. Seek Him. Believe Him

Hanging on to unforgiveness creates in us the necessity to build and maintain a facade.

Hanging on to unforgiveness creates in us the necessity to build and maintain a facade.

Jesus wants us to be totally honest, transparent, believable and consistent. He wants the transformation of our inner being to be so complete that what we show to others is who we truly are. We must be willing to be washed clean inside and out. Otherwise, we are but a superficial reflection of God's love, filled with impurity behind our facade.

Whenever we remain unforgiving, we become like the Pharisees who demanded compliance with the letter of the law, yet held intolerance and self-righteousness within their hearts.

Luke 11:39-40 ESV And the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. (40) You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also?

Both in action and in attitude we must be transparent, allowing God's love and grace to permeate our entire being. Purity within and without invites others to know us without reservation. Unforgiveness lodged in our heart creates a false, fleshly protective wall that separates who we really are from the image we project to the world.

♦ We don't want people to know our innermost thoughts and motivations so we erect barriers to keep others from getting too close

♦ We don't invite others into fellowship with us for fear they'll see the truth of our family life.

♦ We avoid telling stories on ourselves because we have to maintain an image of having it all together.

♦ We are afraid to go to a counselor because we know we will be confronted and have to deal with issues that may be painful.

♦ We can't risk or be spontaneous because we have a need to keep everything under control.

♦ We can't adventure because we're insecure if asked to move outside our comfort zone and risk things we aren't sure will work.

♦ We don't trust others to love and accept us if they really knew who we are.

Building facades such as these to protect our unforgivenesses means that we are living a lie. That puts a terrific amount of stress on us--stress which will eventually take its tole in alienation from others and from God, breaking the unity of the kingdom. We must not use the security of our own salvation experience to excuse that part of us which remains unregenerate.

John 4:19-20 ESV The woman said to him, "Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. (20) Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship."

1 John 1:6-7 ESV If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. (7) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

If you're blessed by what's been written here please purchase Choosing Forgiveness by John & Paula Sandford and Lee Bowman