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Prayer and Forgiveness
This precious Book/the Bible, tells us of One who resigned the throne and crown of heaven, exchanged the radiant robe of the universal King for the garment of a servant, descended to death, condescended to human want and woe and wickedness, lay in a lowly cradle in a cattle stall at Bethlehem, and hung upon a cross of shame of Calvary, that even those who crucified Him might be forgiven. What a amazing God we serve!!!
From the very beginning of our Christian journey there are a couple things that now become a part of our lives that up until we become Christians we didn’t do.
The first is Prayer and the second is Repentance, which when it is sincere, is followed by Forgiveness. When we become a Christian, our eyes are opened to several things. We truly understand our need for forgiveness from God.
“For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—” Ephesians 2:8
“For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—” Ephesians 2:8
We all , every one of us, fall at the feet of Jesus. Even us knowing we need to fall and ask forgiveness is by the amazing prevenient grace of God Almighty. But we fall at the feet of Jesus and we pray, and we ask forgiveness for our sin’s, and because we serve a God of love, mercy and grace, He forgives us wholly and wipes the slate clean. He smiles and picks us up and wraps His arms around us tightly, and we receive the love and compassion and grace in the same breath as we receive forgiveness and we are changed forever and our understanding of being forgiven and forgiving are forever changed.
We all , every one of us, fall at the feet of Jesus. Even us knowing we need to fall and ask forgiveness is by the amazing prevenient grace of God Almighty. But we fall at the feet of Jesus and we pray, and we ask forgiveness for our sin’s, and because we serve a God of love, mercy and grace, He forgives us wholly and wipes the slate clean. He smiles and picks us up and wraps His arms around us tightly, and we receive the love and compassion and grace in the same breath as we receive forgiveness and we are changed forever and our understanding of being forgiven and forgiving are forever changed.
Not only were we forgiven but we were changed into new creatures. The amplified Bible says it perfectly for this context…Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life]. 2 Corinthians 5:17
Not only were we forgiven but we were changed into new creatures. The amplified Bible says it perfectly for this context…Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life]. 2 Corinthians 5:17
So our repentance brings God’s beautiful forgiveness and this forgiveness brings us into Christ. It grafts us in and we are joined by faith to Him as our Saviour and also forgiver because His salvation and forgiveness are 2 in1.
So, once we are into Christ and we’re forgiven we’re a new creature renewed and born again by the Holy Spirit and the old things both moral and spiritual have passed away, because being born again brings new life and it’s all rooted in God’s forgiveness.
See we are born as babies with the traits of our earthly parents. We have a sinful, worldly nature and it’s not until we encounter God’s grace, and we realize the price Jesus paid, that we understand good and bad, right and wrong, light and dark bondage and freedom that we ask for forgiveness and then we are born again and this birth is like the first birth because we are born with our new Father’s traits and that sinful nature is now something that we have the ability to overcome.
We now have the Holy Spirit power to enable us to be and do what God created us to do. This comes with a responsibility to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself and that means you’ve got to forgive people when they wrong you, because you as a disciple of Jesus Christ and the new life, Holy Spirit-filled, born-again Christ-like one is now set apart from the world, and the He who is in me showed me compassion when He forgave me and now I know and understand that so I am now expected to show that love and compassion to my neighbors . WHY? Because I love my neighbor as myself and God forgave me.
That brings us to Matthew 6:14–15: CSB: “For if you forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. But if you don’t forgive others, your Father will not forgive your offenses.”
So Jesus just finished the Lord's prayer and He decides He needs to elaborate on one verse.
Matthew 6:12 (CSB): And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Matthew 6:12 (CSB): And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
So He says that in verse 12 and finished the prayer and then He said If you forgive others their offenses your heavenly Father will forgive you for your offenses, but if you don't forgive others, you're heavenly Father will not forgive you.
So He says that in verse 12 and finished the prayer and then He said If you forgive others their offenses your heavenly Father will forgive you for your offenses, but if you don't forgive others, you're heavenly Father will not forgive you.
So Jesus is saying don't miss that God's forgiveness is conditioned on your forgiveness of others. Jesus isn't talking about salvation here, but about our fellowship with God after we're saved, as a part of our discipleship. To forgive is to not hold a grudge, not to seek retribution. Since we all need forgiveness regularly, we must not withhold it.
Unforgiveness is like drinking a cup of poison and waiting for the other person to die.
Unforgiveness is like drinking a cup of poison and waiting for the other person to die.
So when you come across somebody who doesn't think they need forgiveness, who doesn't ask for forgiveness, and may or may not know that you are harboring unforgiveness against them, the unforgiveness causes resentment and bitterness and hatred and anger and all of these other things and the entire time that you're holding on to this unforgiveness all of those things are affecting you. You're rotting from the inside out and that other person is going on with their lives, and yes maybe the Holy Spirit will convict that person and show that person that they need to ask forgiveness, but the thing about it is, is that the Holy Spirit and Jesus is calling for you to forgive them whether they feel like they need forgiveness or not.
So when you come across somebody who doesn't think they need forgiveness, who doesn't ask for forgiveness, and may or may not know that you are harboring unforgiveness against them, the unforgiveness causes resentment and bitterness and hatred and anger and all of these other things and the entire time that you're holding on to this unforgiveness all of those things are affecting you. You're rotting from the inside out and that other person is going on with their lives, and yes maybe the Holy Spirit will convict that person and show that person that they need to ask forgiveness, but the thing about it is, is that the Holy Spirit and Jesus is calling for you to forgive them whether they feel like they need forgiveness or not.
Because, like I said, unforgiveness is like ingesting poison and expecting the other person to have the effects of that poison, but instead that poison is affecting you and it's taking time from you and God. It's taking time from you growing and being molded into the person God wants us to be.
Because, like I said, unforgiveness is like ingesting poison and expecting the other person to have the effects of that poison, but instead that poison is affecting you and it's taking time from you and God. It's taking time from you growing and being molded into the person God wants us to be.
Because when we give our lives to Jesus, and we understand that our salvation is rooted in forgiveness, our relationship with Jesus is at the very beginning, and in its infancy is rooted in forgiveness and once we get forgiveness we're looking through different eyes.
Because when we give our lives to Jesus, and we understand that our salvation is rooted in forgiveness, our relationship with Jesus is at the very beginning, and in its infancy is rooted in forgiveness and once we get forgiveness we're looking through different eyes.
Now we're looking through the eyes of somebody who is forgiven and now we're looking through the eyes of somebody who understands God grace, mercy, and love and most of all, His forgiveness.
Now we're looking through the eyes of somebody who is forgiven and now we're looking through the eyes of somebody who understands God grace, mercy, and love and most of all, His forgiveness.
God expects us to forgive and when we don't, we endure the punishment that we want the other one to get and also our relationship with Jesus is at a stalemate because we aren’t being forgiven, because His words clearly say forgive and you will be forgiven and if you don’t forgive your Heavenly Father will not forgive you.
Ephesians 4:32 “And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.”
Ephesians 4:32 “And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.”
So forgiveness is just like being a witness for Christ right? It is similar because when we gave our life to Jesus, the Holy Spirit came to live within us and He empowers us to witness to people, right? So, when we get the Holy Spirit we also get a new ability to forgive…we get the new ability to have compassion just like
So forgiveness is just like being a witness for Christ right? It is similar because when we gave our life to Jesus, the Holy Spirit came to live within us and He empowers us to witness to people, right? So, when we get the Holy Spirit we also get a new ability to forgive…we get the new ability to have compassion just like
32 And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.
Ephesians chapter 4 verse 32 is saying be kind and compassionate to one another and forgive each other just as Christ forgave you.
Ephesians chapter 4 verse 32 is saying be kind and compassionate to one another and forgive each other just as Christ forgave you.
So now that we've been forgiven, and we see through these new eyes, like I was talking about, we are enabled with the Holy Spirit to have compassion for someone that maybe doesn’t even deserve forgiveness, but because that forgiveness is going to be like a poison in my body, and because Christ forgave me when I didn't deserve it, I'm going to forgive that person.
So now that we've been forgiven, and we see through these new eyes, like I was talking about, we are enabled with the Holy Spirit to have compassion for someone that maybe doesn’t even deserve forgiveness, but because that forgiveness is going to be like a poison in my body, and because Christ forgave me when I didn't deserve it, I'm going to forgive that person.
12 Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,
13 bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a grievance against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you are also to forgive.
Colossians 3:12–13 (CSB): Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a grievance against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you are also to forgive.
Colossians 3:12–13 (CSB): Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a grievance against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you are also to forgive.
When we refuse to forgive, our prayers are hindered. When our prayers are hindered, our relationship with Jesus is hindered, and when our relationship is hindered our entire spiritual lives are in discord and we can't grow…we can't be used the way God wants to use us, because unforgiveness is rooted in pride, and pride comes before the fall and if you won't forgive the way Jesus forgave you then you’re not upholding the most important commandments, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.
If you love your neighbor as yourself, you would forgive them, but since you're not, you're walking around with this poison going throughout your body, and it's being fed by this pride…and it's being fed because of the fact that you're hindered from your relationship with the Lord.
Now it's not just about unforgiveness, it's about all of the things that has hindered you and is now attached to you in your weakness and is now affecting you and it all started with unforgiveness!
