Power in Forgiveness

You will receive Power

Acts 1:8 NKJV

8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Today I want us to look at the Power of Forgiveness. This is not something that we can do on our own. Forgiveness requires a supernatural work in us.

Matthew 6:14 NKJV

14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

Colossians 3:12–13 NKJV

12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.

Do you see how this is something impossible for us to do without the Holy Spirit power in our lives?

Let’s look at Forgiveness from the perspective of a father.

Luke 15:11–32 NKJV

11 Then He said: “A certain man had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. 13 And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. 14 But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. 15 Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything. 17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, 19 and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” ’ 20 “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. 23 And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; 24 for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry. 25 “Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’ 28 “But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. 29 So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. 30 But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’ 31 “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. 32 It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’ ”

Did you see the power in forgiveness?

Who is this parable about?

The parable is not about the prodigal son.

The parable is about the heart of the Father and His response to the wayward son.

Luke 15:1–2 NKJV

1 Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. 2 And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.”

In Jesus’ parable, when did the Father forgive the prodigal son? Was it when he came and apologized? Verse 20 shows that the Father was waiting for him to come back. Forgiveness had already taken place but the Son had to come receive that forgiveness.

Jesus modeled forgiveness Luke 23 34

Luke 23:34 NKJV

34 Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” And they divided His garments and cast lots.

From our Human standpoint, we get offended when we are wronged. Here are some things we need to understand about the Power of Forgiveness:

Forgiveness has the power to free the one who forgives

Forgiveness has the power to free the one who sinned

Forgiveness has the power to unblock the bondage of bitterness, hurt, etc.

This overflows into physical health and emotional hindrance of growth

How do you know you have unforgiveness:

The wrong done to you is often on your mind, or

When you think about the person, you struggle to think of anything good, you mostly think about how they wronged you.

You find yourself bringing up the situation, or you are talking about the person in a negative light.

There are many in the world who have been hurt by their father (or father figure). That harm often leads to unforgiveness, bitterness, anger, and as my starwars family would say, the path to the dark side.

Application:

If you know you have done something to hurt someone else, go and ask for forgiveness in a spirit of humility. We talked about repentance last week and covered that in detail.

If you have been hurt or wronged, ask the Holy Spirit to give you the power to forgive the ones who hurt you. If God leads you to tell them that you forgave them, do so with the desire that they would receive your forgiveness.

Forgiveness should point us and others to God and the forgiveness He gives us.