Forgiveness
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And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.
Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.
Meetings on bulletin board.
Welcome Sister Sandra Graves.
Introduction.
Why did Jesus offer forgiveness on the cross?
Was it to save the Pharisees? Many of them were of their father the devil. Not everyone who heard it was saved. They didn’t want to be forgiven, calling for His blood on them and their children.
Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
151 They said, “Our fathers eat Manna in the wilderness, and they drank from the Rock.”
152 And He…Jesus said, “And they are, every one, dead,” Eternally separated, see, every one.
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It did not absolve them of their guilt, but it manifested who He was.
21 He showed what He did to the whole human race, the way God represented Himself in Jesus Christ.
He expressed His opinion to the human race, to forgive and to love those who were unloveable. And I wonder, on this Easter morning, how short we fall of that. We could love those who love us, but He loved those who did not love Him.
22 He was the greatest, the first representation, of love that ever hit the earth; and was despised of those who lived on the earth, to whom He loved.
No man could ever love like Him; and no man was ever hated like Him. They hated Him and despised Him, and rejected Him, but it did not stop His love.
The last, when He was hanging on the cross, after that life that He had lived had been done nothing but good things, forgiving the guilty, healing the sick, and just things that were good.
When He was…last breaths on the cross, with the vulgar, mocking spit, of them who stood by, hanging from His sacred face He cried, with a heart full of love, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
59-0329S - Living, Dying, Buried, Rising, Coming
Forgiveness was an attribute that had to be displayed in Christ.
1. The Necessity of Forgiveness.
1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching Forgiveness, Difficulty Of
A man named John Oglethorpe, in talking to John Wesley, once made the comment, “I never forgive.” Mr. Wesley wisely replied,
“Then, Sir, I hope that you never sin.
You will not go in the rapture, or go to heaven, without displaying this attribute in your life, and forgiving those who have wronged you.
That’s a strong statement.
And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary 11:25–26
Divine forgiveness toward a believer and a believer’s forgiveness toward others are inseparably linked because a bond has been established between the divine Forgiver and the forgiven believer (cf. Matt. 18:21–35). One who has accepted God’s forgiveness is expected to forgive others just as God has forgiven him (Eph. 4:32). If he does not, he forfeits God’s forgiveness in his daily life.
A Methodist god, a Baptist god, a Presbyterian god, a Pentecostal god, they won’t work. Get the God of this Bible.
A Pentecostal god will go out in the world; a Methodist god, or a Baptist god, or any other denominational god. But the God of this Bible, will make you like Jesus.
He sure will. His Spirit will dwell in you, and all your life will be changed; that temper, that malice, that unforgiving spirit, that thing that will canker your soul in a lost Eternity.
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135 You say, “Well, if I can just get even with her! If I can get even with him!” No matter what they done, choose Life. Choose Life.
136 For, Jesus said, “If from your heart you don’t forgive every person their transgression, neither does your Heavenly Father forgive you.”
So just get that close. If there’s one ought in your heart against any person, sinner or a saint, you’re in danger of hell fire.
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(Bro. Branham’s scales)
Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
490 times.
Forgive until you don’t remember what they did wrong the first time.
Peter is relating to forgiveness from a mindset that is shaped under the law. "How oft" tells us that he is trying to put a number on it because he knows he won't want to forgive, even the first time. He thought he was being generous because the Rabbis taught three times was enough.
Rabbi David A. Nelson likes to tell the story of two brothers who went to their rabbi to settle a longstanding feud. The rabbi got the two to reconcile their differences and shake hands. As they were about to leave, he asked each one to make a wish for the other in honor of the Jewish New Year. The first brother turned to the other and said, "I wish you what you wish me." At that, the second brother threw up his hands and said, "See, Rabbi, he's starting up again!"
Peter is being a legalist. Legalism adds, grace multiply’s.
Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.
And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.
Jesus goes on to tell a story.
Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.
Greek ten thousand talents; a talent was worth about 20 years of a day laborer’s wages.
But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.
Greek a hundred denarii; a denarius was the usual daily wage of a day laborer.
And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.
So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.
Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:
Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.
Want miracles? Display the attribute of forgiveness.
But when you’ll come together, oh, my, that’s it, when you’ll fully obey God. “This will all men know you’re My disciples, when you have love one for the other.”
When you get part of the theology out and get a little love in there, it’ll do works, and wonders, and miracles. But we got to have that. For who? For everybody.
“Oh, for that old bunch of Assemblies of God, or that old bunch of Church of God, or old Oneness, or Threeness, or Fiveness, or whatever they got?
Me love them? I couldn’t love them; they’re antichrist.” You’re lost yourself, brother, when you think that. That’s right.
You’re not right with God. If you can’t raise out a hand to the bitterest enemy you got and try to win him to Christ, then the Spirit of Christ isn’t in you.
“For He come to His Own, and His Own received Him not.” Yet He gave His life for His enemy. He did. How true it is.
40 And that Spirit of God in you makes you feel the same way about everybody. When you get to a place…Now, you just can’t act it. The devil knows whether you’re acting or not.
I can see that epileptic child out there one day, and Jesus ten days before that give them power to cast out devils, and raise the dead, and heal the sick, and do all kinds of miracles.
They was getting along pretty good. Come back and said, “Even the devils is subject unto us.” Having a big time. A few days after that, here they was all stumped.
They met a man down there, you know, that wasn’t doing…wouldn’t come join their society, so they forbid him to even cast out devils.
See the bitterness coming in? See? “Oh, we forbid him, ‘Not…’ He wouldn’t join our assembly, so we told him, ‘not to do it.’”
Jesus said, “Don’t you do that. No man can do a miracle in My Name, can speak lightly of Me. And them’s not against Me; them that’s for Me is not against Me.”
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2. What is Real Forgiveness?
From your heart.
37 And you never cast a devil out by the wrong attitude. It takes love to do that. And love is the most powerful force that there is in the world.
Now, if you notice, a devil is always hate. Hate is of the devil. And when people hate someone, remember, it is a terrible devil to despise or dislike. You mustn’t do that.
38 You remember that the…Jesus said in His sermon that when you pray, “Our Father Who art in Heaven,”…And when He come down, He said,
“If you don’t from your heart forgive every man his trespasses, neither does your Heavenly Father forgive you your trespasses.”
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How do you know you have forgiven someone from the heart?
a. When you forgive someone from the heart you don’t have a ”funny feeling” toward that person anymore.
Bitterness is a root. Forgiving from the heart means you have rooted it out.
Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;
Speaking specifically of Apostasy. Isn’t it strange that apostasy usually starts as a funny feeling towards a brother?
Simon the sorcerer.
For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.
Easton’s Bible Dictionary Bitter
BITTER—Bitterness is symbolical of affliction, misery, and servitude (Ex. 1:14; Ruth 1:20; Jer. 9:15). The Chaldeans are called the “bitter and hasty nation” (Hab. 1:6). The “gall of bitterness” expresses a state of great wickedness (Acts 8:23). A “root of bitterness” is a wicked person or a dangerous sin (Heb. 12:15).
53 The only thing the matter, get all these little differences away from you. Little isms, and little funny feelings around you for brethren, and things like that, shake it away!
Don’t let no root of bitterness ever get into your soul. If you do, it’ll canker you. Right. Keep love! I don’t care how much people hate you, you love them anyhow.
If you can’t do that, you need…you ain’t sealed, you got a loose place yet. So come on, on back, and get that sealed up right good with the Blood of Christ. It’ll cleanse you from all roots of bitterness.
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If you have the Holy Spirit, you’re part of God because you’re His. He’s sealed you and He’s in you, working in you, and the signs that He does you do also.
Now, does everybody understand that, you class? It takes the Holy Spirit to be God’s; Holy Spirit. And if you are of the Holy Spirit, you do the works that Jesus did. See? Your love…
273 When them spit in Your face and beat You around like that, there was no root of bitterness. He looked down at them, He said, “Father, forgive them for they don’t know what they’re doing.” See, they didn’t.
60-1211M - The Ten Virgins, And The Hundred And Forty-Four Thousand Jews
The root of bitterness produces a “Funny feeling”, and it poisons every area of your life.
“Maxims like turn that frown upside down may annoy you when ill-timed but it seems they have some evidence-based science behind them. A growing body of research shows that your state of mind may have a significant impact on your health and well-being.
The latest research to give credence to the link between state of mind and health is a recent study from Concordia University that has found constant bitterness can make a person ill. Holding on to bitterness can affect metabolism, immune response or organ function and lead to physical disease, researchers say.”
The stress response
So what mechanisms link emotions and disease?
A real or perceived danger sets a range of physical responses in motion. The body mobilises its internal protections to prepare for defence or running away. This is commonly known as the “fight or flight” response and involves the activation of the sympathetic nervous system.
Some of the physiological changes triggered by the fight or flight response are:
release of inflammatory hormones such as cortisol;
increase in heart rate and blood pressure;
diversion of blood from hand and feet to the large muscles to prepare for fighting or fleeing;
slowing or stopping of digestion;
mobilisation of glucose to sustain energy expenditure;
increased perspiration to assist with keeping the body cool; and
increase in platelet adhesiveness, which means the blood becomes “stickier” and is more able to stop bleeding.
After the (perceived) danger has passed, the body tries to return back to normal. The parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for recuperation and bringing the body back to a balanced state (homeostasis).
These physical stress responses, when activated appropriately and occasionally, are healthy and natural – the human species wouldn’t have survived without them.
They become problematic when stressful situations continue without giving the body a chance to calm down and return to homeostasis.
Chronic stress leads to exhaustion, weakens the immune system and is linked to numerous conditions such as anxiety, depression, headaches, back pain, abdominal pain, skin rashes and insomnia.”
(theconversation.com)
And if you notice, it’s when you are discouraged that’s when the devil can really pour it on you. That’s when He gets you.
If you come to the church and say, “Well, I don’t know. I don’t know whether I’ll ever get any better or not. I’ve been prayed for twice.” Oh, my. You might as well go home; that’s all.
But when you can cast that aside…God don’t want you to be frowning. God wants you to be happy. The human heart was made to be happy.
Worry will cause cancer. Temper will cause cancer. Don’t never be upset. Just walk in His love. Amen. Knowing that you’re walking in Him, and nothing can harm you. There’s nothing can harm you.
There’s neither powers, things present, things future, nothing can separate us from Him. We’re in Him. And we never come in by our own will. He, by choice, elected us and brought us in to Him. Amen.
So it’s His business to take care of what He’s took Hisself. “No man can pluck them from My Father’s hands, ’cause He’s the greatest of all of them.” Amen. It’s the Father Who takes care of it. Who’s got any more power than God?
So what kind of a power have you got over you to take care of you? The whole powers that created the universes. Amen.
That took the solar system and, “Phew!” blew like that, and every star went to its place. Sure. And He watches over you. Amen. That’s the kind of a Father we have.
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3. How to Forgive.
Bro. Ben, I want to forgive but I don’t know how.
How do you Love? Here is how God loves.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
By allowing the person of Christ to display His attributes in your life.
Sometimes it won’t work for the other person.
This doesn’t mean that you won’t try to resolve issues. If you have a problem. Deal with it. It’s morally wrong to refuse to face someone you have ought against.
Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.
Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
10 If I knew tonight that I had an enemy, I may have. I perhaps have. But if I do, I don’t know just who it is. If it was, I sure wouldn’t go to preaching till I went, first, and made that right,
see if I could get it straightened up, ’cause we’re not supposed to have anything against anyone, or if anything we can do, let no one have anything against us.
...And It don’t say, “If you have ought against a brother,” but, “if the brother has a ought against thee,” see, “you go to him,” see, “if he has the ought.” And that way, why, we live peaceful.
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That’s when Peter said “How many times?”. What if he won’t make it right? Does that mean I can hold it against him? What did Jesus do on the cross? What would He do through His body now?
Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
Conclusion.
People can do you wrong.
(Prayer line and Covid)
My dad and the altar call.
Get your grubbing hoe out. Get rid of that root of bitterness. Let the attribute of Christ show in your life.