[[[ Love from Cookoxt ]]]

Forgiveness..

7:37 PM

7/12

hmm..as usual.. today woke up quite late.. abt 2pm.. haha.. then went for an early dinner.. then set off to NUS for the Living Free conference.. oh ya ppl!! My hp line is cut off.. haha.. ya lah.. my dad din pay the bills.. nvm.. haha.. I can only receive calls and smses.. I cant make any outgoing calls and I cant send smses also.. so got anything.. give me a call.. hehe..

today the sermon is abt freedom to forgive.. brothers and sisters out there.. I pray that wat I type below speak to your heart.. dun escape if you want a more intimate relationship with God.. dun run away if you want to free yourself from that misery… dun avoid if you want to heal that wound of yours… read carefully wat I had typed below.. it will be great if you would apply them!!

A. The need to forgive

1. Required by God ( Matthew 6:9-15)

2. Crucial for our freedom ( Matthew 18:21-35)
a. know the extent of our debt to God
b. repaying God is impossible
c. the need for God’s mercy
d. to avoid God’s discipline

3. Extended to others ( Ephesians 4:31-32)
The issue is only between God and us.

4. Why shld we forgive?
a. to stop the pain!! ( story of Jonah )
b. so that no advantage be taken of us by Satan ( 2nd Corinthians 2:10-11)

B. Wat is forgiveness?

1. Not forgetting

Ppl who try to forgive by forgetting hurts they have suffered usually fail to do both. The Bible says that God will not remember our sins ( Hebrews 10:17). But God knows everything, so He can’t forget. What it means is that God will not bring up our past sins and use then against us ( Psalms 103:12). It is possible to forgive without forgetting.

2. Not excusing sin

Forgiveness does not mean that you must put up with someone’s sins. Beth, a college girl, came to Dave ( the speaker) in tears explaining that her mother continued to abuse her verbally and control her as she had during childhood. Beth had no desire to forgive her mother since she fully expected to be hurt again and again. “Am I supposed to let her keep ruining my life?” Beth demanded.
No, forgiving someone doesn’t mean that you must be a doormat to his or her continual sin. Dave encouraged Beth to lovingly but firmly tell her mother that she wld no longer tolerate verbal abuse and manipulation. It is ok to forgive another past sins and, at the same time, take a stand against future sins.

3. Choosing not to take revenge

Forgiveness does not demand revenge or repaymt for hurts suffered. “ You mean im just supposed to let them off the hook?” you may argue. Yes, you let them off your hook realizing that God does not let them off His hook. God is the just Judge who will make everything right in the end ( Romans 12:19).

4. Choosing to live with the consequences of another’s sin

So wat is forgiveness? Forgiveness means deciding to live with the consequences of another person’s sin. In reality, you will have to live with the consequences of his sin whether you forgive him or not. For eg, imagine that someone in your youth grp comes to you and says, “ I have gossiped abt you. Will you forgive me?” He cant take back gossip any easier than you can put toothpaste back into the tube. You are going to live with the gossip this person spread abt you no matter how you respond to the gossiper.

5. Choosing not to hold another’s sin against them ( forgive them)

You can choose either to live in bitterness and unforgiveness or in peace and forgiveness by deciding not to hold the offence against him. The latter, of course, is God’s way.

6. Where is justice? In the Cross of Christ!!

7. Forgiveness is an act of love ( 1st Corinthians 13:5)

C. Steps to forgiveness

1. Pray and ask God to reveal to you all the people you need to forgive

2. Make a list of those names, including perhaps your Mum, Dad, yourself, etc.

3. Admit and confess the hurt and the hatred you felt.

Write down how you feel abt these ppl and their offences. Remember: it is not a sin to admit the reality of your emotions. God knows exactly how you feel, whether you admit it or not. If you bury your feelings, you will bypass the possibility of forgiveness. You must forgive from your heart.

4. Decide you will bear the consequences of their sin(s) and not hold it against them in the future. (Galatians 6:1-2)

This means that you will not strike back at the person in the future by using the info abt his sin against him ( Proverbs 17:9, Luke 6:27-34). We are to take the burden of offences against us just as Christ took the burden of our sins.

5. Accept Christ’s death as full paymt for their sin ( Romans 5:17-18)

6. Let God deal with their sin as He sees fit ( Romans 12:19)

7. Make the choice to forgive

Forgiveness is an act of will, not base on feelings whether you feel like forgiving this person or not. It is a conscious choice to let the person off the hook and free yourself from the past. You may not feel like making this decision to forgive. But since God tells you to, you can choose to forgive. The other person may truly be in the wrong and in need of discipline or correction. But that is not your primary concern. Your responsibility is to let him off your hook. Make that decision now; your feelings of forgiveness will follow in time. You will gain your freedom by forgiving. If you dun forgive, you will be bound to that person.

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Brothers and sisters… I know it is hard to forgive.. that’s why we need God’s help and His grace and mercy… whatever hurts that you all had or have experienced.. just forgive… it is impossible for you all to be heal if you all cant forgive..

at the end of the conference… we were asked to do the steps to forgiveness.. I did it.. I confess all my hurts and pains to God.. telling Him how much I hate their behaviours.. believe it or not.. they are my family members.. they persecuted me because I am a Christian.. they really find ways and means to stop me from going to church… verbal abuse.. which is worse than physical abuse… I had it… from them.. for how many yrs?? For abt 6 to 7 yrs..from my dearest parents and my grandmother… however, rite at that moment.. I chose to forgive... I laid them all down at the foot of the throne… I surrender all to Jesus.. I dun feel like doing that… but I chose to do that.. when it comes to forgiveness, we cant trust feelings.. wat we can trust is the Word of God.. His truth.. and His truth will set us completely free.. so my dear friends… just forgive.. and you will be free.. if anyone need someone to talk to or some encouragemt.. can always call me.. I will pray together with you… and will support you… even those who are non-believers.. I also urged you all to forgive… just let it go… and you will feel so relieve.. like just being out of prison after 10 yrs…

May God bless all of you… and forgiveness will just flow out of all of you..

posted by cookoxt31 on 7:37 PM
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