UNDERSTANDING THE CONCEPT OF FORGIVENESS – PART TWO
Welcome, friends, to another day of ministration. I believe the LORD is helping you on the issue of Understanding the Importance of Forgiveness. Remember that our aim is to bring you healing Words from our Master JESUS – Words that will catalyze emotional, spiritual and physical healing.
Today, we shall continue on the subject of: UNDERSTANDING THE CONCEPT OF FORGIVENESS.
Let’s Pray.
PRAYER
Heavenly FATHER, we are grateful to YOU for how far you have enabled us to reach our people with the message of salvation. Today, we plead with YOU to open the hearts of many. Remove the veil over their eyes. Enable us, O GOD our FATHER, to understand the importance of receiving forgiveness from YOU. And grant, O GOD our FATHER, that YOUR people will take appropriate decisions today in order to obtain salvation which only comes through our LORD and SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. AMEN!
UNDERSTANDING THE CONCEPT OF FORGIVENESS
Understanding the concept of forgiveness
We took our reading from Matthew 6:9-14
Matthew 6:9-14.
9 In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts [or sins],
As we forgive our debtors.
13 And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Friends, last time, we considered the difficulty people have in forgiving others. We did say that it is the will of GOD to practice forgiveness. One’s faith in the LORD will be truncated if one does not forgive offenders.
Today, we shall continue on the third point, which is, How can I obtain forgiveness? This is important because you cannot give what you do not have; because our passage, if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
In Acts 13: 38 the bible declares,
8 “Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.
To forgive means to wipe the slate clean, to pardon, to cancel a debt. When we wrong someone we seek their forgiveness in order for the relationship to be restored. Forgiveness is not granted because a person deserves to be forgiven. No one deserves to be forgiven – forgiveness is an act of love, mercy and grace. Forgiveness is a decision one takes not to hold something against another person despite what they have done to you. We all need forgiveness from GOD. We have all committed sin. There is none righteous. Ecclesiastes 7:20 proclaims,
Ecclesiastes 7:20
There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins
However, 1 John 1:8 says,
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
You can see that we all need desperately GOD’s forgiveness. If our sins are not forgiven we will spend eternity suffering the consequences of our sins. Friends, to obtain forgiveness, you must admit you have wronged GOD. That I know is a problem to many people. The second step is to confess your sins, naming them one by one, especially the ones you can remember. Do not cover them before GOD. HE knows all your dealing – anyway.
Proverbs 28:13 says,
He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.
Again, in 1 John 1:9, the bible says,
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
The third step is to accept JESUS CHRIST as your Saviour. I said, the third step is to accept JESUS CHRIST as your Saviour – your Redeemer. You can’t pay for your forgiveness. JESUS paid the price through HIS death. HE shed HIS Blood for our redemption. Our forgiveness is received by faith through the grace and mercy of GOD. Trusting in JESUS CHRIST who has provided forgiveness for our sins equips you to forgive others.
I encourage you to take the decision to obtain forgiveness today. Do not postpone it.
Let us consider the fourth and final point.
What is the consequence of refusing to forgive people? Our text is very clear on this: If you do not forgive others Your Heavenly Father will not forgive you either. If your sins are not forgiven here on earth the gate of heaven will be shut against you. The bible says the wages of sin is death but the gift of GOD is eternal life in CHRIST JESUS. No person who reject the forgiveness JESUS offers by HIS death on the cross will go unpunished.
In 1 Thessalonians 5:9, the bible says,
For God did not appoint us to suffer HIS wrath but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
It is imperative from this passage that people will surfer extreme anger of GOD due to their refusal to embrace the salvation offered to all mankind through believing in JESUS CHRIST. For the scriptures conclude that there is no condemnation to those who are in CHRIST JESUS, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
In the Gospel of John 3:18, the bible says,
- He who believes in HIM is not condemned: but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
Friends, I appeal to you today to escape for your life. Run to the SAVIOUR to obtain forgiveness for your sins so that you can obtain favour from GOD. For the scriptures warn in Hebrew 2:2, the bible says,
2 For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,
There is no escape for anyone who rejects the forgiveness offered by the LORD JESUS CHRIST.
Finally, my friends, if we sin willfully after we receive the knowledge of truth there no longer remains a sacrifice for sin but a certain fearful expectation of judgment and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.
Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy, on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment do you suppose will he be thought worthy who trampled the SON OF GOD under foot, counted The Blood of the Covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing and insulted the Spirit of Grace. For we know Him who said, vengeance is mine. I will repay, says the LORD. And again, the LORD will judge HIS people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living GOD.
As we conclude this message today let me pray for you if you wish to request GOD to forgive your sins and save you from its consequences.
PRAYER
Pray this prayer in your heart: My FATHER in heaven, I am sorry for my wrongdoings. I repent of them; and with determination, I accept to forsake them. I accept YOUR salvation by faith through JESUS CHRIST. I confess HIM as LORD and SAVIOUR…in JESUS’ Name.
Let me pray for you.
Heavenly FATHER, the Author of life, look with pity. These who have confessed YOU as LORD and SAVIOUR, forgive their sins, and write their names in the Book of Life. Those who have obtained salvation, is there any suffering, occasioned by the consequences of their sinful life in form of sickness, heal them now, our LORD, and roll away the reproaches of sinful lives…in the Mighty Name of JESUS CHRIST. AMEN.