"My Life Depends on It. Walking and Understanding Forgiveness"
Matthew 6:1-4 ; 14 & 15
1“Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 3But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.
14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
We need to walk in forgiveness and accept other’s forgiveness as if our life depends on it. Some of you may look at me and say “who are they as if my life depends on them.” Whether you know it or not, it does. But, you forgiving them and or asking for forgiveness is about you and not about them.
I need to have peace in my life, I need to forgive you.
I need to have joy back in my life, I need to forgive you.
I need for God to forgive me, for all that I’ve done, I need to forgive you.
Understanding and Applying Forgiveness:
1. The difference in knowing and knowing hurt you’ve caused.
In asking for forgiveness, there comes a time to where we may not know we’ve cause them hurt.
Ill: I can say something to someone and walk away from the situation. If it’s a friend or someone close to me and I see their demeanor change, then that would be to time to get to the root of the problem and make the statement, “Hey what I said, I may have thought it was the right thing to say at the time, but now I see that it hurt you. If that’s the case, please forgive me if I hurt you.
Now there are times which are MOST of the times, we know we’ve hurt someone. Using the word “If”, is out the window. You know you done wrong, OWN IT.
2. Forgive even if they aren’t sorry.
Why because it goes back to who you are and what the word of God Says. We read in Matthew 6 verse 14 that “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” It does not say for if you forgive men because they asked for you to forgive their trespass, your heavenly father will also forgive you.”
Whether they ask you to forgive them or not or if they aren’t sorry … forgive them any way.
Ill: Last year, due to something that a friend of mine, we hadn’t spoken to each other since then. At the time I was a bit disappointed because of the situation and what they done and how I didn’t think that they would be so mean and evil.
In any disagreement, to have a better understanding of a situation, you have to talk it out. You have to iron things out. Forgive them, if they ask or not. Like I was saying, we hadn’t spoken until I got a call from her a few weeks ago. I didn’t answer her call because I was doing housework and didn’t hear the phone. Well she was on the phone given me some encouragement and telling me how proud she was of me and just blessing my life with her words.
Now we’re all different, that was something I needed at the time and accepted it as an apology. Do I want to hear the words “sorry”? Yes I do. Why? Because it’s considered as acknowledge wrongdoing and it’s considered as closure.
We have to forgive them when they aren’t sorry or don’t say it. Some don’t know how to say it or to show it. And that’s ok. Just as long as they are showing a change, then move on.
3. Know that Forgiveness is not forgetting, it’s letting go the Hurt.
We have to understand that when we ask God to forgive us, he has the ability to wipe our slate clean and he remembers it no more. But we’re not God. With us, we can only do half of that. We can let go of the hurt, we can ask God to remove the feeling that they caused us, but the act that they’ve done, is always going to be there.
Ill: I can remember day in and day out the hurt others has caused me when I was younger, but I still remember that, but the hurt is gone. I remember the actions which caused the feeling of hurt, but that feeling is gone.
Not forgetting, is when we have to use it as either a testimony or a teaching tool to
a. Not allow them to do that again
b. Not do others as they have done you.
4. Know that forgiveness is a gift that you give yourself.
It is that peace that passes all understanding. I need to forgive you so I can be at peace. I need to forgive you, so I won’t cause the anger that is in me, to sin and then that sin will mess up the relationship that I have with God.
Ephesians 4:26-32
“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath,
27 nor give place to the devil.
28 Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.
29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.
32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
Let NOBODY pull you down enough to a spirit of hatred.
If I was to leave you with anything, before laying your head down tonight, if anybody has done you wrong, forgive them. Even if you have to apologize for being a part of the situation, do it. Your life depends on it.
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