Sharing this article from Kevin Porter; LIVING WATERS FROM LIGHTBEARERS Author’s note: Perhaps the most powerful personal testimony of the power of forgiveness I have ever read is in the autobiography of one of my students, Dr. Medad Birungi. It is entitled TOMBSTONES AND BANANA TREES. Well done, Medad! FREEDOM IN FORGIVENESS Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Rom 12:21 NKJV The essential foundation of all human relationships is love manifested as forgiveness. Recently, someone asked me what I thought what was the essential element that kept marriages together. They opined that they felt it was ‘love’ or ‘commitment.’ I said, Unquestionably, it is forgiveness. You will not walk with anyone, even an intimate lover, for long without them, either intentionally or unintentionally, doing something to offend, disturb or disrespect you in some way. You must be willing to extend them mercy, and not seek revenge, to keep that relationship alive. Remember, God extends mercy to those who bless others with mercy... Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Matt 5:7 NKJV Forgiveness is a major element in ministering physical healing. I feel it it so important that whenever I have the opportunity to minister healing it is one of the first things we address. So many diseases in the body and soul have gained entry through the sinful portal of unforgiveness. It is natural to want to seek revenge - an eye for an eye - and wish that your enemy would suffer for the pain they have caused you. Truly, they deserve to suffer and go to hell for what they did to you. But you must seek to be like God your Father and extend them mercy! When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. Prov 16:7 NKJV Mercy is a refraining from harming or punishing offenders, enemies, etc. Mercy is not weak. Mercy implies you have the ability to punish, but choose not to. Mercy requires great strength, and is indicative of a kingly character. A great leader will, with patiently thought through wisdom, extend mercy to their enemies as a demonstration of the desire for reconciliation and peace. Owe no one anything except to love one another... Rom 13:8 NKJV What do I owe to everyone around me, all the time? I owe them love manifested as genuine acknowledgment and concern. Jesus said, love your neighbor. Casual indifference is a form of hatred. Selfish living blinds our eyes to the needs of others. The Lord has taught me, very practically, to greet and acknowledge those around me, because He wants me to learn to love my neighbor. He told me to greet everyone I meet when I go out to run. So everyone, both people and cars, gets a smile, a wave or a greeting as I fly past them during my run. I’m practicing loving my neighbor! If I fail to love someone, then I have hurt them. Your thoughts and actions, or the lack thereof, always have an effect ( the real secret in the witchcraft behind advertising is in the thoughts of the person whose picture is being shown to you ). Every ship, passing through the ocean, leaves a wake. An angry man leaves destruction in his wake. A man or woman of love leaves healing in their wake. Many of my neighbors now greet me with a smile even before I greet them... The reason someone hurt you is that they did not love you. They did not pay their debt. Unforgiveness is the holding of a debt of love against someone. Whatever they did, the fact stands is that they did not love you. You hold these debts in your heart, and it is there, like fruit left rotting in a refrigerator, that they release their poison, damaging your whole being. Forgiveness is the release from a debt. There are four elements in true forgiveness: acknowledgment of the doer, acknowledgment of the deed, release of the debt, and reconciliation. Unforgiveness is full of fear that manifests itself in shame and guilt. Acknowledging who hurt you, and the hurt they did to you, crushes the power of fear, drives away the darkness and exposes all to the light so that it can be dealt with. You say who they are, even if they are not present, and what they did, and then say from your heart, I forgive you, I release you and I love you. 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. Matt 18:34-35 KJV Tormentors are demons. Your heavenly Father gives legal authority to demons to come and torment you if you do not forgive those who hurt you. This is a great cause of mental illness! One of my favorite stories of deliverance involves unforgiveness. We were ministering healing after the Sunday service one time when a group of women were ministering to a woman with a demon. The demon was manifesting, and wouldn’t leave the woman. I watched this scene for a few minutes, then decided to get involved. I said to the woman, Mr. Demon, why won’t you leave this woman? He said, Her father raped her when she was thirteen, and I don’t have to leave! I immediately knew what to do... I said, I want to speak to ( the woman’s name ). Her whole countenance changed. I said, ( her name ), I want you to pretend I am your father. What I did to you when you were thirteen was wrong, and I want you to forgive me! She spoke to me, in the voice of a thirteen year old, and said, Daddy, I forgive you! As soon as she said that, she was in her right mind, and the demon was gone, bless God forever! The Lord is righteous in all His ways, gracious in all His works. Ps 145:17 NKJV There is one more element of unforgiveness that we need to talk about, and that is, forgiving God. Now listen...God is perfectly righteous and has never done anything wrong. But many times people hold anger or hatred against Him because they don’t know why God did, or failed to do, certain things. He says, Forgive Me! Someday you will understand...but for right now, I love you so much that I want you back home, so forgive Me! He is so gracious, and so desirous of our fellowship with Him, that He condescends to seek our forgiveness. Be reconciled to your Father. Forgive Him! Dear one, take some time right now to open your heart to the Holy Spirit. Let Him help you confront each of the issues that you hold in unforgiveness. As He brings them up to your conscious mind, acknowledge who they are, what they did ( say those things out loud ), and say, I forgive you, I release you of this debt, and I love you. For instance, if your teacher humiliated you in school, say, Mrs. So and So, you threw my books on the floor and humiliated me in front of the whole class! For this, you deserve to go to hell, but I forgive you, I release you...and I love you! Father, right now, under the authority of the Master, I minister healing to a broken heart, to everyone who has forgiven their enemies. Be healed now, in Jesus’ name! Amen. Go through your heart, forgive everyone, and be thorough and honest. Finally, tell ‘evil’ to leave you in Jesus’ mighty name! You will feel a peace that will lift you to a new place in God, and you will be free...bless God forever. That is emancipating forgiveness! Remember dear ones, we must be about our Father’s business...
Posted on: Mon, 22 Sep 2014 21:47:40 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015