Anytime Minutes Series

But the bad news is that guilt can cripple you. Paralyze you.. Guilt will rob your joy and quench your contentment. David, the King of Israel, after committing adultery and murder said in Psa. 38:4- “My guilt overwhelms me, it is a burden to heavy to bear.”(NLT) So, how can we accept God’s forgiveness and thus keep guilt from crippling us?

First, understand that God wants you to accept His forgiveness. That’s why Jesus included this phrase in how we should pray: “This is how you should pray, `Forgive us our sins...’" How do you accept forgiveness and get rid of guilt? You ask God. You ask for forgiveness. But some of you are saying you do that but still feel guilty. Rick Warren feels that the problem is not that you don’t believe God forgives, you know He does. The problem is you don’t understand how God forgives. And I do think that when we really comprehend the way God forgives that it goes a long way in helping us accept what God offers here: complete freedom from sin and guilt. So, let’s close by seeing three ways God forgives.

(1) God forgives instantly. Psa. 86:5-- “For Thou, Lord are good, and ready to forgive.”(NASV) God stands ready to forgive you. He forgives instantly, immediately, no delay. You know what? God is more ready to forgive you right now than you are ready to ask for forgiveness. Have you ever made anyone wait for forgiveness? You know, someone says they’re sorry and you say, “Okay,” but deep down you’re saying, “I’ll think about it." Well, God never makes you wait for forgiveness. His happens the moment you ask, without delay because your body was not designed to carry guilt. Since, that’s true, should a believer ever feel guilty? Yes, for about thirty seconds. That’s about how long it takes for you to admit a sin to God, confess it, ask Him to forgive you, and choose to change. He forgives instantly.

(2) God forgives completely. 1 John 1:9 says: "If we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins, because we can trust God to do what is right. He will cleanse us from all the wrongs we have done.” When Jesus died for your sins, how many of them did He die for? All of them! That means not only all the ones I’ve committed in the past but all the ones I’m going to commit this afternoon, tomorrow, next week, next month and next year. And since Jesus gave His life and He paid the bill for your sin how long should you remember what you owe? Well, how long do you remember a bill that you’ve paid? I forget it. The moment I write out that utilities check I completely forget it. God says, “I want you to know that I forgive completely.” The problem may be that you don’t really believe that God has completely forgiven you. That’s why every time you have a problem, an accident, a financial crisis, the death of a friend, you feel like God’s paying you back for the sin. That is not the way God works! He doesn’t carry a grudge once we come to Him in honesty saying, "Forgive us our sins..” He forgives instantly. He forgives completely.

(3) God forgives freely. It’s free? That sounds too good to be true. Certainly doesn’t sound fair. For me to do all of these things and then go scott free? Shouldn’t I pay for the wrong things I’ve done? Yes, but.. And here’s the great news! The bill has already been paid. 2000 years ago in a place called Calvary, Jesus Christ, paid for our sin. Why did He do it? Out of love. Romans 3:23-24- "All of us have sinned... “ Who’s all? The preacher, the Elders, the Pope? All. We’re all in the same boat. “.. yet now God declares us `not guilty’ of offending him IF we trust in Jesus Christ, who freely takes away our sins."(LB) You see, you can’t bribe God into forgiving you, you can’t buy His forgiveness, you can’t barter with Him for it. But the great news is you don’t have to do any of that. If you’ll just come to Him, you’ll find He’s just waiting to forgive. Please, please understand this: God loves you so much He’s rather die then live without you.. In fact, that’s what He did when Jesus Christ went to the cross. This morning he desperately wants you to understand that it doesn’t matter what you have done, it doesn’t matter where you’ve been, He’s so ready to express His love for you by forgiving you of every sin.