Sermon Central
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Four Steps To Forgiveness
Contributed by J Jeffrey Smead on Jun 4, 2018 (message contributor)
Summary: When we find hate in our heart, it is simply a sign that we are going to need to forgive. Forgiveness doesn't make the other person right, it sets you free. For a believer , forgiveness is not simply the wisest choice, O Beloved, it is our only choice.
The key ..... is your motive.
Your motive has changed....... Changed....from wanting something bad to happen ......to praying for something good..... to happen. (Pause)
So.... What do I mean by this?
When Chris Carrier was ten, ......he was abducted, stabbed, shot through the head, then left for dead.
Surprisingly, he survived, .....but the emotional and physical scars .....were very difficult to heal.
Eventually, though, .....his commitment to Christ helped him..... to move on with his life.
The perpetrator was not found.
Over twenty years later,..... Chris received a phone call from a detective..... from the police department.
The detective said that an elderly man ......in a local nursing home .....had confessed .....to being his abductor.
The man's name was David McCallister.
Chris accompanied with a friend .....visited McCallister the following day.
Here are his words: ......"It was an awkward moment, ......walking into his room, .....but as soon as I saw him .......I was overwhelmed ......with compassion.
The man I found ......was not an intimidating kidnapper, .....but a frail seventy-seven-year-old man......who had been blind ......for the last half-dozen years.
The Man's body .....was ruined by alcoholism and smoking...... he weighed little more .....than sixty pounds.
He either had no family, ......or if he did, ......they wanted nothing ....to do with him.
A friend who had accompanied me .....wisely asked him a few simple questions ......that led to him .....admitting that he ......had abducted me.
He then asked the old man, .......'Did you ever wish you could tell that young boy ......that you were sorry for what you did?' '
He answered emphatically, 'I wish I could.' ......That was when ......I introduced myself to him.
Unable to see, .....the old man clasped my hand .....and told me he was sorry .....for what he had done to me.
As he did, ......I looked down at him, ......and it came over me like a wave: ........
Why should anyone have to face death ......without family, friends, - without hope?
I could not as a follower of Christ .....do anything .....but offer him my forgiveness..... and my friendship."
In the days that followed, .....Chris was able to share the love of Christ ......with David McCallister. (Pause)
What is our motivation ......for doing such a difficult thing.... Such a gracious thing?
Beloved as our text states .....we are doing for them ......what God has..... done for us.
Beloved.....Forgiveness is not suggestion...... it is a clear command.
It is a clear command to those who call themselves .....a follower ..... of the Christ.
A heart of forgiveness... is a part of our transformation into the image of Christ.
At the end of the day...... For the obedient Christian, ......it is not simply ....the wisest choice.
O' ......Beloved........it is ......our only choice.
Amen & Amen!
Help: I retired in November 2017 and am attempting to supplement my income by sharing on Sermoncentral. If this Message has been helpful to you, please consider a nominal donation: Send to The Rev. Jeff Smead 11725 Regent Park Drive Chardon Ohio 44024. Blessed To Be A Blessing.
