God Will Cause You To Forget

Turn with us to Genesis 41:51, as we talk today on the theme "God Will Cause You to Forget". This is a teaching sermon. It is a concept presented by Joseph, who had two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. Their two names reflect the cornerstone doctrines of Christianity. Manasseh means God has caused me to forget. Say that with me. God has caused me to forget. Ephraim's name is God has made me fruitful. The fruitful there means financial abundance. The questions regarding Manasseh are: is it possible to totally forget a great wrong that has been done to you? Is forgetting a great wrong tied to forgiveness? If I haven't forgotten it, have I forgiven it? And if I haven't forgiven it, am I a Christian?

And I'm teaching this, because there are people who have been taught contrary to that. Questions regarding Ephraim. God has made me fruitful. He's talking about an explosion of prosperity in Egypt. How can God bring explosive prosperity to you and to your family and to your business? Believe me: God wants you to prosper more than you want to prosper. You just have to learn to play the rules by God's rules, not yours. Genesis 41:51, ready? "Joseph called the name of his firstborn Manasseh: 'for God has made me forget all my toil and all my father's house'. And the name of the second he called Ephraim: 'For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction'".

Father God, let us today look at the Word of God and let it be a source of comfort to us and a source of deliverance for us and a source of bringing to us the unlimited prosperity that God has promised the righteous. In Jesus' name, we pray and ask these things. And all of God's children said, "Amen".

Let's consider Manasseh, God has caused me to forget. Is it possible to forget a great wrong? Did Joseph forget the day his brothers ripped off his coat of many colors and threw him into the pit? Did he forget the debate his brothers had that he overheard while he was in that pit whether to kill him or not, to sell him as a slave? The scripture records in Genesis 41:51, "God has made me to forget". Listen to the next three words. "God has made me to forget all my trouble and all my father's house". If he forgot about it, why is he writing about it? Because he still remembers it. What's the point?

Some of you have been taught or you have read, if you totally forgive someone, you will forget the offense. That's nonsense. That simply is not true. It's very important for you to hear this. Listen to me. There are people here whose past is filled with a special kind of pain, daughters who have been molested by a member of their family, children who were abandoned by mothers or fathers or both. You were deserted as a wife and left to struggle alone to raise your children. Your child died and you walked into the cemetery and placed your child into the yawning mouth of the grave. And you have been bitter with God ever since, for taking your child.

In your life, there is one day, one moment in time, one black page in your life story, if you could rip that page out, your life would be wonderful. It would be beautiful. It would be perfect. But that one moment in time has soiled the memory of your life. How can I rip that page out? That's what I'm talking to you about right now. First, be willing to forgive, not forget. Be willing to forgive, because forgiveness is, first, an act of your will. If you wait until you feel like forgiving, you will never do it. You have to be willing to forgive. It's not a feeling. Forgiveness is a choice. It's an act of your will. Question: do you prefer the peace of God or the bitterness of the past? I know people who love to tell those stories of how they were wronged, and one day they're going to really rip their head out. Pour soul, you're the prisoner. You're in the prison those other people have created. And you've let that happen to you.

Peace is better than bitterness. Joy is better than anger. Love is better than hate. You're not really living until you've forgiven somebody. Joseph totally forgave his brothers. He gathered them in a room, the ones that had betrayed him, the ones that sold him, the ones that hurt him, and he kissed them. Think about that. I mean, it's mind boggling. You must totally forgive the person or persons that hurt you. Release them! And the moment you release them, you are the one that walks out of prison! In your mind, you're saying, "It's not fair. They won't get caught. They're going to get away with this. They'll never be found out. No one will ever know". Wrong. God saw it. Heaven's angels wrote it down. Judgment Day is coming, and they will pay! They will pay for all eternity what they've done to you.