Forgiveness
I shared with you Sun that sometimes when I share things, the message I have is for me.
Who does the message the pastor has apply to? You? Just you? Everybody? No God may be speaking to all of us tonight but I know he is talking to me.
Everybody has been wounded by someone? Everybody has wounds.
Many I have counseled are dealing with: Divorce, some of the foster kids I have had have dealt with abandonment. In fact, I believe some of the biggest problems with teenagers have been the lack of parenting and maybe no parents at all. I have seen people in foster care who have gotten the parents rights terminated because they thought what they were doing was best for that child, then I see the same kids trying to find their mother when their old enough. One kid that lived with some people that used to be friends text me yesterday morning and said, guess what Bro. Trav, I got to see my real mom. Many people are dealing with grief, and death. Many are dealing with friends that crushed them. Whatever it is we have dealt with, we are often left with wounds that want seem to heal.
Why is that? Maybe those wounds are still bleeding.
Has our wounds shaped who we are? I think they can mold us into something us. We can become Bitter, angry. For those that have been in ministry, especially the kids, they often grow up wanting nothing to do with the church.
What is our instinct when someone hurts us?
It does depend on who it was that hurt you but I can tell you, my instinct is to plot their demise. That’s a terrible thing. Teenage girls are the worst. I guy breaks up with them, they make a list of 20 ways to kill or get even whichever comes first. I know myself, I can planning and thinking about getting even. For some reason I think that will make me feel better. But what does God say about this?
Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," [fn] says the Lord. Romans 12:19
Notice the first word, Beloved… is a-ga-pe-tos – this is the original Greek – Avenge – Ek-di-caeo – present participle (active) – used in 2,594 times in the Bible.
What’s that mean? It means God’s alive. God is active.
We do not have to avenge anything. It’s hard for me to get this but I don’t have to do anything. I am the beloved, God will take care of things. I get made, I spoke on Jonah Sun and he went upon a hill and waited for action but none came. God showed mercy. Sometimes I’m like Jonah, I want to see the people that hurt me blown up. God does things his way and not ours.
Does God see everything? The eyes of the LORD are in every place, Keeping watch on the evil and the good. Pro 15:3
Whatever was done that hurt, God saw it.
Why is forgiving people so hard? Let’s face it, family and friends can cut you so deep you never feel like the bleeding has stopped. I have said, that’s unforgivable. I can’t do that.
What if God said that? What did God say about forgiveness?
"Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Luke 6:37
Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?"
Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. Mat 18:21-22
Who is really forgiveness about?
Let me tell you what I have done. I have been hurt by some churches and recently people that extremely jealous of me or my ability. Pastors feel threatened so it’s time for Trav to g
o. There’s too many kids and were gonna lose control. Friends that want your job so they orchestrate a negative campaign. I know what hurt is. I’ve been by people I called my best friends and my the church. There’s no worse hurt other than losing someone you love. Because of that hurt, my blood pressure went through the roof, I started getting sick, I couldn’t sleep at night, I ended up having colon surgery probably as a result of everything. UnFORGIVENESS KILLS.
I have finally reached a point where I have let God have it. The wound has stopped bleeding and healing has started.
Forgiveness is not necessarily about the person being forgiven.
It could be about you.
The most awesome example, I will leave you with tonight, the example of Jesus. He came because of his love. In John, the book starts out by saying, he came unto his own but his own received him not.
The ones he loved killed him. While he was on the cross, he said this.
Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." [fn] And they divided His garments and cast lots. Luke 23:54
