How The Holy Spirit Helps Us Receive and Give Forgiveness
4/21/02
Ephesians 1:7
Last week we spoke on speaking with grace next is forgiveness. This is one of the Hard ones to live let alone apply to our walks.
Sometimes we are so safe in our position that we fail to see the sin we are in. Or we cloak it to hide it from GOD….. We All DO THIS.
But Jesus gave us hope in sending the Holy Spirit.
(Eph. 1:7) In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.
1 Through the Holy Spirit, God gives us all wisdom and understanding. He is our teacher and comforter.
When Jesus left he said He would send “US” the church the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit helps us understand, appreciate and live out God’s unconditional forgiveness in Christ.
NEED HELP? Ask the Lord to help you more fully understand, appreciate and live out the truth of God’s forgiveness and grace.
Mat: 6:15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
2 The Holy Spirit teaches us that unless we learn to forgive others God will not restore our fellowship with Him.
Basically what Jesus said, "If you do not forgive OTHERS their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."
Ask the Lord to help you to stop holding grudges, resentment or anything against anyone so as not to hinder your fellowship with the heavenly Father.
3 The Holy Spirit allows the grace of Christ’s forgiveness to penetrate to all the corners of our emotions, mind and perceptions.
Many people only allow God’s grace to be appreciated on an intellectual level without it piercing to all the layers of their emotions, attitudes, and perceptions.
These people tend to be very critical of others because they have not fully appreciated how much God has forgiven them.
Paul encountered such people in the Galatian church of His Day when he wrote,
Gal 4:8,9
But then, indeed, when you did not know God, you served those which by nature are not gods. 9 But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage?
Gal 5:1) Stand fast therefore in the liberty, by which Christ has made us free,* and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
Ask the Lord to help you allow Christ’s forgiveness, grace and freedom to penetrate to all the dimensions and layers of your life, relationships and ministries
4. The Holy Spirit helps us forgive others as He teaches us to be merciful as our heavenly Father is merciful. Jesus said,
(Matt. 5:7) "Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy."
Ask the Lord to help you to be less critical, judgmental and harsh with people remembering how much God overlooks our faults.
5. The Holy Spirit helps us heal from past rejections, accusations and abuses through His grace.
We all have experienced terrible adversity in our past experiences. And more will come in the future
Instead of dwelling on these past hurts the Holy Spirit has a way of using them to give us greater empathy for those who are going through similar hardships.
1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 1:4 who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God
Paul wrote," (2 Cor. 1:3,4)
Ask the Lord to help you heal emotionally, mentally, physically, relationally and spiritually from your past hurts.
David wrote, (Psa. 147:3)
"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds."
6. The Holy Spirit convicts us when we try to have a higher standard than God for accepting others.
Paul wrote, "(Rom. 14:3,4) 3 Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. 4 Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.
Thank the Lord that He has given you the Holy Spirit to be the determiner of what is proper, appropriate and beneficial for each individual.
7. The Holy Spirit helps us to resist the temptation to be vengeful while helping us to live by the Golden Rule - Do to others as you would have them do to you. Not do unto other before they do it unto you…
Luke 6:27-35) " 27 "But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. 29 To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. 30 Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. 31 And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise. 32 But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. 35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.
31 And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.
Ask the Lord to give you a greater appreciation of His unconditional love and forgiveness so you can treat even your opposition the way Jesus would if He were in your shoes.
8. The Holy Spirit helps you to avoid reacting out of your hurt emotions and directs you to objectively think before you speak, act or respond.
The Holy Spirit has a way of transforming us through the power of the word of God so that we are able to respond in love even when provoked.
Jesus said, "As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." (John 20:21)
Ask the Lord to help you overcome any unfairness or attack.
9. The Holy Spirit helps you take responsibility for your own faults and failures without succumbing to the temptation to blame others.
The POWER to correct our own lives and be free from the bondage of sin.
James wrote,
(James 4:1-8) 1 Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet F12 you do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. 4 Adulterers and F13 adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, "The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously"? 6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble." F14 7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Ask the Lord to help us take responsibility for our own short comings.
Ask Him to help us to forgive others so that the same grace can be extended to us also.
