Tapping Into The Power Of Forgiveness!!!

I heard a story of a boy who went off to college. The story goes as he was hooking up his computer, stero, cell phone charger, his lamp, printer, and palm piolit at his desk when he went to turn on his computer, nothing happend. He went back and looked at his wiring and everything was connected properly. He called his dad in to check out the problem he was having. The father looked behind the desk and to his amazement he discovered the problem. His son had everything plugged into one power strip (take out a power strip), it was maxed out and then he realized that he had the actual power strip plugged into itself. The son in essence was trying to draw power form a source that was powerless.

Without tapping into the right source of power you will not have power to live a Godly life. Like the boy’s mistake of trying to draw power from a powerless source, we have to be very careful that we do not depend on ourselves but an outside source for power for living. Without the Lord we are plugged into ourselves and the world has a name for that and it is Will Power. Will power will only get people so far. Look at AA and NA, two drug rehabilation programs that only have at best a 5% cure rate, which is up from 2% it held years and years ago. But Teen Challenge, a Christ centered program has far exceeded 5%, and reached a peak of 86%. Teen Challenge has tapped into the power of God and brought sinners to repentance. What source of power do you want to draw from? Either you can draw power from a powerless source such as yourself or a source that has power to forgive the sins of the world, heal the sick, and raise the dead. The choice is up to you.

Tapping Into The Power of Forgivess!(TITLE)

When I thought about speaking on the subject of forgiveness, I wanted to find a passage of scriptures that at its core taught us about forgiveness, so I chose the woman caught in adultery. (John 7:53-8:11).

There has been debate over the authenticity of this story of the woman taken in adultery. Many older manuscripts do not include it.

(Augustine said that it has been stricken from some manuscripts because it might be used for a license to sin because he let her off so easy or it could have been added to the gospel after it was written. Also, some say it is not included in some manuscripts because the great display of mercy Jesus shows the woman) Whatever the case may be this passage is in agreement with the rest of scipture

John 8:1-11

1But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts; where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" 6They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." 8Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

9At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"

11"No one, sir," she said.

"Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."

Man, what a powerful passage of scripture. This woman was on death row and Jesus saved the day. He was a hero that day. He is never too early or too late, but always right on time.

One thing I want you to see is that the beauty of this passage was that Jesus fliped the script on the Pharisees because when they brought this woman to Jesus, their main intent was to trick Jesus so that they would be able to bring charges against him so that they would be able have him arrested.

Watch what the Pharisees did, they said, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?"