The Holy Spirit Helps Us Receive And Give Forgiveness

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…