Sermon Central
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To Err Is Human, To Forgive Is Divine
Contributed by Jimmy Haile on Sep 2, 2009 (message contributor)
Summary: Why is forgiving so hard? How we can deal with it!
Eph. 6:11-Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
WILES:
1-Cunning behavior: cunning behavior intended to persuade somebody to do something, especially in the form of insincere charm or flattery.
He whisper in your ear, “You know that shouldn’t have treated you like that, you haven’t been nothing but good to them!”
2-Persuade somebody by wiles: to trick or entice somebody into doing or not doing something.
3-Cunning strategy: a trick.
The devil uses these tricks to rob you of your joy!
He uses unforgiveness, it is one of his best tools!
He can get you so focused on them and what they did to you, that you are not focusing on anything else.
Trick 1-Blame God:
One of the bad parts about focusing on them and letting that anger build up inside of you is that you can began to blame God!
“Why didn’t you stop them?”“Why did you let them hurt me?”
Trick 2-Have To See Them:
You run into them a super market, Wal-mart, at Church, family gatherings...
Those old feelings get stirred up, you relive those memories all over again.
Jesus said, “Forgive them for they do not know what they do!”
But in your case you are pretty sure they did know what they were doing and that’s what makes you mad!
Trick 3-Feelings Of Revenge:
A lady was sick, so she went to the doctor. He examined her, did a number of tests and told her the bad news.
“I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but I’m afraid you’ve contracted rabies.’ The doctor left the room for a minute, and when he returned the woman was busy writing on a piece of paper. He asked, “What are you doing, writing your will?”
She said, “No, I’m making a list of all the people I’m going to bite.”
The devil wants to keep you mind focused on how you can get them back!
What really frustrates us is that we can’t come up with a way to get them back and we see them moving on and messing with someone else!
John 10:10-The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
Steal-Your Joy!
You might having a good day and you run into them and there goes your joy!
“My sister got my mom’s possessions? More was stolen from you than material possessions!
“My parents paid more attention to my sister than they did to me?” More was stolen than the attention you should have got!
Don’t have any joy, Guess who stole it?
Don’t have any peace? Guess who took it?
It is not people who are your enemy it is the devil!!!
Kill-Your Spirit!
You waste so much energy on them, and how you can get even, or dwelling on what they have done to you, you don’t enjoy life, you see all the blessings God have given you, you are just going thru the motions, like it has sucked the life out of you.
Destroy-Your Relationship With Lord!
Why You Need To Forgive!
1-Who Your Focus Should Be On!
You can become so focused on what they did to you, that you have forgotten what God has done for you!
You have allowed the devil to take your focus off of God and put it on them! Nobody should be that important!
Life More Abundantly-He is saying, “I come to forgive you, so that you can forgive others and when you forgive others, you can take back what the devil has stolen from you!
