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The power of forgiveness

1. Forgiveness allows you to receive God’s forgiveness
Matthew 6:14 – 15 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Un-forgiveness will separate you from God
The unforgiving heart clings to the past, refusing to extend to others what our heavenly Father has extended to us
Too many Christians see salvation as a cover all for their lifestyle – and go on doing whatever they want
Christ has a prescribed a lifestyle for Christians and one of the cornerstones is forgiveness
Jesus says if you do not forgive then God will not forgive you

The kingdom life is one of forgiveness – it should be happening in our life daily

2. Forgiveness release the anger in your life
Why are there so many angry Christians? Because so many choose to live with un-forgiveness
Ephesians 4:26
In your anger do not sin” Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold
For some people it’s been way too many nights of the sun going down on their anger
What are you so angry about – get a fresh revelation of what God has planned for you
If you practice forgiveness – you wont be an angry person
As you forgive – it releases all the anger in you
If you are holding un-forgiveness you will lose your peace and peace is God’s gift to us
We have forgotten that one of our distinctives is forgiveness

If you find yourself getting angry – you will probably find there is some un-forgiveness hanging around in your life – get rid of it!!

3. Forgiveness lightens the load
Forgiveness liberates the soul Nelson Mandela – Invictus
Un-forgiveness is a burden you were not created to carry
You see people carrying this heavy burden – it makes them sad and negative about life
You can feel that when you are with a person struggling with un-forgiveness
It is a bitter heavy atmosphere that they create, weighed down by the worries of life
You just need to release the burden
Why are you carrying around that junk? Will you forgive and be released?

4. Forgiveness sets you free
Galatians 5: 1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
Take your freedom in Jesus name
In Turkey in 2010 I had a powerful experience at Gallipoli
I Stood at the waters of Anzac cove –where so many men gave their lives to take the beach
On Chunack bair where kiwis took the hill against the odds at the cost of hundreds of lives
One of the details that really impacted me was the act of forgiveness shown by the Turkish leader Ataturk (who was the leader of the Turkish army in Gallipoli & went on to be the national leader)
There is a huge sign at Gallipoli of a quote by Ataturk
Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives … You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours.. You the mothers who sent their sons from far away countries wipe away your tears. Your sons are now living in our bosom and are in peace. Having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well. Ataturk

That statement set Turkey on a course of forgiveness & reconciliation
They have respected the fallen by creating amazing memorials for each nation at Gallipoli
They could have held on to the offended – But forgiveness changes everything
We killed their people but they forgave us and have embraced us
This is the power of forgiveness

The ultimate act of forgiveness was Jesus Christ
Who willingly came to earth – to walk in our shoes – to feel our pain – to sacrifice his life to win our freedom – the power of forgiveness purchased our lives

We need to forgive – today lets forgive and be forgiven

A Story of forgiveness

An angry mob hauls a woman in before Jesus – they throw her on the dirt in front of him
They are self righteous, proud – this woman has sinned and they are going to make her pay
They demand that she be punished by the law of Moses
Stoning was the punishment of choice and they were gathered around the woman with stones in hand

Why is it that some of God’s people want to throw stones?
These were the teachers of the law & the Pharisees – they should have known God better than this – but they didn’t

John 8: 6 – 11 Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When 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.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At 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. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
“No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Just like the Pharisees we can be the ones carrying the stones
Maybe you are carrying a few stones – maybe people have done something wrong in your eyes – and you think they deserve to pay
Jesus said you without sin throw the first stone – who are we to be throwing stones at each other – we who have been forgiven such a great debt

The world loves to take people down – Tiger Woods has sinned and the media vultures are flocking
The world might be like this – but not us – we are meant to be the people who forgive

Jesus demonstrates his extravagant love and forgiveness by releasing this woman
He also demonstrates it by forgiving and releasing you and I
We need to drop the stones and forgive one another!