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That’s What My Heavenly Father Will Do To You
If You Refuse To Forgive
Your Brothers And Sisters From Your Heart
Scripture
Matthew 18
21 Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?”
22 “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven
23 “Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. 24 In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. 25 He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt.
26 “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ 27 Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.
28 “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.
29 “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. 30 But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full.
31 “When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. 32 Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me.
33 Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ 34 Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.
35 “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”
Observation
Forgiving someone is not a suggestion! It is a command. Maybe you are going to have to forgive that person every time that hurt comes back to your mind and you start thinking about it again.
How many times will you have to do that? You will probably have to do that a million times! It doesn’t matter. It is not an option!
You haven’t forgiven if you are still talking about it!
Yes, they hurt you. Yes, they did you wrong. And yes, you need to give them the gift of forgiveness!
Peter asked Jesus a very good question about forgiveness. He asked, “Just how many times do I have to forgive the rascal that hurt me 7 times? {My paraphrase}
Jesus responds back to Peter with, “7 times, oh no … no … no … no … no – how about 70 x 7, in other words unlimited! {Again this is my paraphrase}
Hate,
anger, resentment, holding grudges, me fuming, or seeking revenge is all like
me swallowing arsenic and then thinking that it is going to hurt some else!
Lets smarten up and gift the person forgiveness before it destroys us!
14 “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. 15 But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Proverbs 17:9
Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends.
Ephesians 4
31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
Colossians 3
13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.
Application
I
will forgive quickly. How about you?
Prayer
Heavenly
Father, thank You for forgiving me. I don’t deserve Your forgiveness, but I am
grateful that You don’t hold my sins against me. I am forgiven. Help me to
always forgive others. Help me to forgive quickly and completely. I realize
that forgiveness is a gift and it is not something that any of us deserve.
I
pray for anyone reading this blog today that has been hurt by someone else.
Show them how important it is for them to forgive. Don’t let it destroy them.
Help them to let it go. Set them free!
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