THE KEY TO FORGIVING

Ervic D. Sangel

Excerpt from: Breaking the Enemy's Grip: Chapter 6 by Eddie Smith (Coauthor of the Bestseller Spiritual
Housecleaning

I was in the church this afternoon watching the rehearsal of the worship team for tomorrow's service. I wasn't doing
anything that time so I decided to read the book I mentioned above. I just continued reading chapter 6 since I'm
done reading chapter 5 yesterday. When I saw the title, I was a bit disturbed because of the issue of forgiveness.
Honestly, I've been denying myself to forgive some people that I have been with because I feel like they don't need
it since they don't ask for it. It was just like I was really not into them. Nonetheless as I continued reading, I found
these lines:

Numbing our pain rather than dealing with it is foolish. If we expect to experience victory as
overcomers in Christ, we must face our wounds and let the healing begin.
CLEANSE THE WOUND

The healing begins when as you cleanse the wound. (By wound I mean the offense you suffered at the hands of
another.) To cleanse the wound, you must

1. identity it;
2. repent of any sin you committed relating to it, including your failure to forgive; and
3. renounce the works of the enemy regarding it.

True victory isn't about forgetting - it's actually about your being able to remember the sins that were
committed against you without feelings of resentment, and about your remembering your sins against
God without feelings of guilt.
...Confession, repentance, renunciation and dissociation with darkness are like an antiseptic - they
cleanse your wounded heart of the debris that would cause infection. Once the wound is clean, you are
right to feel relieved, but the pain may still be easily recalled.

CLOSE THE WOUND

Jesus said, "I am telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst." (Matthew 5:44
The Message). Paul wrote in Romans 12:20, "If your enemies are hungry, give them something to eat. And if they
are thirsty, give them something to drink." (CEV). In The Message it concludes with "Your generosity will surprise
him with goodness." Acts of goodness toward those who have done us evil are the stitches that close the wound;
each good deed you do for your offender actually adds a stitch to the wound that he left in your heart. Interestingly,
Jesus never gives consideration to the severity of the offense; we must simply act as a matter of principle.

When we turn the word forgive around, we get the words "give for." You are well on your way to
forgiving when you are willing to give for the one who has offended you. This is exactly what God did
for us.

MEDICATE THE WOUND

Most of all be warm in your love for one another' because in love there is forgiveness for sins without
numbers. (1 Peter 4:8 BBE)

Walk in love, which is the bond of perfection. (Colossians 3:14 WEB)

[A religious scholar asked,] "Teacher, which command in God's law is the most important?" Jesus said,
"'Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.' This is the most important,
 the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: 'Love others as well as you love
yourself'" (Matthew 22:36-39 The Message)
Dr. Jesus' prescription for the healing of your wounded heart calls for regular applications of love and prayer over an
extended period of time: "Love your enemies... Pray for those who despitefully use you and and persecute you"
(Matthew 5:44 MKJV). The enemy has no antidote for these two powerful weapons! As long as you are doing them,
the healing process is being activated and your pain will fade. One day only a scar will remain, a badge of honor, a
symbol of your victory over unforgiveness!

Forgiveness is a fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it. (Mark Twain)

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not
perish but have eternal life (John 3:16)
From this moment on, you will know that refusing to forgive someone is not only a sin against that person, it is also
a sin against blood of Jesus. You are in effect saying, "I know that Jesus died for your sins against me, but you still
owe me. You must make additional payment."

Are you harboring unforgiveness toward anyone today? Is there bitterness or resentment in your heart?

Do you remember in Luke 17:5-6 when Jesus' disciples asked Him, "Lord, increase our faith?" Obviously they were
facing a monumental challenge, which they didn't feel qualified to handle. However, their request for increased faith
wasn't in the context of trying to cast out a demon, work a miracle, or even raise the dead. No. They asked Jesus to
increase their faith in response to new instruction He had given them to forgive others. There are few things more
challenging that this! I pray that God will increase your faith.

-0-0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0-0-
And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.
-Ephesians 4:32