Maintaining Freedom - Forgiveness Part 1

Maintaining Freedom
Forgiveness Part 1

By Pastor Gary Wayne

I want to start a series about freedom.
I can be a Christian all my life, and live with the reality that when I die, I’ll go to Heaven. But that doesn’t mean I live a life of freedom on the journey to Heaven.

There are different things that happen when I open the door to our enemy, he comes in and builds a stronghold in my life to harass me.
I’m still a Christian, but I can live with bondages, live without complete freedom.

Text: Matthew 6:14-15, Galatians 5:1
Ga 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.” NIV
“…entangled again with a yoke of bondage…”

After God sets me free, anytime I dabble in sin, it opens a door and exposes my soul to entanglements.

One of the major areas that brings lack of freedom is unforgiveness.

This is a big deal.! Mat.6:14-15
Ver.15 “… if I don’t forgive others, my Father won’t forgive me.”
Now look at ver.9-13

In 2Co 2:10-11 the context is: when I don’t forgive people who have wronged me, I open the door for Satan to take advantage of me.

This principal of freedom is so important that when I work with people that have an on-going problem, I’ll start by asking, “Are there people who have hurt you that you haven’t forgiven?”

This is such a HUGE important area that brings lack of freedom. Lack of God’s presence, lack of His blessings, lack of healing, lack of peace, lack of _____

There is a pastor, Nadia Bolz - Webber who talks about forgiveness.

Pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber - When someone does us harm, we can be connected to that mistreatment like a chain. Forgiving is not just an act of niceness, not a doormat, its one of God’s super-tools to do war against our enemy.
Holding on to anger and retaliation does more harm to me, and it actually feeds it.
If we're not careful we can actually absorb the worst of our enemy and on some level even start to become like them. So, forgiveness rather than being like a pansy way of saying its okay, forgiveness is like wielding bolt cutters and snapping the chain that links us to the person and or the event. Forgiving is like saying, I refuse to be connected to it anymore.

In my thinking, the supernatural tool of forgiving makes no sense at all.
But God asks me to.

Any time I have to deal with painful issues, I don’t want to forgive.
And when God asks this of me, if I bend my will to His, even thought I don’t want to, and even though I don’t feel like it, if I respond to Him, He starts setting me free.
God’s weapons of war are powerful – forgiving sucks the poison out of me.

There is a second layer on this topic I have a hard time unpacking.
It has to do with – I’ve said the words: “I forgive” I was willing to do what God said, yet when I encounter this person when I’m not expecting to see them, something in my heart lets me know I’m not free.

When their name comes up in casual conversation, I find myself wanting to jump in with “un-Christ-like” opinions and adding information (gossip) to the mix.

I feel God wants to highlight my lack of freedom – even thought I said I forgive – He wants to bring complete freedom to my life in any of those areas.

Here is how I measure if I haven’t forgiven. If my heart doesn’t see them like the Father sees them, I’m not free.
Until I can genuinely ask God to bless them, I’m not free.

Let’s pray.
I want to start by asking anyone who is wrestling with this topic, “Are you willing to start with the simple things God is asking of you?”
Even if you don’t want to, and even if you don’t feel like, can you say, “God, I forgive.”

Forgiving doesn’t mean you have to feel like it.
Forgiving doesn’t mean you have to forget what happened.
Forgiving doesn’t mean you have to trust that person again.
Forgiving has nothing to do with the other person; it’s only about my heart.
Forgiving is an act of my will bending to match what God is asking.
(Pray this.) “God, I forgive.”
“I take the bolt cutters and snap every chain keeping me in bondage.”

Now for the second layer of this topic.
This is between you and God – is your heart free?
Most of the time I hear people say, “Well I have forgiven this person, but…”
Start with asking the Holy Spirit, “Am I free? Have I forgiven at a heart level?”
(Pray this.) “God, I forgive.”