Victorious Christian Living 1: Forgiveness 30/4/17
A Message by Pastor Bill Page, Living Light Gospel Church, Cairns.
The first step to Victorious Christian Living, as we begin this series today, is to be completely free from the past. This
means that we must understand how God, in Christ, has provided for our total freedom, so that we will be
unencumbered as we step out in faith to serve Him, and to impact those around us in a positive, Christ-like manner.
Remember that we have an enemy, Satan, who is committed to making sure that we are not free, so he can keep us in
bondage and rob us of our fruitfulness in the Kingdom of God.
When he reminds you of your past, you remind him of his future!
As we saw last week, Gideon needed to overthrow the idolatry and the evil traditions of his family and his community
before he was free to lead God’s people in victory over all of their enemies. He took authority over the forces that had
kept his people in bondage in preparation for leading them in victory.
1. Forgive everybody who has ever hurt you.
As you release them from your own personal judgment, you release yourself.
Matthew 26:28 As Jesus took the Last Supper with His disciples, He took the cup saying, “This is My blood of the
new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission (forgiveness) of sins.” The blood of Jesus has already been
poured out for “many”; some who are still lost in darkness and some who have already found salvation through
repentance. (1 John 1:9, 7). Forgiveness is available to everybody because of Jesus, so we must forgive, too.
Matthew 6:14-15 If we do not forgive, God cannot forgive us.
Ephesians 4:32 “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave
you.” Unforgiveness and bitterness are a destructive epidemic. We must break out of it!
2. Forgive yourself.
Jeremiah 31:33, 34b: In these verses Jeremiah is speaking prophetically of the “new covenant” through the body and
the blood of Jesus Christ. (These verses are quoted again in Hebrews 8:8-12). One of the most powerful benefits of
this “covenant” that cost the Lord so much to make available to us all, is that “I will forgive their iniquity and their
sin I will remember no more.”
“Iniquity” is the unregenerated condition of our hearts: the “old nature”; the disobedience and rebellion that we
inherited from Adam.
“Sin” is the act: the outward product of the “iniquity”.
God has provided completely for us to be “born again”. The evil condition of our hearts is forgiven and the sinful
things that we have done as a result of our “iniquity” are not only forgiven but forgotten!
So we must apply this to our own lives and extend it to others. If we do not understand and receive the power and the
completeness of God’s forgiveness for us because of the cross of Christ, whatever we have done, then it will be very
difficult for us to forgive others. We will nurse judgment and hope for retribution. It is the opposite of the nature of
Christ, who said, “Father, forgive them!”
Genesis 50:19 When faced with his ten older brothers who had committed such evil against him, Joseph demonstrated
his total freedom from the past and his absolute understanding of the power of forgiveness. He said, “Do not be
afraid, for am I in the place of God?” He understood that judgment belongs to God alone. Joseph’s job was to
forgive, just as God had forgiven him.
When we hold grudges, refusing to forgive, we are pushing God off His throne and putting ourselves there. We want
to be the judge and hand out the punishment. That is not your place and it is not your job.
Verse 20: Joseph also understood that even though his brothers “meant evil” against him, they were not the final
authority in his life. God is! “God meant it for good.” As Joseph forgave his brothers he tapped into God’s higher
purposes. He was m(continued)
