There's this one thing that can hold you back from receiving your full deliverance. There is this one
thing that can actually keep you physically sick and can actually usher you into premature death.
This one thing is also holding your prayers from being answered, and it can actually forfeit your
own forgiveness. Scary huh? In just a moment I'll answer what that one thing is. But before we do
that my name is Vlad, I'm a pastor of HungryGen church and I also release books, e-courses,
blogs and reading plans. All of that information can be found on my website and all of that is free
of charge. This is our desire, to help you grow spiritually. So now back to our topic.
This one thing is unforgiveness. Unforgiveness, not only it blocks the flow of freedom,
healing and forgiveness of God, but it also hinders our prayers.
And unforgiveness can actually be an open door to demons if we hold on to unforgiveness long enough.
Now forgiveness is a beautiful word when you are the recipient of it from God.
It becomes totally different game, when you have to now be the one who responds in forgiveness to
people who have hurt you. I know you probably have heard about this, we all need to forgive
and everything. But in this video we will dive in, into why it's important and what forgiveness
is not. Now forgiveness is a process by which a person is released from the consequences of
an action against another person and is restored to a positive relationship to the offended party.
The reason why people hold on to unforgiveness and grudges is because a grudge takes a lot of
time and energy and they're not sure who they will be without it. They have replayed their personal
betrayal and hurt movies so often, they know it by heart. And the idea of moving on
is so terrifying that misery. hate, bitterness is way more familiar. The offender has done nothing
to deserve forgiveness, therefore we hold on to unforgiveness. Harboring resentment protects us
from getting hurt again and nobody can get close to us. But all these are lies because the truth
is when you relinquish past hurts it will free you to embrace your future. Also when you're not
spending time and energy feeding that grudge, you can actually nourish new and healthy ideas.
The offender cannot keep hurting you, when you actually shake off their shackles and move on.
Not when you are locked in bitterness, offense and hurt. Holding on to a grudge does feel like
a form of control but in reality you're not in control. You're being controlled.
Once you lower your defenses you can actually start to heal, love and be loved. Yes feeling
angry feels good temporarily, but being healed feels so much better. We have to understand as
Christians God mandates us to love because we first were loved by Him. He also commands
us to forgive because He has first forgiven us. The reason why forgiveness is essential
for us, is because God needs us to forgive. The forgiveness we receive from Him, is actually can
be forfeited if we don't forgive those that have offended us. Jesus told that to us in the parable
where the king, he pretty much reversed his forgiveness to his servant who did not forgive
his servant. Second reason you need to forgive is because the people who have hurt you need it.
It's the only bridge they have of changing when you forgive them, because now they can experience
the power of God's love and forgiveness. And the third reason why you need to forgive,
is for you. You can't experience full freedom healing and your prayers being answered
if there is unforgiveness in your heart. One of the things that we ask all the time before
praying for deliverance and healing is, is there any unforgiveness in your heart? Why? Because
it's not just a protocol, it's not just a routine, it's actually powerful. If you
release unforgiveness you get released from the bondage that has taken captive of you.
Somebody said that to forgive is to set the prisoner free and to discover that the prisoner
is you. I heard another quote, that he who cannot forgive breaks the bridge over which
he himself must pass. Whoever opts for revenge should dig two graves. Not forgiving someone
is like drinking rat poison waiting for a rat to die from it. In Matthew 6:14-15 Jesus says:
Forgiveness is not optional if you want to go to heaven. Now we're not
saved by forgiving other people but we forgive other people because we are saved. And Jesus
makes it very clear of how dangerous holding on to offense and unforgiveness is.
Now when it comes to forgiveness, a lot of people don't actually understand what is forgiveness and
what is not forgiveness. So I want to mention next 10 things what forgiveness is and forgiveness is
not. Number one is forgiveness is not overlooking the wrong, excusing the wrong, minimizing the
wrong or taking the blame for someone else's wrong. When Joseph forgave his brothers
who did what they did to him, he wasn't excusing what they did, he wasn't taking their blame and
he wasn't minimizing it. So when you're forgiving somebody you're not minimizing the pain, the hurt
and the wrongness of what they did. Secondly is forgiveness is not waiting for an apology. This
is huge. So many people hold their forgiveness toward their offender until their offender comes
to the realization of what they did was wrong. Jesus forgave those who have put Him on the cross.
They never apologized. In fact they were mocking Him as He was forgiving them.
You don't need to wait for them to repent for you to forgive them. Forgiveness doesn't need them.
It just needs you to respond to God in that situation and forgive them. Number three is
forgiveness is not forgetting and ceasing to feel pain. See forgiveness starts the healing process
but forgiveness doesn't immediately mean you will be healed immediately. Jesus helps you.
Jesus heals our hearts not just our bodies. And so when you begin to experience that forgiveness,
your wounds, the ones that hurt will be turned into scars. And then your scars will become
your testimony. A testament of God's goodness and grace, but the residue will still be there. Even
Jesus has scars to prove of what He went through on the cross. And so the idea that if you forgive
immediately you will stop feeling pain or you will quickly forget. Forgive and forget. I know
we say that in our culture, but it's not possible to forget some of the things that we went through.
But you we might be able to look at those things in their past as a scar instead of a wound,
if we forgive. Fourth thing is forgiveness is not a one-time event. For many people forgiveness is
a reoccurring event where we forgive initially and then the thoughts flood and we find ourselves back
in the same place of bitterness, hurt. And instead of being disappointed, see forgiveness as a
process through which you are learning to respond to God in any given situation. And if you need to
forgive that person again, forgive them again. If those thoughts flood your mind and you let
them stay and germinate in your mind, forgive them again. Why? Because it's through this process you
are learning to be more like Jesus Christ. Number five. Forgiveness is not trusting. Forgiveness
does not mean you can trust this person. For example, if there is an abuse that happened in
your family you can forgive that person but you can still call police on that person. Forgiving
that person doesn't mean they should be entrusted with the same responsibility if they squandered
that opportunity. Forgiveness does provide for an opportunity for the trust to be restored,
but it does not restore the trust. Forgiveness is free. Trust is not free. Trust needs to be earned,
forgiveness does not need to be earned. Number six. Forgiveness is not reconciliation because it
takes two people who repent to be reconciled. If one person repents, reconciliation cannot happen.
It takes two to repent. And if you repent or you forgive, but the other person doesn't repent,
reconciliation cannot happen. Though many times forgiveness leads to reconciliation. Number seven.
Forgiveness is a command. It's not an option. Forgiveness is not like, well you know they did
so much bad, I can't forgive them. You cannot afford not to forgive them. You must forgive,
it's a command of God. Don't wait on your feelings and your mood to catch up. Just take a step of
faith and do what God asks you to do and you will see God on the other side giving you strength to
forgive that person. Number eight. Forgiveness is a gift God gave you to share with others. If you
begin to look at the forgiveness you received from God as not just like a bottle when it has only one
opening. But as a channel, that has an opening on one end and has an opening on the other end. Then
you will see that God wants you to be a carrier of forgiveness, not just a container of forgiveness.
So many times we receive and we benefit from the forgiveness of God. Our guilt is removed,
the shame is removed, our relationship with God is restored and we feel like, we'll praise God.
Well forgiveness is not meant to be that only. Forgiveness is a gift God wants
you to share with other people. Number nine. Forgiveness is not a feeling, it's a decision.
You don't have to feel like you've forgiven, you can make a decision and forgive. Sometimes our
feelings are not the best indicators of what is happening to us, actually of what is happening
in us. So don't pay attention to your feelings, pay attention to the decisions that you have made
because that is what matters. And number 10 is forgiveness does not change the past
but it will enlarge your future. It can't change what they did, how they did it but it can change
what you're going to do in the future. So many times people feel like if I forgive
I will let them off the hook. You won't, if you forgive you will let yourself off the hook and you
will set yourself free from the bondage and the shackles that you are in. They're keep harassing,
keep hurting you if you don't forgive. But when you forgive, this bad thing that happened,
happened in the past. It's not reoccurring in the present because through unforgiveness this abuse,
this hurt is reoccurring right now without them being involved in it. There's only one way to
forgive and that is to be reminded how you have been forgiven. The key to forgiveness is this:
we forgive because we have been forgiven. Ephesians 4:32 it says:
Who do you need to forgive today?
Who are you harboring feelings of hate and resentment toward? Is it somebody that walked away
from your life? Do you feel trapped in bondage? Maybe you have nightmares and some kind of a
terminal illness, arthritis perhaps that you're looking to be healed, to be healthy, to be freed.
If you have somebody you need to forgive let's do that right now. In fact let's
pray right now. And in this prayer I want you to ask God to forgive you for unforgiveness,
holding offense and grudges and release that person from owing you and give that gift to
that person. Just say this with me. Say, "Lord Jesus I repent for holding on to unforgiveness.
I thank you for the gift of forgiveness You have given me to share with everyone.
I release that person. I forgive them for what they did.
I put them into your hands God. Would you heal my heart, would you turn my wounds into scars and
use my scars as a testimony. I thank you, and now God set me free. Now precious Jesus heal my body,
heal my mind and my relationships, in Jesus name amen. Thank you so much for watching this video.
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