Power of Forgiveness in Deliverance Part 1

Releasing Hurts for Deliverance Today’s Focus: The Power of Forgiveness in Deliverance Part 1 Scripture: Matthew 18:21-35 Greetings Sons of God: Without forgiveness there is no deliverance Now with that said when we examine the scriptures in our last message and many others we will see a connection as it relates to forgiveness and release from some type of iniquity whether it be physical or spiritual. Many times when Jesus healed someone, He would state “sin no more”. Now why is forgiveness so important to deliverance in releasing hurts. First, we must understand when we have been hurt the relationship between two people or even a group of people is broken. In that broken relationship bitterness is at the heart and it cuts people off from the grace of God. How does it do that? The one who is carrying the hurt is bound to the past and the people of the past. Now what this does is this: 1. The person cannot live in the present and the bitterness from the past flows into present-day relationships. We know this today as carrying-baggage. 2. You are bound to that person spiritually as long as you are carrying the hurts and bitterness of that relationship regardless if the person is dead or alive. 3. Your unforgiveness can actually keep God from working in another’s life. Because of this the one who is carrying the hurt is tormented by the enemy and cannot be effectively used for Kingdom advancement. Let me share this scripture with you and we will pick up this in the next message: Matthew 18:21-22: Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, until seven times: but until seventy times seven. Now Peter asks the question we all would at some point ask and Jesus answers His question and thin proceeds to a parable describing the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt. 18:21-35) and an unforgiving debtor who the Lord forgave and set free from his debts but when put in the same situation, he failed to show the same compassion and mercy that the Lord showed to him. He punished the unforgiving debtor by turning him over to those who he owed so that he would have to pay them all that was owed and the Lord says this in verse 35: Matthew 18:35: So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. Because of the unforgiving heart of the debtor the Lord handed him over to the people he owed and the Lord calls them the “tormentors”. We as the sons of God have been given authority in the name of Jesus to forgive sin. Now do not jump off the boat I will explain this in the next message. Failure to forgive only leads to a life of torment and disappointment and not of eternal freedom. Peace, Love and Grace, Calvin Calhoun, Jr.