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CloseRyan Sim - May 15, 2013
Wednesday - Change It - Forgiveness
You’ve probably heard the saying, “forgive and forget,” but forgiveness is not slavishly forgetting wrongs, that would simply allow many to be victimized again. It’s also not about demanding someone change before we forgive them. It’s not just thinking that time will heal everything. It’s actively releasing someone into God’s hands, and allowing him to determine punishment or forgiveness. Forgiveness is a choice, not a feeling. It names the hurt, acknowledges it happened, and that it was wrong. And then it’s a gift we give the other person, by releasing them from our feeble attempts to be God and judge over them. It’s about loving our enemies, recognizing them as a sinner in need of God’s forgiveness. Jesus was about forgiveness, and forgiving others allows us to be living examples of his forgiveness. This is why it’s such a big sign of discipleship – almost formulaic. The message of God’s forgiveness needs to be talked about, but also needs to be lived out. The best sign that we have experienced God’s forgiveness is that we start spreading it around. One journalist wrote, "I think the most powerful demonstration of the depth of Amish forgiveness was when members of the Amish community went to the killer's burial service at the cemetery," Kraybill says. "Several families, Amish families who had buried their own daughters just the day before were in attendance and they hugged the widow, and hugged other members of the killer's family." Imagine the release for that family. The guilt they experienced, their last name tarnished, so on. The community’s forgiveness meant they were now freed for new beginnings. Tomorrow, we see how forgiveness is also about releasing you, the one doing the forgiving. Question: Have you ever been forgiven? What did it release you to do?
From Series: Sermon on the Mount | More Messages from Ryan Sim | Download Audio
More Messages Associated With "Forgiveness"...
Day 27 - The Power of Forgiveness | Marriage Course | September 13, 2012 | Watch | Listen | |
Day 30 - The Healing Process | Marriage Course | September 16, 2012 | Watch | Listen | |
Day 31 - The Healing Process - Identify The Hurt | Marriage Course | September 17, 2012 | Watch | Listen | |
Day 32 - The Healing Process - Say Sorry | Marriage Course | September 18, 2012 | Watch | Listen | |
Day 33 - The Healing Process - Forgive | Marriage Course | September 19, 2012 | Watch | Listen | |
Day 34 - What Forgiveness Is and Is Not | Marriage Course | September 20, 2012 | Watch | Listen | |
Thursday - Act - Those Who Mourn | November 22, 2012 | Watch | Listen | ||
Wednesday - Change It - Merciful | December 12, 2012 | Watch | Listen | ||
Thursday - Act On It - Merciful | December 13, 2012 | Watch | Listen | ||
Monday - A New Idea - Forgiveness | May 13, 2013 | Watch | Listen |