Reigning In Life As A King (9 page)

When I teach what Jesus taught in the Bible, people receive lasting healings and miracles from God. The truths that Jesus taught in the Bible usually do not make people run and jump with joy. They are serious subjects that have to be dealt with in every area of life.

Jesus had much to say about forgiveness.

Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.

But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.

Matthew 18:15-16

It is not strange that Jesus would preach about brothers having fights and disagreements. Jesus' teachings got down to the real nitty-gritty of life.

Peter could not get the idea of forgiveness out of his mind.

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.

Matthew 18:21-22

Jesus said we are to forgive our brother or sister four hundred and ninety times! In other words, forgiveness is an attitude; it is a way of life.

I remember a fellow who transgressed against me. He treated me so badly that I felt like choking him! After he had wronged me, I wrote him a real nasty letter, but I tore it up. I had to forgive him. Jesus gave me no other choice.

When we learn to forgive others as God has forgiven us, we will reign in life as kings over every heartache, hurt, and situation.

Jesus continued His sermon, explaining the importance of forgiveness.

Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.

And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.

But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.

The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.

But that same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.

And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.

So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.

Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:

Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?

And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.

So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

Matthew 18:23-35

This is not my sermon, it is Jesus' sermon. This is not my doctrine, it is the doctrine of Jesus.

There are three very important facts about unforgiveness to be learned from this passage of scripture.

First, the master said that his servant was wicked because he did not forgive his fellowservant. God looks at our failure to forgive as wickedness. God forgave us from all the sins of our past, and He continues to forgive us when we fail even after we have been born again. How much more should we forgive others!

Second, the master was angry with the servant who did not forgive his fellowservant. Unforgiveness in our lives provokes the anger of God. If we are going to live a life that is pleasing to God, we must live a life of forgiveness.

Third, the master delivered his servant to the tormentors because he had failed to forgive. If we do not forgive, our Heavenly Father will have to deal with us in the same way we deal with others.

The place of torment is not hell. Thank God, Jesus paid the debt for us and we do not have to go to hell. If we continue to live in unforgiveness, the Bible says that God will deliver us over to the tormentors. We do not like to think about our Heavenly Father in this context. We do not like to think about discipline, but this servant was delivered to the tormentors until he could pay his debt. And Jesus, talking about His wonderful, righteous, loving, and merciful Father, said, "So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses."

That is not shouting ground; it is sober ground. That is the Head of the Church talking. Jesus is teaching us how to avoid being delivered to the tormentors.

Jesus said that a child of God can be delivered over to the tormentors until he pays for his wrongdoings. He can be delivered to the tormentors until he forgives!

There is physical, mental, and spiritual torment. Physical torment is sickness and disease in our bodies. Mental torment produces confusion and fear. Spiritual torment is being accused by Satan. He is the accuser of the brethren. (Revelation 12:10)

I know a man who is a Methodist preacher. Every one of his fingers were bent over and twisted. He said, "Brother Osteen, one day I made a decision to start living a life of forgiveness."

Every time he thought of someone towards whom he had a wrong attitude, he would forgive them. He said, "I would lie in bed and think of people as I prayed. If someone came to my mind, I would forgive them. As I drove the car, if someone came to my mind, I would forgive them."

Several months after he made the decision to live in forgiveness, finger after finger straightened up, and healing came into his body. He is completely healed today!

Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have aught against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

Mark 11:24-26

There was a woman in our church who had a large tumor. We laid hands on her and prayed for her, but she did not get healed. One service I taught on forgiveness. Afterwards this woman came to me and said, "I did not know that unforgiveness was locked away within my heart. I had no idea that I had anything against anyone."

She continued, "The Holy Spirit brought my mother-in-law to my mind and something that happened years ago. I was not aware that I held anything against her, but the Holy Spirit showed me that I had resentment locked away in the recesses of my heart. I had never truly forgiven her."

After she forgave her mother-in-law for something that had happened years before, the tumor disappeared.

When you open yourself up to God and say, "God, search my heart and show me how I can change!", then God will help you.

FORGIVENESS and HEALING are closely related. Many times people who are seeking healing really need to walk in forgiveness.

Forgive and be healed! It may not always happen instantly, but it will happen!

Many divorced people have a battle with unforgiveness. It is easy for a wife to have bitterness against a husband who has mistreated her. It is easy for a husband to have resentment against a wife who has left him.

I have heard more than one wife say, "He is guilty. He ruined my life! He left me without anything to eat. I had to take care of the children by myself."

They are right; he is guilty. But, only the guilty need mercy. Guilty people must be forgiven, not for their sakes, but for ours! Why? Jesus tells us why in the following scriptures.

For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:

But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Matthew 6:14-15

If you forgive, you WILL BE FORGIVEN. If you do not forgive, you WILL NOT BE FORGIVEN.

There is no alternative. God will only forgive us as we forgive others.

Jesus put the responsibility upon us. In the Lord's Prayer, Jesus again mentioned forgiveness.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

Matthew 6:12

Resentment, bitterness, and unforgiveness release a negative force within our entire beings. It is a very dangerous force that grows stronger each day we choose not to follow the teachings of Jesus.

The relationship between you and other members of your family is very important. The relationship between a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is an area where there needs to be a searching of the heart; likewise, between father-in-law and son-in-law, between parents and children, and between brothers and sisters.

One day, as I allowed the Holy Spirit to search my heart, I found that I held things against my mother and daddy. They quarreled much, and I grew up resenting the tension that it produced. I lived in fear of them divorcing. I remember many times crying over their disputes.

As the Lord began to speak to me about the critical thoughts I had toward my parents, He reminded me that when I was a boy, my parents did not have an automatic washing machine. They did not have many of the conveniences that are plentiful in our day. We had a large family, and it had not been easy for my parents to raise us during the Great Depression. My heart was broken because of my wrong attitude.

I was a successful minister. God had blessed my life in many ways, yet I still had areas of unforgiveness in my heart.

Opening my heart to the Lord Jesus, I saw those unpleasant memories were actually areas of unforgiveness.

Parents have to be willing to forgive their children. Perhaps your children have really hurt you. They may be guilty of some terrible wrong, but you must forgive. As you forgive them, you will be forgiven, and healing will come to your spirit, mind, and body.

When you walk in forgiveness, you open the door for God to work in your life, and in the lives of those who have wronged you. As you forgive, you will reign in life as a king over circumstances, disappointments, and sorrow.

Forgiveness produces:

peace,
reconciliation,
harmony,
understanding,
fellowship.

Unforgiveness produces:

strife,
bitterness,
disharmony,
hatred,
war.

At times, the whole human race is in danger of being overwhelmed by these evil, negative forces. We, as Christians, are to shine as lights in a dark world. We are to be a forgiving people!

And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have aught against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

Mark 11:25

Ought means anything and everything, big or small, even almost nothing at all. Any means everybody. We are to forgive everybody for anything and everything they have done to hurt us.

Obviously, the most hurtful areas of our lives need to be forgiven. Jesus said the most minute detail must be forgiven, also.

Sometimes we need to forgive a person who is dead. Unforgiveness is equally as harmful in our lives whether the person is living or dead.

Many times the hardest person to forgive is oneself. We make many mistakes, yet we have to learn to accept those mistakes as being a part of our past. We have to press on. Jesus taught us to forgive if we have ought against anyone, and that includes ourselves.

People want to receive from God, but they do not want to talk about unforgiveness. "I want to be healed of cancer, but I do not want to talk about unforgiveness!", they say. "I want to be healed of ulcers, but I do not want to talk about unforgiveness!" Unforgiveness is often the root of the problem.

When Jesus was in Bethany, He passed a fig tree.

And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet.

And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.

Mark 11:13-14

There were two areas of that fig tree-the SEEN and the UNSEEN. There was a part that you could see and a part you could not see. The part that could not be seen was the root system.

We have a root system. Our root system is the unseen part of us—the spirit person.

When Jesus spoke to that fig tree, His words took effect in the unseen area. It later manifested in the seen area. Jesus knew that the unseen area was where the tree received its life. The Word of the Lord took effect immediately in the unseen area, or root system.

If we want results in the seen area—our physical bodies—we must learn to care for the root system properly.

The Bible teaches us that bitterness has a root.

Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.

Hebrews 12:14-15

You may say, "Brother Osteen, I do not have the power to forgive. I was so mistreated as a child." Yes, you do. You can forgive because God provided forgiveness at the Cross for you. You are forgiven, not because you deserve it, but by grace.

By the grace provided at the Cross, you have the power necessary to forgive others.

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.