11th April, 2021
Minister: Pastor Bola Bello
God is bringing light into our hearts and He is calling our attention to more things that have to do with life and godliness. The year is full of expectations but our access to them depends on how much we are ready to lay hold on them.
The life of prosperity, good health, riches and well-being will not come to us by mere wish, but by certain spiritual actions and obedience, one of which is the aspect of forgiveness.
Matthew 18: 21 – 22, Luke 17: 1 – 4
This was a discussion between the Lord Jesus and the Apostles. The Apostles wanted clarity on the issue of offense and forgiveness.
I need to say first, that there would not be a need to forgive if no one offends anyone, but that cannot be because offense is a “family thing”, in that it is normal to be offended by people every time. The responsibility now lies with us to forgive people when they offend us. Thankfully, there are ways by which God has instructed that we deal with offense.
Colossians 3: 13
Forbearing one another could mean to give excuses for people’s faults when they hurt us. If we are not deliberate about letting go of hurts, we will find it more difficult to give excuses for other people’s faults.
Many of us are very hypocritical about forgiveness. If you say you have forgiven someone and choose not to have anything with the person, then your forgiveness is not genuine. We can see how Joseph forgave his brothers despite how badly they offended him. He still drew them close and offered to help them (Genesis 50: 17 – 21).
Matthew 18: 21 – 23
We once walked in iniquity and unrighteousness yet God forgave us, why then do we find it difficult to forgive those who have also offended us. The essence of forgiveness is reconciliation. God reconciled us to Him after He forgave us. Why do we then say that we cannot reconcile with someone who has once offended us?
Matthew 5: 23 – 25
Offense is one weapon Satan uses to imprison people. If you want to partake of the benefits of resurrection then you need to take a step of faith and settle scores with whoever must have offended you. Remember that forgiveness is a deliberate thing.