09/03/2026
Jesus teaches us that if we want God to forgive us, we must also be willing to forgive others.
1. In order to be forgiven by our Heavenly Father, we must forgive others of their wrongs doings to us.
2. Unforgiveness =to unanswered prayers.
3. You can’t put a limit on how many times you forgive the same person!
4. Forgive people because they are operating in a spirit of rebellion.
Matthew 18 reminds us that forgiveness is not limited to a certain number of times. Jesus calls us to forgive continually. That does not mean allowing people to repeatedly mistreat us; it means releasing the offense and refusing to live in bitterness.
Amos 1:3 reminds us that God sees repeated offenses. Matthew 3:8 calls us to produce fruit that demonstrates repentance. Forgiveness should produce a change in us.
Look at Jesus on the cross: “Father, forgive them” (Luke 23:24). If Jesus could forgive while being crucified, we can ask God to help us forgive while we are hurting.
Paul also experienced abandonment and opposition, yet he did not allow bitterness to destroy his assignment (2 Timothy 4:11, 14, 16).
And Hebrews 10:12 reminds us that Jesus offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice. Because Christ has already paid the price, we don’t have to keep carrying the weight of yesterday.
Even Stephen, while being persecuted, looked toward heaven and saw the glory of God (Acts 7:54-55). His focus was not on the people hurting him.
~You cannot change what a person did, but with God’s help, you can decide to forgive!
