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Wednesday, April 13, 2022

Forgiveness on Resurrection Sunday

 Hello and welcome to My Little House of Prayer Bible Study. I am your host Dayla Smith. I wanted to teach on demonstrations since I taught about worship last week. But, the Lord told me to teach on this instead. Forgiveness. His words. It is Ressurection Sunday this Week. Hebrews 7:24-26 24 But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. 25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. 26 For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; I am seated at the right hand of the Father, interceding “Father, forgive them. For they know not what they do.”

                        You’ve heard me talk about how the Lord loves demonstrations. Well there is no greater demonstration than the arm of forgiveness. There is no greater miracle than forgiveness which then brings in the restoration of a relationship. It is how we are restored to Him who loved us first. It was the sole purpose of the crucifixion at Calvary’s Cross on Golgatha’s Hill. Isaiah 53 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? 2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 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. 6 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. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. 9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. 11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. Do you see how he responded? Only if you have truly forgiven someone, can you pray for them. This Sunday people will be celebrating Resurrection Sunday. What an appropriate topic for discussion. Forgiveness. How do we become children of God. We ask and receive His Forgiveness for our lives of sin. You see our sinful nature is the reason for his tortured death. Many of us have seen the passion. But, a lot of the torture Jesus went through couldn’t be written out. Remember the Roman soldiers were skilled torturers. And, need I say many of them took pride in their skill. It took a demented mind to be a Roman soldier. The bible does say this, in 1 Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

If you have been hurt in any way, form, or fashion, He knows about it. Jesus, the man, also knows about being on the receiving end of someone’s abuse. The Christ knows what lies in the hearts of men. He knows their every thought and intention.

                           He was despised and rejected. Why? To redeem all who have experienced rejection and hate. To redeem all who have served rejection and hate. What?! That looks like 2 sides of a sword! It is. Remember, He said in Matthew 10:34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. And in Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And who is the Word. John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. Whose the Word. Christ. He also brings a sword. Which is the Word of God. That can also be found in the full armor of God in Ephesians 6:8-10. When Jesus was temtped in the wilderness, He spoke the Word. He didn’t ponder the invitation of an easier way. He knew He had a mission. To redeem mankind. He was both God and man. Why? Because He had to show us that we can walk the crucified way. We could get the victory over the many sinful natures in our life. The Christ is who helped Jesus make it to Calvary. In ancient Hebrew, the true interpretation of  “Father please let this cup pass from me, but thine will not mine be done.” is “Father please don’t let me die here in this garden. I have to make it all the way.” Remember, He sent Jesus the man an angel of strength to carry Him the rest of the way. Jesus and the Christ were on a mission. 

                             So, throughout His life He endured being hated and rejected. Have you gone through this on one side, or the other? I have. Why did He do this? Because, hate and rejection are not of Him. It is a sin. God is love according to 1 John 4:7-10 7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. So, the Word of God clearly says that if you are rejecting or hating, you are not a Christian. Rejection and hate are not in His plan for your life. You are in sin. Plain and simple. And, if you are on the receiving end of being hated and rejected, Forgive. Death, hate, and darkness only beget more death, hate, and darkness. That is how you obtain your deliverance from that. Your healing from that. You can walk in the confidence of the Lord. Knowing who you are to Him. 

                       Have you experienced grief and sorrow? Our Lord walked in grief and sorrow. He was constantly despised and rejected by the very people He had come to redeem. Remember, He cried over Jerusalem, How I would gather you like a mother hen would her chicks, but you would  not. The times of doubt and unbelief. Have you lost someone dear to you. Or, maybe something you once had and held dear to your heart. Well, so did our Lord. First the people of Jerusalem. His people. Then, to bring reality home, His relative Lazarus. He was close to Lazarus. Jesus the man grieved his loss of someone that was very dear to him. Remember, Martha came and accused Him of intentionally procrastinating. If you would have only been here sooner. You know as a human that had to have been like a dagger headed straight through His heart. Then, at the cross He grieved as His people rejected, mocked, and made fun of Him. He forgave them. Everyone of them. Jerusalem, Martha, and all of mankind. Forgive them. They know not what they do. 

                So, if you are being visited by grief and sorrow, go to your Lord and Savior. Take everything to Him. He paid the price to heal you. To restore you. He won’t remove the memory. That would make it a lie. He does not lie, nor repent. What He can and will do is remove the pain of the memory of it. That is what forgiveness pays for. I have had so many painful events in my life. But, forgiveness bought healing. I no longer have the pain associated with the memory. What a blessing it is. It frees me up to see people as He sees them.

                                 He was wounded for our transgressions. What is the meaning of transgression? Why would He choose this word instead of saying sin? In Hebrew, according to the Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, transgression is pronounced pasa. It means to break away from just authority,trespass, apostacize, quarrell, offend, rebel, or revolt.To rush upon. When we transgress the law of God, we do all of these things. So, He redeemed us from the curse of the law. Does this make the law of no effect? I think not. Quite the opposite. It makes us even more accountable to the law of God. But, if we truly repent before Him. Truly become broken before Him. There is forgiveness. There is redemption.

                     He was bruised for our iniquities. The same question arises that I asked about transgression. Once again, the Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance says it is pronounced in Hebrew awon. It means to watch with jealousy or evil eye, fault, perversity, punishment, or sin. The Roman soldiers were very perverse. It was perverseness in the scribes and Pharisees that accused and had Jesus crucified. They subjected Jesus to the perverseness of the Roman Sodiers. There is no telling all that He had to endure behind those prison walls. Any soldier can testify to that. There are things that they cannot unsee. And for our veterans, whether you were the one who was issuing torture, or were on the receiving end of it, Jesus paid for it. Forgave it! Just repent. Come truly broken before Him. He will forgive, redeem, and heal you. Heal even remove the pain associated with the memory of it.

                    The chastisement of our peace was upon Him. One of the definitions of chastisement in the Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance is restraint. He was restrained for our peace. Has fear ever overtaken  your heart? Have you ever been tormented by fear. Fear is also referred to as phobia. There are so many phobias. Fear steals the joys of life. Fear or phobia is the opposite of peace. When we are walking afraid, we are not walking in His peace. I am not telling anyone to get off their meds. Luke was a doctor for a reason. To let people know that the  Lord is the God of wisdom. And in His finite wisdom he gave wisdom to certain men and women to be doctors and nurses. Anyone who works in the medical field. They have been given the gift of God to heal. Not everyone acknowledges this. So, back to the subject. If you are walking in fear, there is healing for it. Repent of walking in fear. There is forgiveness and redemption for that. Hallelujah!

                           By His stripes we are healed. This covers a multitude of ailments or illnesses. Every stripe from the cat of nine tails bought our healing. Let me say this, as a child of God, your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost. And, if that is so, then no unholy thing can dwell there. Therefore, every stripe says, “ Sickness you no longer have a right to that vessel of God!” When Jesus went about healing people, it was now. Not later. This is also where faith comes in. Remember, He said over and over again, “Your faith made you whole. Your faith healed you. Go and sin no more.” You see, it is our choices that decide the arrival of our healing. If we are in sin, repent. Become truly broken before Him and be healed. Receive His forgiveness and redemption. For the rest of us it is about receiving the reality of His healing. “Oh, He did that for them. But, I don’t know if He can or will do it for me.” Get out of your false pride! He is not a respector of person. He makes no exceptions! It is our faith and gratitude that welcomes in His healing. Because we are worshiping the giver of that gift of healing in your body. 

                    He was oppressed, afflicted, imprisoned,and judged. He paid for our deliverance from all of this. Remember He became a curse. Why? To redeem us from the curse of the law. That is what He meant by “I did not come to do away with the law and the prophets, but to fulfill them.” Which means we can walk the crucified way. Why? How? Because I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. When He told the disciples to come follow Him. He meant to follow my example. They were in a discipleship program. Ergo they are referred to as disciples. As we follow Him, we can obtain deliverance in His word. We can  obtain healing in His word. But, above all these, we can obtain His forgiveness and redemption through repentance and brokenness.  

                     He was numbered with the sinners. Why? Why would He do this? Remember He was a man with a mission. His sole mission was to redeem mankind. To get Him back in right relationship with Him and the Father. The disciples asked to learn how to pray. This is the outline He gave them and all of us.  Matthew 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

                   Notice, forgive as we forgive. If you are not walking in forgiveness you are not one of His. Forgiveness is a true sign that you are His. Forgiveness can take insurmountable strength. Remember Jesus Christ did it. He is not asking something of us that He has not done Himself. Remember, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. So, during this week before resurrection Sunday, reflect, ponder and do a soul search of forgiveness. Who do you have ought against? Who can’t you forgive? You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. Forgiveness is a gift for you. It opens so many doors of blessings that are otherwise closed for you. Besides, that is too much power to give another human being! Yes they took this from  you. Why would you give them your salvation also. That includes forgiving yourself. Who do you think you are?! Holding yourself in bondage again in that false pride?! If I forgive you, how dare you try to usurp my authority and refuse to forgive yourself?! Who do you think you are? I said I want to redeem you. Forgive you. Just come broken before me.  This is a word for someone.

                  If you have not received Christ into your heart. If you are not saved by His saving grace, let me pray with you. Lord Jesus, I confess my sins and ask for your forgiveness. Let’s take a moment to tell the Lord our sins and ask for HIs forgiveness. Please come into my heart as my Lord and Savior. Take complete control of my life and help me to walk in Your footsteps daily by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thank you Lord for saving me and for answering my prayer. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

          I am so glad you could join me today. May the Lord richly bless you and keep you. And, may you have a blessed Resurrection Sunday.


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