The dangers of un-forgiveness

sermonindex Oct 22, 2013

One of the hardest things I ever dealt with as a Christian was un-forgiveness. In fact, it almost dashed me on it's rocks, threatening to undo all the work the Lord had ever done in me. It brought me to a place of great darkness within my soul. I cried out to God that what He was asking me to do, to forgive, was not possible, at least not for me. He was asking me to do something that was simply impossible for me. And of course the truth was, in me, it was impossible, but in Him, all things are possible. I wrote the poem below to speak to this subject of forgiveness and the great danger of un-forgiveness.

How many times should I forgive
Once or twice or seven?
How is it that I should walk
As one whose been forgiven?

You ask me to forgive them Lord
I scream out loud to you
Your asking me to do something
That is impossible to do

For many days and weeks and months
It's been impossible to sleep
My heart and soul is overwhelmed
By the darkness that I reap

For first when I came into this cave
The darkness was my friend
It caressed me and consoled me
I was not required to bend

How wretched is this place I'm in
This place where I cannot forgive
A place where I am slowly dying
A place for those who cannot live

And then my God He came to me
And found me on the floor
And said " My child, follow me
You shall not dwell here anymore"

And I cried out " Lord your asking me
To do something that can't be done"
And now the darkness overwhelms me
It seems the darkness it has won

"There was never any darker place
Than on dark Calvary
And in the very midst of darkness
It was there I came to set you free"

" I died for those you can't forgive
And justice now belongs to me
It's by my Spirit and not your might
And this to you is my guarantee"

" Open up your heart and live
And you shall have the power to forgive
And you will see the battle won
When you can say not my will, but thine be done"

And now the light it floods my soul
I am no longer in my cave
These days are marked by heaven's light
These days that I forgave

Do you dwell in such a darkness?
Has your days turned into night?
Do you dwell within a prison?
Do you walk without the light?

There is no power within your flesh
To deal with un-forgiveness
In Christ alone you'll find the power
To truly be a witness.

sermonindex Oct 22, 2013

Do you dwell in such a darkness?
Has your days turned into night?
Do you dwell within a prison?
Do you walk without the light?
There is no power within your flesh
To deal with un-forgiveness
In Christ alone you'll find the power
To truly be a witness.

Hallelujah. Just read Matthew 18 this morning. God is able to shine His light in our hearts on all darkness of unforgiveness.

E

Elibeth Oct 22, 2013

Appolus,
I can identify with this....and this I feel like I need to share.

Some time ago,I was having a hard time with my sister about our Mother
etc.
It got very bitter.....I was in chains of unforgiveness..but I knew I MUST forgive....But I could not.
So I began asking God to help me,...That I knew I must forgive,...

I got sick,was in the hospital....there was...,I believe ,on the History Channel,A thing about volcano's,...they showed the red hot lava flowing down the Hillsides/mountains.It came to me that if I did not forgive, ...that,that was hell,and hell was restless and was burping up ,coming up out of the pit of the earth,....hell itself and that is where I would be,if I did not forgive.

So I determined in my heart, that I was going to forgive.

So when I got home,I called the one's up and asked them to forgive me,..
..not for what had been done to me,but for my bitterness,and reaction.

I decided I would not think about it,not talk about it.
Well the forgiveness began to come,but it did not happen overnight.
Like,..it was not completely gone,..like I sort of held just a little in my heart.
Our hearts can be very deceitful,so we must examine it very closely.

Well,my legs began hurt me,...I went to therapy,..did therapy at home.
Then I got a frozen shoulder,...more therapy and ice packs,night and day....
....not enough rest.

Then the snake bite,back in the spring,..back in the hospital.

Well I wondered WHY ?

We always must examine ourselves...knowing that if we will judge ourselves,...we will alien ourselves with The Lord' Way,and we want have to be judged.

And have just now,...with much examination and thought came to this conclusion:

Because TheLord loves us SO much,He chastens us to get us in line with His will,.....He does not want us to burn,go to hell.

And yes,Appollus,you are right,I know,by exsperience,we cannot forgive,
without His help. But if we will call upon His Name,(and His Name is everything that is in that Name,...(forgiveness),He will surely help us.

Thank you Appollus,for giving me this opportunity.

elizabeth

sermonindex Oct 22, 2013

Elizabeth, that is a powerful testimony and keeping that small part back is a cautionary tale for all who would listen. You have touched on a part of this that is often overlooked, I believe that much actual illness comes from un-forgivenes and bitterness, even cancer and death sometimes. Just like stress causes heart attacks, and stress is not something that we can truly measure, in that it is how we respond to life and any given situation, then so too does un-forgivenes and bitterness. Yes sister, if we call upon His name, if we determine in our hearts to be obedient to what He has commanded us to do, then it is by His Spirit that we overcome. Thank you so much for your honesty in sharing that story. I believe that others will be convicted and brought to the light through such testimony.............bro Frank