We have been blessed to attend this session our ongoing week of prayer series and are entered the 2nd day of week of prayer. Come out and join us tonight for our third night! The first meeting was on the topic of reconciliation and forgiveness. Last night, our Brother Calixe spoke on the power of God's forgiveness and in our lives.

Forgiveness is offered by love for God is love. Forgiveness comes by excusing our sin. The human concept of forgiveness is to forgive by excuse. If God forgave us of our sins then Jesus wouldn't need to die on the cross for excusing our sin. We do things by accident, however there's a difference between an innocent mistake and sin.

Let us look at a scenario between a new driver driving a car on the road and out of nowhere a young boy runs out onto the road not noticing the danger of the car. The driver sees the boy, panics and runs over the boys legs. The driver is left in daze, panicked and not in the right mindset. So the question is who is at fault? The boy or the driver? These question could go either way and the answer is not a easy one. Now, if the driver was drinking then the blame would be solely on one party.It depends on how you look at the situation. What are the consequences? The driver would receive a ticket and learned an experience from driving and the young boy learned valuable experience to walk with a cast on his leg.

In the same sense the bible shows us that God's love and forgiveness is not without consequences. When we look at the story of David, we see that God himself called David a man after God's own heart. Do you know why God called David that? David was not only a warrior, King of Israel, poet and famous lyricist, but he was also humble and when he did something wrong he repented of his sin. Repentance means to show sincere remorse or sorrow for what you did was wrong.

The bible records that David in his lifetime was not repentant to God in the case of Bathsheba in 2 Samuel chapters 10-11.  David slept with her, killed husband, Uriah the Hittite in battle, then took Bathsheba as his own wife. This happened in one to two year period and David didn't repent. David repented after God confronted him about it, however the child that David had with Bathsheba died. David prayed for God to spare the life of the baby while it was alive, but the consequences were already in motion. David suffered more than the death of the boy, his family became fractured by his actions. His eldest son, Amnon raped his  sister and daughter, Tamar, which led his 2nd eldest son, Absalom, to become a murderer to kill his elder brother. Absalom gained control of the kingdom and David had to abdicate the throne. With the death of Absalom, he did eventually regain control of the throne but at a great cost.

We see the terrible effect of David's decision and what he endured through by the power of God. We see this is why when we do wrong against someone and forgive them or we are forgiven we must not do it again. In Psalms 51:4 David says:

⁴ Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

In Genesis chapter 39:9 Joseph, when confronted by his egyptian master, Potiphar's wife, shared the same sentiment as David:

⁹ There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?

What David and Joseph both state is that every sin we commit against God means that God is the one who is hurt the most. Paul explains in Romans 8:9 to us that:

⁹ But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

God sets us free from our sin so we may not go and do the same sin again. We can't take advantage of God's grace towards us; He doesn't free us from the consequences of our actions. While we ask for God's forgiveness, this is a shallow perception that we should walk scot-free with no consequences, he wants to work change in us. Forgiveness comes through the glory of Jesus Christ. Christ's blood cleanses us to live righteously, however not everyone will accept it. The Pharisees, Herodians, and Jewish priests killed Jesus, and He forgave them of their crime, but they didn't accept the love he had for them.

What's the worst thing you can do to someone in the USA? Answer: not shake their hand, walk onto another road when you see them up the street from you. When we talk about Jesus, is this how he is treated when we talk to others about Him? Yes, many people will not accept the Gospel, the message of God's grace, love and forgiveness to us who are sinners. God stands with his arms open wide to receive anyone who believes in him.

How did Christ obtain forgiveness for us? It is a deep mystery. See Matthew 26: 36-45:

³⁴ Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. ³⁵ Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples.³⁶ Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.³⁷ And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.³⁸ Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.³⁹ And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.⁴⁰ And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?⁴¹ Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.⁴² He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.⁴³ And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy.⁴⁴ And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.⁴⁵ Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

Here we see Jesus praying, he was 100% man and God, he wept, was rejected of his own people. Jesus didn't want to die, he was afraid of total separation from God. It's not a sin to be afraid; it is a sin to let your fear be greater than your faith. He let his faith be greater than his fear. Jesus relied totally on the will of His Heavenly Father; he prayed for strength and was given it in the time of his need.

It's not a sin to be afraid; it is a sin to let fear be greater than your faith. He (Jesus) let his faith be greater than his fear.

Mankind can be free from sin, which is death inevitability; we too can overcome sin in our lives, when we let go of our will and our self-righteousness. God will give us the strength to overcome sin. Jesus knew most people wouldn't accept his gift, Paul says  in Romans 5:7:

⁷ For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.

Could you do what Jesus did and die those whom are your enemy/enemies? Christ came to save even his enemies from their sins; he sought to save Judas, who was his friend, from himself. In Matthew 26:48, 49 it reads:

⁴⁸ Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast. ⁴⁹ And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him.

Judas kiss [of "supposed friendship"] was a kiss of betrayal. Jesus was abused, beaten, tortured all night and part of the day, taken to Pilate, Herod, and back to Pilate again, placed on mock trial, and put on the cross. What was Jesus response to all this injustice? Look at Luke 23: 34:

³⁴ Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

Forgive them? In spite of the torment, Jesus forgave them. What is impossible with humanity is possible with God. We don't know if those whom nailed him to the cross accepted his forgiveness. On the cross is the moment of victory, He brought forgiveness and the bible says He became sin for us in 2 Corinthians 5:21:

²¹ For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

That is a deep thought for Jesus lived a sinless life, a life without sin, to become our sin. This is what the Gospel is all about; all those who believe in Christ have the righteousness of Christ. We can't explain it all to you in more detail. What's impossible with man is possible with God. When we look at the cross of Calvary, we see that actions speak louder than words.

For the last 2000 years, Jesus stands with his arms wide open; he came to give us eternal life and more. We can give our problems to God and claim his promises. 1 John 1:9 reads:

⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

When we confess our sins to Jesus, he will help us overcome the sin in our lives. 1 John 5:4 says that:

⁴ For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

Jesus gave all of himself for us to gain eternity for God works in us to change us into his image. He remembers our mistakes and shortcomings, but won't talk about them, when we practice forgiveness, we are blessed by it. We are free to walk freely and don't have to hold the pain again, it helps us individually. When you hold a grudge, it is poison in your system. We need to remain humble for humility is needed to ask for forgiveness.