Embracing Forgiveness: A Journey to Freedom

 

Summary

In today's message, we explored the profound connection between feeling forgiven and the power to forgive. We live in a world where everyone experiences hurt and inflicts hurt on others. None of us are entirely innocent or entirely guilty. Forgiveness, however, is a divine gift, a supernatural act that transcends our natural inclinations. It is God's invention, a gift to us, and a journey we must embark on to experience true freedom.

One of the most challenging aspects of forgiveness is forgiving ourselves. Many struggle with self-condemnation, unable to live free from guilt and pain. Yet, the deepest level of forgiveness involves experiencing God's forgiveness and living without the weight of self-condemnation. This journey requires us to embrace the truth that there is no condemnation for those in Christ.

We discussed the story of Paco, illustrating the universal need for forgiveness. This yearning for forgiveness is a fundamental part of our human experience. Forgiveness is not just a decision; it is an emotional experience that affects us at the deepest level. It is foundational to every other good feeling, providing a sense of total acceptance and love that cannot be taken away.

The journey to forgiveness involves raw honesty and courageous authenticity. We must confront the darker regions of our lives, acknowledging our mixed nature of light and shadow, strength and weakness. This honesty opens us to the fundamental feeling of being forgiven. Obsession with spiritual success can lead us astray, but embracing our imperfections allows us to experience true forgiveness.

The story of Corrie ten Boom exemplifies the power of forgiveness. Despite the deep hurt and hate she experienced, she found the strength to forgive even those who had dehumanized her. This act of forgiveness liberated her from her past and demonstrated the transformative power of forgiveness.

Today, we are invited to forgive ourselves and receive God's forgiveness by faith. This is not a passive act but a conscious decision to stop self-condemnation and embrace the truth that we are forgivable because God is forgiving. Let this truth reach the level of grace in your life: you are forgiven.

Key Takeaways:

1. Forgiveness is a divine gift that transcends our natural inclinations. It is not just a decision but an emotional experience that affects us at the deepest level, providing a sense of total acceptance and love. [03:38]

2. The journey to forgiveness involves raw honesty and courageous authenticity. We must confront the darker regions of our lives, acknowledging our mixed nature of light and shadow, strength and weakness. [06:12]

3. Obsession with spiritual success can lead us astray, but embracing our imperfections allows us to experience true forgiveness. This honesty opens us to the fundamental feeling of being forgiven. [06:29]

4. The story of Corrie ten Boom exemplifies the power of forgiveness. Despite the deep hurt and hate she experienced, she found the strength to forgive even those who had dehumanized her, demonstrating the transformative power of forgiveness. [09:02]

5. We are invited to forgive ourselves and receive God's forgiveness by faith. This is not a passive act but a conscious decision to stop self-condemnation and embrace the truth that we are forgivable because God is forgiving. [11:49]

Youtube Chapters:

- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:18] - The Link Between Forgiveness and Power
- [00:50] - Forgiving Yourself
- [01:31] - The Story of Paco
- [02:56] - Feeling Forgiven
- [03:38] - Emotional and Decisional Forgiveness
- [04:30] - The Fundamental Problem of Sin
- [05:02] - Total Acceptance and Love
- [06:12] - Raw Honesty and Authenticity
- [07:41] - Extending Empathy to Ourselves
- [08:27] - Psalm 32 and Confession
- [09:02] - Corrie ten Boom's Forgiveness Journey
- [10:39] - Confronting Unforgiveness
- [11:33] - Receiving Forgiveness by Faith
- [12:55] - Closing and Support Information

Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide

Bible Reading:
1. Romans 8:1 - "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."
2. Psalm 32:1-2 - "Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit."

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Observation Questions:

1. According to the sermon, what is the relationship between feeling forgiven and the power to forgive others? [00:18]
2. How does the story of Paco illustrate the universal need for forgiveness? [01:31]
3. What are the two types of forgiveness mentioned in the sermon, and how do they differ? [03:12]
4. How did Corrie ten Boom's experience demonstrate the transformative power of forgiveness? [09:02]

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Interpretation Questions:

1. In Romans 8:1, Paul states there is no condemnation for those in Christ. How does this truth impact a believer's ability to forgive themselves? [01:16]
2. The sermon mentions that forgiveness is fundamental to every other good feeling. Why might forgiveness be considered foundational to our emotional well-being? [03:50]
3. How does the concept of raw honesty and courageous authenticity relate to experiencing true forgiveness? [06:12]
4. What does the story of Corrie ten Boom teach us about the challenges and rewards of forgiving those who have deeply hurt us? [09:02]

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Application Questions:

1. Reflect on a time when you struggled to forgive yourself. What steps can you take to embrace the truth of Romans 8:1 in your life? [01:16]
2. Consider the story of Paco and the universal need for forgiveness. How can you extend forgiveness to someone in your life who may be yearning for it? [01:31]
3. The sermon discusses the importance of confronting the darker regions of our lives. What is one area of your life where you need to practice raw honesty and authenticity to experience forgiveness? [06:12]
4. Corrie ten Boom found the strength to forgive those who dehumanized her. Is there someone in your life you find difficult to forgive? What steps can you take to begin that journey? [09:02]
5. How can you consciously decide to stop self-condemnation and embrace the truth that you are forgivable because God is forgiving? [11:49]
6. The sermon warns against an obsession with spiritual success. How can you balance striving for spiritual growth while embracing your imperfections? [06:29]
7. Think of a situation where you felt the weight of guilt and pain. How can you apply the principles of Psalm 32 to find relief and experience God's forgiveness? [08:27]

Devotional

Day 1: Forgiveness as a Divine Gift
Forgiveness is a profound divine gift that transcends human nature. It is not merely a decision but an emotional experience that deeply impacts our lives, offering a sense of total acceptance and love. This divine act allows us to break free from the chains of resentment and bitterness, leading us to a place of peace and reconciliation. Embracing forgiveness means opening our hearts to the possibility of healing and transformation, both for ourselves and for those who have wronged us. [03:38]

"For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (Matthew 6:14-15, ESV)

Reflection: Think of a situation where you have struggled to forgive someone. How can you invite God's divine gift of forgiveness into this situation today?


Day 2: Embracing Raw Honesty and Authenticity
The journey to forgiveness requires raw honesty and courageous authenticity. It involves confronting the darker regions of our lives and acknowledging our mixed nature of light and shadow, strength and weakness. By being honest with ourselves, we open the door to experiencing the fundamental feeling of being forgiven. This honesty is not about self-condemnation but about recognizing our need for grace and allowing ourselves to be vulnerable before God. [06:12]

"Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!" (Psalm 139:23-24, ESV)

Reflection: What is one area of your life where you need to practice raw honesty with God? How can you begin this process today?


Day 3: The Danger of Spiritual Success Obsession
An obsession with spiritual success can lead us astray, causing us to miss the essence of true forgiveness. Embracing our imperfections allows us to experience genuine forgiveness, as it opens us to the fundamental feeling of being forgiven. This journey is not about achieving spiritual perfection but about accepting our humanity and the grace that comes with it. By letting go of the need to be spiritually successful, we can find freedom in God's unconditional love and forgiveness. [06:29]

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." (2 Corinthians 12:9, ESV)

Reflection: In what ways have you been striving for spiritual success? How can you shift your focus to embrace God's grace in your imperfections today?


Day 4: The Transformative Power of Forgiveness
The story of Corrie ten Boom exemplifies the transformative power of forgiveness. Despite the deep hurt and hate she experienced, she found the strength to forgive even those who had dehumanized her. This act of forgiveness liberated her from her past and demonstrated the profound impact forgiveness can have on our lives. Forgiveness is not just about letting go of the past but about embracing a future filled with hope and healing. [09:02]

"Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." (Ephesians 4:32, ESV)

Reflection: Is there someone in your life you need to forgive? What steps can you take today to begin this journey of forgiveness and experience its transformative power?


Day 5: Receiving Forgiveness by Faith
We are invited to forgive ourselves and receive God's forgiveness by faith. This is not a passive act but a conscious decision to stop self-condemnation and embrace the truth that we are forgivable because God is forgiving. By accepting this truth, we allow grace to permeate our lives, leading us to a place of freedom and peace. Receiving forgiveness by faith means trusting in God's promise of redemption and letting go of the burdens of guilt and shame. [11:49]

"Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool." (Isaiah 1:18, ESV)

Reflection: What is one area of your life where you struggle with self-condemnation? How can you actively receive God's forgiveness and grace in this area today?

Quotes


We live in a hurting world and we are hurting people we have all received hurts and wounds and at the same time we have all inflicted hurts on others so none of us is 100% at fault for the M of our lives and yet none of us is a victim or 100% innocent hurting is a natural uh phenomenon in our world but forgiveness that's Supernatural forgiveness is God's invention it is God's forgiveness it is God's gift to you and to me. [00:18:00]

What is it like to feel forgiven you we've talked about how forgiveness is there's decisional forgiveness I I make a uh uh decision I form the intention to forgive somebody else and then there's emotional forgiveness where it's actually in my body at the level of uh neurotransmitters and muscular tension and it's in my face and it's in my shoulders to experience forgiveness this is not just true of forgiving somebody else this is true of forgiving yourself or of experiencing yourself as a person who has been forgiven. [00:30:56]

Forgiveness is fundamental to every other good feeling this is a remarkable statement now think about this forgiveness is fundamental foundational to every other Good Feeling try other sorts of delightful feelings and compare them with the feeling of being forgiven think of the feeling you have when you finally managed to do what you've been trying to do forever I did it I did it the feeling is triumphant. [00:37:05]

Feeling forgiveness is a feeling of total acceptance a feeling lodged in your deepest self a feeling that no bad thing you do can take away you feel totally affirmed totally loved totally received your entire being is restored because you feel that nothing can separate you from the source of love and you might remember Paul in Romans 8 what can separate us from the love of God then he goes through a list of all kinds of things nope nothing can separate us you know that nothing can really hurt you. [00:48:56]

One sure way to miss out on the fundamental feeling of being forgiven is to worry too much about being a spiritual success so now here's where most of us get in the trouble we do well sometimes to follow our feelings into the darker region of Our Lives where we are neither very pretty nor very pure we are a mixed breed Lou right Shadow and light weak and strong foul and clean hate and love all at the same time our middle name is ambiguity admitting this fundamental ambiguity opens us to the fundamental feeling of being forgiven. [00:55:19]

Obsession with spiritual success can take you on idiotic detours around the fundamental feeling I know a man who needs to be good so badly that he cannot face up to the puniest fault he often groans about being a poor poor sinner always in gorgeous generalities always as a trick to get people to reassure him of his unusual virtue but when his wife complains that he forgot to take out the garbage he is ready to hire a criminal lawyer to defend himself against her indictment. [01:02:06]

Part of the journey that we're on is uh in in forgiveness we extend empathy including to ourselves and I think about uh why is it that I want people to like me so much and why do I avoid wanting not to be liked and there are lots of factors involved with that uh not all of those factors are things for which I am morally blameworthy so I I I think through how to extend empathy to myself in that moment but then I don't just stop there I come to that place where I say yeah but there's part of me where that was simply a wrong thing to do and it's not excusable and then I must realize although it's not excusable it's forgivable. [01:16:01]

Psalm 32 the psalmist says blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven whose s are covered blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them in whose spirit is no deceit now see that's the raw honesty part no deceit when I covered up my sin the psalmist says my bones were wasting away when I confess them God forgave my sin and he cleansed me that's the feeling of being forgiven. [01:23:19]

Cory was liberated from a Nazi concentration camp a few days after the Allies conquered Germany took longer to be liberated from her simmering hate but she set out on the forgiving journey through her remembered pain kept traveling until she arrived at the place where she forgave even the Nazis who had dehumanized her in life in the camps in forgiving she believed she had discovered the only Power that could heal the history of hurt and hate for the people of Europe and all the other peoples on Earth. [01:30:56]

A man walked over to her he reached out his hand to her expecting her to take it y I'm so glad Jesus forgives us all of our sin just as you say Cory knew him she remembered how she was forced to take showers with other women prisoners while this Beast looked on laring mocking a Superman guarding helpless naked women Cory remembered he put his hand close to her her own hand froze at her side she could not forgive she was stunned and terrified by her own weakness what could she do she who had been so sure that she had overcome the Deep hurt and the desperate hate and had arrived at forgiving what could she do now that she was confronted by a man she could not forgive. [01:37:24]

She prayed Jesus I can't forgive this man forgive me at once in some wonderful way that she was not prepared for she felt forgiven forgiven for not forgiving at that moment in the power of the fundamental feeling her hand went up took the hand of her enemy and released him in her heart she freed him from his terrible past and she freed herself from hers the linkage between feeling forgiven and the power to forgive is the key to everything else. [01:44:52]

So now on this day you forgive yourself you receive forgiveness uh as a decision and the Bible's language for this is uh we receive it by faith now that's not a vague cloudy thing we don't wait for that to happen that actually is an act that we can commit ourselves to and so I say uh as best I can God with your help I won't r umate anymore I won't self-c condemn anymore I receive the fact that you are forgiving not based on me I am forgivable because you are a forgiving God and then allow that to reach the level of Grace you are forgiven you are forgiven that's your word today. [01:51:39]

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Transcript
What was the most surprising thing in this sermon?
Were there any personal stories shared?