RT Kendall Sermon - Total forgiveness

[Music] would you open your Bibles to Genesis chapter 45 Genesis chapter 45 my warm thanks to all of the elders their wives they've become like family I pray for you every day have done for about four years and I will keep it up that I can tell you I will keep it up Genesis 45 now I think what I should do is bring you up to date on the life of Joseph because there are people here that have not heard this sermon and it won't be exactly as before I never preached the same sermon twice word for word I don't have any notes I never know what I will leave out add in but I will say this it's the first time I have preached this in the context of inheritance which has been the theme all week and never before have I appreciated this account as I do as I've prepared this with inheritance in mind now here is the story Joseph the favorite son of Jacob was given dreams years before 22 years before that one day his eleven brothers would bow down to him his big mistake was telling the dreams to his brothers you know that's not smart so unwise so imprudent but here's the thing the gifts were of God his gift was functioning and you see the fact there was nothing wrong with his gift but there was a lot wrong with him and he wasn't ready he wasn't ready he thought those gifts would be fulfilled in about three days later because they were so jealous of him all it did is make him matter and angrier and it made it worse but in any case he always knew that one day those eleven brothers would bow down to him he didn't know that it would be some twenty two years later and what I'm getting ready to read is the fulfillment of the dreams there they are dream perfectly fulfilled they've come begging why well there's been a feminine a family in the whole world and the famine has reached Canaan and Jacob the patriarch says go buy some food and he sends ten of the brothers to go he won't send Benjamin Benjamin and Joseph were the sons of his favorite wife Rachel and so he lost it Joseph he's not going to take a chance on losing Benjamin so ten of them go and when they go to Egypt they have to go to the Prime Minister they do not have a clue that this man prime minister of Egypt is their brother Joseph a lot has happened what happened was the jealousy got the best of them they were going to kill him the only reason they didn't is because at the time they were going to let him die here came some Ishmaelites and they said well we will sell him they yanked a coat of many colours off his back that jacob had prepared for him the only thing worse than giving that coat of many colours was wearing it and Joseph wore it strutted around in that thing didn't bother him a bit he was an insensitive teenage conceited young man and obnoxious and you feel it'll seen him you would have thought there was no hope for somebody like that but God has a way of dealing with all of us with our quirks and strange aspects of our personalities but they yanked that of many colors off his back dipped it in blood lay it before old Jacob who took the bait and said a wild beast has devoured my son I will go to my grave in mourning they tiptoed away said we got away with it the Bible says be sure your sin will find you out well those Ishmaelites took Joseph sewed him to an Egyptian officer by the name of Potiphar and Potiphar loved Joseph and God was with Joseph and he was exalted in the household but one day part of his wife began to flirt with Joseph and said go to bed with me and Joseph kept refusing and one day as she was saying go to bed with me he ran from her having said how can I do this thing do this to your husband who trusts me and sin against God most people I know avoid an affair for one reason they think they'll get caught and that's what keeps them well here was Joseph in a foreign country nobody knew him word wouldn't get back out to his dad in Canaan she's not going to tell her husband it looked like a safe thing but he said God knows and he ran and she took a piece of his clothing and used it as evidence that he tried to rape her he was slammed into a dungeon and it looked like it was all over for Joseph what we're going to see tonight is what does one do in order to come into an inheritance and that is what was going on Joseph could not have known that he was earmarked for greatness down the road who here is earmarked for greatness right in this room there may be a future president of South Africa who knows the next Billy Graham maybe in this room you never know when you're being tested here he was sexually tempted always comes sooner or later you've got to resist and if you fail God may give you a second chance but I can tell you this God wants his sovereign vessels to be blameless well it was not easy for Joseph he may have felt nothing in terms of great sense of God but the angel said yes but now he's at a dungeon for doing the right thing he's in a dungeon and part of coming into your inheritance is how you respond to unjust treatment and how you react well Joseph was in a dungeon but then later two people come who are also imprisoned the butler sometimes called the cupbearer to the king and the King Pharaoh's Baker and one day they have dreams and Joseph interprets each of the dreams and he says in the case of the cup bare to the king you're gonna get your job back in three days and then Joseph said something he shouldn't have said he said when you get your job back remember me Joseph J o s pH and in heaven the Angels blushed and God said Oh Joseph you're gonna need a couple more years here Joseph thought that was his opportunity to pull some strings and get out of prison would you say God wanted to do something whereby Joseph could take no credit at all well one day the Pharaoh had a dream nobody could interpret it and the cup bearer to the king overhears this talk about the Pharaoh having a dream and they bring in the magician's they had people on the payroll to dreams and when Pharaoh gave his dream nobody could figure it out and it was at that moment the cupbearer the butler said remember my faults this day and told him about Joseph you would have thought that to be a man accused of rape and to be a Hebrew would mean that you had no future in that country ever and maybe you have a skeleton in your cupboard and there's a mark on your record and you think no way God can use me but I just want you to know if God could use Simon Peter who denied the Lord openly and then if just a few days later preaches the inaugural sermon on the day of Pentecost whatever is in your past and maybe you've blown it you've really messed up but God can take those broken pieces and show that all things work together for good to them that love God to them who are the called according to his purpose well Joseph is told to shave and get ready you're gonna meet the king the King says I've had a dream nobody could interpret it Joseph did and it does it in such a way not only interpreting the dream but applying and telling the Pharaoh what to do and the Pharaoh is so impressed that on the spot he makes Joseph prime minister of Egypt well Joseph had predicted a famine seven years you're going to have make a lot of money a lot of food it's going to be followed by seven years of famine and the time has passed now the second phase is in and the feminists set in all over the world two years into the famine now here come the ten brothers to Egypt and they come to this interpreter who speaks officiously to them and who is speaking through an interpreter and I've written a book called God meant it good and I give the details that I can't go into now but the bottom line is that eventually they have to bring Benjamin back that's something that Joseph makes them do and now it's all 11 brothers the dream is being fulfilled Joseph's always thought that God gave him those dreams so he can look forward to the day he could look at those 11 brothers and say gotcha and throw the book at them but now he's aware that the moment has come he starts to cry can hardly speak and now the reading Genesis 45 verse 1 then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him he cried make everyone go out from me so no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers and he wept aloud so that the Egyptians heard it and the household of Pharaoh heard it and Joseph said to his brothers I am Joseph is my father still alive but his brothers couldn't answer him for they were terrified dismayed at his presence so Joseph said to his brothers come near to me please come close and they came near and he said I am your brother Joseph whom you sold into Egypt and now do not be distressed don't be angry with yourselves because you sold me here for God sent me before you to preserve life for the famine has been in the land these two years there yet five years in which there will be neither ploughing or harvest and God sent me before for you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to keep alive for you many survivors so it was not you who sent me here but God he has made me a father to Pharaoh and Lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt hurry up go up to my father and say to him quote now this is important he tells them word-for-word what to say when they go back to Canaan he writes the script thus says your son Joseph God has made me Lord of all Egypt come down to me do not tarry you shall dwell in the land of Goshen and you shall be near me you and your children and your children's children and your flocks your herds and all that you have there I will provide for you for there yet five years of famine to come so that you and your household and all that you have do not come to poverty and now your eyes can see and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my mouth that speaks to you you must tell my father of all my honor in Egypt and all that you have seen hurry and bring my father down here then he fell upon his brothers Benjamin's neck and wept and Benjamin wept upon his neck and he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them after that his brothers who had been scared to death talked with him may God be pleased to bless the reading and the preaching of this is most holy and infallible word brief word of Prayer Heavenly Father I pray for the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus by your Holy Spirit to be upon every mind present that their perception of what I preach will be received as you intend and applied as you intend and upon my tongue that I'll be cleansed and will be your transparent instrument to say everything that needs to be said nothing else may this be a word that changes lives perhaps saves a marriage perhaps gets people speaking to each other reconciles enemies Lord only you know let this be a word to change lives and may it bring great honor and glory to your name I pray in Jesus name Amen for the last two or three days I've been speaking on the subject of inheritance the bottom line is simply this every Christian has an eternal security in the family it is impossible for a saved person ever to be lost and go to hell however every saved person is called to receive an inheritance those who come into their inheritance enjoy life to the full it is called abundant living and receive a reward at the judgment seat of Christ sadly there will be those who blow away their inheritance they don't lose their salvation but come to the judgment seat of Christ lose any reward but as it is put in 1 Corinthians 3:15 they will be saved I want to receive an inheritance here below and a reward above now we have seen that the inheritance is internal external but in that order the internal is talking about your personal relationship with God Jesus said seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things external where you live how you dress what kind of job you have that will be added and so it is not our job to know in advance what our external inheritance will be our job is to focus on what is honoring and pleasing to God and what I speak on tonight is probably the surest way to know you will come into your inheritance this message is the best one I know of that you could apply to your life to be sure you are not disinherited that you don't blow away your inheritance you come into all that God has in mind for you this message is it it's why I felt I should preach it in the context of inheritance I must say if the message I bring to you now was born in what was at the time the darkest hour Louise and I had ever gone through it was while I was minister of Westminster Chapel in London in my book in pursuit of his glory I give four pages to it and tell little even then it's not anything I can say much about I can only tell you it was a dark dark time the outlook was so bleak and I was filled with self-pity and anger how could this happen how could they do this here we are in a foreign country how could this happen an old friend his neighbors Joseph song happened to be London because I knew Joseph wouldn't tell anybody I decided to tell him what happened if I'm honest the only reason I told him is that he might put his arm around me and say arty you ought to be angry get it out of your system pour out your heart that's what I was wanting he just said anything more no I said that's it I wasn't prepared for what followed if I could narrow 25 years in London down to 15 minutes which would turn out to be my finest hour the greatest word anybody ever gave me it's when Joseph's son looked at me and said Artie you must totally forgive them for until you totally forgive them you will be in Chains release them and you will be released nobody never talked to me like that in my life faithful are the wounds of a friend and then I began to protest I said Joseph yeah you know I haven't really told you everything listen to this Artie and he repeated it and I can hear him now in his Romanian accent you must totally forgive them for until you totally forgive them you will be in Chains release them and you will be released I said Joseph I can't he said you can and you must it's the hardest thing I've ever had to do almost certainly the hardest thing you will ever have to do because when you do this you're going right against nature when you've been hurt especially when you've been hurt unjustly when it's unfair and you've been mistreated the most natural feeling in the world is to want vengeance and see them punished and I come tonight to tell you that in my opinion you will never come into your inheritance until you totally forgive them I don't care who you are you have a story to tell we all have a story to tell some more than others and if I were to tell you my story and then I hear yours I would probably be embarrassed that I even thought I had a problem probably somebody listening to me you were abused as a child I wasn't I can't imagine what that would be like live with that scar all your life perhaps your spouse was unfaithful to you perhaps you were raped perhaps you were lied about and everybody believes the lie and there's no way you can defend yourself and you see the inside some of you here in South Africa have known what it is to be the object of racial prejudice some of you have suffered more than I could ever calculate in my mind I remember receiving a letter from the north of England where the lady described what their son-in-law had done to their daughter and grandchildren and it was horrible and then at the end of the letter she said do I have to forgive him because you know when it says is so awful our natural tendencies to feel there must be some loophole there must be some exception and we feel that we've got it and it wasn't easy to write back to say that lady yes you have to forgive him - we all want an excuse that in our case if you only knew about my marriage if he only knew the kind of upbringing I had if you only knew the injustice I have had on the job and we could go on and on and on now here's the point that I try to get over and if I can get this over I would have done a great piece of work tonight and that is to get you to see that the worse the hurt and the worse the injustice the greater the promise of blessing and inheritance to you if you can forgive that in other words let's say we heard your story and we all agree that you have suffered more than anybody in this room of several hundred people we all agree you have suffered more than anybody and that person exists I don't know what you are but somebody if we hurt everybody's story we'd all say well there's the one who suffered the most how would you react do you say well in my case the head I don't suppose you're going to make me have to forgive what I would say to you is congratulations you have a promise of blessing that the person in front of you doesn't have they haven't suffered like you you've got a promise of inheritance that the person next to you doesn't have they haven't gone through what you have now if you maintain a lifestyle of bitterness and anger and unforgiveness everybody would understand because you would be reacting naturally that's the way most people are or you can do that which is exceedingly rare and that is to take that past with all of its in Justices and take your past with both hands and say I've got a chance to bring honor and glory to God unlike anybody around here and you talk about an internal inheritance and a blessing of the Holy Spirit I don't know what your external inheritance would be but I can tell you this in your case you've got a way forward that no one around you has take it with both hands and rejoice at the privilege the privilege of totally forgiving them now the question is how do you know you've done it and that's the way I'll spend the rest of the time how do you know you've totally forgiven I'm sure if I asked for a show of hands hands that go up all over the place that you've forgiven and I believe you but I want to make a proposition and here's the deal that in the next 20 minutes or so if I were able to show that you haven't totally forgiven after all would you then do it and we'll come to decision time before this service is over and you can be thinking over the next 20 minutes incidentally I had somebody come up to me about eight months ago and I can't remember now if it was England or America I wish I'd have written it down put it in my diary I just but here's what she said she said that two years ago she heard my sermon on total forgiveness and right in the middle of the sermon she was healed instantly totally healed she said because as you spoke I forgave them and she said I felt something happened in my body it had been two years so it wasn't just five minutes later where she was giving a good feeling two years healed then why do I tell you that well a fringe benefit a fringe benefit of forgiving and medical people say it that holding a grudge is injurious to your health holding a grudge can lead to arthritis high blood pressure kidney disease they can do that and wouldn't it be something if in this very auditorium that I you were to forgive and by doing so without anybody laying hands on you you just reverse the physiological process that got you into that physical condition and you start getting better from this day there's a spiritual reason for doing it even apart from inheritance and I'll tell you what it is there's an interesting verse it's in 2 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 11 I didn't even know about it well I read it a thousand times but it just didn't cross my mind to use it in my book but reading a different version caused me to see something I hadn't seen before 2 Corinthians 2:11 says a further reason for forgiveness is to keep from being outsmarted by Satan ponder this a further reason to forgive is to keep from being outwitted by the devil here's what that means when you hold a grudge when you can't forgive them in that moment you didn't mean to you didn't mean to do this but here's what you did in that moment you gave Satan an entry point into your life I just want you to know the devil is looking day and night for a chance to get into your life he's just waiting to come and when you hold a grudge he says oh good I'm gonna go for it and we'll come into you this is why you're irritable why you don't forgive why you're negative why there's no smile on your face why you read the Bible it makes no sense to you and it's all because the devil got in and here's the thing if you're in that situation we really don't have to have a service of exosystem for you you can do it right where you are I would even call it a self exorcism the moment you totally forgive Dayton do this the devil says I'm out of here he can't bear it he can't stay he can't stay he only resides where there's bitterness anger self-pity oh he loves it there but when you've totally forgiven he just has to go and you can leave this place free all right back to the question how do you know you've done it proof number one you do not tell anybody what they did to you you say that's hard yes but here's how you know you've totally forgiven you follow the example of Joseph and so picture this here's the Prime Minister speaking through an interpreter he's wearing Egyptian garb his appearance has changed over 22 years no one has a clue of those 11 brothers that this is Joseph's members of the cabinet his aides and all of a sudden he says everybody out it's what he says make everyone go out for me well they they don't know why but they all just file out and you can imagine the interpreters is where you're gonna need me he says to the interpreter out now behind closed doors joseph stuns them and begins to speak to them in hebrew i am joseph joseph is my father still alive and these men are terrified they can't believe this but why did he make everybody leave I'll tell you why he's going to talk them into coming living in Egypt he wants them all in Egypt because the famine is gonna go on and off he wants them there wants to make sure nobody in Egypt knows what those brothers would have done to him and what they did by selling him to the shrine and so behind closed doors he reveals his identity he knows that he's a hero in Egypt he knows that if old the word leaks out every Egyptian to a man would hate those 11 men which is what he used to want you see that's the way we feel immediately after somebody hurt us we can't bear the thought that anybody would admire them and so we tell what they did the joseph wants to make sure nobody will ever know can you believe this he wants his brothers to be heroes in Egypt he's a chair and there are two exceptions you need to tell one other person for therapeutic reasons find a pastor elder somebody that won't tell anybody I told Joseph zone second we had a lady coming to the vestry to say they have found my rapist and they want me to testify in a court of law I said well you must oh well you've taught me to forgive and I've forgiven him I said well that's wonderful but it's not personal now he's a danger to society you goat and answered their questions she did he was sent back to a Middle Eastern country she knows no more what's the real reason we tell it why do we tell what they did so that nobody will like him anymore we want everybody to hate them so we run them down and tell what they did how would you like it if God told what he knew about you suppose flashed on these screens is your name and details of your past which God could put on the screen is there anybody here you'd be quite happy for the whole of your past to be written in front on these screens for everybody to know you die a thousand deaths did you see I can tell you these two screens wouldn't be enough if God were to tell you what he's got on me we'd need two screens all over this place with more writing but guess what you will never know because as far as the East is from the west so far are our transgressions removed from us because the blood of Jesus Christ washes away all sins and you will never know but when God knows full well what he's forgiven me of and I turn around and put to think of you God says whoa you violate a principle not allowed to do it you've been forgiven now you demonstrate forgiveness how do you know you've totally forgiven proof number one you don't tell anybody what they did you can tell the Lord he can cope with it in fact he would like it if he were the only one that knew it's like that old spiritual that came out of the cotton fields of Alabama in the nineteenth century nobody knows the troubles I've seen nobody knows but Jesus see Jesus likes it if he's the only one that knows but see when you've told 50 people and then tell Jesus there's no big deal for him but when you just tell him Psalm 142 verses wanted to pour your complaint out to the Lord tell him you can tell one other person pastor confide it that won't tell it about it but you can't tell two or ten or 250 until one proof number two that you've totally forgiven you won't let them be afraid of you not a chance you see when you haven't forgiven what you want to do is to create fear in that person who has hurt you and they know you are hurt and they know what they did and they know what you're thinking and if you can sense if they're going to be a bit nervous and afraid you think good you walk into a room and they freeze you say good I love it but you see the Bible says perfect love casts out fear fear has to do with punishment and one way you punish is to keep them nervous and afraid and Joseph could see they were terrified you know what he says to them come close to me come close to me he just wanted to love on them he was a new man this is the reason he could be trusted with greatness husbands and wives that play this little game keep the other nervous keep them afraid don't speak and let them wonder why you're not speaking that little game stop it grieves the Holy Spirit how do you know you've totally forgiven you don't tell what they did you don't let them be afraid of you you don't even let them feel guilty listen to this I am your brother Joseph verse 5 and now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves he knows that they're feeling horrible and he's now setting them free he not only has forgiven them he wants them to forgive themselves don't be angry with yourselves have you ever said to somebody well I forgive you but I hope you feel bad about it and what if they don't do you not forgive them well you say Aarti you know don't you that you don't have to forgive them until they repent really where'd you get that oh I just remember I know I do know where you got it it's called the Mosaic law I for an eye tooth for a tooth you want to live under the Mosaic law welcome join it but be sure to keep not only the Ten Commandments but 2,000 pieces of mosaic legislation with it you got to keep the whole load you can't be selective well I like this but no that it's all yours or you can let Jesus be your model and I seem to recall that he said on the cross Father forgive them they don't know what they've done you see what gets your goat is it they don't know how hurt you are when the service is over do me a favor don't walk across the room and go up to somebody and say when I looked in the light of our t sermon I forgive you they will look at you and say for what you will say you know I don't what you do I don't you do I don't you do and now you've got a fight going which is what you wanted you see you can't bear the thought that they don't know how hurt you are and so you go up and say I forgive you which means you haven't the only time ever you say to a person I forgive you it's when they're begging for it that's different but when you initiate it's that I forgive you it's a big lie you're trying to stick the knife in just a little more by the way it takes minimal grace to forgive when they're sorry soft words turn away wrath even with unsaved people but when they're not sorry or they don't know what they've done and then you forgive them takes a lot of grace this is the way to come into your inheritance big time when they don't know what they've done and you forgive them or they know what they've done and they're not sorry you forgive them it doesn't matter the people I had to forgive I never said a word to them it happened here once it happened here I was set free don't be surprised at the people that have hurt you are those close to you don't be surprised if they are among the godly you've heard the poem living with the Saints above oh that will be glory living with the Saints below well that's another story there was no forgiveness at the cross because they had repented quite the opposite they said he saved others he can't save himself hey son of God cook down from the cross so we can see and believe Jesus responds forgive them they don't know that's where you have a chance to be like Jesus and come into an inheritance that is so beautiful how do you know you've done it you don't tell what they did you don't let them be afraid of you you don't let them feel guilty proof number four you let them save face now that's an oriental expression in Dale Carnegie's book how to win friends and influence people he's got a section it's not a Christian book but he's got a section there let the other person save face Dale Carnegie says you'll win a friend for life when you let them save face what it means is you protect their fragile ego you cover for them you act as though you didn't even know they did it instead of rubbing their noses in it you let him save face Joseph said look there's going to be famine for a good while now and I want you to know that you shouldn't be angry with yourselves because God sent me ahead of you Oh God sent me here first in fact in case you didn't get it let me say it again it wasn't you who sent me here but God these brothers can't believe their luck if I may put it that way that the very man that they were going to kill and then sold to the Israelites is now saying God did it I can imagine nefta Lee whispering to Asher did I hear right we didn't do it God did it God sister Judah Jude did he say we didn't do it God did it and Joseph says that's exactly right it's very simple it's very simple humps ins of years ago it was predestined don't you remember God said to Abraham that his seed would be coming up out of Egypt somebody had to get here first and God said Joseph you go first that's all I just got here first you see there's no bitterness no anger none of this saying look I'm prepared to forgive you but first I just want to know one thing why did you do it how could you do this what's the matter with you guys your brother how could you none of that none of that he left some say face the opposite of rubbing their noses in it the opposite of letting them feel guilty God is behind the whole thing proof number five you protect them from their darkest secret or what was their darkest secret I'll tell you what it was it's when they yanked that coat of many colors off josephs back dip that in blood lay it before old jacob who said a wild beast has devoured my son I'll go to my grave in mourning and the brothers thought they got away with it they're probably still nervous that he's going to tell them to go back to Canaan and tell the truth about the coat of many colors that's what they're nervous about they'd rather die they have to tell the old man the truth they'd rather die and Joseph knew that that's why I pointed out as I read notice that Joseph tells them word-for-word what to say when they go back to Canaan he writes the script he won't let them tell he won't let them tell Jacob was never to know he not only let them save face but protected them from their darkest secret chances are you know something about somebody that were you to tell it could destroy them maybe you sometimes threaten assay you know I know about you I just might tell it one day and the person scared to death that you might blow the whistle Jesus wouldn't do that you should assure that person nobody will ever now or a thousand years from now ever no that's the way God is with us listen we've all got skeletons in the cupboard you may be surprised to know and I'm in a position I could see all over this audience there's not one halo here God knows enough on every one of you to destroy you he's not going to he lets us a face he protects us from our darker secret proof number six this is important arguably the most important point total forgiveness I call it a life sentence that means you've got to do it as long as you live it's like when a physician gives you a pill and says you've got to take this the rest of your life I've got one I take a pill in America is called nexium it's acid reflux won't ever heal unless God heals me I take one every morning first thing long as I live life sentence total forgiveness is something you have to do every day as long as you live you say well III did it once that's enough wrong you see the devil is crafty he remind you three weeks from now exactly what they did and you'll get all upset and say well you know for three weeks I've forgiven but God knows I've tried and you renege you stop pointing the finger listen you want to come into your inheritance it's something you have to do as long as you live the people that have hurt you may never come around don't expect it don't expect it that's not why you're forgiving them so that they one day might do this or that because total forgiveness is not necessarily reconciliation in fact sometimes reconciliation is not good you forgive your spouse if they sleep with your best friend but you don't go on holiday with them after that if a man is accused of being a child molester you forgive him but you don't let him teach a little boy Sunday School class so total forgiveness is not necessarily reconciliation but you keep praying for them that God will bless them and you maintain these principles that you don't point the finger you don't tell what they did you don't let them feel guilty all these things you keep doing it as long as you live how does this come out in the Joseph's case who helped in Genesis chapter 50 Jacob dies and the brothers panic and they come running to Joseph and said Joseph before dad died he told us to tell you please forgive us for what we did they make up a story Joseph starts to cry he says what is the matter with you men I told you seventeen years ago I forgave you I forgave you then I forgive you now don't worry it's okay you see it was still holding seventeen years later these brothers thought that all he's doing is waiting for the old man to die and then he's going to get vengeance with the old man dead no 17 years laters after Jacob dies it's still holding it's a life sentence a man says to his wife I thought you forgave me she says well that was yesterday you got to do it today you've got to do it tomorrow you got to do it day after tomorrow you go to six years from now for some of you have hurt so deep so deep but this is your ticket to an inheritance this is the way forward this is the way you get blessing this is the way forward to the anointing you keep on forgiving them last point how do you know you've totally forgiven you bless them you bless them that's what Joseph did in Genesis chapter 50 he says don't worry I will look after you he blessed them you see when Jesus said bless your enemies and pray for them he didn't say Lord I commit them to thee you see that's what we often do Heavenly Father you know what they've done I just commit them to thee what you're really saying god I hope you kill them we don't tell him that we just commit them to thee be all right with me if you'll just give them a rough time Jesus said pray for them bless them you see the genius of Moses on a an occasion when God says Moses that's a sorry lot that you've got following you you know what I'm gonna destroy them I'm going to destroy them and start a new nation you and I together I think most people would hope glory to God thank you lord Joseph sorry Moses instead said Lord you can't do that you cannot do that your name is at stake what are they going to say about you back in Egypt you've got to forgive them that's what God wanted Moses to do but that's his greatness you see when you pray for them you ask God to bless them I came in one Sunday morning at Westminster Chapel those days the minister led the service we're singing the hymn praise my soul the king of heaven and out in the audience was somebody who has done irreparable emotional damage to one of our children when I saw that person out there I lost it couldn't sing to him I was so upset I just mouthed the words then had to read the Bible reading a whole time I read the Bible kept thinking about that person out there I was just livid inside another hymn pastoral prayer I don't know how I prayed I just thought about that person out there what saved me was offering time and the secretary of the church comes up gives the notices and takes the offering and I sit next to the pulpit this does not happen to me every day but it was as though the Lord entered into a conversation with me I don't say this was verbatim but it's pretty close well like this RT you want to see revival in Westminster Chapel is that correct yes Lord good how much do you want to see revival a lot good which would you rather have revival or me to send judgment on that woman out there revival good do you mean that yep pray for her lord I pray for her he said that's not good enough asked me to bless her bless her say it again bless her say it again bless her do you mean that yep and what if I really do answer your prayer and bless her I thought you wouldn't do that would you but that's the point and I could not have preached that day until I start to say bless her bless sir it killed me bless sir until I meant it and to prove I really meant it I to put her on my prayer list the next day and pray for every day thereafter I will tell you something you can misunderstand what I'm about to say but you know I've written a lot of books and you probably think it has to do with my education or my great brain neither do you want to know why I've written so many books I tell you exactly why it's because I began to pray for those who hurt me and it really focused on that one person and I begin to pray every day and I ended up getting an enemies list and praying for them and I just loved it normally God may bless them I hope he does because I've get so much anointing out of it and write more books than I can do and you see you may not be an author I don't know what you will be but get the internal inheritance right forgive them set them free and who knows what God would use you - do do you know why Joseph became prime minister of Egypt it wasn't his great brain it wasn't his diplomatic skills it was because he really had forgiven and God says I can trust you some of you had words given to you in the past that God is going to use you one day and you've cried out how long how long how long how long you can tell you how long as long as it takes to bring you to the place God got Joseph - and there came a day when God looked down from heaven into that dungeon and said I think Joseph is ready he can be trusted and so with you I'm going to ask that nobody leave for the next two minutes it's decision time I made a proposition with you I don't know if you accepted it the deal was this that if I were to show that you haven't totally forgiven after all would you then do it now is that time 60 seconds from now I'm going to ask you if you accept these principles and will now forgive that person or those people whatever I'm going to ask you to stand to your feet you say in front of all these people yes forty seconds from now I'm going to ask you to stand you may be the only one who stands you say well they'll know I've had a problem yes but it's a test whether you want the honor that comes from God only thirty seconds from now I'm going to ask you to stand don't stand unless by standing you're prepared to say I won't tell what the did he say it's too late Artie have already done it don't do it anymore don't stand unless by standing you're prepared to say I won't let them be afraid of me I won't let them feel guilty I will let them save face I will protect them from their darkest secret I accept this as a life sentence and I will bless them five four three two one stand your feet if you're prepared now totally to forgive them stand your feet remain standing I'll wait 15 seconds anybody else get in on this it may not come around like this you're that are standing I'm gonna ask you to leave your seats go to the nearest aisle and come down to the front come quickly come quickly come all the way to the front to leave room for a row behind you come all the way to the front leave room for a roll behind you second row leave room for a third row if you ask me this is the most beautiful sight in South Africa on this night of the 10th of May 2012 I could have dismissed you two minutes to go and I could have said when you get home do it I could have done that or I could have let you stay standing and say well done now you can sit down I could have done that you know why I've done just like this I don't want you ever to forget what you've just done I want this to be a memory so there's more than that we are now going to pray we're going into a prayer covenant a prayer covenant in the Bible is very serious and any covenant the Old Testament was always ratified by blood Michael Eaton has written a book on covenant it's a brilliant book shape your mind the Covenant was something you you you took seriously now look what you've just done but coming forward and standing that's the easy part the hard part will be an hour from now you think well what did I do the hard part tomorrow morning after a cup of coffee you say I can't believe I did that so look we haven't prayed yet you can still get out of it I'm not gonna look and see who's praying it's not between you and me this is between you and God this is a serious moment and if you're prepared to enter into this covenant I just want you to know that the blood was shed 2,000 years ago and you're now under the blood of Jesus you might want to put your hands like this is this to receive you don't have to put them up high you're out your arms I get tired there you want to put them up that's fine but just just the point is to receive from the Lord out loud with me as long as you can say this and mean it Lord Jesus Christ I need you I want you I'm sorry for my sins wash my sins away by your blood I'm sorry for my bitterness I'm sorry for my anger I forgive them you forgive them I won't tell what they did I won't let them be afraid of me I won't let them feel guilty I will let them save face I will protect them from their darkest secret I accept this as a life sentence I will keep forgiving them and I will bless them I bless them now you bless them I set them free I set them free I set them free come Holy Spirit come heavenly dove come into my heart to stay thank you for your patience with me as best as I know how I give you my life amen some people when they do this solve their heart sound others feel nothing just want you to know total forgiveness is an act of the will don't go buy anything else but you've done the right thing the devil will remind you what they did and you get all torn up inside resist the devil don't listen to him remember you've got an inheritance you're going to enter into a big time best way I know to come into your inheritance is through what we're talking about tonight god bless you go in peace

Channel: RT Kendall

Views: 42,908

Rating: 4.7729731 out of 5

Keywords: rt kendall, sermon, christian, forgiveness, unconditional love, forgiveness from god

Id: KaPePGFOB-8

Length: 68min 21sec (4101 seconds)

Published: Wed Nov 20 2013