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Sept. 11, 2017 - Jim Bakker Show
10:18
7 Proofs of Forgiveness - Dr. R.T. Kendall on The Jim Bakker Show
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Time Text
Proof Number Four 00:06:44
Total forgiveness goes right against nature because the most natural thing in the world is to want to see them punished.
It's natural.
So when you totally forgive, you're going against nature.
I have to say also it's an act of the will.
God's not going to knock you down.
He will use his word.
And this moment, he's speaking.
The Bible says, seek the Lord while he may be found.
Call upon him while he is near.
Well, he's near now.
This is probably the closest you're going to get.
In this moment, when this kind of teaching is put to you, well, then the question is, how do you know that you have totally forgiven?
Well, I give five proofs, but I will go through them quickly.
Proof number one, you don't tell anybody what they did to you.
You see, Joseph had everybody leave the room when he was going to reveal his identity to his brothers.
The reason he had everybody leave is because he's going to persuade them to come and live in Egypt.
He doesn't want anybody in Egypt to know what they did to him.
Joseph knows that he is a hero in Egypt.
He wants his brothers to be heroes.
They're the ones that did what they did to him.
And now he's protecting them.
So behind closed doors, he reveals who he is.
He knows if the word leaks out, every Egyptian to a man would hate him, which is the way he used to feel one day.
There was a day he wanted everybody to hate them.
But proof number one, you don't tell anybody what they did to you.
Now, there are two exceptions.
One, you need to tell one other person for therapeutic reasons.
I told Joseph, so you need to tell your pastor, somebody you trust.
You can tell one, not two, not ten, not 500.
One.
The other exception, I had a lady come into my vestry at Westminster Chapel, and she said, they have found my rapist, and they want me to testify in a court of law.
I said, well, you must.
Oh, Dr. Kendall, you've taught me to forgive, and I've forgiven it.
I said, well, I believe you.
It's not personal.
He is a danger to society, which means a crime must be reported.
That's different, but it's not personal.
Proof number two, you don't let them be afraid of you.
You see, perfect love casts out fear.
Fear has to do with punishment.
You want to see them punished.
You want to punish them.
And what did Joseph do when he saw his brothers?
He says, come close to me.
He just wanted to love them.
They couldn't believe it.
They couldn't believe it.
He had totally forgiven.
He just wanted to love on them.
Proof number three, you don't even let them feel guilty.
He said, look, I know what you've done.
But he said, don't even be angry with yourselves.
You may say to somebody, well, I forgive you, but I hope you feel bad about it.
Look, you're still wanting to rub their noses in it.
You set them free.
And don't be surprised if the person you have to forgive is close to you.
They might even be well known.
Maybe they're known as being godly.
You know, Christians can be the meanest people in the world.
You may have to forgive another Christian for what they've done.
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.
Proof number four.
Proof number four, you let them save face.
I use the phrase, rubbing their noses in it.
That's what we want to do.
Joseph could look at them and say, look here, don't be angry with yourselves.
God sent me ahead of you.
Somebody had to get here first because it was predestined.
God said to our grandfather Abraham that your seed will be coming up out of Egypt.
Somebody had to go first.
God said, Joseph, you go first.
He said, that's all it was.
And he says, God did it.
It wasn't you who did it.
God did it.
You know, these brothers, they can't believe their luck.
The very man they were going to kill is now saying God is at the bottom of it.
You let them save face.
Proof number five, you protect them from their darkest secret.
Actually, what was their dark secret?
Well, they yanked that coat of many colors off Joseph's back, dipped it in blood, lay it before old Jacob.
Actually, they didn't lay it.
They sent it.
I don't know if you ever noticed this.
They didn't take it.
They sent it.
They couldn't face their father.
And they said, we found this.
See if you recognize it.
Well, Jacob took the bait.
And they would rather die, those 11 brothers, than have to tell their dad what happened.
He won't let them.
He tells them what to do when they go back to Canaan.
He writes the script.
He won't let them.
Chances are you know something about somebody.
If you were to reveal it, it would destroy them.
Set them free.
Let them know.
No one will ever know.
There are actually seven proofs, not five.
Proof number six, and this is so important, total forgiveness is a life sentence.
It's like your physician gives you a pill.
You're going to have to take this the rest of your life.
I have to take an acid reflux pill every morning.
I took it this morning.
As long as I live, I have to take it.
You see, total forgiveness is something you have to do as long as you live.
You never outgrow it.
You say, well, I did it once, that's enough.
Wrong.
Husband says to the wife, I thought you forgave me.
Oh, she says, well, that was yesterday.
No.
You've got to do it today.
You've got to do it tomorrow.
You have to do it next week.
A year from now, 10 years from now.
Blessing Others Prayers 00:03:48
Don't expect them to come around because you're praying for them.
Oh, by the way, you don't tell them that you're praying for them and all that.
That's just going to make you look good and them look bad.
When you pray for them, it's something between you and God.
So be careful about that.
But you're going to have to forgive them as long as you live.
And principle number seven is when you bless them.
You pray for them.
You actually ask God to bless them.
You say, well, R.T., I can never do that.
I understand it.
But Jesus said, bless your enemy.
He didn't just say, pray, oh, Lord, I commit them to you.
You see, you're hoping God will kill them.
You actually ask God to bless them.
Do I have time to tell a story?
Yes, you do.
Okay.
I remember coming into Westminster Chapel one Sunday morning, leading the worship as we did in those days.
We're singing the great English hymn, Praise my soul, the King of heaven.
And I looked out of the audience.
There was a woman out there who has done irreparable emotional damage to one of our children.
When I saw her out there, I lost it.
I couldn't sing.
I just had to mouth the words.
And then I had to read the scripture.
Another hymn.
I don't know how I got through it.
Then I had to pray.
I always prayed five, six, seven minutes.
I don't know how I prayed.
I kept thinking of that woman, how could she be here?
I was angry.
What saved me was offering time.
I sat down and the deacon comes, greets the people, lifts the offering, and it gave me five minutes.
I'm sitting there by the pulpit.
Jim, Lori, this has not happened to me before or since.
But that morning, as I sat there on the pulpit in my chair, it was like a conversation.
Is clear?
The Lord said, R.T., you want to see revival in Westminster Chapel?
Is that right?
Yes, Lord.
Good.
How much do you want to see revival?
Oh, a lot.
Which would you rather have, revival or for me to punish that woman out there?
Wow.
Revival.
But you had to think about it.
Wait, he said, Are you sure?
Then I want you to pray for that woman.
I pray for her.
Wow.
He said, That's not good enough.
Ask me to bless her.
Oh, yes.
Bless her.
Say it again.
Bless her.
Say it again.
Bless her.
Do you mean that?
Yep.
So what if I answer your prayer and I bless her?
Lord, you wouldn't do that, would you?
But that's the point.
And I had to start saying, Lord, bless her, bless her, is killing me.
Bless her.
And to prove a minute, I to put her on my prayer list every day from then on.
You know what?
Guess what, Jim?
The Lord answered my prayer.
That woman thrives today.
She thrives.
You know, when I get to heaven, I'm going to go up to her and say, I know how you.
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