The Power of Forgiveness

The problem with unforgiveness is that many people have it but don't realize it and don't think they have it at all! I had it for years for many things and did not realize it until recently. I think this is because most of us don't have a great definition for it.

Resentment is a complex emotion that can be described as a combination of anger, disappointment, and disgust. Resentment leads to unforgiveness and bitterness, among many other things.

Here's the best definition for resentment/unforgiveness that I have ever seen: THE SHOULD NOTS.

For example: If I say, "I should not have done that or you should not have done that" (aka JUDGEMENT) without any intention of trying to make the situation better (including saying a simple prayer for myself or the other person).

*If I have no intention of improving the situation in any way and I am just negatively judging, then I guarantee that I have resentment/unforgiveness.

Keep that in mind, it will serve you well and keep your heart, thoughts, words, and actions pure.

The following are notes from the book, "Listen to Me, Satan" by Carlos Annacondia.

Through many crusades which included many signs and wonders, Carlos is estimated to have brought over 2 million people in Argentina and beyond to Christ. This is only a small portion from that book and I highly recommend it!!

With some people, despite preaching the gospel and leading them to pray the confession of faith and receiving Christ in their heart, Annacondia would then pray for them but would not feel the blessing of God reaching them. When he then prayed and asked God why the person was not being healed, God told him that it was because the person's heart was full of hatred, and God's blessing could not reach them unless they could forgive.

There are times when it is not easy to forgive someone who has deeply hurt us. There are many stories of people that were abused as children, that were raped, betrayed, attacked, etc. All of those things significantly hurt people's hearts. And maybe we feel that the people who have hurt us don't deserve our forgiveness. However, we need to realize that we have committed even worse sins against our Lord Jesus Christ, but he still forgives us of every single one of them. Remember he said as he was dying a horrible death on the cross: "Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34)

It can help to realize that forgiveness is not a feeling, it is a choice. If we had to feel like forgiving, most would never do it.

Matthew 6:12, 14-15 states: "Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."

What is sin? It is simply the choice of turning our backs on seeking God and doing what God wants for us. God made us for a relationship with Him, he did not make us to be like robots following his every instruction. God is a "gentleman" and does not force Himself on us. We all have free will, and even we can make heartless robots. But God made us for a relationship with Him, just as a parent would want with their own child.

The Bible says we have a debt to God for being created. Our love and devotion are the price of our debt to our God who is nothing but Good and gives us immeasurable love. But remember that God said the wages of sin is death. He put a price on man's soul, and if we could get the money to pay for it, we would. But the Bible tells us that the soul of a person is worth more than gold or silver. This means that we cannot buy God's forgiveness - we cannot pay Him for His sacrifice on the cross! So we have to pay with our own life for our rebellion and disobedience. That means that the price of sin is death (and sickness, although it is important to note that not all sickness is due to sin).

But here's the beautiful thing that God did for us: when God saw that the whole human race was lost and that we all had to die because we followed evil instead of God's instructions, He sent Jesus to us. Jesus lived a perfect life without sin, so that all who believed in Christ's justice would not be lost but would receive blessing while on earth and eternal life afterwards. He did not send Jesus to condemn the world; He sent Jesus so the world could be saved through Him. Therefore, just as sin entered the world through the first humans (Adam and Eve), and death entered the world through their sin, through Jesus forgiveness and blessing were given to us. On the cross, Jesus said, "It is finished" - meaning our debt was paid (John 19:30).

Every feeling of anger, hatred, or resentment is an open door to the devil. These feelings, once under the devil's control, bring about suicides, depression, madness, and every kind of disease. 70% of the people that came into Annacondia's revival tents for Deliverance were found to be demonically possessed, but most of their spiritual problems were due to a lack of forgiveness.

Ephesians 4:26-27 - "In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold." This verse does not say that we cannot get angry, but God does not want that anger to last overnight. Every night before we go to sleep, let's straighten things out with the Lord and also with those we may have hurt or offended that day.

For God, to hate another person is the same as killing them. "Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him" (1 John 2:9-11). God says that anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness.

1 John 4:20-21 says that if we love God, yet hate our brother, we are liars. Because if we cannot love our brother, whom we have seen, how can we love God, whom we have not seen? So God tells us that: "Whoever loves God must also love his brother."

At times, when preaching about forgiveness, Annacondia heard people shout, "Lord, I forgive!" He states that in that very moment, they received the miracle they have been asking for and were filled with the Holy spirit.

If we want to fill a bottle with water, but we immerse it in water with a top on it, the bottle will remain empty. We have to remove the top so that the bottle can get filled. We need to forgive and remove what is stopping the spirit of God to freely flow in our lives.

The secret lies in what we confess. We may not have the ability to go and see the person we need to forgive; maybe that person is already dead or lives far away, but we can always confess our forgiveness to God, while saying that person's name who we choose to forgive out loud. Saying these things out loud is VERY important, because God is always listening to us and even knows our thoughts, but the devil does not know our thoughts because only God is omniscient (all-knowing).

Through confession to God, the Holy Spirit will fill our heart with love and heal every wound, and the devil will see our obedience to God and will have to leave us alone!

Satan brought sin to the world, and as a result came sickness and death. Christ came to destroy the works of the devil, and one of them is sickness. We therefore can truly believe that He will heal our diseases today. Christ carried our sins and our illnesses. If we can accept this then we can be healed!

Who do we have problems with? Who do we need to forgive? Forgiveness is our choice and we should not wait any longer. If we don't forgive, then God cannot bless us because we are choosing to block God out of our life and keep the door open to satan instead. We need to restore the broken relationships in our hearts in order for our life to be filled with God's many blessings.

Below are some renouncements which can help loosen the foothold of evil on a person and allow them to be set free from demonic oppression:

Rejection:

"In the name of Jesus Christ, I renounce the lie that I am unloved and unlovable. I renounce the lie that I am not wanted, not desired and not good enough. In Jesus name, I announce the Truth that by virtue of my baptism I am a beloved son or daughter of the Father. I announce the truth that He loves me so much that Jesus gave his life for me, and that there is no greater love possible (John 15). I announce the truth that the Love of God has been poured out into my heart through the Holy Spirit. I announce the truth that I am loved and valued, wanted and desired, and that I am precious in the Father's eyes".

Abandonment:

"In the name of Jesus Christ, I renounce the lie that I am alone, that no one understands me or cares for me. I renounce the lie that I am unprotected, and that God has abandoned me. In Jesus' name, I announce the Truth that Jesus himself promised me, "I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5); "I will be with you always till the end of time" (Matthew 28). I announce the truth that I am connected and understood and deeply cared for. I announce the Truth in Holy Communion I am united with Christ and The Communion of Saints. They are always with me, so I am never alone."

Fear:

"In the name of Jesus Christ, I renounce the lie that if I trust, then I will be hurt, disappointed or die. In the name of Jesus, I renounce all fear, anxiety, mistrust and distrust. I renounce the lie that I am not safe and not protected. And I announce the Truth that God is my rock, my fortress, my deliverer and my protector (Psalms 23, 27, 91). I announce the Truth that God's perfect love cast out all fear (1 John 4:18). I announce the Truth that I am safe and secure."

Shame:

"In the name of Jesus Christ, I renounce the lie that I am bad, dirty, ugly, stupid, worthless, perverted. And in Jesus name, I announce the Truth that Jesus died for my sins and that I am forgiven, washed, cleansed, justified, and accepted (1 Corinthians 6). I announce the Truth that Jesus did not come to condemn me but to save me (John 3:17-21; Romans 8:1; John 8:10-11). I announce the Truth that in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, I am forgiven and set free. I announce the Truth that I am pure and worthy, not because of what I have done, but because of what Jesus has done for me.

Powerlessness:

"In the name of Jesus Christ, I renounce the lie that I am powerless, weak, unable to change, not capable; that I am stuck, trapped, that I don't know what to do". In Jesus' name, I announce the Truth that Jesus promised that His grace is perfected in my weakness, so that when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:8-10). I announce the Truth, that "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13) I announce the Truth that "where the Holy Spirit is there is freedom." (2 Corinthians 3:17). Therefore, I accept the truth that I am empowered by Christ and liberated by the Holy Spirit. I announce the Truth that through Confirmation, I am anointed with the power of the Holy Spirit, who lives and dwells in me."

Hopelessness:

"In the name of Jesus Christ, I renounce the lie that nothing ever changes and I will never have what I want. I renounce the lie that my life is meaningless and that I have nothing to live for. In Jesus name, I announce the Truth that my hope is steadfast in Christ, and that He makes all things new (John 21:5). I announce the Truth that because my hope is in Christ I will not be disappointed (Romans 5:5); I announce the truth that "I am being transformed from glory to glory into the image of Christ (2 Cor 3:18); and that God is at work in me, and what he begins he will bring to completion (Philippians 1: 6) Therefore I am filled with hope in the good things to come".

Confusion:

"In the name of Jesus Christ, I renounce the lie that everything is confusion, that I don't understand anything and that it is up to me to figure things out on my own. In Jesus' name, I announce the truth that I have the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16) and that the Holy Spirit reveals whatever I need to know when I need to know it (1 Cor 1:7). I announce the truth that the Lord gives wisdom and understanding to anyone who asks (James 1:5). I announce the Truth that God has given His Church to lead me into all Truth. I announce the Truth that I have understanding and enlightenment from the Lord."