
No greater
stumbling stone have I found in churches and among individual believers
than this – reluctance to forgive!
I have seen
“born again” Spirit-filled believers change churches rather than forgive
an offense, rather than humbling themselves and moving on forward in love.
I have found
“devoted” believers in the Lord holding on to a grudge, fostering
bitterness, unwilling to humble their flesh and put pride to death.
Our Heavenly
Father and Yeshua had me once teach on forgiveness but only AFTER I had
walked through the “Gate of forgiveness” in Germany. This “Gate of forgiveness"
resulted in my being immediately set free from the many years of deep seated
bitterness and pain the shadow of the Nazi Holocaust had cast over my soul.
Forgiving the
German people for having robbed me of everything except life itself liberated
my soul while at the same time catapulted me into divine freedom unlike
anything I had ever known.

Now the Lord
would have me teach once again on forgiveness, an act of free will so powerful
and far reaching that it would surely bring worldwide revival.
Revival has
been desired in every generation. Hundreds and thousands have fasted and
prayed for hours, days and weeks on end, depriving themselves of every
pleasure for the ushering in of revival. Yet, why the fires of revival
burn lower and lower until they die out eludes the churches and their leaders.
What causes
this heavenly fire to wane?
BITTERNESS
AND GRUDGES!
What causes
it to flicker to near extinction?
JUDGMENT, JEALOUSY
AND ENVY, LIES, SLANDER AND THE POINTING OF THE FINGER. (Along with,
of course, sinful immorality!)
And what extinguishes
this heavenly fire for sure?
UNFORGIVENESS!

Let us consider
THE FORGIVENESS OF THE LORD:
Whenever we
fall short in holiness and righteousness; whenever we commit impure acts,
lie, and cheat and are dishonest; whenever we commit any sin at all, no
matter how great or small, when we repent to the Lord with all our hearts
and ask Him for forgiveness… what happens?
Does He say,
“No, you’ve really messed up, this is unforgivable, be gone” and dump us
like a hot potato?
Does He say,
“Yes, I forgive you, you are forgiven of your trespass, I love you” but
then has no more dealings with us, and we cease to exist for Him?
How DOES He
forgive?
While near
the broken-hearted and the contrite in spirit, He refuses to despise the
sinner who repents of his sins. Not only this, but He actually FORGETS
the sin, the offense, the wrongdoing, the trespass, remembering it NO MORE!
HE LOVES US
as much and as dearly AS BEFORE AS THOUGH WE HAD NEVER SINNED!
What hope would
there be if our Heavenly Father and Lord Yeshua treated us as so many of
us treat each other?
NONE!!! We
would be desolate, lost, bereft of all hope!
Are we not
comforted in knowing that when He forgives us He STILL loves us? Are we
not strengthened in knowing that He will NEVER leave us nor forsake us?
When the Lord
forgives, He FORGIVES TOTALLY!