SCRIPTURAL REFERENCES
(Matthew 6:14) “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:”
(Matthew 6:15) “But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
(Matthew 18:21-22) (21) “Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?” (22) “Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy ties seven.”
(Matthew 18:23-28) (23) “Therefore, is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.” (24) “And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.” (25) “But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.”
(Matthew 18:26-28) (26) “The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.” (27) “Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.” (28) “But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow servants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.”
(Matthew 18:29-31) (29) “And his fellow servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.” (30) “And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.” (31) “So, when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.”
(Matthew 18:32-34) (32) “Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:” (33) “Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee?” (34) “And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.”
(Matthew 18:35) (35) “So likewise, shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not everyone his brother their trespasses.”
PREFACE SUMMARY
Dear reader, this message on how to react and deal with unforgiveness is essential in our advancement in the kingdom of God and how we respond instead of reacting to situations will demonstrate that we have the maturity and the character needed to fulfill our purpose in that position.
Beloved, did you know that there is an old saying stating that when you fail to forgive and resent someone, you fall into the enemy's trap of become his or her slave?
Saints, did you not know that the stronger the resentment, the more time you spend thinking about it including being caught up in the anger that fuels its fire, with the bottom line can be best described as bringing the unforgiving person into a mental, emotional, and lastly into spiritual bondage?
Beloved, did you not know that the person holding the resentment is the one who suffers the most, and I have found in my studies while seeking the Lord concerning this message that some experts have likened resentment to the one holding the hurt and grudge to be likened to the one drinking some poison while waiting on the other person to die?
Dear reader, this message teaches how to live a life of forgiveness in an unforgiving world as we celebrate the Jewish feast of Yom Kippur which is the Day Atonement, known as the Feast of Tabernacles, which calls for us to afflict the physical body and cleanse the soul in true repentance before God and others.
WHY DID YOU HURT ME
Beloved reader, David spoke in (Psalms 55:12) that he could have endured it if an enemy had insulted him, but it was a man of his equal, his guide and acquaintance; one that had accompanied him to the house of God.
Beloved, did you know there are good people today dealing with church hurts from would-be pastors that may have damaged them for life?
Saints, the pastors had led them to Christ and encouraged them to be faithful to their church, even bringing them into their inner circle of other pastors attempting to train them for ministry, but without warning, the pastors dropped them like they never existed, causing them to suffer agonizing moments wondering what happened and what have they done to deserve this kind of treatment?
Church, these people have been faithful to their church and made sure that their tithes were paid on time, but here they are feeling hurt, betrayed, and used because they had their faith in a man instead of God.
Saints, these people are like King David when he said, “I could have endured it if it were an enemy or someone who hated me, but this is mine equal, a man of God that has shared his life with me, a man who was raising me to be a minister in his church and now has turned a cold shoulder toward me, not answering any of my phone calls and not even looking my way as he attempts to deliver the Sunday morning message.”
Beloved, these are just a few instances that I have witnessed that caused ministers to hurt so bad that they actually decided that if this is what I must endure to be in ministry, then give it to somebody else. It can take their entire lifetime to realize that hurting people hurts people, but God's grace will never reject them.
INSIGHTS FROM THE UNFORGIVING SERVANT
(Matthew 18:21-22) (21) “Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?” (22) “Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.”
Beloved reader, notice verse (21) speaking of Peter asking the Lord if his brother sins against him, should he forgive him seven times, but special notice in rhyme (22) how the Lord instructed his disciples to ignore them seventy times seven.
In this statement, the Lord attempts to instill a spiritual truth in his disciples concerning the love and forgiveness of our heavenly father.
(Matthew 18:23-35) speaks of the kingdom of heaven by giving a parable of a rich King who had a servant who owed him something like 2.4 million dollars, which would have taken the servant (10) lifetimes to begin to pay back the debt, but because the servant fell before the king asking for patience because he had heard the king demand payment and that he, his wife and children be sold to pay the debt.
Church, the scriptures teach that the king had compassion on the servant and forgave the debt, but the servant went down the road and found someone who owed him the sum of ($14.00) and did not show compassion even though the man asked for more time to pay the debt.
Beloved, the servant did not forgive the debt and did not even grant the man more time to pay the debt but had him cast into debtors’ prison, taking him away from being the breadwinner for his family.
Saints, some servants witnessed the wicked, unforgiving servant and told the king, who angrily summoned him before him, demanding that he be turned over to the tormentors until he had paid his debt to the king and beloved; the Lord ended the parable by informing his disciples that our heavenly father will do the same to us if we fail to show compassion and forgive those that trespass against us.
Beloved, can we take this time to reflect on our life and recall the many times that God not only forgave us but hid us in times of trouble, even when we were guilty, and he chose to forgive and cleanse us of our sin?
Saints, if we go through life expecting others to be like us, we will go through life extremely disappointed, but the bottom line in this message is that, "We must forgive to be forgiven."
DEALING WITH OUR EMOTIONS
Dearly beloved, did you know that I, like many others, have been hurt so severely that I attempted to take my life on three different occasions? If God had not intervened, I would not be here today.
Saints, there is one important lesson I have learned in life, and that lesson is, "No matter what we may be going through or how much we may think that we have lost, there is always someone going through worse situations and has lost many times more than we have."
Beloved, I would not be where I am today and be mature enough to stay where I am today if I had not suffered these many years, which not only worked to develop my character but served to give me a good education on the character of others and how my confidence must be in the Lord my God and not in any human person born on this planet.
Saints, the living God personally, through visions and dreams, taught me how to deal with past hurts and disappointments, teaching me that some people come into our life for a short period either to teach us or to educate us while others are assigned to go with us to support us and all our life’s circumstances have been designed to shape us for our destiny and purpose for which we were born.
Beloved, the Lord used the scriptures found in (Matthew 18:21-35) concerning the king and the unforgiving servant to reveal my need to break free from past hurts, especially for the ministry he was calling me to.
Saints, did you know that the Lord is a high priest whom the feeling of our infirmities can touch, and did you know that he knows what it is like to be slandered and betrayed?
Dear readers, when the blessed Lord came to me speaking about the feelings I was harboring inside, he said, “Jerry, you want me to judge those that have tried to destroy you?” and I replied, “No, Lord, not really, but it would help if you allowed them to feel some pain before that attempt to hurt someone else.”
Beloved, the Lord said, “Jerry, you must forgive them if my father is to forgive you, but one thing I want you to understand is that “Just because you forgive them does not mean I will forgive them, for they are accountable to me for their transgressions.”
Saints, I want you to know that this revelation shook me up as God reminded me of King David, when caught in his sin, asked the Lord not to remove his Holy Spirit from him. (Psalms 51:10-11) (10) “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” (11) “Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy holy spirit from me.
Beloved, did you know that King David, even after being forgiven of his sin of having a man killed to take his wife, had to pay dearly for his transgression, which took more than forty years, causing him to suffer from a disease that caused his flesh to stink which helps us to realize that every transgression will be brought into judgment?
Dear readers, the word instructs us in (Romans 12:20) & (Proverbs 25:21-23) to pray for our enemies, including feeding them, and in so doing, we shall heap coals of fire upon their heads, which means beloved when we obey these scriptures, these people will be brought before the courts of heaven for judgment.
Dear Saints, many times when I have had to do this, the enemy would bring them to my mind, and when this would happen, I would physically hold up my hands, telling God that this is his mail and not mine.
Beloved, you may say, Dr. Jerry, how did you ever get to a place where you can do this and not hold them accountable?
Dear Saints, the answer to that question would be God brought me to a place of humility by asking me questions that opened my spiritual eyes in a way I had never seen before.
Saints, the Lord visited me on several occasions to bring me to a place of true repentance and not allow people or the things of this world that are temporal to hide my view of him, who is eternal.
Beloved, in one vision, the Lord asked me if I would like to feel some of his hurt and how I would react if he informed me that I was guilty of breaking his commandments, which is plain in the scriptures that if we fail in keeping one, we are guilty of breaking them all and remember beloved, that Jesus added an eleventh commandment which instructs us to love one another.
Beloved Saints, the scriptures speak of our Lord being in agony on the cross, asking the Father to forgive those mocking, slandering, and even attempting to take his life, for they know not what they do, and we find Stephen in the holy scriptures doing the same thing, even as the stones were pounding his body.
Dear readers, we need to understand that there is a place in God where you can forgive those who gave into temptations to bring harm your way, but please know and understand that hurting people are inclined to break and hurt others, which answers a lot of questions to why some earthly fathers do not know how to show love toward their family, because in truth, they did not have a father figure in their life or they suffered from the hands of an abusive father.
Beloved, my wife and I deal with these losses by sowing them into the kingdom of God, which releases us from dealing with emotions, especially when meeting the ones who did us wrong.
Dear readers, the best illustration I can use to convey what I am speaking of would be what financial executives do today in marketing when a company would like to be relieved from its debts.
Dearly beloved, the company in trouble would market out their debts to another company that will assume their obligations and financial loss, which frees up the company because they have sold the debt; however, those who owed the debt still must pay the company that assumed the responsibility to collect the debt owed.
Saints, when the enemy brings a memory of how you have been done to your mind, my advice is to physically hold up your hand and give it to God even if you have to do it fifty times a day because beloved the scriptures teach in (Colossians 3:13-25) that we should forbear one another which means that we should not quarrel but give God time to work on both ends bringing us to repentance before God and our fellowmen.
UNFORGIVENESS CAN CAUSE CANCER
Did you know that unforgiveness makes us feel angry, cold, hard, bitter, and resentful toward someone and the impact of unforgiveness on our life can affect us physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually?
Beloved, when we decide not to forgive, we are deciding to hold onto the offense, and when we hold onto the offense, we chose to focus on our pain and choose to relive the moment that offended us, especially when we encounter the offender on the street or even in church.
(Ephesians 4:31-32) "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."
Beloved, Lazarus who sat at the rich mans gate might have had sores on the outside but there are people sitting in churches today that have sores on the inside, yes beloved, they are bleeding on the inside because of being wounded in some way by another person, mentally, emotionally, or even physically.
Dearly beloved, this past October of 2022, we just celebrated the days for “Yom Kippur” which can better be defined as the “Day of Atonement” or “The Feast of Tabernacles,” and we are to celebrate by afflicting ourselves in true repentance before the Lord and any wrong doings toward our fellow man.
Beloved, the feasts are designed to get the focus off of our physical bodies and on our souls, but beloved, today in this message, I want to focus on unforgiveness and show that if left unchecked, this evil mindset can turn into resentment and cause physical harm to our bodies including cancer because it causes the body to release harmful hormones in our body which causes stress and prevents the body from producing killer cells needed to fight cancer.
Beloved, did you know that unforgiveness is listed in medical books as a disease, and according to Dr. Steven Standiford, chief of surgery at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America, refusing to forgive makes people sick and keeps them that way, therefore beloved, forgiveness therapy is now being used to help treat diseases, such as cancer.
Saints, we find in (Luke 16:19-31) Jesus speaking of the rich man and Lazarus who is referred to as a beggar laying at the gate of the rich man covered with sores and the bible speaks of the wild dogs of the city having compassion on the beggar by licking the sores that were on his body.
Beloved reader, I mentioned the story of the rich man and Lazarus the beggar to say this, “the beggar Lazarus might have had sores on the outside but there are people sitting in churches today that have sores on the inside.”
Dear Saints, did you not know that there are many people today sitting in church pews that are living in spiritual bondage because they have not dealt with past hurts and disappointments?
Beloved, you might ask the question, “how can this affect my body and my walk with God,” and I would reply because it affects your immune system and these undealt with emotions open the door for evil spirits to come in and attack us.
Saints, did you know that emotions are deeply tied to our overall physical well-being, therefore when our minds and spirits are suffering, our bodies follow suit, because beloved, the magnitude that emotions can have on our bodies which result in anxiety and depression is very harmful for they cause our bodies to feel overtired, run down, and can greatly reduce our immune system.
Dear reader, did you know that there are people today harboring deep rooted unforgiveness deep within and they are not even aware of it, because beloved, in their minds, they feel as though they have dealt with it but the truth is that there is a little boy or little girl inside that is hurt so bad that they have learned to build walls up to protect themselves from being hurt again and just like Lazarus (not Lazarus the beggar) who Jesus later raised from the dead, came forth in grave clothes which needed others to remove them to set him free.
Beloved Saints, we need each other to help get the grave clothes (bandages of past hurts and disappointments) unwrapped from our life and be willing to forgive those that have wronged us for Jesus stated in (Matthew 6:14-15) that if we do not forgive others of their trespasses, neither will our heavenly father forgive us our trespasses, therefore if we forgive, we shall be forgiven and be able to live the abundant life which is found in Christ.
UNFORGIVENESS DAMAGES YOUR SOUL
Dear readers, did you know that withholding forgiveness from someone who has hurt us can hurt us, for we may think we’re breaking the other person when, in reality, we’re hurting ourselves?
Beloved readers, did you not know that when people withhold forgiveness or harbor resentment towards someone else, things are often worse for them than others?
The dictionary word for resentment means = "A bitter indignation at having been mistreated." "This could include anger because you have been forced to accept something that you do not like or approve of.
The dictionary word for Indignation means = "Anger or annoyance provoked by what is perceived as unfair treatment."
Beloved Saints, did you know that uncontrolled, deep-seated anger can cause the body to release toxins that affect our immune system, thus causing diseases such as gallbladder trouble, kidney problems, heart disease, depression, diabetes, and cancer?
Beloved, the bottom line to this entire message is that when we fail to forgive, we repeatedly injure ourselves and further the damage inflicted on our souls, including sickness upon our physical bodies.
MY CONCLUSION
Church, we are entering a climax with the kingdom of darkness and we need to be trained in dealing with trauma and emotional crisis in people but how are we going to fulfill that role if we need counseling and deliverance in our own lives therefore the bottom line would be “people do not care how much you know until they know how much you care” which is some sound advice given personally to me by my mentor Apostle Don Stewart.
Beloved, the way we extend mercy to others could be compared to someone bringing sunshine into the life of a hurting person because the reality is that if we strive to be that kind of person, we will be unable to keep it from shinning in our own life for God is love and it is that character that distinguishes him from others.
Saints, may we absorb this teaching and use it to make us a better person, one that is willing to look past the faults of others considering ourselves understanding that if God were to pull back his spirit from us, we are just as capable of doing even worse things that people have done to us therefore let us humble ourselves before his loving arms and pray that he would cause the words of our lips and the meditation of our heart to be acceptable in his sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.(Psalms 19:14)
In closing, let me say that this message came about when I recently had an encounter with the Spirit of God informing me of why a person, I had prayed for in a miracle service last summer had never received their healing. The person had needed a creative miracle concerning growth on their body.
Beloved, I have witnessed God take growths away even after they had been admitted to the hospital causing the doctors to want to learn more about our awesome God but in this case, months had went by and no healing.
It just so happens that before the end of the year, my wife and I encountered the person needing the healing.
We were on our way to the airport when we had an urge to stop and get some lunch.
By God’s province and divine encounters, the person needing the healing was in the restaurant.
I walked over and informed them that I had never give up on believing God for their healing and proceeded to inform them that there are some stipulations which must be met in-order to receive our healing, and one of them is the way we treat our spouse.
I had no idea of what their hindrance was but I began to minister to them informing them that unforgiveness is a dangerous roadblock that will stop the blessings of God.
I informed them that according to the scriptures, we must forgive to be forgiven but because we forgive them, does not mean that they are still accountable to God for hurting us, and when we forgive them, we just transfer the debt to him therefore they no longer owe us but they do owe him.
Beloved, after sharing with them what God placed on my heart, I politely placed my hand on their shoulder and prayed for them.
After prayer, I walked to re-join the party at our table and bowed my head to than the Lord for another opportunity to pray as I took authority over any spirit of retaliation that might have got stirred up when I prayed for the person with the need.
Beloved, I was in mid-sentence in the prayer when the Spirit of God spoke out loud in my spirit, “Resentment!”
Saints, the Lord was letting me know that the reason this person had not received their healing is because deep down inside, they were harboring resentment and remember that the word speaks volumes in (Matthew 6: 15) that if we forgive not men their trespasses, neither will our heavenly father forgive us.
MY CLOSING PRAYER
Dear Lord, thank you for the opportunity to close this message with a word of prayer to all who will take time out of their busy schedule and read it with an open heart. Father, I ask that you move to bless each one that, through this message, has surrendered their life more to your purpose, and I ask that you intensify the work that you have begun in their life and ministry.
Lord, I ask that you bless them spiritually, financially, physically, relationally, and emotionally so that their life may be blessed to enrich the lives of others. Lord, from this day forward, I ask that your will, your purpose, your word, and your Spirit will have a free course in their life and everyone that they meet, and Lord, I ask in Jesus mighty name that you will touch, heal and deliver all that read this prayer and call upon your excellent name, that you will meet their need right where they are.
Father, I pray that all curses and words spoken against them will be broken. I ask that you stand up in them in these last days and make their life count for your cause and purpose and lord, as you awaken the gifts and talents placed in them from birth that they may become unified in the faith with other believers realizing the need to work together in harmony like a fine-tuned orchestra in the masters’ hands.
Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you for your tremendous love and blessing over our lives, for we rest in knowing that you promised never to leave nor forsake us as your children, and you promised to go with us all the way even to the end of the world.
Dear Lord, please forgive us for failing to remember that you know our needs before we ask, for you were once one of us who was tempted in all points as us. You went to the cross to pay our sin debt so that we could be adopted into your royal family as Sons and Daughters sharing with you in your glory. "Thank You Jesus"
Dear Lord, we ask for you to enlarge our borders and place your hand of blessing upon us to guide us in the path you chose for us, for we need your divine guidance that we might walk fully in your prayer and goodness as you lead us by your Spirit to divine appointments. Please deliver us from evil so we will not be tempted or cause pain.
Dear Lord, I pray that your blessed holy name might be glorified throughout the Earth as you leave your signature through us to future generations. Lord, I ask that you assign an Angel to accompany this work into the home of every person who will take time to read it.
Lord, help us stand firm together activating our faith, for it is in these trying times through your grace that we can find rest in knowing that we can depend on you, our God, "Our Father," to come on the scene to direct our path and to guide our footsteps.
Dear Lord, help us to understand that our dependence for survival is upon you, and Lord, help us realize that we represent your glorious body on Earth. Therefore, Lord, help us understand that there is strength in numbers, and we need each other to be fruitful and live a prosperous life as your people.
Lord, please help us not to be careless and prideful in our Christian walk or resemble a bunch of used body parts, but help us realize, Lord, that we are a part of something bigger than ourselves, that we are a part of your glorious body as sons and daughters in your royal family and kingdom.
Dear Lord, my prayer is that you stir us up and burden our hearts for true revival, yes, Lord, in every country throughout the world and demonstrate to the people in these countries that you are the Unchanging God, for your word declares it, that what you were yesterday, you are today, and will be tomorrow! (Hebrews 13:8)
Dear heavenly Father, I ask that you move to bless each one who has taken time to read this message and has humbly surrendered their life more to your purpose and will.
Dear Lord, I ask that you intensify the work that you have begun in their life and ministry in Jesus' mighty name, that all curses and words spoken against them would be broken, and I ask that you stand up in them in these last days and make their life count.
Father, I pray that if any reading this prayer should need deliverance from some oppressing spirit, including some illnesses that may be attacking their body, Lord, I pray that your Holy Spirit would raise a standard against these attacks and set these people free.
Lord, I pray that the power of your written and spoken word be activated through the authority made available unto us that is in the name of Jesus, and we apply the following scriptures to our prayer.
(John 16:23) "And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it to you." and (Psalms 34:15) "The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry."
Father, we close our prayer believing that you have heard and answered us according to your divine will and purpose, for it is in Jesus' mighty name that we pray and ask these favors. A-Men
International Evangelist
Jerry W. Hulse Ph.D.
Miracle Life Church International
