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Before you start reading this blog post, recite this prayer, “Lord give me a forgiving heart”. Forgiveness is one of the most important and hardest subjects we can deal with. Jesus was viciously abused without fault and the first words he uttered from the cross were “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” Many people think that offense is the problem but in reality, being offended is not the problem. You will be offended and you will get hurt, even in the church! We are all in a place where Jesus needs to work on us and He does it through our brothers and our sisters. And, He is going to keep working on you until He perfects you. Many times, offended people do not realize that they are offended, but the sooner you deal with that offense, the easier it will be to get rid of it. When you can take things that happen to you and let it go, it will help you more than the person you are forgiving. Ultimately, that unforgiveness will keep you out of heaven and send you straight to hell. You know what keeps us from acknowledging that there is a problem, PRIDE! Pride is what got Lucifer kicked out of heaven. Forgiveness is one of the most powerful forces in the universe and it is connected to love which is the most powerful force in the universe. A little boy once defined forgiveness as the odor that flowers breathe when they are trampled upon…what do you breathe when you are trampled upon?

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We left off, on the last sermon, talking about the ministry of encouragement. I ask you to continue to think about if you are an encourager or a critic as we continue on this week. Have you ever had somebody try to put something on you that is not supposed to go on you? Some people will try to put worldly things on you that don’t belong on you. God’s way is the best way, not the way of the world. This happened to David when they tried to put Saul’s armor on him to fight Goliath. David didn’t need all of that. After defeating Goliath, David became Saul’s armor-bearer. David found 600 men who were also outcast by Saul and recruited them to go against him. But David became more popular that King Saul so he decided he would do everything in his power to kill David. David then burned down their safe haven and all of the families and homes were gone. They blamed David for that, so then they were after David. Instead of sulking or retaliating, David encouraged himself in the Lord. He worshipped! When you worship you encourage yourself because you find your courage in the Lord. We need to learn how to worship in our darkest hours like Paul and Silas did. Not only did David encourage himself, but he sought the Lord! Most of the time, we seek our own vengeance and follow our own plans instead of seeking God and asking what His plan is. When you seek Him, He will guide you. He will do for you what He did for David, but you need to be an encourager, not a critic!