War room Part 11 The Pardon of Prayer

Part 11 – War room The Pardon of Prayer

Pray in this manner

Mat 6:9  After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.  - The Person of Prayer. Mat 6:10  Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.  - The Petition of Prayer. Mat 6:11  Give us this day our daily bread.  - The Provision of Prayer.  Mat 6:12  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.  - The Pardon of Prayer. Mat 6:13  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:- The Protection of Prayer. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. - The Power of Prayer

The Pardon of Prayer

Definition of Pardon - The action of forgiving or being forgiven for an error or offence.

Matt 6:12 And forgive our debts, as we forgive our debtors.  Matt 6:14 For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly father will also forgive you. Matt 6:15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your father forgive your trespasses.

1. Confess your debts

The word forgive means release from your debts. If you don’t release others from their debts, God cannot release you from your debts.

The word “debts”  in Math 6:12  is only used twice in the New Testament.  The other time it is used is in Matt 18.

It is a loan that is justly due, but we cannot repay it.  You can never repay it.  It is too much.  It is something that you need to be forgiven of.  It is bankruptcy.  It is debt you can never repay.  This is a debt you cannot repay.  Forgive us our debts, that we cannot repay.

There is a debt that you can never repay, but we must confess the debt that we can never repay.  Before you can receive forgiveness, you must forgive yourself /others. If you have a problem forgiving others you have a problem receiving forgiveness from others.  Many times, we have difficulty to forgive because we can’t receive forgiveness.

The reason people cannot forgive is because they cannot receive forgiveness. If you think that you can earn God’s forgiveness in any form, you will want others to also earn your forgiveness.

You cannot earn God’s forgiveness; this is the debt you cannot repay.   It is a debt that must be pardoned.

Matt 10:8 Freely you have received freely give. 

A lot of people don’t forgive because they want people to earn it.  God’s forgiveness cannot be earned.  It is a debt that you cannot repay.  Forgive us as we forgive others.  Because we have received forgiveness, freely, we can give forgiveness freely.

Do you understand what happened when we received forgiveness?

Rom 4:3 For what does the Scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.

Gal_3:6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness.

Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.  Accounted comes from the word accounting which comes from the word count.  It means to put in your account.  Abraham believed God and God put righteousness to his account.

When we believe God, God has taken sin out of our account.

2Cor 5:17 Anyone who is joined to Christ is a new being; the old is gone, the new has come.  2Cor 5:18 All this is done by God, who through Christ changed us from enemies into his friends and gave us the task of making others his friends also.  2Cor 5:19 Our message is that God was making all human beings his friends through Christ. God did not keep an account of their sins, and he has given us the message which tells how he makes them his friends. 2Cor 5:21 Christ was without sin, but for our sake God made him share our sin in order that in union with him we might share the righteousness of God.

God reconciled the world’s sin.  God has already taken care of the world’s sin.  It does not mean that you are automatically saved, you must accept Jesus as your personal saviour.  God has already taken sin out of your account.  Jesus paid for the sins of the whole world.  He that does not believe has no life.  God has taken sin out of my account.  He has put righteousness into my account. 

You must confess your debt, sin.  A debt that cannot be paid.   People go to hell for not believing.   It is easy to get saved; you must just believe that God has already taken care of your sin.  God has taken sin out of your account and replaced it with righteousness.  

John 1:12, "But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.

Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."

If sin is out of my account and righteousness is in my account why do I need to confess my sins?  Jesus said confess your sins, the debt you cannot pay.   When Luke talks to us about the Lord’s prayer, he uses the word sin, instead of debt.

Luk 11:4  and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.”

Why do I need to confess my sins?   There is a difference between blood shedding and sprinkle of the blood. Jesus shed his blood for once and all, but we can sprinkle the blood when we need it.  Our daily confession.

Jesus’s blood was shed for once and for all.

Heb 9:12  nor by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered once for all into the Holies, having obtained eternal redemption for us. 

Heb 9:14 how much more shall the blood of Christ… cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

We must confess our daily sins.

Heb 10:22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience.

When we sin as believers our conscience convicts us. Satan condemns us.  Satan brings it up and condemns us.

Proverbs 28:13 “He who covers his transgressions will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.”

If we don’t clear our conscience by sprinkling the blood, we start serving God out of dead works.   We try to make it up to God.    Dead works are any work God does not initiate or a work that tries to appease God.  We confess our sins to clear our conscience. The blood of Christ is now sprinkled and not spread again.

Heb 10:17 And then he says, "I will not remember their sins and evil deeds any longer."  The word remember means to bring it up again, or to recall it.   He has not forgotten it; He chooses not to bring it up again.

Forgiving someone means that you don’t bring it up again or recall it.

Confess you sins, is a daily action.

Mark 11:25  And when you stand and pray, forgive anything you may have against anyone, so that your Father in heaven will forgive the wrongs you have done. 

2.   Release your debts

Matt 18:21 Then Peter came to Him and said, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?

Matt 18:22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”

In Hebrew, the old testament, it means seventy-seven-fold.  It is the same as seventy times seven.  It was used one time in the old testament, and it was a saying in the old testament, and everybody knew what it was.

It comes from Lamech. 

Gen 4:23 Then Lamech said to his wives:  Adah and Zilah, hear my voice; Wives of Lamech, listen to my speech! For I have killed a man for wounding me, even a young man for hurting me. Gen 4:24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.

This was used in Israel for a person who sought revenge and went too far.  Lamech is saying if you came after me, you are going to get a lot back, seventy-sevenfold.  Jesus is now saying that instead of taking revenge on people, I now want you to forgive people. If you do something wrong to me, let me tell you what you are going to get back from me - grace.

You are going to get a lot of it.  You are going to get much more grace and forgiveness from me, than what you did to me.  This is what Jesus said.

Matt 18:22 Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.  Matt 18:24 And when he began to settle the accounts, one was brought to him who owned him ten thousand talents. ($R40m) Matt 18:25 But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. Matt 18:26 The servant then therefore fell down before him, saying, Master have patience with me, and I will pay you. Matt 18:27.  The master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him and forgave him the debt. Matt 18:28 But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owned him a hundred talents ($44), and lay hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me what you owe! Matt 18:29 So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying “Have patience with me, and I will pay you all” Matt 18:30 And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt.  Matt 18:31.  So when his fellow servants saw what he had done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. Matt 18:32 Then the Master, after he had called him, said to him. You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Matt 18:33  Should you not also have compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you? Matt 18:34 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. Matt 18:35 So My heavenly father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.

God is not only not going to release you from your debt, but also going to hand you over to the torturers.

Jesus said in Matt 6, If you don’t forgive, my Father cannot forgive you. 

Heb 12:15  Make sure that everyone has kindness from God so that bitterness doesn't take root and grow up to cause trouble that corrupts many of you. 

Heb 12:15  en pas op dat niemand in die genade van God veragter nie; dat geen wortel van bitterheid opskiet en onrus verwek en baie hierdeur besoedel word nie.  Heb 12:16  Laat niemand ‘n hoereerder wees nie, of ‘n onheilige soos Esau, wat vir één spysgereg sy eersgeboortereg verkoop het.

Bitterness and unforgiveness is the number one reason of bondage in Christian life. You don’t need to earn it; you can just receive it from God.

You had debt you could not pay. Your Father pardoned you, therefore you must pardon others.

Therefore, Jesus said you need to pray for this daily. You need to be reminded that you have a debt that you could never repay, but your Heavenly Father has pardoned you from it, and therefore you have the grace to pardon others.

Mat 27:17  Nadat hulle dan byeengekom het, sê Pilatus vir hulle: Wie wil julle hê moet ek vir julle loslaat: Barábbas, of Jesus wat genoem word Christus? 

Barabbas was released.  Jesus was going to die in the place of Barabbas. You are released from bondage; Jesus has died in your place.

Can you forgive others and yourself?  God forgave you; you are holding someone in bondage, but you are tormented, forgive to receive God’s mercy in your life.