In a lot of churches the Bible is quoted, and if that causes people to seek its truth, then some good is accomplished.

On the other hand, if it means that people are bulldozed into following a movement or man-made traditions through skill of propaganda, or emotional appeal, and thus induced to support man-made theories based upon wrested Scripture, then it is to their great disadvantage.

It does not matter the name tag that is over the church door, any denomination that practices spiritual manipulation in using Scripture to further their own traditional beliefs and uphold man-made constitutions, does not honor God nor His Word.

If you choose to abide by the Word of God rather than some denominations constitution, watch out. You will experience what it costs to go all the way with God.

One of the fastest ways to loose friends, to be looked upon as odd, and to be dispised is to go all the way with God. Once you become serious about spiritual matters--forsaking all your idols, taking your eyes of the things of this world, believing the Word of God above denominational beliefs or man made constitutions, turning to Jesus with all of your heart and hungering for more of Him--you suddenly become "a religious freak." And soon you will experience the worst rejection of your lifetime from church people.

Why this change? Why do people turn against you because you desire to know the truth? Why when you begin to get closer to God and in that process you see things different from the normal way your church sees them are you suddenly not good enough to be a part of their fellowship?

When you accepted everything that came over the pulpit as truth, without question; when you agreed with everything that the pastor says; when you were a lukewarm Christian you did not rock the boat, you were no trouble to anyone; not even the devil. You were neither overly sinful nor overly holy. You were just another of many halfhearted believers, and your life was quiet and untroubled. You were accepted. But then you changed. You got hungry for more of Jesus and you could no longer play church games. You began to search the scriptures to see if what was coming over the pulpit was indeed truth and in line with the bible. You questioned certain doctrines that did not line up with God's Word. Down came your idols of denominationalism, preachers, position, money, acceptance, fame, popularity, pleasure--anything and everything that was more important to you than Jesus. You repented and turned to the Lord with all your heart. You began to dig into God's Word and study it to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth. You entered into a new realm of discernment and began to see things in the Church that before had never bothered you. You heard things from the pulpit that broke your heart. You saw other Christians compromising on what the Word of God says in order to be loved and accepted by that denomination.

You reflect back and realize that you too were once that way, and you are hurt. You are hurt because you realize that you once were the same way, giving more allegiance to denominational creeds, traditions and constitutions than you did to the Word of God. You realize that you treated people the same way you are being treated by church people. You hurt because, they do not know what they are doing because they are self-deceived. But, you were awakened, turned around, made broken and contrite in spirit, and God gave you a burden for His people that they too would believe the Word above the philosophies of man.

What was the result of this? Now your friends and family think you are crazy, a false prophet, led astray and even controlled by demons. Instead of rejoicing with you or encouraging you, they ridicule you, mock you and call you a defector and a strife breeder. In fact some don't even consider you a believer anymore. Some have consigned you to hell.

One reason for this is their religious biases are threatened whenever someone from within their ranks takes spiritual commitment and the Word of God serious enough to question non-Biblical doctrine and refuses to play religious games with the living God.

If you have experienced this, don't be discouraged--you're in good company, several people in the bible experienced just what you're feeling. They did not give up and don't you give up in your desire to become more like Christ. The religious Pharisees may frown--Satan may rage--but go on. Live to obey God's Word, become more like Jesus.

Jesus was rejected; church people want to be respected. He was regarded as radical; church people want to be recognized as reasonable. He was accused of having demons; preachers are acclaimed for having degrees. He put no stock in the praise of men; the church world thrives on it. Is it any wonder that the nominal Christian, the nominal church makes so little impact on this earth for Him?

Oh, for an utter abandonment to the Holy Spirit! Whenever in any period of the Church's history, a few people has got together pliable in the hands of the Holy Spirit, a new Pentecost has dawned.

A testimony of true spiritual transformation will always drive the establishment crazy.

Moses for instance, was touched wonderfully by God, and was awakened in his heart concerning the bondage of his people. In fact Moses was so excited by this great revelation of deliverance that he ran to share it: "It came into his heart to visit his brethren. ...For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not" (Acts 7:23,25).

Moses and his vision was spurned. But why? Moses was the meekest man on earth, consumed with God. He was not acting holier-than-thou; he was acting prophetically according to God's will. He only wanted his brothers to understand what God was about to do. But his spiritually offended them. They rejected him saying, "Who made you ruler and judge over us? Who do you think you are?"

Have the Holy Spirit ever awakened you and you began to embrace the Lord's call to expound the truth that was revealed to you. You began to stand for what the Word of God said and you began to see things regarding the issue that you never saw before and you wanted to share it with people. You talked to pastors and lay people, You opened your bible to them so they could see the truth for themselves.

You hoped these preachers and lay people would see these truths too--that they would love the Word and fall on their knees with you and pray for a greater understanding of these truths. Instead, you found that most of them became very angry and upset. you were accused of being a strife breeder, turning against your denomination, trying to split the church and giving heed to doctrines of demons. The more you sought God and tried to expound the truth about the matter the angrier they became until you lost all positions you held in the church including your membership. They refused to hear anything about the subject.

If this has happened to you since God awakened you, you are not alone. God's Word warns you what to expect if you are determined to go all the way with Him. 1. You will be rejected. 2. You will be cast out. 3. You will be stoned.

This is the question that every Christian must answer in these last days: Will we turn aside from truth that convicits us--that points out our errors, our sins and commands us to tear down our idols. Will we ignore the truth that points out the error of our pet doctrines, that tells us we must walk holy if we are to see His face. Will we allow the Holy Spirit to expose all man-made triditions and help us to tear down denominational walls that obscures the person of Jesus.

When truth is found it stands in judgment of us, we never stand in judgment of it. Every lover of truth desires to come to the light of God's Word so our deeds and doctrines can be subjected to the search light of the Holy Spirit to see if they line up with God"s Word or not.

Multitudes of Christians today do not love the truth. They love their traditions, their leaders, their constitutions and their denominations. This is proven by their adherence to what the above says rather then what the Word of God says. These compromising believers are deceived but, like the Jews of Jesus' day, they are convinced they see clearly. They say they adhere to God's Word but, the truth is, only if it agrees with their denomination's beliefs. Something other than truth holds their hearts; they do not embrace God's Word like a priceless pearl. Instead they coddle whatever the preacher says, or the constitution says, or some false teaching that caters to their flesh.

But a day of reckoning is coming. The Bible says that those who turn a deaf ear to the truth is in danger of missing it altogether:

II Th 2:8-12.

8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.

9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders,

10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie,

12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

You must understand that those who reject you and forsake you because of truth have good reason: It is because they see you as a threat to something they hold dear. Your stand for truth is a rebuke to their compromise.

Paul experienced this numerous times. He wrote to Timothy, "All those in Asia have turned away from me" (2 Tim. 1:15). Paul had given his all to these people, declaring to them the whole council of God. He was blameless before them, holy and unrebukable. Yet the churches of Asia rejected Him and his own spiritual children avoided him. Why? Because Paul was now in prison. He was suffering--in deep affliction, bound by chains, "a prisoner of the Lord." In the meantime, a new teacher had become popular, one who brought an ear-tickling message to the people Paul had taught. "Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm, may the Lord repay him according to his works" (2 Tim. 4:14).

Alexander and Hymenaeus were teaching a false gospel that catered to the flesh. Their doctrine denied all suffering and hardship. Alexander's name means "man- pleaser." Hymenaeus was named after the god of weddings; he represented a gospel of love, blessing, joy, celebration and man-pleasing without holiness. Does this not remind you of the escapist attitude of many believers in saying that "We will be taken out of here before the times get bad, God will not allow us to face the attact of Satan. Scripture says Paul turned these men over to Satan that they might learn to stop blaspheming (1 Tim. 1:20). This was for the destruction not of their bodies, but of their flesh doctrines. A lot of churches need to be turned over to Satan in order that they may be disciplined, and get rid of their man-made, flesh-pleasing doctrines. Not for their destruction but that they may repent and turn back to righteousness.

Jesus warned His disciples of the further rejection they would face: "They will put you out of the synagogues; (John 16:2). Jesus was saying, "I am telling you these things so you won't stumble" Don't be surprised when the traditional church throws you out. They don't accomplish this by expelling you or saying that you can't worship here, no, they make you feel so uncomfortable, unloved, unwanted and use this as a means of freezing you out. They may think they didn't kick you out but they did by giving you the left boot of fellowship.

If you intend to go all the way with Christ, you must be prepared to bare His sufferings. Who reproached Jesus, heaped shame upon His head and vilified His name as filthy? It was the so called religious crowd whose traditions he questioned and lambasted. If the religious crowed persecuted and reproached Him, they will do the same to all who will die to self for His sake.

I have heard hungry Christians say, "Our church is dead, we have talked to our leaders, and they see nothing wrong and say, 'if it is dead all the blame lies with the congeration.'" What should we do? The answer can be found in the book of Acts. Paul went into every synagogue he encountered and tried hard to persuade any lukewarm churchgoers about Christ, hoping they would hear. But the leaders response was to kick Paul out of the synagogue and out of town. If the leadership of the church refuses to accept some responsibility for the condition of the church and are satisfied with the spiritual status-quo, then do as Paul did and get out. See Acts 13:46. You are not going to change anything by remaining there, but they may change you!

If you hold fast to your commitment to Christ, even in the face of being rejected and cast out, the same religious majority will stand ready to stone you. This stoning will not likely be a literal stoning as they did to Stephen but they will stone you nevertheless. Think of it this way: Today, in this age of grace, if a man looks upon a woman with lust, in God's eyes he is committing adultery. If someone hates, he is a murderer. Conversely, if vicious words are hurled about you, for believing the Word above a constitution or a denomination, you are being stoned: "[They] sharpen their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows--bitter words" (Ps. 64:3).

Why did a call to obedience, to go in and take the country, provoke such a reaction in the Israelites that they wanted to stone Joshua and Caleb? Because compromise and unbelief go hand in hand. Once the heart is captured by traditional beliefs, unbelief takes hold. And after that happens, all preaching against compromise is referring to some long held tradition or denominational doctrine that is not founded on God's Word. Without knowing it the people of such a church end up fighting against God, even while blindly confessing His name.

How should we react when rejected, cast out and stoned? We must follow the example of our Master, who "opened not His mouth." We are to "Pray for those who spitefully use us" (Matt. 5:44). "Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure" (1 Cor. 4:12).

Friend we face a cost for going all the way with Jesus, but we also receive a reward: it is simply the blessing of having Christ stand with us. You see Christ will not stand with some denomination's tradition that is against His Word, He will always stand for the truth of His Word. So count the cost and know that your reward in all things, is the precious presence of Jesus Christ.

Let me ask you a sobering question. What has been your reaction to the church and the people of that church that forced you out from among them? What has your thoughts been toward them? What has your talking been about them. What has your attitude been towards them? Have you let your tongue hinder God from accomplishing His work through you?

In order for God to use us we must have our relationships in order. We must first and foremost develop a relationship with God that is second to none. We develop and maintain that relationship by being obedient to God's Word. All other relationships: Husband and wife, parents and children, friends and neighbors, and relationships towards those who have done us wrong can only be made right if our relationship with God is what it ought to be.

In order to have a right relationship with God there are several keys we must practice.

1. There must be two way communication, where we talk to God and God talks to us. Prayer and the Study of God's Word is of vital importance. We must also try to establish communication with the ones who have done us wrong to let them know that you hold no ill feelings toward them and that you forgive them. How they react is not your concern, they will answer to God for that.

2. In our communication with Him we must be honest. Never put on a facade pretending to be something we are not. God knows who and what we are anyway. But He still requires us to be honest and up front with Him.

3. We must be a people of praise and worship. For that is the purpose for which we were created. God moves on the behalf of His people in the atmosphere of true praise and worship. Satan cannot stay in an atmosphere where true praise and worship, coming from a people of obedience to the Word is a daily practice of believers.

4. We must be a giving people. We must give ourselves 100% over to the control of the Holy Spirit. Then we can give of ourselves and our things to advance the kingdom of God.

5. We must be a listening people. We must listen and obey what God says to us in prayer and through His Word.

If we fail in any of these five areas we will not develop a right relationship with God, therefore we will not have a right relationship with others.

The first step in developing a right relationship with God as Christians is we must repent.

Turn to Rev. 3:19, The Amplified Bible says, Those whom I [dearly] and [tenderely] love, I tell their faults and convict and convince and reprove and chasten [I discipline and instruct them]. So be enthusiastic and in earnest and burning with zeal and REPENT [changing your mind and attitude].

2 Chr 7:14-15:

14 "if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

15 "Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place.

Jer 3:12-13:

12 "Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say: 'Return, backsliding Israel,' says the LORD, 'I will not cause My anger to fall on you. For I am merciful,' says the LORD; 'I will not remain angry forever.

13 Only acknowledge your iniquity, that you have transgressed against the LORD your God, and have scattered your charms to alien deities under every green tree, and you have not obeyed My voice,' says the LORD.

Jer 6:16:

16 Thus says the LORD: "Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, 'We will not walk in it.'

You may ask, what will it take for us to experience New Testament Christianity that will turn the souls of many to God?

We must hear and heed God's warning...

Confess our sins...including the sin of unbelief...

Repent...turn away from our ungodly ways...

AND TURN BACK TO GOD!

THE CHURCH TODAY NEEDS A REVIVAL OF THE MIRACLE POWER OF GOD!

We are a part of the church. We must repent if we are going to see this happen.

People are going to hell while the Church sits in the pews going through the motions. This will continue to be the case unless we repent.

Perhaps you are surprised when I tell you that we need to repent. You may say, "I repented of my sin when I came to Christ, why do I need to repent now?

Many people have the wrong idea about repentance. They feel repentance has taken place because they cry a little bit around the alter during the after service. But it is possible for a person to feel great emotion and to shed a great number of tears and yet never repent. Judas was like that.

When true repentance takes place you make a decision. You decide to change your mind. It literally means to turn around and go the other way. If you are gossiping you stop; if you are backbiting you stop; if you are guilty of prayerlessness you pray; if you are harboring unforgivness you forgive; if you are guilty of unbelief you begin to believe; if your praising, worshipping, giving is not done in faith you begin to do it in faith because anything that is not done in faith is sin. Are you beginning to see why Christians need to repent?

If true repentance has taken place, not only will we stop doing what is wrong and start doing what is right but, we will continue to do what is right. Repentance means that you turn around and go in the opposite direction.

IN ORDER TO HAVE THE FAITH OF GOD WE MUST REPENT!

We are so used to tolerating sin in our lives that we fail to see it as sin that needs to be repented of. But if we desire to go all out for Christ there comes a time when the Word of God through the Holy Spirit searches us and reveals the sin. Then we must repent. So many believers have resentment built up inside of them against people who has wronged them. You cannot have great faith until you repent.

We have to make up our mind that it is finished. We have to quit tolerating sin. We have to repent. No longer will prayerlessness be a part of my life, I am going to pray. No longer will unforgivness hinder God from moving through me, I am going to forgive.

GOD IS CALLING THE CHURCH TO REPENT AND RAISE UP A STANDARD OF HOLINESS ACROSS THE LAND WHERE THE DIVINE MANIFESTATION OF THE POWER OF GOD IS DEMONSTRATED THROUGH HIS PEOPLE.

We need a broken heart, we need a contrite heart. "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit and a contrite heart--these, O God you will not dispise" (Ps. 51:17).

Do we have a broken heart over the way some Christians act toward someone who has failed?

Do we have a broken heart over the way some Christians and churches treat people that does not believe exactly the way they do?

Do we have a broken heart over the lack of spiritual vitality in us and in the church. Do we have a broken heart over the fact that there is not enough of the manifestation of the power of God working through us to get the job done?

Do we have a broken heart over sinners on there way to a Christless eternity?

Do we have a broken heart over the fact that we are not producing the proof that Jesus is who the Word says He is? The resurrected Son of God.

Do we have a broken heart over the fact that we are not truly witnesses of Jesus.

A true witness is a witness to the fact that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is in us enabling us to do the works that He did. When people see us living as Jesus lived, 100% controlled by the Holy Spirit; living a holy life; putting the importance on prayer that he did; healing the sick as He did; setting the captives free as He did; casting out demons as he did; being faithful and submitted to the Father as He was; preaching the acceptable year of the Lord as He did; treating people the way He did; committed to the task the way He was; and in obedience to the Word the way He was, then they will see, for then we will be true witnesses of Christ.

A broken and a contrite heart is nothing less than a repentant heart. Brokenness means more than sorrow and weeping, more than a crushed spirit, more than humility. Indeed many who weep are not broken hearted. Many who lie before God and groan are not broken in spirit. True brokenness releases in the life of a believer the greatest power God can entrust to man--greater than the power to raise the dead or heal sickness and disease. When we are truly broken before God, we are given a power that restores ruins, a power that brings a special kind of glory and honor to our Lord. If we will but reach that place, healings, miracles and the raising of the dead will be an out growth of the power of God within us.

You see brokenness has to do with walls--broken-down crumbling walls. Walls that were once high and strong in the church but has crumbled in a heap of dust. The crumbled wall of holiness, faith, obedience, forgiveness, love, healing, deliverance, worship, praise, prayer, giving, and sacrifice.

In its place are erected the walls of denominationalism, tradition and man-made constitutions. These walls are so firm and strong that God has been unable to break in upon His people with blessings. The activities that take place is not of faith, therefore it is sin and a stench in the nostrils of God. These walls have given Satan a foothold in the Church and has rendered the people incapable of living the Christ life and doing Christ's works. These walls need to be torn down and the biblical walls replaced so the Church can get on with the work of God.

Nehemiah was truly a brokenhearted men, and his example has to do with the broken walls of Jerusalem.

Listen to what the Word says, "Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me; I told no one what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem; nor was there any animal with me, except the one on which I rode. ...So I went up in the night by the valley, and viewed the wall; then I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned" (Neh. 2:12,15).

In the dark of the night, Nehemiah "viewed the wall." The Hebrew word SHABAR is used here. It is the same word used in Psalm 51:17 for "broken heart." Some might think Nehemiah's brokenness was when he "sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven" (Neh. 1:4), when he first heard about the destruction of the walls back in Shushan. Yet his weeping and confessing were only the beginning of the breaking. Nehemiah could have stayed in the king's court at the palace, weeping, mourning, fasting for days, confessing and praying. Yet he still would not have had a broken heart. His heart was not fully broken until he came to Jerusalem, saw the ruin and decided to do something about it.

In the fullest Hebrew meaning, Nehemiah's heart was broken in two ways. It broke first with anguish for the ruin (sharing God's grief), and second, with a hope of rebuilding (bursting with hope).

Brokenness is more than the weeping and bawling that takes place before the alters of our churches. This may be the beginning of brokenness and in most Christians lives brokenness stops at the beginning. A truly broken heart is: one that sees the walls broken down, sees the Church and families in ruin and feels the Lord's anguish. Such a heart grieves over the reproach Christians cast on the Lord's name. It also looks deep inside and sees, as David did, its own shame and failure. It cries out, "Lord I have made a breach in the wall! I have disregarded the truth of Your Word for the doctrines of men, I am not a true witness of you. I am crushed by my sin. This cannot go on." But there is a second important element to this brokenness, and that is faith. The truly broken heart has heard from God: "I will heal, restore and build. Get rid of the rubbish, and get to work rebuilding the breaches!" A truly broken heart will rise in faith and do what needs to be done to rebuild the walls.

We must be broken before we can minister to a broken world. If we aren't broken we are probably creating a log jam in God's will somewhere, because if we are not broken we are endeavoring to do what God wants done through our carnal endeavors.

Brokenness is a total shattering of all human strength and ability. It is the recognition of the full reality of sin and the reproach it brings on Christ. Yet brokenness also means recognizing the next step: Stand upright with the full assurance that things are going to change, that healing and rebuilding will happen--that what the devil has stolen will be reclaimed for God and then start doing something about it. A God like faith says, "God is at work in me, Satan cannot hold me in bondage. I am not going to be defeated or destroyed. My sin has grieved me but I have repented, God loves me. Now it is time to rise and rebuild." Until we take hold of that hope, zeal and determination with faiith, we will not move past our tears.

If the church that you attend does not allow this to take place, then it is time to get out, brush the dust from of your feet as Paul did and move on in God! Get together with people of like brokenness and begin to rebuild the walls.

With the walls rebuilt comes an ever increasing revelation of Jesus Christ. We will care nothing for success, ambition, worldly fame. We will not pray for things or for blessings, we will not have to pray to be used of God or for the spectacular, nor for anything of self. But rather only for a fuller revelation of the glory and vastness of our Lord. Then the blessings will come, the spectacular will be in our midst and we will be the blessing to others that God requires of us.

In the various churches across our land a few people are ready to move on in the Lord. They are hungry for more of Jesus and tired of all the lightness and foolishness being preached in the pulpit. They are tired of form and fashion. They are tired of having a form of godliness with out the demonstration of the power. And right now they are hearing the voice of God to come out from among the foolish and lighthearted. A holy, weeping, praying remnant is arising out of Laodicea. And I wonder if there will be enough servants of God in our pulpits with sufficient anointing and fresh revelation to sustain the sheep? Or will the sheep outgrow the shepherds. Will there be nourishment for all those who are going deeper with the Lord?

Nothing will get us in the flow of the revelation knowledge of Jesus Christ until we study Christ alone in the secret closet of prayer. We must hunger enough to become a part of His Word in order to get our own touch of God.

If we had that red-hot, all-consuming, intense and joyous love for Christ, we would not need outlines, diagrams and instructions telling us how to pray; we would pray because our hearts would be on fire with love for him. We would not grow bored trying to fill up an hour in a prayer service praying ambiguously for needs all over the world; Christ would be the object of our prayers, and our prayer time would be precious. We would spend hours behind closed doors, expressing the overflowing admiration and sweet love that flood our hearts for Him. Studying His Word would never be a burden; we would not need formulas on how to finish the bible in a year. If we loved Jesus passionately we would be drawn magnetically to His Word to learn more about Him. We would want to know Him better so we could become more like Him.

True repentance builds CHARACTER. We will not think of ourselves as somebody great because of our education, degrees, or position in a denomination. Paul was not great because of his education, his writings, or because he was an apostle. His greatness was in a total dedication and passion for the Lord Jesus Christ.

True repentance will result in a RELATIONSHIP with God. Do you have a relationship with God in prayer or do you have a relationship with your own thoughts? When repentance takes place, prayer becomes a relationship with God.

Can you see now, the need for REPENTANCE?

If there is anyone who needs repentance it is religious people. Many Christians struggle with problems all their lives because of not understanding what repentance really is. We have to repent from man-made tradition and turn to the Bible as the sole source of faith and healing.

Repentance is exciting and liberating. It sets you free to become all that the Word says you are. It will give you joy in serving God. True repentance will bring diligence to God's word resulting in a disciplined life.

Hebrews tells us that one of the foundational doctrines is "repentance from dead works." If we skip this foundational doctrine while emphasizing others we will run into problems.

The reformers of four and a half centuries ago preached a strong message of repentance from dead works. The dead works were the buying and selling of indulgences, the unscriptural religious traditions which had developed, and reliance on the church as an institution rather than on each individual's personal relationship with Jesus. These reformers proclaimed repentance from man-made traditions.

Repentance is not to simply to say a prayer. It is not a casual faith in God's grace. Rather it is a surrender of one's will and selfish ambition. True repentance will result in making Jesus the Lord of our lives, allowing Him to do what He wants with our lives.

Another decision that we must make to go deeper in God is to practice FORGIVENESS.

If you do not practice forgiveness you will not reap the benefits of forgiveness. Turn to Mark 11:25-26, "And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. "But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses."

One basic thing that you must understand about forgiveness is that forgiveness is a decision and not an emotion or a feeling. There does not have to be any emotion in forgiveness at all. In fact, you probably won't feel like it when you make the decision to forgive someone. This may be do to the fact that the person may not deserve forgiveness. But that has no bearing on the fact that we must practice the art of forgiveness to everybody, no mater what they have done to us.

This area is one of the primary areas where Satan has robbed the believer and thus, the church of its power! Forgiveness of the debt of sin means freedom from the bondage of sin.

If we walk around with unforgivness in our hearts towards someone who has wronged us. The result will be, we will be in bondage, we won't be in a position to apply the Word of God to our lives. We cannot be a doer of the Word. God cannot use us for His glory. This is the primary area of bondage for the people of God.

If someone told you there was something you could do right now that would set you on the path to freedom and increase joy in your life, would you do it? One thing you must do for this to happen is forgive.

It sounds simple. but many of us aren't willing to let go of the past.

Rather than being empowered by faith for today and hope for tomorrow, to many of us are controlled by events that occurred in the past--things for which we do not forgive ourselves or others. We go through this Christian life looking into the rearview mirror rather than keeping ours eyes on Jesus who is on the road ahead.

Are these familiar words? "I'll never forgive my father for what he did!" "Can you believe what she did to me? I will never forget how much that hurt me!" "I have done such a horrible thing. I could never forgive myself!"

These statements illustrate the two mind-sets that prevent us from living an overcoming Christian life:

(1) The failure to receive forgiveness for ourselves. (2) The failure to extend forgiveness to others.

The decision to forgive is a vote to live in the present instead of in the past. If we refuse to forgive, we are really saying, "I prefer to live in the past, and I blame myself--or somebody else--for it. Stacks of unforgiveness, like a heavy burden, add up and weigh us down. They become like prison walls that separate us from God and others, while giving Satan the foothold to steal our freedom to live the abundant life today.

These walls of unforgiveness that we harbor up can even make us sick. Medical research has confirmed that chronic feelings of hopelessness or unforgiveness can affect the immune system. Holding unto bitterness and resentment actually releases a hormone that suppresses the activity of immune system cells, making us more susceptible to disease.

No wonder the Bible encourages us to forgive. If we don't we can't remain healthy and happy.

Forgiveness, however does not come freely or naturally. Releasing bitterness, especially when it seems justifiable and is attached to painful experiences, requires a choice. You must choose to allow the grace of God to give you the gratefulness to forgive.

Rather than blaming our past for our present condition, we must acknowledge that the past is the past. To move on we have to get our eyes and mind of the problem, and who or what caused it, and focus on living the life of freedom, peace and joy in the Lord.

As we look to God for the gift of forgiveness, there are real feelings that each of us must lift up to him so He can heal them. Our responsibility, through prayer, is to be totally honest. We must share our hurts--all of them-- with our heavenly father.

By acknowledging the hurt and pain we feel over what was--or was not--in our past, and by releasing that pain with its grief, we can gain a sense of closure on that part of our lives.

Then, as we choose to forgive and release the power of negative emotions that have filled our hearts, the vacuum that this creates begins to fill up with the love God has for us. From that point on we can stop blaming God and others for allowing things to happen the way they have. We can start embracing His perspective of who we are in Christ.

Only by letting go of the past can we fully embrace faith for the present and hope for the future. Yesterday ended yesterday. Today let's choose to forgive--and live.

Jesus teaches us to pray, "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors" (Matt. 6:12). In that same prayer He teaches that an attitude of unforgiveness is a reason for unanswered prayer. If we want our prayers answered, if we want to be forgiven by God, we must forgive those that has done something to us or against us.

The message to us is simple, if God has forgiven us the great debt, then we must forgive our fellow man. We are to forgive on the same level that we are forgiven by God. We can't really forgive our fellowman until we realize the magnitude of God's forgiveness for us personally. We need a vision of Calvary and of the price Jesus paid for the forgiveness of our sin. When we see and understand that, we will want to reach out to our fellowman in forgiveness.

We have to forgive those closest to us, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, and other family members. We have to forgive friends, enemies, neighbors, church leaders and church members.

REMEMBER FORGIVENESS IS NOT AN EMOTION, FORGIVENESS IS A DECISION.

FORGIVING IS REALISM.

Forgiving comes with the toughness of realism. To be able to forgive we must have the guts to look hard at the wrongness, the horridness, the sheer wickedness of what somebody did to us. We cannot sugarcoat it, we cannot excuse it, we cannot ignore it. We eye the evil face to face and we call it what it is. Only realists can be forgivers.

In order to forgive we must begin with the power to shake of deception and deal with reality.

FORGIVING IS CONFRONTATION.

The strength of forgiving is seen most clearly whenever it is born of confrontation. We cannot completely forgive anyone whom we do not--one way or the other--face up to and say: "I did you wrong and I know you were hurt because of it, will you please forgive me?"

FORGIVING IS FREEDOM

Nobody can make you forgive. Only a free person can choose to live with an uneven score. Only free people can choose to start over with someone who has hurt them. Only a free person can live with accounts unsettled. Only a free person will receive healing for the memory of hurt and hate.

When you forgive another person you are surprised at your own freedom to do what you did. All the kings armies could not have forced you to do it. You forgive in freedom and then you move into greater freedom. Freedom is strength, freedom is health, freedom gives you the ability to do God's will; you know you have freedom when you have the power to forgive.

FREEDOM IS LOVE'S ULTIMATE POWER

Love is the power behind forgiveness. But it does not work in the way people suppose.

Love is not a soft and fuzzy sentiment that lets people get away with almost everything, no matter what they do to us. Love does not make us pushovers for people who treat us unfairly.

Love forgives, but only because love is powerful.

Love has two ingredients that make us strong. One is respect, the other is commitment.

On the one hand, these two qualities make us vulnerable enough to need to forgive. On the other hand, they give us power to do the forgiving we need to do.

Love respects people as genuine human beings, even after they have treated you like dirt. People who hurt you badly are not just lumps of degenerate corruption; they are complex people who may be used by the enemy, but there is more to them than meanness and craziness. They have the potential to become better people, truer people than they were when they stung you. Respect for them will help you see the real enemy, the rat behind the person. And this respect can stimulate you to move in the direction of forgiveness. Our fight is not with flesh and blood, but with spiritual wickedness in high places.

True love dares to commit itself to someone, and therein lies both its vulnerability and its power.

The very love that dares to be vulnerable by making a commitment allows God's power to heal you of the pain that commitment brings.

Committed love gives us strength to tough out the bad times in the hope of better times. Committed love does not throw in the towel before the fight is really over. It holds on. And while it holds, it energizes, it gives you strength to keep the door open for the day when a new beginning may be possible.

It is forgiveness that supplies the healing and restores a right relationship with God.

We have to make up our mind to forgive those who have wronged us and we have to do it now!

It is amazing the number of Christians walking around with unforgiveness in their heart. It does not matter what was done to you, you may have been abused by your father or another family member and you may feel that you have the right to hate that person, but the only right you have has a Christian (a Christ like person) is to forgive them.

May be you have been offended by the one you love. Have you forgiven them? You may say:

"Well I pray for them."

"That is not the question, have you forgiven them?

"Well I love them."

"That is not the Question, have you forgiven them."

"Well I know he couldn't help himself."

"Again, have you forgiven Him."

"Well I don't really know."

It is obvious that you have not forgiven that person, because if you had forgiven that person you would know it. When you forgive you will know because it will restore the joy of your relationship with, not only that person, but also with God.

When you don't forgive you not only hold that other person in bondage you keep yourself in greater bondage and open yourself to the fiery darts of the devil and give him a foothold in your life. By not forgiving you hinder your spiritual contact with God. That person may have ruined the last ten years of your life, don't let it ruin the rest of your life. To do that you must forgive.

Another person you need to forgive is yourself. You may have been guilty of something and the devil has put a guilt trip on you that has you in bondage just as much as if you had not forgiven the person who did something to you. Forgiving yourself is accepting God's cleansing and forgiveness. If you have asked for forgiveness of God but you have not forgiven yourself you refused to accept the forgiveness that God offered you. Forgive yourself.

When you make the decision to forgive, then you also make the decision to forget. You do not allow the thing to arise in your thoughts. Whenever the devil brings it to mind, you consciously refuse to think upon it and put it out of your mind. You put it under the Blood and accept the cleansing of the Blood. Then you can pray to God, "Forgive us our debts against you as we forgive our debtors."

Again let me say it, forgiveness is not an emotion, it is an act of the will. The spirit of anger, resentment and unforgiveness that has ruled and ruined your life, will be broken as soon as you make the decision to forgive. When you set your will to forgive and to pray for those who have offended you, immediately there is an explosion of the grace of God within you.

Then you are in a position to apply the Word of God to every circumstance that may come your way.

Forgiveness is a choice, an act of the will. Since God requires us to forgive, it is something we can do. But forgiveness is difficult for us because it pulls against our concept of justice. We want revenge for the offenses suffered, but Rom. 12:19 tells us never to take our own revenge. You say, "Why should I let them of the hook?" That is precisely the problem. If you don't forgive you are still hooked to them, you are still bound by your past.

You say, "You don't understand how much this person hurt me!" But don't you see, they are still hurting you. If you don't forgive the pain won't stop. You don't only forgive someone for their sake, you also do it for your sake, so you can be free. Your need to forgive isn't an issue between you and the offender, it is between you and God.

Forgiveness is agreeing to live with the consequences of another person's sin. Forgiveness is costly. You are going to live with those consequences whether you want to or not, your only choice is whether you will do it in the bitterness of unforgiveness or the freedom of forgiveness. Jesus took the consequences of your sin upon Himself. All true forgiveness is substitutionary, because no one really forgives without bearing the consequences of the other person's sin.

Don't wait to forgive until you feel like forgiving, you will never get there. Feelings take time to heal after the choice to forgive is made and Satan has lost his place (Eph. 4:26,27). Freedom is what will be gained not a feeling.

THE GREATEST GIFT YOU CAN GIVE IS FORGIVENESS!

God is holy and the essence of His holiness is love, the essence of love is grace, the essence of grace is mercy, and the essence of mercy is forgiveness, then forgiveness is the visible expression of true holiness. If you dress like holiness, talk like holiness and boast about holiness but don't forgive, you are not holy, whether you are an individual or a church.

FORGIVENESS IS THE TRUE ACT OF HOLINESS.

WHEN WE FORGIVE WE RIDE THE CREST OF GOD'S COSMIC WAVE OF LOVE; WE WALK IN STRIDE WITH GOD! AND WE WILL HEAL THE HURT THAT HAS BEEN KEEPING US IN BONDAGE.

I want to give you some propositions concerning the greatest gift you can give...THE GIFT OF FORGIVENESS, which is the act of true holiness. Forgiveness is a principle of releasing the bondage that we find ourselves in.

There is only one reason why there is so much divorce. What is it? Hardness of heart. What is hardness of heart? It is the refusal to either humble yourself to ask for forgiveness or to give forgiveness. Where a husband and wife will forgive each other, they can live in unity and in agreement.

My wife has a full time job, do you know what it is? It is forgiving me. I am in constant need of forgiveness and in constant need of repenting for not asking for forgiveness. The key to a successful relationship between people is repentance and forgiveness.

TRUE FORGIVENESS IS RELEASED BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT WORKING WITHIN US.

Forgiveness is the visible expression or manifestation of true holiness.

Forgiveness is always by grace.

Listen, some of you have not forgiven because you are waiting until the person needing forgiveness has earned it. Forgiveness can never be earned. When you came to God and asked Him to forgive you, what did you have to do to be forgiven. Absolutely nothing!

Forgiveness is always a voluntary expression in the subjective experience of the person giving it. How many of you have lived perfect since you have been saved? How many of you have blown it, or made mistakes, or done some stupid, asinine thing? And what did you have to do to earn forgiveness? Nothing. All you had to do was ask. The moment we ask God's forgiveness he gives it to us.

The gift of forgiveness was freely received by you, therefore it must be freely given by you.

You cannot demand payment from someone before you forgive them.

Forgiveness must always be consummated.

In other words, God forgave us 2,000 years ago in Christ; but He can't give us that forgiveness until we ask for it. Once you ask, your forgiveness is consummated and you can be saved. If I ask you to forgive me and you wouldn't do it, and you refuse to do it, or say "oh that is all right, forget it. You are responsible for forgiveness not being consummated. You are refusing to release me, keeping me and you in bondage. If forgiveness is asked, give it because it will set you and the person asking free.

UNFORGIVENESS ALWAYS BINDS, FORGIVENESS ALWAYS RELEASES.

UNFORGIVENESS ALWAYS CLOSES, FORGIVENESS ALWAYS OPENS.

IT IS TIME THAT THE PEOPLE OF GOD AND THE CHURCH OF GOD STIR UP THE GIFT OF FORGIVENESS.

What about the forgetting part of forgiving? You hear people say that you must forgive and forget what the wrong was that was done to you. But how can you forget, the awfull things that was done to you?

Again FORGETTING is a decision not an emotion or feeling. It may be impossible to erase from your computer bank the person, and what the person did to you. This forgetting is not a natural forgetting where it is erased from your mind and you do not know that it ever happened. The enemy of your soul will bring the wrongs that have been done to you to your mind. But you have to decide by an act of your will, to take authority over these thoughts, tear them down and say to Satan: "Satan, yes that person did hurt me, but I have forgiven him, and I will not allow my thoughts to dwell on that wrong, I command you to leave me alone, no matter how many times you bring it to my mind, I refuse to dwell on it. I will treat that person as though he never did me any wrong. God has forgiven me, and has given me the grace to forgive him, now in the name of Jesus it is over and done with." Forget by refusing to think about the wrong, or allowing it to dictate to you how you will treat that person. Freedom is then yours.

So it is futile for you to think that you can develop a correct relationship with God and be dynamically used by God by applying the Word of God to your life, if you don't repent or forgive.

IF YOU REPENT AND FORGIVE YOU WILL BE IN A POSITION TO APPLY THE WORD OF GOD. YOU CAN BE A DOER OF GOD'S WORD.

We like George Mueller should say, "There was a day when I died, utterly died to my opinions, preferences, tastes, and will--died to the world, its approval or censure- -died to approval or blame even of my brethren and friends, and since then I have studied only to show myself approved unto God.

God intended for the Church (the body of believers) to be the most powerful force upon the earth. Christ destroyed the works of Satan and placed within our lives the power to break down Satan's strongholds and declare Salvation, healing and deliverance in His Name. This will not happen if we do not repent and forgive.

ARE YOU WILLING TO LOOSE YOUR LIFE, ABANDON IT TOTALLY TO GOD? If so then get ready because God will surely use you.

My cry to you now, is "FORWARD MARCH." You are a supernatural people; born again by a supernatural birth; you wage a supernatural war and taught by a supernatural Instructor; led by a supernatural Captain, and assured of a supernatural victory.

"Forward March!" Our Commander has cleared the way. That means the power is there, the anointing is there, the authority is there, the ability is there, the answer is there. Not only is final victory assured but victory is also assured in the here and now. But we must arise and act. God's enablement is on those who do the Word.

Now is the time to ACT! He fights for those who march by faith, heeding only the divine command.

"Disciples, I've given my authority to you!" (Matt. 10:1). "Now you go preach; you heal the sick; you set the captives free; you raise the dead; you cast out demons; you submit yourself to God; you resist the devil and he will flee from you.

So don't sit back and complain about the condition of the church; about the worldliness of believers; about the lack of Holy Spirit power; about the lack of healings; about believers adhering to denominations and traditions instead of the Word of God. Don't whimper and wail, murmur and groan.

REPENT, FORGIVE, SUBMIT TO GOD, GET UP, BELIEVE, MARCH, AND ACT.

March forth with clean hands and an honest heart. March forth with steadfast faith and a will of steel. March forth with compassion and kindness, clothed with the mercy of the Lord. March forth with Jesus in your heart, his name on your lips and His praises alive in your soul. March forth and conquer for Him!

Conquer the lies of darkness and the deceptions of the enemy. Conquer the demons and disease. Conquer sin. Conquer hopelessness and despair. Conquer fear and dismay. Conquer by the Spirit of God. Do it for His glory, for the one you love. Do it for the weak, anemic church. Do it for the sin-smitten race for whom Jesus died. Do it out of honor for Him.

Church, pastor, decons, laity REPENT and FORGIVE and go all the way with God.

May God richly bless you.