Open the Door
CONGRATULATIONS! You made it through!! We are finally on the last lesson which is basically a wrap-up of everything. I am so proud of you for being persistent in this study, for I know that for some it has been difficult.
His kindness leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4) has been a key as we have allowed our minds and hearts to go to some deep places. It’s been because of God’s kindness & mercy that we even have the courage to release the painful circumstances to our loving Father.
Now, I know this particular verse references repentance, but it seems to me that forgiveness is often intertwined with it. For unless we forgive quickly, we usually have some repenting to do for hanging on to our grievances. When I am a non-forgiver, I usually end up having to repent for anger and negative words spoken about those who have wounded me, among other things.
What I have laid out for you today is an organized summary of what we have studied so that you can take these principles and apply them to your own life with the help of a close friend, or even lead someone else through them with knowledge and understanding of the Word. I have personally used this format with many people who have been asking for freedom from past hurts.
They have also been ready to release things to God. Even though forgiveness comes down to an issue of obedience, we never want to rush someone or pressure them into doing something they are not asking for. Allow the Holy Spirit to be that voice in their lives. He will bring things about in the right time.
So, my friends, be blessed as you open the door and allow Jesus to come in to your situation.
I encourage you to...
Get to know the kindness of our Saviour.
Study the justice & righteousness of God.
Forgive quickly.
Repent quickly.
Accept His acquittal.
Accept His love & sovereignty.
Receive His healing, Holy Spirit, into your life.
His kindness leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4) has been a key as we have allowed our minds and hearts to go to some deep places. It’s been because of God’s kindness & mercy that we even have the courage to release the painful circumstances to our loving Father.
Now, I know this particular verse references repentance, but it seems to me that forgiveness is often intertwined with it. For unless we forgive quickly, we usually have some repenting to do for hanging on to our grievances. When I am a non-forgiver, I usually end up having to repent for anger and negative words spoken about those who have wounded me, among other things.
What I have laid out for you today is an organized summary of what we have studied so that you can take these principles and apply them to your own life with the help of a close friend, or even lead someone else through them with knowledge and understanding of the Word. I have personally used this format with many people who have been asking for freedom from past hurts.
They have also been ready to release things to God. Even though forgiveness comes down to an issue of obedience, we never want to rush someone or pressure them into doing something they are not asking for. Allow the Holy Spirit to be that voice in their lives. He will bring things about in the right time.
So, my friends, be blessed as you open the door and allow Jesus to come in to your situation.
I encourage you to...
Get to know the kindness of our Saviour.
Study the justice & righteousness of God.
Forgive quickly.
Repent quickly.
Accept His acquittal.
Accept His love & sovereignty.
Receive His healing, Holy Spirit, into your life.
Brothers & Sisters, if someone is overtaken in any trespass,
you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness & meekness,
considering yourself lest you also be tempted.”
Galatians 6:1
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other
so that you may be healed.
The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
James 5:16
you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness & meekness,
considering yourself lest you also be tempted.”
Galatians 6:1
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other
so that you may be healed.
The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
James 5:16
Now, let's do it! Let's open the door...
THIS IS HOW…
Use this general outline to talk and pray through an issue of pain & possible forgiveness. Please invite a trusted friend to walk through this with you for support. You may be surprised by the emotion that is released as you pray (don’t forget the Kleenex). Invite them pray over you to confirm the confessions that you make. Above all – Trust God! He is faithful to deliver you and set you free from your past through the door of forgiveness. What a great God we serve and have full access to!!! Be strong & courageous, my friend (Joshua 23:6). This may be hard, but you can do this knowing you are coming to love Himself.
1. ENTER HIS PRESENCE. Psalm 100:4
2. ADMIT PAIN. Psalm 94:17
“I admit, Jesus, that ________________ (name of person) hurt me when they ________________ (action of violation or offence toward you).”
3. CHOOSE TO FORGIVE. Luke 6:37
“I choose to forgive ________________ for what they did/said to me.”
4. RELEASE THEM AND THE WOUNDING CAUSED, TO GOD. Psalm 103:6
“I release ________________ and place them into Your hands, Lord God. I also give You the hurt/wounding that was caused by this situation into your healing hands.”
Use this general outline to talk and pray through an issue of pain & possible forgiveness. Please invite a trusted friend to walk through this with you for support. You may be surprised by the emotion that is released as you pray (don’t forget the Kleenex). Invite them pray over you to confirm the confessions that you make. Above all – Trust God! He is faithful to deliver you and set you free from your past through the door of forgiveness. What a great God we serve and have full access to!!! Be strong & courageous, my friend (Joshua 23:6). This may be hard, but you can do this knowing you are coming to love Himself.
1. ENTER HIS PRESENCE. Psalm 100:4
- Open with a declaration of trust in God and worship Him.
- Thank Jesus for His sacrifice and His blood that enables us to come. (Hebrews 10:9)
- Declare God’s sovereignty and ask for His voice to guide you, through the Holy Spirit that lives in you. (John 8:28)
2. ADMIT PAIN. Psalm 94:17
- Admit the pain that’s been caused and the general circumstance. You do not need to go into great detail, just what comes to mind as the main cause of the hurt.
“I admit, Jesus, that ________________ (name of person) hurt me when they ________________ (action of violation or offence toward you).”
3. CHOOSE TO FORGIVE. Luke 6:37
- You may want to actually say what they have done – but I emphasize, use nutshell versions of circumstances.
“I choose to forgive ________________ for what they did/said to me.”
4. RELEASE THEM AND THE WOUNDING CAUSED, TO GOD. Psalm 103:6
- Literally visualize that you are placing them and the wounding/hurt caused from the situation into God’s hands. This is the most frightening, but loving place to put anyone that has offended or hurt us. Remember: “Vengeance is mine, says the Lord.” (Deuteronomy 32:35)
“I release ________________ and place them into Your hands, Lord God. I also give You the hurt/wounding that was caused by this situation into your healing hands.”
5. ASK GOD TO FORGIVE THEM & THE DEBT THAT THEY OWE. Luke 23:34
“Lord, forgive ________________ and the debt that they owe me for they didn’t fully know what they were doing.”
6. ASK GOD TO FORGIVE YOU. 1 John 1:9, Psalm 32:5
“Lord, forgive me for holding on to ________________. I confess ________________ (You may have several to confess. That’s OK, just take your time.) to you and ask you to forgive me. I release all of these things to You and accept that my debt is paid.”
- Hear the words of Jesus on the cross as He said this very thing to those who put Him to death. He asked His Father to forgive His perpetrators because they did not know what they were doing. Think about it; can any of us really know the ramifications of our actions, the domino effect of our choices even to generations to come? I don’t think so. We can’t even count the hair on our head, let alone know what tomorrow’s responses will be. Use the words of Jesus when you pray this step.
“Lord, forgive ________________ and the debt that they owe me for they didn’t fully know what they were doing.”
6. ASK GOD TO FORGIVE YOU. 1 John 1:9, Psalm 32:5
- This may seem like a bit of a surprise and unfair, but now that you are in a position of knowing the truth, you may also start to realize that you’ve been holding back forgiveness all this time. You may have also held on to anger, fear, and other things that were caused by the offense. You may have spoken negative words against those that have hurt you. God understands all this, so be assured that He is not standing there waiting to condemn you. Let His goodness lead you to repentance (Romans 2:4). He wants to release you from the wounds of the past and the only way is for you to release them to Him through repentance. (Psalm 51:1-4, 7-10)
“Lord, forgive me for holding on to ________________. I confess ________________ (You may have several to confess. That’s OK, just take your time.) to you and ask you to forgive me. I release all of these things to You and accept that my debt is paid.”
7. ASK THE HOLY SPIRIT TO COME AND OCCUPY ALL THOSE PLACES THAT WERE ONCE OCCUPIED BY WOUNDING. Joel 2:25
Holy Spirit, come and fill all of the places that You have emptied and cleaned out. I receive You now by faith through Jesus Christ. (John 20:22)
8. MAKE SCRIPTURAL DECLARATIONS.
- Allow the Holy Spirit to come and pay back the bank of your soul, so to speak, to fill up all of those places that were once occupied by the wounding and damage done by the past.
Holy Spirit, come and fill all of the places that You have emptied and cleaned out. I receive You now by faith through Jesus Christ. (John 20:22)
8. MAKE SCRIPTURAL DECLARATIONS.
- That you will trust God and His ability to handle everything for you.
- That pain & hurt will not live in your body any more as a result of these past offenses. That everything the enemy has stolen from you will not only be repaid, but restored. (Joel 2:25)
- That your debt is paid through the cross of Jesus (Ephesians 1:7). Recognize that every time someone wounded you, you had something precious stolen from you. Jesus paid all of our debt when He died and rose again. We must receive this from Him. (Isaiah 53:5)
- That you take His yoke on you and receive His peace. (Matthew 11:28-30)
9. THANK HIM! PRAISE HIM FOR HIS GREAT MERCY & LOVE! Psalm 103:1-5
Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits--
Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits--
- who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
- who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,
- who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
LIST OF SCRIPTURES USED FOR QUICK REFERENCE:
- Joshua 23:6 Therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, lest you turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left,
- Psalm 100:4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
- Galatians 6:1 BRETHREN, IF any person is overtaken in misconduct or sin of any sort, you who are spiritual [who are responsive to and controlled by the Spirit] should set him right and restore and reinstate him, without any sense of superiority and with all gentleness, keeping an attentive eye on yourself, lest you should be tempted also.
- Psalm 94:17 Unless the LORD had given me help, I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.
- Luke 6:37 Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
- Psalm 103:6 The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.
- Deuteronomy 32:35 Vengeance is Mine, and recompense, in the time when their foot shall slide; for the day of their disaster is at hand and their doom comes speedily.
- Luke 23:34 And Jesus prayed, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. And they divided His garments and distributed them by casting lots for them.
- 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
- Psalm 32:5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD "—and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
- Joel 2:25 And I will restore or replace for you the years that the locust has eaten--the hopping locust, the stripping locust, and the crawling locust, My great army which I sent among you.
- Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace…
- Isaiah 53:5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole.
- John 20:22 And having said this, He breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit!
- Matthew 11:28-30 Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.] Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest (relief and ease and refreshment and [recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls. My yoke is wholesome (useful, [good--not harsh, hard, sharp, or pressing, but comfortable, gracious, and pleasant), and My burden is light and easy to be borne.
- Isaiah 63:7 I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD And the praises of the LORD, According to all that the LORD has bestowed on us, And the great goodness toward the house of Israel, Which He has bestowed on them according to His mercies, According to the multitude of His lovingkindnesses.Here's a list of the scriptures used for quick reference: