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All right let’s continue on. Let’s go to Acts 3:19. Very key thing. “Repent
ye therefore, and be converted,...” Part of the converting is getting rid of
the guilt complex. Not only having the laws and commandments of God written
in your heart and mind, but having the carnality and the human ways put out.
And you know, God’s way is much like the human body. The body that you have
today is not the one you had a year ago. And I think, I believe it is every
seven years every cell in your whole body has been changed, and you’re not
the same person. How did that happen? By growth. You have to eat, you have
to sleep, all the processes that go on. So there is also through the process
of conversion, you see, there is this change. That’s why we have the Sabbath
every week. Because, just like we need to eat food regularly, we need
spiritual food regularly so that we can be changed. So that, as it were, our
spiritual cells are renewed day-by-day. And then as we go down in time we
are not the same person that we were last year or the year before, or ten
years ago, or fifteen years ago, or twenty years ago, spiritually speaking,
that is. Not just referring just to the physical change that takes place. So
we must be renewed, you see. “...That your sins may be blotted out,...” And
that’s what God wants. The sins blotted out. He came to forgive sins.
Now let’s continue on. Let’s come to Psalm 32. Let’s see how this whole
process now works together. Let’s put it together. And that’s another reason
why we have the Passover every year, so that we can be renewed in the
baptism through foot washing. We can be renewed in our commitment to Christ
throughthe broken body. We can be renewed in our understanding of the
forgiveness of the sins through the shed blood of Jesus Christ so that we
attain this state right here, Psalm 32:1. “Blessedis he whose
transgression is
forgiven, whose sin is covered.” And yours have been. “Blessed
is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity,...” But what does
God impute to us because we believe? He imputes righteousness. “...And in
whose spirit there is no guile.” (Psa. 32:1-2). And that means, the
removal of all the subterfuge of human nature, plus the removal of a guilt
conscience. “In whom there is no guile.” So when you have this guilt
feeling, and you just can’t seem to get rid of it, though you repent of it,
God has already forgiven it. God has already removed it as far as He’s
concerned. You need to let it go. You need to take it to God and say, “God,
here, take it. It’s more than I can bear.” Christ already bore it for you,
you see.
Now let’s continue on, verse 3, “When I kept silence, my bones waxed old
through my roaring all the day long.” Now sometimes through sickness and
sometimes through problems we are drawn close to God because we begin to see
how weak we are. “For day and night Thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture
is turned into the drought of summer. Selah. I acknowledged my sin unto
Thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid,...” And that’s what we need to do.
And I know whenever there’s a time of sickness and difficulty, that’s the
time when you confess to God. And that’s the time when you ask God for help
and strength. And that is a great benefit that comes when there is sickness
and difficulty and pain. “...I said, I will confess my transgressions unto
the LORD; and Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.” (vs. 3-5). Now
notice, we have “Selah” just one verse after the other. And “Selah” means,
stop, think, meditate on what was just said. Because what was just said was
profound.
Now notice this promise, verse 6: “For this shall every one that is godly
pray unto Thee in a time when Thou mayest be found:...” And now it is a time
when God may be found. “...Surely in the floods of great waters they shall
not come nigh unto [me] him. Thou art
my hiding place;...” Now notice the complete change of attitude once
everything is shifted to God: “Thou art my hiding place; Thou shalt
preserve me from trouble; Thou shalt compass me about with songs of
deliverance. Selah.” Again, stop. Think. Meditate on this. This is profound.
Then God speaks back, doesn’t He? Verse 8, “I will instruct thee and teach
thee in the way which thou shalt go. I will guide thee with Mine eye.” And
that’s how we want God to be with us and deal with us, right? Yes. “Be ye
not as the horse, or as the mule, which
have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with [a] bit and bridle,
lest they come near unto thee. Many sorrows shall be to the wicked:
but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him...” How? When he
repents. “…Compass him about. Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye
righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart” (vs.
6-11). Now this is what that kind of repentance is to do for us.
Now sometimes you get laid really, really low. Let’s go to Psalm 51. And
this is the repentance of David after his long sordid encounter with
Bathsheba. Let’s come to Psalm 51. And in this kind of deep repentance, you
understand where sin comes from - deep within you, you see. And again, it’s
just like as we drew the analogy that every cell of the physical body
changed, so then everything spiritually must change, and grow, and be
rejuvenated, and be reinvigorated. And in doing this you discover things
that you never discovered before. Now why is that? That is because you did
not have the spiritual strength to begin to grasp it until a particular
point. Because God will lay upon us no more than we’re able to bear. Just
think of what it would be if, when God first called us, He laid out the
whole sum total of the whole character of carnality that each one of us had.
Why, it would be overwhelming. So God reveals it bit, by bit, by bit. And
that’s all a part of the growing and overcoming that God gives to us.
Now let’s notice right here, Psalm 51, beginning in verse 1. “Have mercy
upon me, O God, according to Thy lovingkindness:...” Now notice, there’s no
going to God, dickering with God as to “How good I am; therefore, God, You
do this for me.” None at all. “...According to Thy lovingkindness: according
unto the multitude of Thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me
throughly [thoroughly] from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.”
(Psa. 51:1-2). Why? Because no human can cleanse himself from his own sins.
It has to be from God.
“For I acknowledge...” Here’s the cleansing part that we can do. We have to
acknowledge this. “For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is
ever before me” (vs. 3). Because he didn’t repent. His sin was right there.
You go back and read that whole account. That was really quite premeditated
in what he did. He just thought for a while, “Well, I’ll just put God on
hold and I’ll work this out my way.” And what happens when you do that? It
never works out, does it? No, it doesn’t. So that whole sin was “…ever
before me.” Now he’s also talking about the punishment that he received,
though his sins were forgiven. And what was that punishment that David
received the rest of his life? God said, “Because you have done this before
the world, you have done this before the enemies, My enemies, and cause them
to blaspheme, therefore I am doing this before the world, and your household
will be divided from this day hence. And the child that is born will die” (2
Samuel 12:10-14, paraphrased). That, He could never remove.
“Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy
sight: that Thou mightest be justified when Thou speakest, and be
clear when Thou judgest. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my
mother conceive me.” Now he wasn’t born of an adulterous affair by any
means. But this just merely means that the law of sin and death is given by
inheritance to every human being. “Behold, Thou desiredest truth in the
inward parts:...” That’s the whole goal of all of it, brethren. The whole
goal of the Passover, the whole goal of Unleavened Bread. How are we to keep
Unleavened Bread? How? In sincerity and truth. Where? In here. In the hidden
parts. The inward parts. “...And in the hidden
part Thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop [a strong
cleansing agent], and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than
snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which
Thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide Thy face from my sins, and blot out all
mine iniquities” (vs. 4-9). If we want forgiveness from God, this is how we
need to come to God.
Now notice. When that is done, notice again, the same process: cease to do
evil, learn to do well. Here we have the process here. “Create in me a clean
heart, O God; ...” That’s learning to do well, isn’t it? “I will put My laws
into their hearts and in their minds I will write them.” Same thing right
here. “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within
me” (vs. 10). And it is true, when you go along and have sins hanging, or
problems hanging, what happens? How’s your attitude? Yuck. You’ve
experienced that, haven’t you? I’ve experienced it. Yes. How do you feel?
Miserable. God has got to renew it right. God has got to straighten it out.
He will.
“Cast me not away from Thy presence;...” Now how far away was David from
God in this instance? A long way away. “...And take not Thy holy spirit from
me.” Which meant, he was really concerned that he was ready to lose
salvation because of it. Now how great a sin was that? Great sin. Did God
forgive it? Yes, He did. Why? Because God led David to repentance, and David
received and accepted that repentance, and repented with his whole heart.
“Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation; and uphold me with Thy
free spirit” (vs. 11-12). Then all the things will be right, is the sum of
the rest of Psalm 51.
Now let’s go to Daniel 9. And in Daniel 9 we find a different kind of
prayer. In Psalm 51 we have a personal, individual prayer for one’s own
faults and mistakes. But in Daniel 9 we have a representative prayer,
similar to the one that Moses gave, but in this case the one that Daniel
gave. And he prays not for himself, but he prays for all of God’s people.
And the prayer is really quite long and quite moving. And he confesses and
admits all the sins. Now one thing that is interesting, which I wrote in the
Passover book, and I put in this whole prayer of Daniel, because it’s so
powerful and so moving, that this prayer was given in the first year of the
reign of Darius. That very year those… the first group of Jews going back to
Jerusalem, took place. Six years later the temple was finished. So this was
a very moving and profound prayer.
Let’s pick it up here in verse 16, and we get the sum and the feeling of
it. And this kind of repentance and prayer is when one is praying for all of
the sinful ones that have sinned. And brethren, this ought to be our prayer
for all the church of God. God is not done with it yet, and God is going to
bring back those that He wants. So let’s see if we can apply this also,
verse 16 on. “Oh Lord, according to all Thy righteousness,...” Now notice,
again, how this is just like the Psalms. Not according to his, or how great
he was. “…I beseech Thee, let Thine anger and Thy fury be turned away from
Thy city Jerusalem, Thy holy mountain: Because for our sins, and for the
iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Thy people
are become a reproach to all that are about us. Now therefore, O
our God, hear the prayer of Thy servant, and his supplications, and cause
Thy face to shine upon Thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake.
O my God, incline Thine ear, and hear; open Thine eyes, and behold our
desolations, and the city which is called by Thy name: for we do not present
our supplications before Thee for our righteousnesses, but for Thy great
mercies” (Dan. 9:16-18).
And that’s how we need to approach God in repenting. Individually, and
collectively. Then there will be forgiveness. Then there will be, as Jesus
said, “Lord, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Now Daniel 9:19,
“O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for Thine
own sake, O my God: for Thy city and Thy people are called by Thy name.”
Now let’s see how that applies in the New Testament. Now we can take all of
these and we apply them collectively and individually. Let’s come to the
epistle of 1 John. Very important in relationship to the Passover and the
days of Unleavened Bread. The Passover represents the forgiveness.
Unleavened Bread represents the learning to do well, ceasing to do evil,
learning to do well. So that’s why you have the Passover first and then you
have the days of Unleavened Bread. Isn’t it interesting, you don’t have the
days of Unleavened Bread and then the Passover? What would happen if you had
that sequence? You would work out your salvation so that you would be good
enough to take the Passover, correct? Yes. No, it’s the other way around.
The way that you are worthy of the Passover is you acknowledge you are a
sinner, and you need God, and you need God’s Spirit, and that’s where you
begin. Then you learn to do well and cease to do evil. Because then it’s God
in you motivating the works, and not your own.
Now here, 1 John 1, and let’s pick it up in verse 7. And this is something
we really need to learn and understand and realize. This is how, then, you
get rid of that guilt complex, that you don’t carry it around as a burden.
And that you don’t carry it around one for the other. Verse 7, “But if we
walk in the light,...” And the light is the truth of God. And Christ is the
light Who gives us the way to go. So if we walk in the light, “...as He is
in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus
Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.” Now how many times does it tell
us He forgives our sins, all of them? We’ll see how far, how thorough, how
complete.
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not
in us. If we confess our sins,...” Now who do we confess our sins to? To
God. We’re going to see a little bit later on, that we confess our faults
one to another, that we may be healed. You confess your sins to God. Now
there is a difference. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us...” Again, “Give us a clean
heart, O God.” “...From all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not
sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us” (vs. 8-10).
Chapter 2:1 now. “My little children, these things write I unto you, that
ye sin not. And if any man sin,...” Which you’re going to, because you have
the law of sin and death within you, “...we have an advocate with the
Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:...” Advocating for you. Who is the
accuser? Satan. He’s the one who’s trying to put you down. Christ is
advocating for you. “…And He is the propitiation for our sins:...”
Propitiation means the continual source of mercy through grace. That’s what
propitiation means. Continual. It is there all the time. Never runs out.
This is part of the fullness of Christ. “...And not for ours only, but also
for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:1-2). And we know
through the plan of the holy days, in God’s time it’s going to apply to
every one. Now then it talks right after that about keeping the
commandments, and so forth. That’s true. Whenever there is repentance then
there is learning to do well.
Now let’s see how far God removes these from us. Let’s come to Psalm 103.
And we will see how all of this ties together now. Let’s just begin right in
verse 1. It’s a wonderful Psalm. If you ever get really discouraged and
really down, and you have doubts, and you have guilt, and you have fear,
well, what you do is get out Psalm 103 and see, how then, you can overcome
all of this. “Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me,...”
Again, his whole being, you see. “...Bless His holy name. Bless the
LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgiveth all thine
iniquities;...” Just like back there in 1 John 1. “...Who healeth all thy
diseases;...” (Psa. 103:1-3). It’s important to understand. Now how is God
going to heal every single disease? The resurrection. Won’t that be the
greatest healing possible? That’s better than just a temporary physical
thing in this life, isn’t it? Isn’t it better to be raised to be a spirit
being, totally healed of everything physical? Yes, indeed.
“Who redeemeth thy life from destruction;...” Because He called you to
eternal life, we can put in there. “...Who crowneth thee with lovingkindness
and tender mercies;...” (vs. 4). And God has done that. Tremendously, hasn’t
He? Yes. In giving the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, did He not do that? Yes.
Let’s come down here to verse 8. “The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither
will He keep His anger for ever. He [the Lord] hath not dealt with us
after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.” Now that’s a
tremendous promise, isn’t it? That’s a wonderful, wonderful thing to
contemplate. “For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is
His mercy toward them that fear Him.” And of course, we know that means the
total love to God. “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath
He removed our transgressions from us” (vs. 8-12). Now if He forgives all
your iniquities, forgives all your sins, removes them from you as far as the
east is from the west, question: when have you ever read in a history book
that east met west? Other than just a play on words of culture? Never has.
They’re in two opposite directions, never to meet.
Now notice, He goes beyond that. “Like as a father pitieth his
children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear Him. For He knoweth our
frame; He remembereth that we are
dust.” God isn’t going to lay upon you any more than you are able to bear. “As
for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he
flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place
thereof shall know it no more. But the mercy of the LORD is from
everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear Him, and His righteousness
unto children’s children; to such as keep His covenant,...” That’s why we’re
going to keep the Passover, because that is keeping His covenant. “...And to
those that remember His commandments to do them” (vs., 13-18).
Now let’s stop by Psalm 86 for just a minute here. Now as I mentioned,
being in the grace of God is not forgiveness in advance. But what it is, it
means that forgiveness is there upon repentance. And here’s a good example
of it. Verse 1, “Bow down Thine ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor
and needy. Preserve my soul; for I
am holy: O Thou my God, save Thy servant that trusteth in Thee. Be
merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto Thee daily. Rejoice the soul of Thy
servant: for unto Thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. For Thou, Lord, art
good, and ready to forgive;...” - upon repentance. “...And plenteous in mercy
unto all them that call upon Thee” (Psa. 86:1-5). And you can read the rest
of the Psalm, because I want to cover something a little bit different here.
Now we’ve covered forgiveness for a group, we’ve covered forgiveness for an
individual. Now let’s talk about forgiveness one to another. Let’s come to
Matthew 5, and see how important this is. Verse 23, “Therefore if thou bring
thy gift to the altar,...” Or that is, you come to God in prayer. Since
there’s no altar, we’re coming to God and the gifts that we give are the
sacrifices of praise, and repentance, and encouragement for others, and so
forth. “...And there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against
thee;...” And I would like to hope that through this Feast of Unleavened
Bread that, especially in many of the fellowship groups that we have now,
where there are brethren coming together that have been over in one place
but now have been reunited through different courses together, and different
problems, that you, if you have anything against one another, that you make
a concerted, loving effort to get together and bury the hatchet by love and
understanding. That’s most important. So important that God says, if you
remember that you have anything, “...leave there thy gift before the altar,
and go thy way;...” God is saying, “Look, I don’t even want to hear your
prayer until you get this resolved.” Now is that important or what? Have to
say so, wouldn’t you? Yes indeed. “...First be reconciled to thy
brother,...” That’s what God - don’t we want to be reconciled to God? Yes.
Then God says be reconciled to your brother. And you have to come to a
meeting of minds. Sometimes it may not be possible. But you have to put
forth the effort. Maybe putting forth the effort will inspire the other
person. “...And then come and offer thy gift” (Matt. 5:23-24). So you do
what you can to work it out.
Let’s come over here to Matthew 6 and see how this is even on a daily
basis. Now here’s a promise, Matthew 6:14. “For if ye forgive men their
trespasses,...” Now notice, that’s against you. Now there can be many forms
of this. It can be serious. Sometimes it can be where only God can really do
the forgiving. I don’t know what they’re going to do back there in
Jonesboro, Arkansas, with all that’s going on there. But I tell you what,
it’s going to be a grave and difficult situation indeed. God alone can
forgive. The most that any of them can do is be understanding and accepting.
If there’s any forgiveness to those two lads, God alone can do it. No man
can forgive what they did. Only God can. But in order to get along with each
other, or if they desire to do so, then there’s going to have to be
acceptance and understanding, realizing that only God can forgive them. The
only thing you can do is pity those poor boys, that they’re pawns in such a
wicked society, that this type of thing would happen.
If you forgive men their trespasses, “...your heavenly Father will also
forgive you: but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your
Father forgive your trespasses” (Matt. 6:14-15). Now that’s very important
to understand. You need to realize that. Now if you’re willing to forgive,
but they are not willing to reciprocate, you have done your part, have you
not? Yes. Then you can pray that God will put it in their minds to do their
parts. And that’s what’s important.
Let’s see how this works. Let’s come to Matthew 18. And here is where God
tells each one of us that we are to work out the differences between us on
this basis. The responsibility becomes ours to do, if we are to be
responsible, spiritual Christians. In a corporate hierarchical church, they
cannot do this because it takes away their work. And it takes away their
control. And it takes away their fear and intimidation.
First of all, we’re told, verse 15 - and I’ll just summarize this because
we went through this here just recently, “If your brother trespass against
you, you go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.” Now we’re
talking about faults, are we not? Yes. That’s important to understand. We
confess our sins, and also our faults, before God. No question about that.
But when we have difficulties with each other, most of the time it’s because
of a fault. Is that not true? Or a perceived fault. “You tell it between you
and him alone. And he if he will hear you, you have gained a brother. If
that doesn’t work, you take two or three more with you. Establish every
word. If that doesn’t work, then you tell it to the church, being the whole
assembled group together. And if he neglect to hear the church, let him be
then unto you a heathen man and a publican” (Matt. 18:15-17, paraphrased).
Now what follows is very important. This is what’s so important. “Verily I
say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in
heaven:...” In relationship to resolving these faults. Had nothing to do
with doctrine. Has nothing to do keeping of days. Has nothing to do with any
Scriptures whatsoever. Has to do with the fault that you have agreed to
solve. “...And whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven”
(vs. 18). You make the decision. Wherever it is. “Yes, I forgive you.” It’s
taken care of. It’s done in heaven.
“Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching
any thing that they shall ask,...” In relationship to what? Solving the
faults. That’s what it is. Overcoming the problem. “...It shall be done for
them of My Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered
together in My name [to solve a problem], there am I in the midst of them”
(vs. 19-20). We’re talking about the problem-solving all along. We can say,
“Well, this does apply if two or three gather together on the Sabbath.” We
can take that in principle. That is true. But the main thrust of this all
the way through is with the problems.
Notice the response here by Peter, which shows that it’s true. Verse 21,
“Then came Peter to Him, and said, Lord, How oft shall my brother sin [or
that is, trespass] against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times?” Now
we’re talking about sin or transgress with a fault. “Jesus saith unto him, I
say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, until seventy times seven” (vs.
21-22). Now there’re going to be certain faults and problems that you’re
going to carry all your life. Is that not true? I know I have some that are
still a problem today that I’ve had for a long time. And some of those
things become a difficulty in my relationship with people. I try and do the
best I can so I don’t let them be problems. But because I’m human, they can
become problems, you see.
So that’s what it’s talking about. Now then, He gives this parable here. He
talks about the kingdom of heaven as like a certain king took into account
of his servants, and so forth. And you know the story there. He owed him ten
thousand talents. He came to his lord, verse 27 now. “Then the lord of that
servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the
debt.” So whenever you’re dealing with each other, and there’s a problem to
be handled and forgiven, remember, God has forgiven you. So that you’re
going to be very tender and forgiving that individual, though the problem
may occur again down the road a little later on. Because what? It’s a fault.
How many times? Seven times seventy.
However, notice what happened. When the forgiveness was given, that servant
went out, found someone who owed him a hundred pence. He took him and just
did the same thing to him, “Pay me all that you owe.” He said, “Have mercy
and patience and I will pay you.” And he wouldn’t do it. So what he did, he
threw him in jail till he would pay his debts. And then what happened? Be
sure, your sins will find out. The lord found out. So he called the first
man, verse 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
[of] me:…” He said, “I didn’t have to do it, but I did it.” “...Shouldest
not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity
on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till
he should pay all that was due unto him.” Verse 35 is a key important verse:
“So likewise shall My heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your
hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses” (vs. 32-35).
Notice how that flows all the way through the chapter about faults - one
with another. So don’t ever again be deceived of what you bind on earth is
bound in heaven, having to do with doctrine. If anyone pulls that on you,
you know they do not have a single solitary clue as to what’s going on.
Now we’ll finish here in just a minute. But let’s go to James 5 and let’s
see how we are to confess our faults. We saw how we’re to confess our sins
to God, correct? Yes. Now you confess your faults one to another, and in
praying one for another. And that fits in right there with Matthew 18. James
5, and let’s pick up in verse 14, because it is also tied in with healing.
Which you could also, then, tie it in with overcoming a fault, not that
you’re anointed for a fault, but the process here.
“Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let
them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the
prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if
he hath committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your
faults [not your sins, your faults] one to another, and pray one for
another, that ye may be healed.” Not only of your sickness, but also
overcome your faults. Wouldn’t you assume that that is part of what’s being
done here? Yes. “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth
much” (James 5:14-16). And then he tells the whole story of Elijah.
Now I want to finish by going to Genesis 50. Let’s go there. Genesis 50:15.
And maybe this is kind of prophetic as to why out of Joseph came the New
Testament, rather than out of the preaching of the Gospel at the end, then,
out of Joseph. “And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead,
they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us
all the evil which we did unto him.” Now you know what they did. Yes. “And
they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he
died, saying, So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the
trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and
now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy
father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him. And his brethren also went
and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy
servants” (Gen. 50:15-18).
Now notice, he could have said “Right! I’ll get out my jackboot and my big
thumb, and I’m going to make you guys pay for it!” Nope. “And Joseph said
unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye
thought evil against me; but
God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save
much people alive. Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your
little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them” (vs. 19-21).
And so that’s the kind of attitude we need to have in the church today,
brethren. The same thing. Many things were done with the thought of evil
toward the people of God. But there comes a time when all of that has to be
put aside. And there comes a time when the forgiveness and the love of God
must reign and have the power, instead of the fear and the intimidation.
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