Ministering: Princess Ojo Onogwu

Date: 24th April 2023

Topic: Forgiveness

Let us pray!

Dear Heavenly Father,  as we have come to part take of your bounty today, I ask that every heart be enlightened, may your wisdom and power be spoken by me today. Thank you Jesus for hearing us always…  What is Forgiveness?

It is the ability to let go of hurt, pain, bitterness, and negativity towards a person, a situation, or oneself.

Forgiveness can also be defined as total letting go of hurts or negative feelings.

As humans, we are likely to be offended or hurt in different known and unknown ways therefore it’s easy to hold on to that hurt you feel but as Christians we were first loved and forgiven by our Father through Christ Jesus so we were commanded to forgive one another.

Remember by the first man and woman on earth sin came into the world, therefore by that all of us had sinned and fallen short of God’s glory,

[Romans 3:23 NLT]

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.

But God first loved us before we loved Him so He forgave us our sins by sending His Son Christ Jesus to become sin for us so that by His death and resurrection from the cross, all who would come to believe in Him would be forgiven,

[John 5:24 NLT]

I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.

Therefore as God has forgiven us we would learn to forgive one another.

[Luke 11:4 NLT]

and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation.

So, how can our Father forgive us our sins, and yet we hold grudges over others?

This is what Jesus says concerning those that hold hurts or grudges.

[Matthew 18:21-35 NLT]
[21]Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?”

[22]“No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!

[23]“Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him.

[24]In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars.

[25]He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt.

[26]“But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’

[27]Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.

[28]“But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.

[29]“His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded.

[30]But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full.

[31]“When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened.

[32]Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me.

[33]Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’

[34]Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.

[35]“That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”

Do you see what verse 34 said?

Most times those in that prison aren’t the people who offend you or the people you have refused to forgive but you.

You put yourself in a mental prison, lock yourself up and torture yourself with the thoughts of these people.

By these, you open up yourself to demonic activities (the devil will torment you)  because he loves strife, negativity, and destruction.

Do not forget, his mission is to kill steal and destroy,

So unforgiveness steals your joy, kills your peace of mind, and destroys your divine health,  little wonder most people who are bitter or hold grudges are depressed or fall sick a lot.

It will surprise you that a lot of the sickness people carry in their bodies stems from unforgiveness.

I am serious, I will give you a live story.

Someone called me that she was sick and felt heavy in her stomach,

Something sometimes runs through her skin too, she also had rashes all over her and no doctor could heal her, she had tried everything herbal and orthodox.

Many have also prayed for her but to no avail.

After she called me and was narrating her stories, I was checking in my spirit for what could have gone wrong, I asked the Holy Spirit but at that point, no answer.

So I told her to let’s pray.

Immediately I said, “In Jesus’ name!”, she fell under the power and the Holy Spirit said “She’s dealing with unforgiveness”

When she got up I asked her who has offended her,

She told me of how her sister treated her as house help for the longest time just so she can pay her fees through school and how she has been nursing that unforgiveness for a long time.

Long story short,  the Holy Spirit told me she’ll never get well if she still holds the hurt.

I gave her good counsel and after a week, all the rashes in her body vanished, the heaviness in her stomach left and she started to see her menstrual cycle again.

The heaviness did not let her see her period before then and she was worried that she may never give birth.

Glory to God she was totally healed because she forgave and let it all go.

So, yes!

You do yourself a great dis-service if you hold grudges.

You become a slave to unforgiveness while the offenders walk free totally oblivious or ignorant of how much you hurt or they hurt you.

As Christians, holding grudges is opening up yourself to the devil and torture.

You can do it,

Let it go!

Please forgive them!  🙏

If Someone Has Hurt You,  How Do You Forgive?

1. If the person is close to you or someone you know and can meet, go to them,

2. Confess to them that you are offended by them,

3. State the situation or events that offends you

4. Tell them loudly that you have forgiven them.

Note: whether they ask you for forgiveness or not, just tell them that you have forgiven them and let it go.

I know some people like to argue but for your own peace, just forgive them even when they do not ask.

What if it’s someone you have lost contact with and may never see again? How Do You Forgive?

1. Stand on both feet

2. Bring to remembrance all that they have done to you

3. Write their names on a piece of paper or call out their names loudly

4. And tell them you have forgiven them, say it loudly for your ears to hear and your heart to believe.

5. Let it go. If you wrote their names down, tear it in pieces and let it go.

God bless you!

How often should we forgive?

As believers we forgive as often as we breathe, in fact always forgive in advance.

This is the same question a disciple asked Jesus so I will just quote him:

[Matthew 18:21-22 NLT]
[21]Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?”

[22]“No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!

If as believers we are asked to forgive a person 490 times then forgiving in advance shouldn’t be an issue.

Let’s learn to live in forgiveness always.

If a close brother hurts me and I forgive him,  Should I continue to keep him close?

Yes And No!

It depends on the offense and how much it affects you or your relationship.

The best thing I would advise you to do is to talk to the Holy Spirit concerning it.

It is wise to let some people go after forgiving them but it is also okay to keep some of them close if they are repentant.

I hope you all have learned something today.

Kindly drop all your questions if you have any, I will be answering them one by one.

Let us pray!

Heavenly Father,  I thank you because your words are Yes and Amen to us always and every day,

Help us to see ourselves the way you see us.

Amen!

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Good Morning Family,

I trust y’all are good,  so I was in the bathroom this morning and the Holy Spirit told me to add about forgiveness of oneself to the teaching from yesterday so here it is.

Forgiveness of Oneself

I already defined forgiveness to be letting go of hurt or bitterness or pain towards someone, something, or oneself. So yes! It’s possible to be unforgiving to yourself because of a decision you made, a path you took, or negative events that happened to you that you felt could have been controlled or avoided.

A live story:

I remember a lady here who committed abortion and had lived with the guilt for too long,

Every morning she wakes up and begs God for mercy.

Always asking for mercy, she had totally forgotten that mercy is to be obtained from the throne of grace. So for us children, mercy isn’t even an option or something we beg for, we just go to the Father and obtain.

Na we get am!  Freely like that!

Just like that.

[Hebrew 4:16 NLT]

So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

There’s absolutely no need for a child of God to cry for mercy daily as though she is talking to a deaf and dumb Father or one who is wicked.

God is a father!

Your Father!

My Father!

Our Father!

He is never wicked or unforgiving…

So this woman got married and couldn’t get pregnant or give birth because of this guilt and unforgiveness she was dealing with.

After she met me and told me that the abortion she committed when she was younger could be the cause of her childlessness, I asked her a question,

“Felicia (not real name)  have you never seen or heard of ladies who got married as virgins and are still childless? If the one, safe, abortion you did is the cause of yours, what explanation do you have for these ladies? What is the cause of theirs?”

She was quiet and I counseled and taught her into forgiving herself for the hurts and regret.

We prayed together and she broke down crying… She cried until she got healed completely.

I think the Holy Spirit worked on her emotions with that.

She’s free now and I think she now has a baby boy from the last time I checked.

Not just her. I know that there are many more people like her here and that’s why the Holy Spirit is asking me to address it today.

You need to forgive yourself because God has forgiven you and He is not angry at you.

I remember a case of one who went into depression because she was raped when she was younger and became unforgiving……

It was the power of the Holy Spirit that helped her through.

I prayed with her and pointed it out, she affirmed I was right and forgave.

Since then she had peace of mind and can pray in tongues now.

The unforgiveness hindered her from being able to pray in the Spirit (are you surprised?😄 You would be surprised but I am not even joking…)

Thank God for the word of knowledge and discernment, else God’s servants would be wasting precious time praying over illnesses that only need one’s forgiveness to heal.

How To Forgive Yourself

1. Bring to remembrance everything that happened and how it happened

2. Cry if you must, cry very hard.

3. Read the word of God concerning you and remind yourself of how you are eternally forgiven.

Jesus took all of that guilt away.

4. Believe it,  Accept it!

5. Let it go!

If you must, if it’s necessary you can call your full name and say very loudly to yourself.

“I forgive you! ”

“You are eternally forgiven!”

When you are done, please move on from it.

Do not hold yourself ransom on something you have been forgiven of eternally.

I hope y’all have learned something today.

Kindly ask questions if and when you have.

God bless you.