BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

I know a preacher who experienced that. He was witnessing to a member of a New York street gang who was threatening him with a knife. Instead of fighting back, the preacher just kept telling him Jesus loved him. The guy kept swinging that knife, trying to cut that preacher, but every time he tried, a force he couldn’t see stopped him short. He literally couldn’t touch him. As a result, that gang member fell down on his knees, received Jesus and today he is one of the most outstanding evangelists in the world! Listen, my friend, forgiveness is one of the most powerful forces in existence! To walk in forgiveness is to walk in victory. To the natural mind, it may look like if you just keep on forgiving and forgiving, people are going to walk all over you. But it won’t happen that way! Just read what Romans 8 says, “As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Is that right? Are we sheep for the slaughter? The next verse tells us. It says, “NAY!” Nay means “no.” NO! NO! NO! We’re not sheep for the slaughter. “In all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us” (verses 36-37). When you walk in forgiveness, you’re walking in love—and love is more powerful than all the hate satan can muster. Love never fails. Love makes you more than a conqueror. What does it mean to be more than a conqueror? Here’s the best explanation I ever heard: Imagine a heavyweight boxer who works out day after day; sweating, training, preparing for a big fight. The day of the fight comes and he gets into the ring and goes 15 rounds with some guy who’s trying his best to beat his brains out. When he’s finished, he aches from one end to the other. Even his hair hurts. But he won the fight so they hand him his multimillion-dollar prize money. Then he goes home and his wife says, “Oh, we won! We won!” He says, “Yeah, we did,” and hands her the check. He’s a conqueror, but she is more than a conqueror. She didn’t get hit one time, but she got all the money! The Hard Part Is Done! That’s what happened to you. Jesus went into hell itself and suffered the penalty for sin. He became obedient to death. But by the power of the Holy Spirit and The WORD of God, He rose up in great conquest and defeated the devil. He made an open show of him. Then He turned to you and said, “All power has been given unto Me both in heaven and in earth, now you go in My Name. Here’s the prize—now take it and go cast out the devil.” You didn’t do any of the fighting, but you got all the power. Jesus gave you the keys to the Kingdom! Don’t you dare go around whining about how hard it is to forgive someone. It’s not hard! Jesus has done the hard part already. He has shed His blood. All you have to do is honor that blood by making a decision to forgive just as God has forgiven you. You may not feel any different at first, but that doesn’t matter. Forgiveness based on the blood of Jesus is an act of your will, not an act of your feelings. Once that decision is made, don’t ever turn back on it. If you see the person you’ve forgiven a few days later and the old bad feeling knots up in your stomach, don’t be discouraged. That’s just a symptom of the flesh. Rebuke it. Say, “No, I refuse to receive that symptom of unforgiveness. I honor the blood of Jesus and I have forgiven that person.” Then treat the person as if no wrong had ever been done. If you’ll keep doing that, the supernatural forgetfulness of God will wipe that wrong out of your consciousness. It won’t be long till you see that person walking down the street and you actually won’t remember they ever did you any harm. I can tell you from experience, that kind of victory is sweet. You don’t have to wait another moment for it either. You don’t have to wait until you “feel” better. You don’t have to spend another minute in the dark. Just make the decision now and say: “LORD, forgive me of this anger and hate. Forgive me on the basis of the blood of Jesus and cleanse me by that blood. I commit before You to honor that blood by forgiving this person of any wrong they have ever done to me. I release them from my personal judgment. “Jesus, bless them, heal them and deliver them. I will speak nothing but good over them from this moment on. LORD, You died for them. You have accepted them in Jesus and if they’re good enough for You, they’re good enough for me. Therefore, I love them completely and without reserve in Jesus’ Name. Amen.” If you just prayed that prayer, rejoice! You’re no longer trying to forgive, you’ve done it. You’ve stepped out of darkness into the Light. You’ve hooked into the supernatural, never-failing power of love. So, shout hallelujah—and let the victories begin! V BVOV : 21

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