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Our Fusion Pastor, Johnson Bowie, knocked it out of the park this weekend as he opened our new series, PARABLES, with a great message about forgiveness. This is something we all need to be reminded of regularly. It is one of the most essential parts of living a “kingdom” life. Why? Because we all have to deal with offense just about every day. Here’s a bit of what he said:

You are going to get offended! People will give you the opportunity to get offended all the time. That seems especially true in church…especially in Victory! We have way too many races and cultures and languages and funky people in here that you will not get offended. On any given Sunday there are thousands of people who don’t go to church because they are offended.

But we have to realize that a MAJOR plan of Satan is to get us offended at individuals in the church and then to react by breaking community, because then we’re all alone…easy to pick off…sitting ducks for sin and powerless in this life because there’s power in community. The trap of the enemy is isolation. When we refuse to forgive it breaks community with people, it gives a place for sickness in our lives and it breaks community with God.

But forgiveness isn’t easy. Where in the world does the power to forgive come from? The power to forgive comes from our own forgiveness. Those who have been forgiven much must go and forgive much. The forgiven must forgive because they’re forgiven. We had a debt that we absolutely could not pay. We were hopeless and we couldn’t reach out high enough to reach God, so He reached down to us. And Jesus came and He hung on a cross for us, forever dispelling the myth that forgiveness is cheap or easy. If you find yourself getting offended or judgmental towards others often…maybe it’s time you re-calculate your spiritual debt towards God.

Please listen; I’m not minimizing what has happened to some of you. Some of you have been through HORRIBLE things. People have done some absolutely horrible things to you. You have been through a lot. I’m not MINIMIZING that. But what I am MAXIMIZING is what you and I have done to God over and over again. And Jesus looks us square in the eyes and says, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like this… and He forgives us… now go and do likewise.”

At last I understood: in the final analysis, forgiveness is an act of faith. By forgiving another, I am trusting that God is a better justice-maker than I am. By forgiving, I release my own right to get even and leave all issues of fairness for God to work out. I leave in God’s hands the scales that must balance justice and mercy. – Phillip Yancey

Is there someone who you need to forgive? Is there someone who you haven’t talked to in a long time because of what they did? Is there someone who you avoid like the plague, you won’t sit beside, or get angry when you think about? Is there someone whom you are waiting for a confession from before you offer forgiveness? You must forgive them. You can start by praying this prayer:

God, I forgive _________ for what they did. I release them from any debt they owe me. I release any anger and any revenge in my heart… and (maybe the hardest part) I BLESS them in the name of Jesus.

You’ve got to hear the rest of this message, including practical and godly wisdom on how to handle offense when it comes; watch or listen to it online here.

Here’s a powerful video about forgiveness: