Forgive!

[Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks, PsyD]

We MUST forgive; no matter what the person did to us!! Let that stuff go; you are only hurting yourself! You are in bondage when you do not forgive! Ask God from your heart to help you and He will! 

I KNOW God will help you because He helped me! I used to hold grudges and not speak to people for years, who hurt me; I later found out, I was only hurting myself. Those people who hurt me, were not bothered; they kept doing what they did best, hurt people. Although the devil was using them, they had a choice and they chose to be used by him. But God wanted to set me free, so He kept tugging at my heart and kept reminding me, I had not forgiven the person. Sometimes God would speak to me and say, "You have not forgiven (name)," then I would go through praying AGAIN:), to forgive him/her! But it took some time to REALLY forgive; I kept praying until I finally forgave them from my heart.

Now, thank God I am free and I have no problem, forgiving anyone who hurt me! I don’t have time for people’s mess; I am too busy seeking after God – I GOING HARD AFTER GOD AND I WILL NOT ALLOW ANYTHING OR ANYONE, TO PULL ME OUT OF WHERE GOD HAS PUT ME! Therefore, I forgive, release, and cancel EVERYONE debt, who has EVER hurt me in ANY WAY and I ask God to bless them abundantly; I mean this from my heart! I have no unforgiveness in my heart against anyone! Whatever they have done to me, it is under the Blood of Jesus; God got me! I pray for their soul; that they give their life to Jesus before it is too late! I forgive them because I want to forgive and be obedient to God's Word; if I don't forgive others, God WILL NOT forgive me! Period! This is what the Word says we should do and not do, so I will obey God’s Word:

Romans 12:17-21 - NKJV (biblegateway.com)

¹⁷ Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. ¹⁸ If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. ¹⁹ Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. ²⁰ Therefore

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”

²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

God is not playing with us about forgiving! In Matthew 6:11-12, Jesus tells us in the Lord’s Prayer: “Give us this day our daily bread, ¹² and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” And in verse 14-15 Jesus says plainly: “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, ¹⁵ but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

1 Peter 3:9-19 – NKJV (biblegateway.com)

⁹ not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. ¹⁰ For

“He who would love life
And see good days,
Let him refrain his tongue from evil,
And his lips from speaking deceit.

¹¹ Let him turn away from evil and do good;
Let him seek peace and pursue it.

¹² For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
And His ears are open to their prayers;
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

¹³ And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? ¹⁴ But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” ¹⁵ But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; ¹⁶ having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. ¹⁷ For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.

¹⁸ For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, ¹⁹ by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison,

 

We MUST forgive the people who hurt us and cancel their debts that we think they owe us! Otherwise, we will be turned over to the tormentors; remember the parable Jesus gave the disciples in Matthew 18:21-35, about the unforgiving debtor? The unforgiving debtor was thrown into prison and handed over to the tormentors since he did not show the same mercy that was shown to him; he would not forgive the guy’s debt who owed him. Jesus was talking to the disciples about forgiving; He told them to forgive the person who hurt them, seventy times seven. In essence, whenever someone hurts us, we are to forgive. This is what Jesus said in Matthew 18:21-35 - NLT about forgiving others:

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.”

The same thing that happened to that unforgiving debtor, happens to us when we do not forgive; we might not be put in a physical prison but we are thrown into a spiritual one. WE, by choosing not to forgive, after God told us to forgive, put ourselves in spiritual prison (walls and all) and open the door for the devil to torment us, because we have given him a foothold in our lives. Did you know that unforgiveness opens the door for other spirits? Yes, it does! Unforgiveness is a gateway spirit and is one of the spirits that makes up the “Principality of Bitterness” armor. The principality of bitterness is one of the major strongholds of satan. And to cheer on unforgiveness, are accusing spirits; I am going to discuss accusing spirits a little in this message also.

The information below about accusing spirits and the principality of bitterness, is taken with permission, from Dr. Art Mathias’ book, “Biblical Foundations of Freedom,” and I suggest you get a copy and study it.

The other major principalities of satan are: Bitterness, Jealousy & Envy, Rejection, Fear, Unbelief, and Occult. Click here for the complete series, “Being Set Free From The Bondag... so you can understand fully about the principalities of satan and how to be set free from bitterness and self-bitterness. The teaching also gives you the antidote for bitterness and shows you have to become free and stay free from bitterness.

Since we talking about unforgiveness now, I will show you here what happens if you don’t forgive someone; what spirits you open the door to – they are listed in the “Being Set Free…” series also but in more detail. I first will give you a brief description of what accusing spirits are and their characteristics, then give an explanation of the principality of bitterness, it’s purpose, and show you which spirits make up its armor. Because if we are going to defeat unforgiveness, we MUST do it at the core; get to the root cause of it.

We must know who we are warring against before we can truly forgive the person who hurt us; we are not fighting against that person but it is that spirit behind that person (Ephesians 6:12). When a person says something to you that offends you, forgive them instantly because it is not them who are saying that to you. Once we know who we are fighting against, we can forgive the person and come against the accusing spirits which does not want us to forgive.

Accusing Spirits Description:

• Team up with the spirits in the major stronghold category to make sure you do not forgive.

• Accusing spirits are the origin of our negative thoughts.

• Their goals are to bring us down, bring other people down, and to discredit God.

• They seek to separate us from God and others and to plant doubt so our faith can be destroyed.

• Try to keep us from walking in the light with our brother or sister even after repentance and forgiveness; reminds us of his/her sin against us.

• Encourages us to keep a record of wrongs.

• They seek to nullify the work of the cross to keep us from fellowship with each other, and to bind us with self-condemnation.

 

Characteristics of Accusing Spirits:

• Suspicion

• Always believing the worst about someone

• Exaggerating offenses and failures

• Bitterness

• Being easily offended

• Mistrust

• Easy to offend others

Principality of Bitterness: The principality of bitterness’ purpose is to ultimately destroy faith, ours and that of others around us. Bitterness drives divorce, heart disease and digestive problems. Bitterness is an extreme form of anxiety and stress which affects every organ in our bodies. Most organic diseases (diseases which involves or affects physiology or bodily organs) are tied to bitterness, including cancer. All of the auto-immune diseases are tied to self-bitterness.

Armor of Bitterness: Bitterness is a ruling demon or principality; it has 7 spirits that answers to it, protects it, and provides its armor and they are:

• Unforgiveness – bitterness gains entrance to a person through unforgiveness. The strong man (principality of bitterness) uses the accusing spirit to constantly remind and torments the person with past negative events of what happened to them.

• Resentment – after unforgiveness has done its work, the strong man sends out the spirit of resentment. Resentment generates a feeling of ill will towards the person who wronged you; it adds fuel to the fire. Resentment and unforgiveness stem from thoughts; resentment constantly reminds us of past events, stirring up negative sentiments that stew and ferment within us.

• Retaliation – now it’s time to get even. Retaliation tells you to make the person pay who has wronged you. When unforgiveness and resentment gains a foothold in a person’s life, it makes it easier for retaliation to begin telling him/her what to do. The spirit of retaliation is much more dangerous than resentment or unforgiveness; it shows progressive demonization – each spirit is much more dangerous than the previous one.

• Anger – after the previous spirits gain a foothold, the strong man sends out anger and wrath. Anger and wrath are outward expressions that remind others that the person who are hurt are not going to forgive them, that he/she resents them, and that he/she plans to get even – see how all four spirits are working together? Anger gives the other spirits a voice; without anger, unforgiveness, resentment, and retaliation can be kept unspoken, eating away at a person’s own spirit through deception.

• Hatred - hatred starts a process of elimination; it seeks to elimination the other person. Retaliation ferments anger on behalf of bitterness. Anger vocalizes bitterness, and next comes hatred to act out of bitterness. Hatred reveals the person’s feelings toward the offender; it tells them he/she hates their guts. See how bitterness is sitting back letting these other spirits do its work? Hatred provides the fuel for the next piece of armor which is violence.

• Violence – violence is anger and hatred set into motion. The person’s emotions erupt into physical or sometimes hate – filled verbal attacks. At this point, pots and pans are thrown across the room, wrenches fly, fights erupt, and punches are being thrown; I can relate, I have thrown a temper tantrum or two:)!! Also, physical, sexual, and verbal abuse results from violence.

• Murder – the seventh and worst spirit in the principality of bitterness is murder. Cain slew Aber because of bitterness towards him and today, we hear of people murdering their children, spouses, friends, family, and others in a fit of rage. People who have not dealt with previous hurts (not forgiven) are walking time bombs; they could blow in a minute. The spirit of murder goes beyond taking someone’s physical life. 1 John 3:15 teaches us that we can murder someone without words; you murder them by hating them. The ultimate level of the spirit of bitterness (principality of bitterness) is the elimination of someone’s personhood. Murder starts in the heart!!

I want you to be set free and be all God called you to be, so you can live the abundant life, Jesus died so you could live. Click other links at the end of this message, to access resources I put together, to help you become free in every area of your life. One resource is a teaching called “NO MORE Searching!!! Manual of Healing, Deliverance, & Restora... -  in it are prayers for all situations, along with a prayer against unforgiveness. And I want you all to have my teaching on the "Importance of Forgiveness Recovery Program."

If you use these resources, you will be set free from unforgiveness and stay free. Don’t just use them once either; use them as many times as it takes for you to become FULLY free and keep using them to stay free.

It is NOT worth losing your soul, because you choose to ignore God and hold a grudge against someone! Is it easy to forgive? NO! But YOU have to make a conscious decision from your heart to forgive the person, once you do that, God will help you - God knows when you are sincere and when you are not, so be for real! All God wants is for you to be real with Him; you cannot get help from God, pretending like everything is alright between you and the person-remember, God knows your heart! 

Forgiveness is NOT a feeling but a CHOICE; you are choosing to forgive the person. You are NOT excusing what they done as if it did not matter but you are excusing their behavior - remember, we are not wrestling against flesh and blood - there is spirit behind that person's behavior. If Jesus could forgive Judas and the people who crucified Him, surely you can forgive the person or persons who hurt you. 

Also, forgiveness DOES NOT mean, going back into the relationship and picking up where you left off; if what they did to you has caused you all to separate. Forgive them and move on! Unless God tell you to get back into the relationship, don’t! Remember, that person is being used by the devil to try and destroy you and if they have not changed (nine out of ten times, they have not), DON’T GET BACK INVOLVED WITH THEM – LOVE THEM FROM A DISTANCE! Pray for them, that God deliver them and open their eyes, to what they are doing to His people! If you see them in public, speak; don’t hide from them – show the love of God and keep it moving. NEVER reopen doors, God has closed; unless God tell you to – make sure it is God!

I advise you to take this message seriously; study it more than one time if you have to. Also, take the attached materials, pray before you begin your studies, asking Holy Spirit to give you full understanding and to reveal to you, who you need to forgive and be ready to receive from Him, when Holy Spirit gives you instructions. Don't say, "No, I don't have anything against (name)!" Holy Spirit knows you and He is NEVER wrong; He sees your heart. Listen, be honest, and follow Holy Spirit's instructions, so you can be delivered, healed, and restored, in EVERY area of your life!

“Being Set Free From The Bondage of Bitterness & Self-Bitterness”

“Accusing Spirits”

“NO MORE Searching!!! Manual of Healing, Deliverance, & Restora...

"Importance of Forgiveness Recovery Program"

God bless you all and keep you all! If you have an issue with any of the links, let me know.

Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks