Date: 13-May-2024
Name: Josh
Topic:
Part 7 – Becoming Gods battle axe – The tender-hearted warrior.
Content:
Pre-sermon declarations:
- Psalms 118:24
This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.
Prayer point 1
1. Thanksgiving and worship – 1 Thes 5: 16 – 18
Introduction
Good morning – In the last 6 series of becoming Gods battle axe we covered knowledge, surveillance, the spirit of the lord, the word, oh hide me lord, covenants, altars and sacrifice and today I have the pleasure to share on the reflections for becoming the” tender-hearted warrior” an important dimension for becoming Gods battle axe. I would like to point out these series could be delivered in whatever order, am delivering them based on how God is speaking to me and the advancement that am putting through prayers and in the secret place with God.
- Thank you again.
Fire statements:Forgiveness and its dimension as a battle axe
“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. They must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” – Long Walk to Freedom (1995)
“Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.”
“Forgiveness liberates the soul, it removes fear. That's why it's such a powerful weapon.”
“Forgiveness is not an occasional act; it is a permanent attitude.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
Forgiveness will not be possible until compassion is born in your heart.
- Thich Nhat Hanh
The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.
- Mahatma Gandhi
Always forgive your enemies - nothing annoys them so much.
- Oscar Wilde
Forgiveness is a funny thing. It warms the heart and cools the sting.
- William Arthur Ward
Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.
- Paul Boese
Without forgiveness life is governed by... an endless cycle of resentment and retaliation.
- Roberto Assagioli
Forgiveness is the final form of love.
- Reinhold Niebuhr
To err is human; to forgive, divine.
- Alexander Pope
Never forget the three powerful resources you always have available to you: love, prayer, and forgiveness.
- H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
Knowledge is learning something every day. Wisdom is letting go of something every day.
- Zen Proverb
Fire statement:
Mathew 18: 21 – 35
The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.[g]
23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold[h] was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins.[i] He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’
30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.
32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
How is forgiveness linked to becoming God’s battle axe?
- Let’s us read Mark 11: 22 – 26
- 22 “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. 23 “Truly[a] I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” [26] [b]
- Ephesians 4:30 - 32
- 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Lessons:
- Forgiveness is linked to activation of what we have spoken (Faith – is an action).
- Forgiveness makes you a true battle axe. You will shatter any enemy – Jeremiah 51 – 20.
- Forgiving other – brings a dimension of grace from God to us
- Forgiveness brings power to our prayers.
- Forgiveness makes our prayers to be answered
- Unforgiveness grieves the holy Spirit.
- Proverbs 17:9“Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends.
(Pathogenesis): Mechanisms of how unforgiveness stops prayers from being answered.
- Unforgiveness causes holding grudges.
- And it’s the same thing that happens in the arteries of your heart when too much fat gets in.
- Fat starts collecting around the edges of the arteries and restricting the flow of blood. This can led to a heart attack
- In the spiritual realm, unforgiveness build up in the same way. It starts collecting in the channel where the spirit flows, and if you’re not careful, it’ll clog the channel of the holy spirit to release the works of the holy spirit as his grieved.
Way forward:
Forgiveness and unforgiveness touches on the heart and the heart has to be spoken to in order to surrender and forgive and thus needs a divine intervention – God - The word, prayer, holy spirit / Jesus Christ our Lord
Mathew 8:16 – 17
16 When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, 17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:
“He Himself took our infirmities
And bore our sicknesses.”
Prayer Points:
Prayer points
1. God to heal our hearts. Battle axe’s here holding on to the things we have been wronged / unforgiveness. Let’s release.
2. Guidance from the holy spirit on wisdom how to approach the situation - physically
3. Meditate on prayer to tap into the spirit in areas we think the holy spirit was grieved for those prayers to be answered.
4. Prayer requests.
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