Breakthrough 2022 Day 9
Day 9 Tuesday January 11
Today we are praying for increased anointing in the efforts of all those caring the burden and serving Christ through the ministries of Turning Point. We pray that all our lives will continue to be transformed and that we will be able to see the work of the kingdom God is doing through our lives and the supernatural hope he wants to exhibit through us in our sphere of influence.
Shortly after Israel experienced the miraculous hand of God open the Red Sea and wipe out Pharaoh’s army, they contended with Moses to give them water to drink and tested God’s patience with them by being contentious with Moses to the point they were ready to stone him.
God was testing the faith of the people. For our faith to grow it must be put to the test. The test is to what or whom will we turn when we our provision is extinguished? Will we trust God or others for our provision? The truth is you can only have lasting peace from God who never changes the requirements.
Today we turn our focus to the peace of God. When we are forgiven, we experience peace with God and are given the ability to extend that peace to others through forgiveness.
We like Peter attempt to define the limit of our responsibility in forgiveness to which Jesus tells a parable that exposes the foolishness of this mindset. The man who refused to forgive was himself unforgiven.
Jesus makes an alarming statement when he said, “this is what my father will do if you refuse to forgive your brother who sin against you.” We are to make no mistake that the forgiveness for our debit (sin) is conditional to our willingness to forgive from the heart our brothers who are indebted (sin) against us and seek forgiveness or reconciliation.
There are those who emphatically teach that once you pray the sinner’s prayer you are forever forgiven without any qualification. Jesus, make it clear in our texts today that this is patently untrue and that His Father would renege on forgiveness if we refuse or withhold forgiveness to others.
Jesus instructs us to mimic our Father in delighting to forgive our brothers who sin against us because of the grace we have received in forgiveness from God. We are instructed to live at peace with all men friend and foe as far as it depends on us. Forgiveness is how we protect the peace we have been given and increase our anointing.
The peace we have with God through Christ will change how we view the new life of re-creation in others. Let us not contend with God nor test His mercy by refusing to forgive our brothers but let us trust God to make the water of His redeeming grace overflow from our inner being to all who are thirsty.
Say it like a person forgiven immeasurably, as I FORGIVE those who SIN against ME.”