June 16, 2025 • 42 mins
In this message, Stephan Piggee challenges us to walk in radical forgiveness—because true freedom requires letting go. Preaching during the Men of Valor series, Stephan draws from Paul’s life, Jesus’ own words, and real-life stories to teach that mercy and forgiveness are not optional for followers of Christ—they are commands that unlock healing, restoration, and revival in our homes, churches, and hearts.
Whether you’re holding a grudge, carrying deep father wounds, battling church hurt, or struggling to forgive yourself—this word is for you. It’s time to break the cycle, drop the offense, and live the free life Jesus paid for.
💥 Key Takeaways:
- Forgiveness is a choice, not a feeling—it reflects God’s heart.
- Mercy withholds punishment; forgiveness releases pain.
- Unforgiveness doesn’t protect you; it destroys you.
- Forgiveness sets you free and can restore generations.
- If Jesus forgave from the cross, we can forgive from the pew.
Stephan reminds us: It’s not just a song from Frozen—it’s a kingdom principle: Let. It. Go!
🎧 Listen now, and invite the Holy Spirit to break the chains once and for all.
👉 Get connected at www.v1.church
🙏 Support the movement at https://donate.overflow.co/v1
Mentioned in this episode:
BREAKERS CONFERENCE
BREAKERS CONFERENCE is a movement of warriors contending for revival to come to our cities, freedom to break out in our circles, and salvation to sweep through our regions. Throughout history we’ve seen God move mightily when believers come together and we are lifting up our voices to the Lord to ask "Do It Again". Will you answer the call to stand in a seat and ask God to break open the heavens?
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Foreign.
Y' all ready to get in the word?
Cause it's preaching time.
They gave me assignment this morning.
They told me, preach the wordof God, and that's what I intend
to do.
So let's pray over the sermonreally quick.
(00:21):
Father God, thank you.
Thank you for this opportunityto share.
Thank you for each and everysoul that's represented.
As I get ready to speak, allowme to speak with boldness and authority.
Allow me to speak the wordsthat you want me to speak.
Decrease me, God, right beforetheir eyes.
Decrease me so that you canincrease, lessen me and more.
(00:41):
You open up their ears, openup their hearts so they receive what
it is that you want tocommunicate to them today.
In Jesus name, amen.
So, men of valor, are you inthe house today?
Make some noise.
That was all right.
I'm not going to lie to you.
That was just all right.
Service was better.
Men of valor.
Come on, make some noise.
(01:03):
Men of valor.
It's the men in here.
All right.
I see the ladies looking at meside eyed.
I haven't forgot about you.
Some of you just got offended.
But it's the free womencollective in the house today.
All right, that's enough.
That's enough.
Men of Valor.
This series is called Men of Valor.
So I need y' all to step it upbecause the free women collector
(01:24):
came in and they showed out.
So I'm gonna give you one more time.
On the count of three, startgetting your vocal cords ready, men.
All right.
One, two, three.
Men of valor.
There we go.
There we go.
So a few weeks ago, beforePastor Mike left for his sabbatical,
we hosted our Men of Valorretreat called the Forge.
And some of the men from thishouse got an opportunity with.
(01:47):
But during that retreat,Pastor Mike spoke on the 25 characteristics
of a father.
And so some of those things,as a father, you may have different
definitions of qualities orcharacteristics that you may think
a father is.
But by the world's definition,a father is a male who has transferred
(02:08):
his DNA into a child.
And while I do not disagreewith that definition, because I have
three I should know aboutgiving my DNA away, I will go on
to say even further that thatdoesn't make a man a father.
And so I want to talk abouttoday some of those characteristics
(02:31):
that really defines what agodly father and what a true man
of valor is.
So a godly father can be onethat's an encourager, that's a leader
like Pastor Evan taught uslast week, which was a great sermon
last week.
So shout out to Pastor Evan,you really allowed the Lord to use
you.
But Pastor Evans said that atrue man of valor is a protector,
(02:54):
a provider, and a priestwithin his own home.
So I wanted to talk about today.
A godly father.
And a man of valor is one whoshows mercy.
A merciful father displayskindness, compassion, understanding.
But most importantly, heforgives mistakes.
I'm gonna say that again formy note takers.
(03:16):
A man of valor, a godlyfather, shows mercy, and he forgives
mistakes.
So the ladies in the room, youmay have just checked out.
I'm about to reel you back inand tell you lock back in.
Because although I'm talkingto the men, and I'm talking about
men of valor andcharacteristics of a father, in all
actuality, thesecharacteristics can be used by men,
(03:37):
women, or anyone who callsthemselves a Christian.
So as we get into the Bible, Iwant to take a look at one man of
valor.
Last week, we heard about David.
This week, we're going to hearabout Paul.
So Paul as we know him todaywas not always Paul that we know.
Paul actually was actually avery terrible guy, if I'm just being
(03:59):
honest.
But Paul was a Pharisee,better known as Saul.
He was on this trip going outpersecuting Christians.
And he was on this trip on theroad of Damascus, and he was actually
headed there to persecuteChristians because he heard there
were some Jesus followers out there.
(04:20):
And while he was on this road,he had a holy visitation.
Kind of like today, PentecostSunday, he had a holy visitation
where the Lord showed him his glory.
And that really led to thetransformation to the Paul that we
see and love today.
But I would like to say is, asI was thinking about the Saul to
(04:41):
Paul conversion, I wasthinking about Genesis 50:20, where
it said, what the devilintended for bad, God used for his
good.
And that's a story of Paul.
So if you have your Bibles, Iwant you to take a look.
Two look.
I want to look at two passagesof scripture.
The first being 2 Corinthians1 and 3.
And then the second was goingto be Matthew 6, 14, 15.
(05:05):
And I'm going to just forewarnyou right now.
If you're taking notes, getready for your pen to run out of
ink.
Get ready to be flippingthrough your Bible and your phone.
Cause I'm about to have youall over.
So when you ask 2 Corinthians,give me a shout.
Let me know you got it.
Say got it.
And if you don't got it,you're just gonna have to Listen
to me, read it.
(05:26):
So Second Corinthians, itsaid, blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, theFather of mercies and God of all
comfort.
So as we read that, there weretwo things that stuck out in this
scripture.
First, being the Father of all mercies.
And so when he said mercies,he doesn't say mercy.
(05:47):
He said mercies as in plural,meaning an abundant, available in
different ways to meetdifferent needs.
And then next he mentions Godof all comfort, meaning the one who
gives comfort and compassion.
So I want you to just take apin there and just highlight that
and remember that.
So next, before we get over toMatthew, as I was reading that and
(06:10):
thinking about the Father ofmercies, God of all comfort, Paul
was really describing thefirst true man of valor that showed
mercy, which is God, meaningGod is the source of our mercy.
See God, mercy flows from thevery heart of God, because he's just
not.
He's not just merciful, but heis mercy.
(06:32):
So now let's jump over to Matthew.
It says, for if you forgiveothers their trespasses, your heavenly
Father will also forgive you.
But if you do not forgiveothers of their trespasses, neither
will your Father forgive youof your trespasses.
So a little earlier I told youthat I'm a father of three.
I have a 8 year old namedAria, 5 year old in Harmony, they're
(06:53):
watching right now in Texas,Daddy loves you.
And then just recently I gotnow 7 week year old baby boy.
And sometimes they want theirdad to do the stuff that dad just
don't want to do.
You know, sometimes I justwant to chill, have a moment to myself.
I get off work even if I amjust walking from my office to the
hallway to the living roombecause I work from home.
(07:15):
Sometimes I just want to chilland debrief, but they want me to
do the things to do.
But being a good lovingfather, you know, a man of valor,
I try to encourage and justsay, you know what, I'll do it.
So at our house, we've beenwatching a lot of TV together.
And so I sit down and I'mprobably going to watch something
I don't want to watch.
I probably want to watch thePacers beat New York like we did
(07:38):
a few weeks ago.
I'm sorry, New York family, Ihad to get you one time.
But what I do is I grab theremote and I turn on the greatest
invention ever, which iscalled Disney.
Don't be offended.
That's just my opinion.
All right?
But in our household, there'sa lot of bluey being played.
And there's a movie that cameout in 2013 called Frozen.
(07:59):
All my parents in the room.
You know what I'm talking about.
Cause your kids are playing itover and over.
But as I'm watching Frozen, itwas some gold in there.
I was like, no, this issomething I can actually take from
Princess Anna, Elsa and Olaf.
And there's this famous songon the movie, the Parents.
Again, you may know it line byline and your kids do, but it goes
(08:20):
a little bit like this.
Let it go.
Let it go.
All right, all right.
I know my lane.
I'm going to just stay hereand lead a singing to ej.
So I'm not going to sing the rest.
But if you're taking notes,the title of my message is called
Let It Go.
So for the next few moments, Iwant to speak to you about the key
aspect of mercy, which is forgiveness.
(08:43):
And I broke this down in aboutsix points.
And these six points I believeit's not just my opinion.
It's something that Godimparted and downloaded to me for
me to download into you.
And it's not ideas, but it'ssomething I believe that God has
called us to live out.
So you may be saying, what is mercy?
So point number one, Mercy.
(09:04):
I'm sorry.
What is forgiveness?
So you may be saying, what is forgiveness?
Point one is forgiveness is achoice to reflect God's heart.
See, forgiveness is a complexjourney, meaning it's something that
we do not because we thinkthat it's right, but it's a decision
(09:25):
that we make because it is right.
It's out of an act ofobedience, of faith that reflects
the heart of our Father.
I wouldn't be truthful if Istood here and told you that forgiveness
and the journey of forgivenessis something easy because just being
honest with you, it's not.
We get offended as a humannature, often daily.
(09:46):
It's something that's bound to happen.
We're going to get.
Someone's going to offend us.
I may just offend you aboutthe Disney plus thing.
We are going to get hurt,we're going to get persecuted, and
we may get harmed with someoneelse's words.
It's bound to happen.
There's nothing that we coulddo about that.
But the thing that we can doand can control is the willingness
(10:07):
to let go of said offense,resentment, and anger.
It does not necessarily meanforgetting the offense or excusing
the harmful behavior.
But again, it involves aconscious decision to let go of the
emotional Burden.
I would even go a little bitfurther and say it's making a conscious
(10:27):
decision to not remember thesaid hurt.
Because if I forgive you, butI still forget, I'm allowing my emotions
to be dictated by the way thewind blows.
So I may wake up and I mayfeel good and the wind may blow this
way, and then all of a sudden,I remember Sarah, Fitz.
(10:48):
And now I'm back in a state of unforgiveness.
So if I'm choosing to forgetand forgive, that's the way we need
to live.
So it means we release theoffense into God's hand, allowing
him to trust, allowing us totrust in him, to bring the justice,
to bring the healing and bringthe peace.
(11:09):
So when I think aboutforgiveness, there are five key aspects.
Forgiveness is one, a decisionof the will.
It often begins as a choice,as I said, and then not a feeling.
But if we allow our feelingsto catch up with the choice that
we have made, this making adecision, which is a powerful act
of will to let go.
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Forgiveness is a process.
It takes time, especially fordeep wounds.
Forgiveness is a reflection ofGod's character.
When we forgive, we areactually mirroring the mercy God
has shown us.
Forgiveness is not dependenton the other person's apology.
You can forgive even if theperson doesn't ask for it.
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And so forgiveness is a giftto yourself.
If you're like me, I likebuying things for myself.
My wife hates it, becausewhatever she thinks she's going to
get me, nine out of 10, Ialready got it, or I will be buying
it.
So every year for Christmasand my birthday, they're a week apart.
If she goes, look at our bankstatement, she knows she's gonna
see a charge, probably fromNike for some shoes that I purchased
(12:14):
for myself for my birthday.
And then the next week after,I'm gonna purchase another one for
Christmas.
So she already knows.
And so essentially the samething applies to forgiveness.
When it comes to forgiveness,it's a gift that you give yourself,
freeing yourself from theburden of holding on to resentment
and offense.
So as we talked aboutforgiveness, you may be sitting there
(12:37):
thinking, well, I'm good.
I don't need to do this.
I don't need to do that.
I'm a chain breaker.
So often we come into ourworship experiences, we say, the
chain breakers in the roombreak every chain.
While the Lord is sittingthere saying, you keep singing about
it.
When are you going to actuallydo it?
Because you haven't let go ofunforgiveness, but you think you're
(12:59):
in the clear, because you letgo of whatever that issue is when
the Lord actually calls us tolet go, all of it, and operate in
forgiveness.
So I want to read Ephesians4:32, because as Christians, we have
a calling.
And in Ephesians it says, asbelievers, be kind to one another,
tenderhearted, forgiving oneanother, as God in Christ forgave
(13:22):
you.
Essentially, church, we'rebeing called to forgive as an outward
expression of God's grace andmercy working through us.
And we can't really fully liveout our calling if we're bound by
chains of unforgiveness.
Even better, I'm gonna go onand say, don't even try to figure
(13:45):
out your calling if youhaven't forgave so many times as
a church and as staff and aspastoral staff, people come to our
offices or on our teams andthey want to know, can you help me
figure out what my purpose is?
Can you help me do this?
I just really want to know.
I want to be used by God.
And the plain answer sometimeswe say was, have you forgiven?
(14:05):
Have you did this?
Have you did that?
Until you do that, that isyour calling and your purpose to
forgive.
Because forgiveness is soimportant that even Jesus became
a model of forgiveness.
When he was hanging on thattree, he sat there and he said, father,
forgive them, for they knownot what they do.
He didn't ask for the apologyof man, the people that beat him,
(14:28):
that crucified him, thatmocked him as he was bleeding and
dying of anguish.
He simply said, father,forgive them, for they know not what
they do.
So, church, who do you need torelease today?
Not because they deserve it,but because Christ forgave you.
That was just point one.
Point two.
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Mercy lets go of the punishment.
Forgiveness lets go of the pain.
See, when I started this, Italked about one scripture talking
about mercy and anotherscripture talking about forgiveness.
Because mercy and forgiveness,they're one and the same.
They operate differently,although they're very similar.
And where they are verysimilar at, they are two sides of
(15:11):
God's love just operating differently.
Mercy withholds punishment thethat we deserve, whereas forgiveness
releases the offense andrestores the relationship.
And God gives us both, and hecalls us to do both.
So if I want to break thisdown in layman's terms, mercy says,
I won't punish you for whatyou did to me, what you said to me,
(15:33):
how you hurt me, how youabused me.
Whereas forgiveness says, Iwon't hold that against you anymore.
So mercy opens the door,whereas forgiveness allows you to
walk through it my Biblepeople out there.
You guys got your Bible,you're doing good.
Taking notes because I'm about to.
We about to go on another journey.
(15:53):
So in Luke 6, 36, 38, it says,Be merciful, even as your Father
is merciful.
Judge not and you will not be judged.
Condemn not and you will notbe condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give and it will be given to you.
Good measure, pressed down,shake it together, running over,
(16:13):
Will it be put into your lap,for with the measure you use, it
be measured back to you.
I was reading this andpreparing for this word and I was
like, wait a minute.
Because in church, all myyears of being in church, I thought
I didn't say it earlier.
I've been in church for a verylong time.
I always heard this scriptureas it related to tithes and offering.
When the person come up togive tithes and offerings, they get
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so excited and they talk aboutit and they say, give and it would
give in good to you.
But as I was reading this,Paul wasn't talking about a tithe
nor an offering.
He was actually talking aboutmercy and forgiveness.
So how much you give mercy,how much you give forgiveness, it
will be given to you.
How good.
(16:56):
Measure, press down, shake ittogether, and running over.
So church, I want you to thinkreally quick, with a lot of intentionality,
are you letting go of thepunishment, but still holding onto
the pain?
And what would it look like tofully forgive the way God has forgiven
(17:17):
you?
What would that look like?
Point three, unforgivenessdoesn't protect you, it destroys
you.
So let's take a hop back overto Second Corinthians.
This time we're going to be inchapter 211 reading in the ESV translation.
Because I believe in thispassage of Scripture, the Apostle
(17:39):
Paul actually gave us a cleardefinition of what the effects of
unforgiveness is.
And it says, anyone whom youforgive, I also forgive.
Indeed, what I have forgiven.
If I have forgiven anything,it has been for your sake in the
president of Christ, so thatwe will not be outwitted by Satan,
(18:00):
for we are not ignorant of hisdesigns, his schemes.
Another way to put it is, weall know this, Satan is a liar.
He comes to steal, kill and destroy.
And as a church, we can't fallvictim to his gains because he looks
for any crack to let offensesip in.
And so as I'm talking aboutthis, I know there's probably some
(18:24):
people that came to church,they're sitting in church right now
that's offended.
It's some people right therein Brooklyn.
You know, you came in, you wasexcited, you had a good move.
You saw your friend say, heygirl, how you doing?
Hope you had a good week withso and so so and so.
You went over, got your wildhouse coffee, you caffeinated now,
and you went up to that secondrow, that seat you sit in every week
(18:48):
so you can be close to PastorEddie and everybody.
And somebody was sitting inyour seat this morning.
And so you got offended, butyou didn't wanna show it, so you
found you another seat.
And you up there worshiping,clapping your hands, which you can't
even worship right.
Cause you side eyeing theperson in your seat.
And I just wanna say, let that go.
And Pastor Mike got a wholeseries on YouTube called the Unoffendable
(19:12):
Heart.
It's a bible reading plan as well.
So if you need to let go ofthat offense and you want to go deeper,
because I don't got time today.
Go on YouTube, find that series.
It may be it's a good series.
I think that may be one of my favorites.
But I say that because you maythink because I'm up here on this
platform with the mic, thatI've mastered the art of unforgiveness.
(19:34):
And I want to bust your bubbleand say I haven't literally.
As I got the call that I hadto speak today and I started preparing
for this message, I literallyfell victim to the enemy's plans
and schemes and attacks.
You know, so I'm gonna justkind of tell you a little bit about
it.
Because me and my daughter, wewake up every morning, we get dressed
and we take the dog out, wewalk around the neighborhood and
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we put her back and we go totake her to the bus stop.
So this morning we did ournormal routine.
We're driving to the bus stop,we got the windows down.
Cause it's feeling good.
Because you don't know whatyou're gonna get here in Indiana.
So if you're coming out here,bring clothes for every season.
So we got the windows down, weblasting our worship music, singing
goodbye Yesterday.
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I'm looking out the rivermirror so I can see her head nod
like this.
And I'm getting turnt up with it.
And we doing what we do, wepull up to the bus stop.
You know, I'm being thatencouraging father, that mighty man
of valor.
And I'm telling her, like,ooh, Aria, you look good today.
You picked that outfit out.
Okay, I'm gonna need you tocome help me in my closet.
And you are smart you're gonnahave a good day.
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And this and that.
Making sure she had everythingso I don't have to double back.
And literally the devil inhuman form pulled up to the side
of my car and literally rolleddown the window, was like, you shouldn't
be on this side of the street,and you shouldn't do this and this
that.
You people.
I'm so sick of all these people.
And so what did I do?
She's up here.
I raised up here.
(20:58):
The matcher.
So we literally are arguingback and forth.
I'm in my car shelf.
We argue back and forth andsaying this and saying.
And she's like, I'm gonna call.
I'm like, call him.
I'm not scared.
And so all this is going on,and I'm like, I'm determined.
I'm about to win this argument.
Cause she don't know who shemessing with.
And then I got the revelationand said, dude, you look like a fool.
(21:21):
No one truly wins in this situation.
So eventually I concede, Ileave the bus stop.
But right before I tell Arica,walk around that car, don't worry
about that.
Still have a good day.
And as I'm driving, I realizethat offense, bitterness, and anger,
it can transfer from one another.
So because I was in my goodplace, she was in her bad place,
(21:44):
the way she acted and thatresentment transferred over to me.
And so then I'm thinking, I'm good.
And as I'm preparing thismessage, Aria actually hears me in
other room saying it, saying.
And I hear her in the otherroom say, yeah, mama, it really happened
like that.
And I don't like that lady either.
And so next thing you know, myoffense and bitterness has now transferred
into my 8 year old thatshouldn't even know what anger and
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offense is.
So, see, sometimes we'rewilling to show mercy.
So I didn't want to go backand retaliate or seek revenge, but
I did have a deep hatred forthis lady because how she treated
me.
So although we don't seek thatretaliation, we still carry that
hurt in our hearts.
We say we moved on like I did,but we let the bitterness linger.
(22:30):
So I'm driving.
I'm like, that good, thatsituation is over.
But all day it bothered me.
In reality, we think byholding on to that bitterness, we're
protecting ourselves frombeing hurt in that way again.
So I'm like, if this happensagain, I won't be hurt by it because
I put my guard up next time.
But in reality, we're actuallycausing our heart to Grow as hard
(22:53):
as it clay with bitterness.
And when we think it's adefense mechanism actually becomes
a disease that shreds.
That leads me to point number four.
Point number four isforgiveness sets you free.
See, God invites us to godeeper, to release the pain and make
room for healing and restoration.
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So church, who or what are youholding on to that needs to be released
today?
I want you to think about that.
So so far I ask you, who doyou need to release today not because
they deserve it, but becauseChrist forgave you.
I want you to think about, areyou letting go of the punishment
(23:36):
but still holding onto thepain and what would it look like
to fully forgive because Godhas forgiven you and now I want to
ask you, who or what are youholding on to that needs to be released
today?
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Number five, radical forgiveness.
See, it takes radicalforgiveness to operate in forgiveness
like Jesus.
See, last week Pastor Evanssaid something so profound when he
said following Jesus isn't aformula, it's a funeral.
And as I was preparing thismessage, I was thinking forgiveness
is very similar in that sameway because it's not a one time occurrence,
(25:18):
it's a process.
It's a daily funeral of dyingto yourself to become more like Jesus.
In order to operate likeJesus, it takes doing the hard things,
the things that's going toshock people.
It takes being a wild1.
Here v1 we say we're a housefull of wild ones.
It takes being a wild one thatsays, even though you hurt me, you
(25:39):
hurt you, you abused me, youslandered me, I'm going to pray for
you, I will release you, I'mgoing to bless you and I will not
harm you with words from mymouth or my actions because that's
what Jesus did.
When you forgive like Jesus,you are essentially becoming a living
witness of the gospel.
You show the world a love thatdefies all logic and you break the
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chain and you truly begin tolive a life that Jesus lived.
So when we come into ourworship experiences and say the chain
breakers in the room, I gotthat sword in the mouth, I preach
the gospel and I take thedevil out, you're actually doing
that from a point of view ofradical forgiveness, because that's
what Jesus would have did, youguys can stand to your feet.
(26:22):
Ben, come on up.
Point number six, and this maybe the most impactful point of them
all.
And point number six says weforgive because we are forgiven.
So I know this message wasn'tone of these feel good type of messages.
You probably thought PastorMike was gone for the summer and
(26:44):
I was going to feel good and leave.
But in all reality, it was amessage that needed to be said at
this point in time.
Already this morning I'vegotten so many confirmations of this
was a timely message.
But if I'm being honest withyou, it was a gut check message,
probably for you, but also for me.
As I've told you, I have tolive through this and I have to go
through this myself.
(27:06):
But I know there's some peoplesitting here in this room and watching
online, watching in Brooklyn,Long Island, New Jersey, Miami, and
in homes all across the world.
And there are some people thatyou need to release today.
Like I said, who do you needto release?
For some, it may be a friend.
For some it may be an ex, somemay be a spouse.
(27:30):
You was probably arguing lastnight on the way here and you're
thinking about I won.
No, they won.
No one truly wins, as I said.
But you got some bitternessand anger to them.
Some may be a friend to my youth.
And every camp is watchingonline and may be a parent because
for whatever reason, you maythink that they didn't do this, they
(27:52):
didn't do that, but you needto let it go.
But I say that, and I'm notremiss of saying that there are some
wounds and so deep that thathurts more than words can express.
There's wounds that some maybe carrying of a missing and absent
father, biological father.
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You may not know who thatperson was or you grew up with the
father and they were there inthe present, but they were missing
emotionally.
They were abusive, they were selfish.
I know that pain is real.
I don't know your pain becauseI have a father, but I know that
pain is real.
When I talk to people, I see Iwhat the pain on their eyes.
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I know it's real.
So to the fatherless, I wantto tell you, you may have never heard
of your earthly father, but Iwant to say I love you and I'm proud
of you.
And I'm also here to remindyou that your heavenly father has
always been with you.
He's never with you and he'swith you right now.
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And to the fathers who arecarrying guilt, maybe you weren't
there.
Maybe you failed your childrenbecause some of your choices, it
has caused damage and affectedyour children.
I want you to hear this.
There's forgiveness for you, too.
Our heavenly Father is aredeemer of broken legacies.
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And then there's another groupof fathers, fathers who may have
failed.
You've been there, you've beenemotionally, but you may have failed
in some form or some fashion.
I want to tell you the crossis big enough for your mistakes.
Humility, repentance, and anew start is possible.
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Even if restoration takes time.
The Heavenly Father is withall of you.
And wouldn't today be aperfect day to break the chain and
the bondage of unforgivenessand take that step into forgiveness
on Pentecost Sunday, one weekbefore Father's Day.
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Today will be a perfect timefor you to walk out and leave.
Not the same way that you cameinto this room today.
So those in the room, I inviteyou to the altar to come lay all
your chains of unforgiveness,of bitterness, resentment, anger,
whatever units that you needto release here at the feet of Jesus,
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here at the altar.
Those in Miami, online, youmay be watching in your car right
now.
You may be watching in yourliving room, in a hospital bed.
Make wherever you're watchingfrom an altar before the Lord, it
doesn't take being here inthis Indiana campus or in the Brooklyn
building or in our physicalbuildings, because God is omnipresent.
He's everywhere.
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All he need is your willingness.
All he need is your yes.
So make that decision today,prayer team.
I don't want you to come up atall, because I want this to be a
moment between that person andtheir heavenly Father laying down
and breaking the chains andmaking that conscious decision to
make a move.
And some of you may be sittingthere right now thinking, I don't
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need to make that move.
I am good.
And some of you want to makethe move, but you had a little enemy
on your shoulder telling you,like Noah, you don't need to go up
there.
You don't even listen to him.
He just told you he's tryingto walk through it.
But what you didn't see wasbefore I came up here all this week,
and even this morning when Iwas back in that room, I said, do
not let me take that platformwithout me fully giving it to you
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this morning, God, so I can bea living, true witness to live out
what I'm talking about this morning.
So make that step.
Because making that step, itrequires a level of faith.
See, church faith is not a noun.
It's a verb, meaning itrequires action.
And so sometimes it requiresyou to take that first foot and put
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it in front of the other one.
And then you may feel stuck,and all you gotta do is lift the
other one and take that one,and the next thing you know, you're
walking and you're walking,and then before you know it, you
find yourself at the altarlaying it down at the feet of Jesus.
So, church, we know we don'tdo life alone.
So ask your partner, ask yourneighbor, ask them, do I?
Do you need some encouragement?
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Can I walk with you to the altar?
Because we know we don't dolife alone.
I'm proud of those that'scoming up.
I'm proud of you.
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Use your own mouth, your own words.
Let the Lord know.
See, as I was preparing forthis message, God gave me a vision.
And this is what I saw.
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I saw this happen here at allthe campuses.
I saw it.
It's not by coincidence thatall these people came up and we like
to say 99% obedience is 100% disobedience.
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So I gotta be obedient.
I didn't do this the firstservice, but I had it on my heart
all this week.
And I said, know what I had inmy own head the way this was supposed
to end.
But the Lord said, there's afew more people.
There's those who carry church hurt.
Many people secretly strugglewith wounds caused by people in the
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pews, by pastors, leaders on aplatform, or even systems that may
have failed them.
I don't know what yoursituation is.
Maybe it was a pastor, maybe amanita manipulated you, then used
you for your gift and notcared about your soul.
(33:52):
I know what that feels like.
I felt that pain before.
If you would have came to beone about three or four years ago,
you would have saw me all theway in the back or not even coming.
And now today I stand beforeyou on staff at a church, leading
one of the biggest conferencesin this nation and preaching before
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you today.
Why?
Because I allowed God to takeover and allow him to use me.
But there's a simple truth.
The church didn't hurt you.
People did.
God doesn't act like that.
God loves you and he trulycares for you.
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And then the last group ofpeople that my heart was longing
for, it's those that need toforgive themselves.
See, oftentimes the hardestperson to forgive is actually yourself.
You go through these momentswhere you're thinking that I should
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have been well off by now.
I should have been here.
I should have been there.
I should have did this, Ishould have did that.
And you beat yourself up overand over again.
And you can't truly feel livethe life that's worth living because
you haven't forgiven yourself.
I want to let you know thatGod forgives you.
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He loves you.
He cares for you.
He wants you.
He wants a relationship with you.
And you may be wondering, howcan God use somebody like me with
the stuff that I've done?
And I want to tell you, Godhas a amazing history of using unbroken
people, unqualified people.
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I think of Moses.
He couldn't speak.
He was stuttering, say, I'mgonna get it out.
God said, don't worry about that.
I am the great I am.
So God can use you today likehe's using me.
So if you relate to any ofthose things, the altar is still
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open in every campus.
The altar is open in your home.
Have a moment with Jesus.
Talk to him.
Let it go.
So we can live a life that'sreally worth living.
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So we go from unbrokenness toforgiveness, unforgiveness to forgiveness,
and to truly live like Jesus.
I think of Jesus in his dying moment.
I mentioned it early, earlier,but in his dying moment, in his last
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breath, I don't find it acoincidence or ironic that he said,
father, forgive them.
The thing that he mentionedwas dealing with the Father and forgiveness.
He hung there and said,father, forgive them.
Father, forgive them.
Father, forgive them.
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That's how important it was toforgive us, to enter into forgiveness.
And when I saw this vision ofpeople on their knees at the altar,
something started rising in my spirit.
And I just wanted to declare.
I wanted to prophesy and saythat because of our actions today
on Pentecost Sunday, you guysallowing the Holy Spirit to ascend
(38:14):
on you like a dove, I believethat next week that we're going to
have fathers walk into ourservices with their daughters and
fathers walking in with their sons.
They may not be speaking rightnow at this very moment, but people
are going to leave here withtexts and calls from Father who they
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haven't spoken to in years.
And next week we're going tosee them coming into our services.
I believe it.
Do you believe it?
Brooklyn, do you believe it?
Long Island.
Do you believe it?
New Jersey?
Do you believe it?
I'm talking to you back therein the last room in Miami.
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Do you believe it?
Do you believe it?
All across the world, onlinerevival host.
Do you believe it?
Let me pray for you reallyquick because I wrote out a special
prayer as I was in my officepreparedness because I was thinking
about you, Ethan.
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I was thinking about you, Matt.
Renee.
I was thinking of you.
I may not know everyone byname, but the Heavenly Father does.
He's calling your name right now.
Heaven is rejoicing.
Ryan, I was thinking of you, Ryan.
I was thinking of you, Ryan.
But the Heavenly Father in theheavens is rejoicing right now because
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of this decision.
And devil, you lost.
You always lose.
You thought these people weregoing to come in and walk out with
those same chains, but you lost.
We have living proofs right here.
So let us pray.
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Father God, thank you for eachand every one that has made the decision
to choose forgiveness.
Today we come before you tolay down our burdens of unforgiveness.
Help them to accept the thingsthat they can't change.
Help them to accept whathappened, but realize that it's time
to let it go and move forward.
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God, cover them.
Remind them that they are not alone.
You are there with them on thegood days, on the bad days, on the
days when they feel likegiving up, you're there.
You're with them.
Lord, release every grudge,every wound, every ounce of offense
to you.
We release it now.
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We lay it down at your feet.
Unforgiveness no longerdefines our future.
We forgive, we let go.
And we choose freedom right now.
In the name of Jesus, heal andmend hardened hearts right now.
Help us walk in freedom, notjust with our words, but with our
hearts.
We declare that we no longercarry what the cross already paid
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for.
And I declare today as we'rechoosing to walk in for in forgiveness
and we are no longer bound.
In Jesus name, Amen.
Let's continue to stay in thisatmosphere of worship.
If you need to have a moment,let that moment go.
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But God is here and he wantsto meet you.
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Sa.
Foreign.
Y' all ready to get in the word?
Cause it's preaching time.
They gave me assignment this morning.
They told me, preach the wordof God, and that's what I intend
to do.
So let's pray over the sermonreally quick.
(00:21):
Father God, thank you.
Thank you for this opportunityto share.
Thank you for each and everysoul that's represented.
As I get ready to speak, allowme to speak with boldness and authority.
Allow me to speak the wordsthat you want me to speak.
Decrease me, God, right beforetheir eyes.
Decrease me so that you canincrease, lessen me and more.
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You open up their ears, openup their hearts so they receive what
it is that you want tocommunicate to them today.
In Jesus name, amen.
So, men of valor, are you inthe house today?
Make some noise.
That was all right.
I'm not going to lie to you.
That was just all right.
Service was better.
Men of valor.
Come on, make some noise.
(01:03):
Men of valor.
It's the men in here.
All right.
I see the ladies looking at meside eyed.
I haven't forgot about you.
Some of you just got offended.
But it's the free womencollective in the house today.
All right, that's enough.
That's enough.
Men of Valor.
This series is called Men of Valor.
So I need y' all to step it upbecause the free women collector
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came in and they showed out.
So I'm gonna give you one more time.
On the count of three, startgetting your vocal cords ready, men.
All right.
One, two, three.
Men of valor.
There we go.
There we go.
So a few weeks ago, beforePastor Mike left for his sabbatical,
we hosted our Men of Valorretreat called the Forge.
And some of the men from thishouse got an opportunity with.
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But during that retreat,Pastor Mike spoke on the 25 characteristics
of a father.
And so some of those things,as a father, you may have different
definitions of qualities orcharacteristics that you may think
a father is.
But by the world's definition,a father is a male who has transferred
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his DNA into a child.
And while I do not disagreewith that definition, because I have
three I should know aboutgiving my DNA away, I will go on
to say even further that thatdoesn't make a man a father.
And so I want to talk abouttoday some of those characteristics
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that really defines what agodly father and what a true man
of valor is.
So a godly father can be onethat's an encourager, that's a leader
like Pastor Evan taught uslast week, which was a great sermon
last week.
So shout out to Pastor Evan,you really allowed the Lord to use
you.
But Pastor Evans said that atrue man of valor is a protector,
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a provider, and a priestwithin his own home.
So I wanted to talk about today.
A godly father.
And a man of valor is one whoshows mercy.
A merciful father displayskindness, compassion, understanding.
But most importantly, heforgives mistakes.
I'm gonna say that again formy note takers.
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A man of valor, a godlyfather, shows mercy, and he forgives
mistakes.
So the ladies in the room, youmay have just checked out.
I'm about to reel you back inand tell you lock back in.
Because although I'm talkingto the men, and I'm talking about
men of valor andcharacteristics of a father, in all
actuality, thesecharacteristics can be used by men,
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women, or anyone who callsthemselves a Christian.
So as we get into the Bible, Iwant to take a look at one man of
valor.
Last week, we heard about David.
This week, we're going to hearabout Paul.
So Paul as we know him todaywas not always Paul that we know.
Paul actually was actually avery terrible guy, if I'm just being
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honest.
But Paul was a Pharisee,better known as Saul.
He was on this trip going outpersecuting Christians.
And he was on this trip on theroad of Damascus, and he was actually
headed there to persecuteChristians because he heard there
were some Jesus followers out there.
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And while he was on this road,he had a holy visitation.
Kind of like today, PentecostSunday, he had a holy visitation
where the Lord showed him his glory.
And that really led to thetransformation to the Paul that we
see and love today.
But I would like to say is, asI was thinking about the Saul to
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Paul conversion, I wasthinking about Genesis 50:20, where
it said, what the devilintended for bad, God used for his
good.
And that's a story of Paul.
So if you have your Bibles, Iwant you to take a look.
Two look.
I want to look at two passagesof scripture.
The first being 2 Corinthians1 and 3.
And then the second was goingto be Matthew 6, 14, 15.
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And I'm going to just forewarnyou right now.
If you're taking notes, getready for your pen to run out of
ink.
Get ready to be flippingthrough your Bible and your phone.
Cause I'm about to have youall over.
So when you ask 2 Corinthians,give me a shout.
Let me know you got it.
Say got it.
And if you don't got it,you're just gonna have to Listen
to me, read it.
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So Second Corinthians, itsaid, blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, theFather of mercies and God of all
comfort.
So as we read that, there weretwo things that stuck out in this
scripture.
First, being the Father of all mercies.
And so when he said mercies,he doesn't say mercy.
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He said mercies as in plural,meaning an abundant, available in
different ways to meetdifferent needs.
And then next he mentions Godof all comfort, meaning the one who
gives comfort and compassion.
So I want you to just take apin there and just highlight that
and remember that.
So next, before we get over toMatthew, as I was reading that and
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thinking about the Father ofmercies, God of all comfort, Paul
was really describing thefirst true man of valor that showed
mercy, which is God, meaningGod is the source of our mercy.
See God, mercy flows from thevery heart of God, because he's just
not.
He's not just merciful, but heis mercy.
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So now let's jump over to Matthew.
It says, for if you forgiveothers their trespasses, your heavenly
Father will also forgive you.
But if you do not forgiveothers of their trespasses, neither
will your Father forgive youof your trespasses.
So a little earlier I told youthat I'm a father of three.
I have a 8 year old namedAria, 5 year old in Harmony, they're
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watching right now in Texas,Daddy loves you.
And then just recently I gotnow 7 week year old baby boy.
And sometimes they want theirdad to do the stuff that dad just
don't want to do.
You know, sometimes I justwant to chill, have a moment to myself.
I get off work even if I amjust walking from my office to the
hallway to the living roombecause I work from home.
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Sometimes I just want to chilland debrief, but they want me to
do the things to do.
But being a good lovingfather, you know, a man of valor,
I try to encourage and justsay, you know what, I'll do it.
So at our house, we've beenwatching a lot of TV together.
And so I sit down and I'mprobably going to watch something
I don't want to watch.
I probably want to watch thePacers beat New York like we did
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a few weeks ago.
I'm sorry, New York family, Ihad to get you one time.
But what I do is I grab theremote and I turn on the greatest
invention ever, which iscalled Disney.
Don't be offended.
That's just my opinion.
All right?
But in our household, there'sa lot of bluey being played.
And there's a movie that cameout in 2013 called Frozen.
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All my parents in the room.
You know what I'm talking about.
Cause your kids are playing itover and over.
But as I'm watching Frozen, itwas some gold in there.
I was like, no, this issomething I can actually take from
Princess Anna, Elsa and Olaf.
And there's this famous songon the movie, the Parents.
Again, you may know it line byline and your kids do, but it goes
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a little bit like this.
Let it go.
Let it go.
All right, all right.
I know my lane.
I'm going to just stay hereand lead a singing to ej.
So I'm not going to sing the rest.
But if you're taking notes,the title of my message is called
Let It Go.
So for the next few moments, Iwant to speak to you about the key
aspect of mercy, which is forgiveness.
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And I broke this down in aboutsix points.
And these six points I believeit's not just my opinion.
It's something that Godimparted and downloaded to me for
me to download into you.
And it's not ideas, but it'ssomething I believe that God has
called us to live out.
So you may be saying, what is mercy?
So point number one, Mercy.
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I'm sorry.
What is forgiveness?
So you may be saying, what is forgiveness?
Point one is forgiveness is achoice to reflect God's heart.
See, forgiveness is a complexjourney, meaning it's something that
we do not because we thinkthat it's right, but it's a decision
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that we make because it is right.
It's out of an act ofobedience, of faith that reflects
the heart of our Father.
I wouldn't be truthful if Istood here and told you that forgiveness
and the journey of forgivenessis something easy because just being
honest with you, it's not.
We get offended as a humannature, often daily.
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It's something that's bound to happen.
We're going to get.
Someone's going to offend us.
I may just offend you aboutthe Disney plus thing.
We are going to get hurt,we're going to get persecuted, and
we may get harmed with someoneelse's words.
It's bound to happen.
There's nothing that we coulddo about that.
But the thing that we can doand can control is the willingness
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to let go of said offense,resentment, and anger.
It does not necessarily meanforgetting the offense or excusing
the harmful behavior.
But again, it involves aconscious decision to let go of the
emotional Burden.
I would even go a little bitfurther and say it's making a conscious
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decision to not remember thesaid hurt.
Because if I forgive you, butI still forget, I'm allowing my emotions
to be dictated by the way thewind blows.
So I may wake up and I mayfeel good and the wind may blow this
way, and then all of a sudden,I remember Sarah, Fitz.
(10:48):
And now I'm back in a state of unforgiveness.
So if I'm choosing to forgetand forgive, that's the way we need
to live.
So it means we release theoffense into God's hand, allowing
him to trust, allowing us totrust in him, to bring the justice,
to bring the healing and bringthe peace.
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So when I think aboutforgiveness, there are five key aspects.
Forgiveness is one, a decisionof the will.
It often begins as a choice,as I said, and then not a feeling.
But if we allow our feelingsto catch up with the choice that
we have made, this making adecision, which is a powerful act
of will to let go.
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Forgiveness is a process.
It takes time, especially fordeep wounds.
Forgiveness is a reflection ofGod's character.
When we forgive, we areactually mirroring the mercy God
has shown us.
Forgiveness is not dependenton the other person's apology.
You can forgive even if theperson doesn't ask for it.
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And so forgiveness is a giftto yourself.
If you're like me, I likebuying things for myself.
My wife hates it, becausewhatever she thinks she's going to
get me, nine out of 10, Ialready got it, or I will be buying
it.
So every year for Christmasand my birthday, they're a week apart.
If she goes, look at our bankstatement, she knows she's gonna
see a charge, probably fromNike for some shoes that I purchased
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for myself for my birthday.
And then the next week after,I'm gonna purchase another one for
Christmas.
So she already knows.
And so essentially the samething applies to forgiveness.
When it comes to forgiveness,it's a gift that you give yourself,
freeing yourself from theburden of holding on to resentment
and offense.
So as we talked aboutforgiveness, you may be sitting there
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thinking, well, I'm good.
I don't need to do this.
I don't need to do that.
I'm a chain breaker.
So often we come into ourworship experiences, we say, the
chain breakers in the roombreak every chain.
While the Lord is sittingthere saying, you keep singing about
it.
When are you going to actuallydo it?
Because you haven't let go ofunforgiveness, but you think you're
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in the clear, because you letgo of whatever that issue is when
the Lord actually calls us tolet go, all of it, and operate in
forgiveness.
So I want to read Ephesians4:32, because as Christians, we have
a calling.
And in Ephesians it says, asbelievers, be kind to one another,
tenderhearted, forgiving oneanother, as God in Christ forgave
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you.
Essentially, church, we'rebeing called to forgive as an outward
expression of God's grace andmercy working through us.
And we can't really fully liveout our calling if we're bound by
chains of unforgiveness.
Even better, I'm gonna go onand say, don't even try to figure
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out your calling if youhaven't forgave so many times as
a church and as staff and aspastoral staff, people come to our
offices or on our teams andthey want to know, can you help me
figure out what my purpose is?
Can you help me do this?
I just really want to know.
I want to be used by God.
And the plain answer sometimeswe say was, have you forgiven?
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Have you did this?
Have you did that?
Until you do that, that isyour calling and your purpose to
forgive.
Because forgiveness is soimportant that even Jesus became
a model of forgiveness.
When he was hanging on thattree, he sat there and he said, father,
forgive them, for they knownot what they do.
He didn't ask for the apologyof man, the people that beat him,
(14:28):
that crucified him, thatmocked him as he was bleeding and
dying of anguish.
He simply said, father,forgive them, for they know not what
they do.
So, church, who do you need torelease today?
Not because they deserve it,but because Christ forgave you.
That was just point one.
Point two.
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Mercy lets go of the punishment.
Forgiveness lets go of the pain.
See, when I started this, Italked about one scripture talking
about mercy and anotherscripture talking about forgiveness.
Because mercy and forgiveness,they're one and the same.
They operate differently,although they're very similar.
And where they are verysimilar at, they are two sides of
(15:11):
God's love just operating differently.
Mercy withholds punishment thethat we deserve, whereas forgiveness
releases the offense andrestores the relationship.
And God gives us both, and hecalls us to do both.
So if I want to break thisdown in layman's terms, mercy says,
I won't punish you for whatyou did to me, what you said to me,
(15:33):
how you hurt me, how youabused me.
Whereas forgiveness says, Iwon't hold that against you anymore.
So mercy opens the door,whereas forgiveness allows you to
walk through it my Biblepeople out there.
You guys got your Bible,you're doing good.
Taking notes because I'm about to.
We about to go on another journey.
(15:53):
So in Luke 6, 36, 38, it says,Be merciful, even as your Father
is merciful.
Judge not and you will not be judged.
Condemn not and you will notbe condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give and it will be given to you.
Good measure, pressed down,shake it together, running over,
(16:13):
Will it be put into your lap,for with the measure you use, it
be measured back to you.
I was reading this andpreparing for this word and I was
like, wait a minute.
Because in church, all myyears of being in church, I thought
I didn't say it earlier.
I've been in church for a verylong time.
I always heard this scriptureas it related to tithes and offering.
When the person come up togive tithes and offerings, they get
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so excited and they talk aboutit and they say, give and it would
give in good to you.
But as I was reading this,Paul wasn't talking about a tithe
nor an offering.
He was actually talking aboutmercy and forgiveness.
So how much you give mercy,how much you give forgiveness, it
will be given to you.
How good.
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Measure, press down, shake ittogether, and running over.
So church, I want you to thinkreally quick, with a lot of intentionality,
are you letting go of thepunishment, but still holding onto
the pain?
And what would it look like tofully forgive the way God has forgiven
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you?
What would that look like?
Point three, unforgivenessdoesn't protect you, it destroys
you.
So let's take a hop back overto Second Corinthians.
This time we're going to be inchapter 211 reading in the ESV translation.
Because I believe in thispassage of Scripture, the Apostle
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Paul actually gave us a cleardefinition of what the effects of
unforgiveness is.
And it says, anyone whom youforgive, I also forgive.
Indeed, what I have forgiven.
If I have forgiven anything,it has been for your sake in the
president of Christ, so thatwe will not be outwitted by Satan,
(18:00):
for we are not ignorant of hisdesigns, his schemes.
Another way to put it is, weall know this, Satan is a liar.
He comes to steal, kill and destroy.
And as a church, we can't fallvictim to his gains because he looks
for any crack to let offensesip in.
And so as I'm talking aboutthis, I know there's probably some
(18:24):
people that came to church,they're sitting in church right now
that's offended.
It's some people right therein Brooklyn.
You know, you came in, you wasexcited, you had a good move.
You saw your friend say, heygirl, how you doing?
Hope you had a good week withso and so so and so.
You went over, got your wildhouse coffee, you caffeinated now,
and you went up to that secondrow, that seat you sit in every week
(18:48):
so you can be close to PastorEddie and everybody.
And somebody was sitting inyour seat this morning.
And so you got offended, butyou didn't wanna show it, so you
found you another seat.
And you up there worshiping,clapping your hands, which you can't
even worship right.
Cause you side eyeing theperson in your seat.
And I just wanna say, let that go.
And Pastor Mike got a wholeseries on YouTube called the Unoffendable
(19:12):
Heart.
It's a bible reading plan as well.
So if you need to let go ofthat offense and you want to go deeper,
because I don't got time today.
Go on YouTube, find that series.
It may be it's a good series.
I think that may be one of my favorites.
But I say that because you maythink because I'm up here on this
platform with the mic, thatI've mastered the art of unforgiveness.
(19:34):
And I want to bust your bubbleand say I haven't literally.
As I got the call that I hadto speak today and I started preparing
for this message, I literallyfell victim to the enemy's plans
and schemes and attacks.
You know, so I'm gonna justkind of tell you a little bit about
it.
Because me and my daughter, wewake up every morning, we get dressed
and we take the dog out, wewalk around the neighborhood and
(19:55):
we put her back and we go totake her to the bus stop.
So this morning we did ournormal routine.
We're driving to the bus stop,we got the windows down.
Cause it's feeling good.
Because you don't know whatyou're gonna get here in Indiana.
So if you're coming out here,bring clothes for every season.
So we got the windows down, weblasting our worship music, singing
goodbye Yesterday.
(20:16):
I'm looking out the rivermirror so I can see her head nod
like this.
And I'm getting turnt up with it.
And we doing what we do, wepull up to the bus stop.
You know, I'm being thatencouraging father, that mighty man
of valor.
And I'm telling her, like,ooh, Aria, you look good today.
You picked that outfit out.
Okay, I'm gonna need you tocome help me in my closet.
And you are smart you're gonnahave a good day.
(20:36):
And this and that.
Making sure she had everythingso I don't have to double back.
And literally the devil inhuman form pulled up to the side
of my car and literally rolleddown the window, was like, you shouldn't
be on this side of the street,and you shouldn't do this and this
that.
You people.
I'm so sick of all these people.
And so what did I do?
She's up here.
I raised up here.
(20:58):
The matcher.
So we literally are arguingback and forth.
I'm in my car shelf.
We argue back and forth andsaying this and saying.
And she's like, I'm gonna call.
I'm like, call him.
I'm not scared.
And so all this is going on,and I'm like, I'm determined.
I'm about to win this argument.
Cause she don't know who shemessing with.
And then I got the revelationand said, dude, you look like a fool.
(21:21):
No one truly wins in this situation.
So eventually I concede, Ileave the bus stop.
But right before I tell Arica,walk around that car, don't worry
about that.
Still have a good day.
And as I'm driving, I realizethat offense, bitterness, and anger,
it can transfer from one another.
So because I was in my goodplace, she was in her bad place,
(21:44):
the way she acted and thatresentment transferred over to me.
And so then I'm thinking, I'm good.
And as I'm preparing thismessage, Aria actually hears me in
other room saying it, saying.
And I hear her in the otherroom say, yeah, mama, it really happened
like that.
And I don't like that lady either.
And so next thing you know, myoffense and bitterness has now transferred
into my 8 year old thatshouldn't even know what anger and
(22:07):
offense is.
So, see, sometimes we'rewilling to show mercy.
So I didn't want to go backand retaliate or seek revenge, but
I did have a deep hatred forthis lady because how she treated
me.
So although we don't seek thatretaliation, we still carry that
hurt in our hearts.
We say we moved on like I did,but we let the bitterness linger.
(22:30):
So I'm driving.
I'm like, that good, thatsituation is over.
But all day it bothered me.
In reality, we think byholding on to that bitterness, we're
protecting ourselves frombeing hurt in that way again.
So I'm like, if this happensagain, I won't be hurt by it because
I put my guard up next time.
But in reality, we're actuallycausing our heart to Grow as hard
(22:53):
as it clay with bitterness.
And when we think it's adefense mechanism actually becomes
a disease that shreds.
That leads me to point number four.
Point number four isforgiveness sets you free.
See, God invites us to godeeper, to release the pain and make
room for healing and restoration.
(23:14):
So church, who or what are youholding on to that needs to be released
today?
I want you to think about that.
So so far I ask you, who doyou need to release today not because
they deserve it, but becauseChrist forgave you.
I want you to think about, areyou letting go of the punishment
(23:36):
but still holding onto thepain and what would it look like
to fully forgive because Godhas forgiven you and now I want to
ask you, who or what are youholding on to that needs to be released
today?
(24:56):
Number five, radical forgiveness.
See, it takes radicalforgiveness to operate in forgiveness
like Jesus.
See, last week Pastor Evanssaid something so profound when he
said following Jesus isn't aformula, it's a funeral.
And as I was preparing thismessage, I was thinking forgiveness
is very similar in that sameway because it's not a one time occurrence,
(25:18):
it's a process.
It's a daily funeral of dyingto yourself to become more like Jesus.
In order to operate likeJesus, it takes doing the hard things,
the things that's going toshock people.
It takes being a wild1.
Here v1 we say we're a housefull of wild ones.
It takes being a wild one thatsays, even though you hurt me, you
(25:39):
hurt you, you abused me, youslandered me, I'm going to pray for
you, I will release you, I'mgoing to bless you and I will not
harm you with words from mymouth or my actions because that's
what Jesus did.
When you forgive like Jesus,you are essentially becoming a living
witness of the gospel.
You show the world a love thatdefies all logic and you break the
(26:01):
chain and you truly begin tolive a life that Jesus lived.
So when we come into ourworship experiences and say the chain
breakers in the room, I gotthat sword in the mouth, I preach
the gospel and I take thedevil out, you're actually doing
that from a point of view ofradical forgiveness, because that's
what Jesus would have did, youguys can stand to your feet.
(26:22):
Ben, come on up.
Point number six, and this maybe the most impactful point of them
all.
And point number six says weforgive because we are forgiven.
So I know this message wasn'tone of these feel good type of messages.
You probably thought PastorMike was gone for the summer and
(26:44):
I was going to feel good and leave.
But in all reality, it was amessage that needed to be said at
this point in time.
Already this morning I'vegotten so many confirmations of this
was a timely message.
But if I'm being honest withyou, it was a gut check message,
probably for you, but also for me.
As I've told you, I have tolive through this and I have to go
through this myself.
(27:06):
But I know there's some peoplesitting here in this room and watching
online, watching in Brooklyn,Long Island, New Jersey, Miami, and
in homes all across the world.
And there are some people thatyou need to release today.
Like I said, who do you needto release?
For some, it may be a friend.
For some it may be an ex, somemay be a spouse.
(27:30):
You was probably arguing lastnight on the way here and you're
thinking about I won.
No, they won.
No one truly wins, as I said.
But you got some bitternessand anger to them.
Some may be a friend to my youth.
And every camp is watchingonline and may be a parent because
for whatever reason, you maythink that they didn't do this, they
(27:52):
didn't do that, but you needto let it go.
But I say that, and I'm notremiss of saying that there are some
wounds and so deep that thathurts more than words can express.
There's wounds that some maybe carrying of a missing and absent
father, biological father.
(28:12):
You may not know who thatperson was or you grew up with the
father and they were there inthe present, but they were missing
emotionally.
They were abusive, they were selfish.
I know that pain is real.
I don't know your pain becauseI have a father, but I know that
pain is real.
When I talk to people, I see Iwhat the pain on their eyes.
(28:34):
I know it's real.
So to the fatherless, I wantto tell you, you may have never heard
of your earthly father, but Iwant to say I love you and I'm proud
of you.
And I'm also here to remindyou that your heavenly father has
always been with you.
He's never with you and he'swith you right now.
(28:56):
And to the fathers who arecarrying guilt, maybe you weren't
there.
Maybe you failed your childrenbecause some of your choices, it
has caused damage and affectedyour children.
I want you to hear this.
There's forgiveness for you, too.
Our heavenly Father is aredeemer of broken legacies.
(29:18):
And then there's another groupof fathers, fathers who may have
failed.
You've been there, you've beenemotionally, but you may have failed
in some form or some fashion.
I want to tell you the crossis big enough for your mistakes.
Humility, repentance, and anew start is possible.
(29:38):
Even if restoration takes time.
The Heavenly Father is withall of you.
And wouldn't today be aperfect day to break the chain and
the bondage of unforgivenessand take that step into forgiveness
on Pentecost Sunday, one weekbefore Father's Day.
(29:59):
Today will be a perfect timefor you to walk out and leave.
Not the same way that you cameinto this room today.
So those in the room, I inviteyou to the altar to come lay all
your chains of unforgiveness,of bitterness, resentment, anger,
whatever units that you needto release here at the feet of Jesus,
(30:20):
here at the altar.
Those in Miami, online, youmay be watching in your car right
now.
You may be watching in yourliving room, in a hospital bed.
Make wherever you're watchingfrom an altar before the Lord, it
doesn't take being here inthis Indiana campus or in the Brooklyn
building or in our physicalbuildings, because God is omnipresent.
He's everywhere.
(30:41):
All he need is your willingness.
All he need is your yes.
So make that decision today,prayer team.
I don't want you to come up atall, because I want this to be a
moment between that person andtheir heavenly Father laying down
and breaking the chains andmaking that conscious decision to
make a move.
And some of you may be sittingthere right now thinking, I don't
(31:01):
need to make that move.
I am good.
And some of you want to makethe move, but you had a little enemy
on your shoulder telling you,like Noah, you don't need to go up
there.
You don't even listen to him.
He just told you he's tryingto walk through it.
But what you didn't see wasbefore I came up here all this week,
and even this morning when Iwas back in that room, I said, do
not let me take that platformwithout me fully giving it to you
(31:24):
this morning, God, so I can bea living, true witness to live out
what I'm talking about this morning.
So make that step.
Because making that step, itrequires a level of faith.
See, church faith is not a noun.
It's a verb, meaning itrequires action.
And so sometimes it requiresyou to take that first foot and put
(31:46):
it in front of the other one.
And then you may feel stuck,and all you gotta do is lift the
other one and take that one,and the next thing you know, you're
walking and you're walking,and then before you know it, you
find yourself at the altarlaying it down at the feet of Jesus.
So, church, we know we don'tdo life alone.
So ask your partner, ask yourneighbor, ask them, do I?
Do you need some encouragement?
(32:07):
Can I walk with you to the altar?
Because we know we don't dolife alone.
I'm proud of those that'scoming up.
I'm proud of you.
(32:28):
Use your own mouth, your own words.
Let the Lord know.
See, as I was preparing forthis message, God gave me a vision.
And this is what I saw.
(32:48):
I saw this happen here at allthe campuses.
I saw it.
It's not by coincidence thatall these people came up and we like
to say 99% obedience is 100% disobedience.
(33:09):
So I gotta be obedient.
I didn't do this the firstservice, but I had it on my heart
all this week.
And I said, know what I had inmy own head the way this was supposed
to end.
But the Lord said, there's afew more people.
There's those who carry church hurt.
Many people secretly strugglewith wounds caused by people in the
(33:31):
pews, by pastors, leaders on aplatform, or even systems that may
have failed them.
I don't know what yoursituation is.
Maybe it was a pastor, maybe amanita manipulated you, then used
you for your gift and notcared about your soul.
(33:52):
I know what that feels like.
I felt that pain before.
If you would have came to beone about three or four years ago,
you would have saw me all theway in the back or not even coming.
And now today I stand beforeyou on staff at a church, leading
one of the biggest conferencesin this nation and preaching before
(34:13):
you today.
Why?
Because I allowed God to takeover and allow him to use me.
But there's a simple truth.
The church didn't hurt you.
People did.
God doesn't act like that.
God loves you and he trulycares for you.
(34:36):
And then the last group ofpeople that my heart was longing
for, it's those that need toforgive themselves.
See, oftentimes the hardestperson to forgive is actually yourself.
You go through these momentswhere you're thinking that I should
(34:58):
have been well off by now.
I should have been here.
I should have been there.
I should have did this, Ishould have did that.
And you beat yourself up overand over again.
And you can't truly feel livethe life that's worth living because
you haven't forgiven yourself.
I want to let you know thatGod forgives you.
(35:20):
He loves you.
He cares for you.
He wants you.
He wants a relationship with you.
And you may be wondering, howcan God use somebody like me with
the stuff that I've done?
And I want to tell you, Godhas a amazing history of using unbroken
people, unqualified people.
(35:40):
I think of Moses.
He couldn't speak.
He was stuttering, say, I'mgonna get it out.
God said, don't worry about that.
I am the great I am.
So God can use you today likehe's using me.
So if you relate to any ofthose things, the altar is still
(36:00):
open in every campus.
The altar is open in your home.
Have a moment with Jesus.
Talk to him.
Let it go.
So we can live a life that'sreally worth living.
(37:05):
So we go from unbrokenness toforgiveness, unforgiveness to forgiveness,
and to truly live like Jesus.
I think of Jesus in his dying moment.
I mentioned it early, earlier,but in his dying moment, in his last
(37:26):
breath, I don't find it acoincidence or ironic that he said,
father, forgive them.
The thing that he mentionedwas dealing with the Father and forgiveness.
He hung there and said,father, forgive them.
Father, forgive them.
Father, forgive them.
(37:50):
That's how important it was toforgive us, to enter into forgiveness.
And when I saw this vision ofpeople on their knees at the altar,
something started rising in my spirit.
And I just wanted to declare.
I wanted to prophesy and saythat because of our actions today
on Pentecost Sunday, you guysallowing the Holy Spirit to ascend
(38:14):
on you like a dove, I believethat next week that we're going to
have fathers walk into ourservices with their daughters and
fathers walking in with their sons.
They may not be speaking rightnow at this very moment, but people
are going to leave here withtexts and calls from Father who they
(38:34):
haven't spoken to in years.
And next week we're going tosee them coming into our services.
I believe it.
Do you believe it?
Brooklyn, do you believe it?
Long Island.
Do you believe it?
New Jersey?
Do you believe it?
I'm talking to you back therein the last room in Miami.
(38:54):
Do you believe it?
Do you believe it?
All across the world, onlinerevival host.
Do you believe it?
Let me pray for you reallyquick because I wrote out a special
prayer as I was in my officepreparedness because I was thinking
about you, Ethan.
(39:16):
I was thinking about you, Matt.
Renee.
I was thinking of you.
I may not know everyone byname, but the Heavenly Father does.
He's calling your name right now.
Heaven is rejoicing.
Ryan, I was thinking of you, Ryan.
I was thinking of you, Ryan.
But the Heavenly Father in theheavens is rejoicing right now because
(39:38):
of this decision.
And devil, you lost.
You always lose.
You thought these people weregoing to come in and walk out with
those same chains, but you lost.
We have living proofs right here.
So let us pray.
(39:59):
Father God, thank you for eachand every one that has made the decision
to choose forgiveness.
Today we come before you tolay down our burdens of unforgiveness.
Help them to accept the thingsthat they can't change.
Help them to accept whathappened, but realize that it's time
to let it go and move forward.
(40:21):
God, cover them.
Remind them that they are not alone.
You are there with them on thegood days, on the bad days, on the
days when they feel likegiving up, you're there.
You're with them.
Lord, release every grudge,every wound, every ounce of offense
to you.
We release it now.
(40:42):
We lay it down at your feet.
Unforgiveness no longerdefines our future.
We forgive, we let go.
And we choose freedom right now.
In the name of Jesus, heal andmend hardened hearts right now.
Help us walk in freedom, notjust with our words, but with our
hearts.
We declare that we no longercarry what the cross already paid
(41:04):
for.
And I declare today as we'rechoosing to walk in for in forgiveness
and we are no longer bound.
In Jesus name, Amen.
Let's continue to stay in thisatmosphere of worship.
If you need to have a moment,let that moment go.
(41:27):
But God is here and he wantsto meet you.
(41:51):
Sa.
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