Welcome back.
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We're discussing
forgiveness today.
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How do we forgive?
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How do we let go of
those hurts inside us?
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Corrie ten Boom tells a
story, 1947, in Germany.
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This is right
after World War II.
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If you are familiar at all
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with the story
of Corrie ten Boom,
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she was from
Holland, she was Dutch
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and she and her family
had hidden Jewish people
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during World War II,
during the Nazi regime.
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And because of that,
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they were thrown
into concentration camps,
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Ravensbruck.
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Her sister, Betsie,
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died in that concentration camp.
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Fast forward to 1947,
she was speaking at a church
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and she said at
the end of the meeting,
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she was shaking
hands with people
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who came up to her.
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She said that she was
talking on forgiveness
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and the Love of God.
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And this tall gentleman
came up at the end and he said,
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"I'm so glad to know
that God has forgiven me
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and has casts my sins
into the depths of the sea."
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And he extended
his hand toward her.
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She said, in an instant,
the scene shifted in her head
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and she was back in a gray
room with harsh over headlights.
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She was seeing this man
in an SS officer's uniform.
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He was one of the
guards at Ravensbruck.
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He was one of the men she
had had to walk naked past.
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Her sister Betsie, died
in the concentration camp.
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And she said, I just
spoke on forgiveness,
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but I cannot forgive this man.
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And she said, she
fumbled in her pocket book
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instead of reaching
out to shake his hand.
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Well, he mentioned
again about forgiveness,
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"I'm so glad to
know God has forgiven me"
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and he extended
his hand to her again.
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He obviously
didn't remember her.
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There were thousands of women
in that concentration camp,
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but for her that pain was fresh.
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She said I made a choice.
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Forgiveness is a
choice, not a feeling.
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She said I made a choice, I
extended my hand toward him.
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And as I did, I
felt electricity,
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a rush of warmth come
down my fingers and I said
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"Yes, I do
forgive you my brother!"
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Years later, Corrie
tells another story about
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some friends who had hurt her
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and how she had to forgive them.
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She said she had forgiven
them, but she couldn't forget.
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She couldn't forget the
pain that they had caused.
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She had many
sleepless nights over this
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not being able to forgive them.
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And finally, she went
to a minister and she said,
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"I can't forget, I
think I've forgiven,
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but I cannot forgive
what these people did to her."
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And he said, "Do you
know what a bell is like?"
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And she said "yeah."
He said "a church bell?"
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I have an itty-bitty bell here.
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This is one my
husband Greg gave to me.
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But he is talking
about the big type of bell
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that you would pull
a rope and it rings.
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He said, "The longer
you pull on the rope,
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it's going to take a while
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even when you
let go off the rope."
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It takes a while for the
bell to slowly stop ringing.
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There is a ding and a dong
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and maybe a ding and
dong and then it's still.
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She said that was the
same in her experience.
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She had forgiven.
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God had released
her, but it took a while,
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a few dings and dongs for
the old bell to stop ringing.
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I don't know what pain
you have in your heart.
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I don't know what unforgiveness,
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bitterness is bottled up inside.
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I'd encourage you.
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I have her
forgiveness worksheet here
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in front of me,
but I'd encourage you
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to write down who
do I need to forgive.
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Identify who you need to forgive
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and then choose to
process the steps of forgiveness
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that we've been
discussing here today.
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Choose to pray and ask
God for his forgiveness.
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Choose to radically,
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consistently pray for the person
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who hurt you.
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Choose to surrender
the desire for revenge.
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Choose to process those steps
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and tell God
brings about a change
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in your heart and life,
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and tell the ding and
the dong of the old bell
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is quiet once again.
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You know that we
will be praying for you
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that God can bring you healing,
freedom and deliverance.
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Our next program
is our last dealing
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with forgiveness.
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This is what if
we've hurt someone else?
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What do we need to
do to ask forgiveness
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and to reach out and
do that with someone else?
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Our closing
scripture is Romans 15:13.
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"Now, may the God of hope
fill you with all joy and peace
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in believing that
you may abound in hope
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by the power of
the Holy Spirit."
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