Rules of Forgiveness – Forgiveness is Messy
November 27, 2022

Rules of Forgiveness – Forgiveness is Messy

Lead Pastor, Robby Pollard

 

Cut it down, my dear Madam, and forget it.” It is better to forgive the injustices of the past than to allow them to remain, let bitterness take root and poison the rest of our life. —Robert E. Lee

Genesis 42:6-8 6Now Joseph was governor over the land. He was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground. 7Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke roughly to them. “Where do you come from?” he said. They said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.” 8And Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him.

Trust God


Genesis 42:9 And Joseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamed of them. And he said to them, “You are spies; you have come to see the nakedness of the land.”

Genesis 37:7-8 7Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.” 8His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

Romans 12:9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.

Genesis 42:18 On the third day Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God:

Let God Redeem and Restore.

Genesis 45:1-8 1Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him. He cried, “Make everyone go out from me.” So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. 2And he wept aloud, so that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. 3And Joseph said to his brothers,“ I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence. 4So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt.​5And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.

Genesis 45:5 And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.

Genesis 45:7 And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors.

Genesis 12:2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

Genesis 45:8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.

Genesis 45:9-13 9Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; do not tarry. 10 You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children, and your flocks, your herds, and all that you have.11There I will provide for you, for there are yet five years of famine to come, so that you and your household, and all that you have, do not come to poverty.’ 12And now your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is my mouth that speaks to you. 13You must tell my father of all my honor in Egypt, and of all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here.”

Rather than push people into the pit of betrayal, pull them to the power of forgiveness

Your scars tell the story of hurt of or healing: it’s forgiveness that makes the difference.

Genesis 45:2 And he wept aloud, so that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it.

It was the sound of a man forgiving.

Genesis 50:15-21 15When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.” 16So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died:17‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.”’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.”19But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? 20As for you, you meant evil against me, but, God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. 21So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

Your scars tell the story of hurt of or healing: it’s forgiveness that makes the difference.

What the enemy intends for evil, God intends for good.