The Message Of Forgiveness

Date: 22 March 2008
Speaker: Pastor Kong Hee
Venue: City Harvest Church

Hebrews 12:2
looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Have faith in God, your self, your destiny, your future.

"author" in greek, means pathfinder. "finisher", means perfector.

He understood the price of fulfilling His destiny.

Acts 2:17
‘ And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,
That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your young men shall see visions,
Your old men shall dream dreams.

Hebrews 12:3
For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.

Many great people have had to endure great obstacles and barriers before they achieve great things. Example: Joseph, Abraham, Moses, Simon Peter.

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

Shame robs you of the motivation to seek care. You lose the joy for living. you start to feel helpless.

Shame robs you of healthy relationships. You always want to hide yourself and your past. You shutdown your ability to express yourself.

Shame causes anger and aggression.

Shame causes psychological problems.

Shame causes problematic moral behaviours.

Focus our sights upon Jesus. For our sins, Jesus accepted all rejections. Jesus endured all verbal abuses. Jesus endured all physical abusus.

Isaiah 53:3-5
He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.

Anything you can feel, God can heal.

Christ allowed himself to be crucified so that we can be clothed in His righteousness.