Friday, 17 March 2023
“But he, being full of the Holy Spirit and led by Him, gazed into heaven and saw the glory [the great splendor and majesty] of GOD, and Jesus standing at the right hand of GOD; and he said, “Look! I see the heavens opened up [in welcome] and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of GOD!” – Acts 7: 55-56 AMP
I watched a documentary by a financial advisor, who advises the super wealthy, where he was giving advice on how to be financially free. He had a system that he advocated which he called: The “70/30” rule. What this means is that your net salary should be split into two categories, you can spend the 70 percent, but the 30 percent you shouldn’t spend. He said 10 percent must pay off your debt, the next 10 must go towards investments, and the last 10 must go towards giving. Mind you, he isn’t Christian yet he says that he has noticed that the ones who give, their net worth increases. He then said you should either give to your church (tithe) or to charity. He confessed that he doesn’t understand why it works, but he can attest that it does. We all know that it works because it’s a biblical principle and every time you honor a biblical principle, GOD blesses you. Another principle that is of utmost importance is forgiveness.
“Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the LORD forgave you, so you must forgive others” Colossians 3:13 NLT. Some of us have not been tempted or persecuted to the point of shedding blood, yet we struggle with offense that doesn’t even scratch our body. Stephen was a man full of the Holy Spirit and power. When the members of Sanhedrin insulted and assaulted him, he forgave them. When they were stoning him, trying to kill him, his discernment made him realize that he wasn’t fighting against flesh and blood and that the members of the Sanhedrin were not his enemies. He recognized who the true enemy was. The Bible says, that when he had forgiven them, the heavens opened up and he saw Jesus and GOD. This then means that when you have bitterness and unforgiveness, you cannot see GOD. By forgiving and praying for them, he opened a gateway into the heavens. Something you cannot do when you carry a heavy burden of offense and unforgiveness.
So what can we learn from Stephen? The first thing is that forgiveness is a choice. This doesn’t mean that it’s an easy one, but it’s still a choice nonetheless. You choose to forgive, then GOD gives you the grace to do it, but it first starts with a choice. The second thing we learn is that you always need discernment of who your real adversary is. If you become offended and it consumes you, it’s obvious that you lack wisdom and understanding (you are fighting flesh and blood). The third lesson is that forgiveness of others unlocks favor from GOD, as we are forgiving His children the same way He has forgiven us. This shows that His love is made perfect in us because we are doing what we see the Father doing (spiritual mimicry).
“Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by Himself; He can do only what He sees His Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does” John 5: 19 NIV. On our own, we do not possess the inclination nor the discipline to forgive those that wrong us. It’s only through mimicking what GOD does every day that we are equipped to do likewise. Hence, without the Holy Spirit and His guidance, we can’t do anything, it’s impossible. No one is saying it’s going to be easy, nothing that denies the flesh is easy. Some people will stretch and test you to the point where you want to go handle the issue outside. If you handle it in the flesh, you have become prey to the devil, but if you forgive and bless them, GOD’s approval and blessings are at the doorstep and are about to knock on your door. Forgiveness is a biblical principle that can’t be circumvented. Those who practice it will enjoy its fruits.
Forgiveness is a biblical principle that can’t be circumvented. Those who practice it will enjoy its fruits
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