On today's Treasured Truth, Pastor Ford will explain that practicing forgiveness is like we’re saying, “I will not let that wrong perpetrated against me define my life.” Forgiveness is releasing the person who has wronged us and in doing so, freeing ourselves from the bondage of unforgiveness. Join us as we learn more about forgiveness on today's Treasured Truth.
See, forgiveness is saying, I will not let that wrong perpetrated against me define my life. I won't let it. Forgiveness is releasing the person and in doing so, freeing myself.
Welcome to Treasure Truth with pastor and author James Ford, junior senior pastor of the Christ Bible Church in Chicago. I'm Steve Hillard. Glad that you're with us. As today we continue to look at the subject of forgiveness. You've probably heard that little phrase before. Unforgiveness is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. You know, if we do not choose to forgive someone, to release them of that debt, of that offense that's been committed against us, it ultimately is probably going to destroy us. We're going to become bitter and angry, and it's going to do incredible harm in our emotional lives and very often our spiritual lives as well. But how do we do that? It's very easy for someone to come along and say, you need to forgive. And if it's maybe somebody just barely tapped your car and there's a minor dent. Okay, but what about those incredibly horrific offenses where an innocent life was taken? Where someone was the victim of an incredibly brutal, violent crime? How do you forgive when that's happened? Whether that offense has been against you or or even if you're a parent? Think about how you would feel if that crime had been committed against one of your children. How do we choose forgiveness, then? And why is it important for us to do so? You know, we can look to Jesus in Luke chapter 23 and see a model of forgiveness in the midst of incredible, incredible persecution, an offense where Jesus ultimately is going to lay down his life, allow himself to be put to death because people are victimizing an innocent man, and we can learn some lessons from that. And that's what we're going to do in today's broadcast. So if you can join us in Luke chapter 23, as we continue the teaching how to forgive the unforgivable. Here's Pastor Ford.
How can you ask me to forgive her? She slept with my husband. How do you expect me to forgive that my own child stole from me? How do you expect me to forgive that? My uncle molested me as a child. And I told my mama and she didn't believe me. The pain of her not believing me was worse. Than the rape itself. How can you expect me? Look what they did to me. The only thing I can say is we're looking at Jesus on Calvary. So whatever they did to you, it was not as bad as what they did to him on Calvary. And he said, father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Now the word forgive is a is an interesting word. It's a word of for me. Say it. Say it for me. What does a mean? Mean? It means let it go. Let it go, let it go, let it go, let it go, let it go, let it go. Let go of the anger. Let go of the bitterness. Let go, let it go, let it go. Let go of the hatred. Let go of the hate that's been done to you. Let go, let it go. Let it go. Let it go. Let it go, let it go, let it. You gotta let it go. You gotta let it. They're dead and gone or they're gone. On with their life. And you're still chained to it. Every day you're reliving it like it just happened. You got to let it go. Let it go. Unforgiveness is like drinking poison and expecting them to die from it. You got to let it go. You got to let it go. See, forgiveness is saying I will not let that wrong perpetrated against me define my life. I won't let it. Forgiveness is releasing the person. And in doing so, freeing myself. Yeah. Forgiveness is refusing to hold it against them. And in doing so, open up heaven over my life so that I can experience forgiveness, healing, and renewed relationship. So what happens when I forgive at least four things? Peace is restored, power is renewed, prayers are answered, and purpose is revived. Let me say that again. Peace is restored. I have the peace of God that passeth all understanding. I don't understand it. How can I get this peace just by letting it go? God gives it. Power is renewed. Prayers are answered. Purpose is revived. Ephesians 432. Forgive one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, has forgiven you. Oh, okay. I know what you're thinking. Pastor, you didn't finish the story of Johnny Lee Clary and where he was. Okay. Some of you heard it before, but that's okay. I love this story. When he went to Wade watch church, Wade and Mrs. Watts had 14 children. They had 14 children. One died as a baby. You want to know why? Say why? Because there was a segregated nursery. And in the one for black babies, there was no heat. And so their baby died of hyperthermia. So he's got 13 children. Some of you know J.C. Watts. Remember him? He was the only Republican African-American in the Congress. And he's one of wait watch children. So he's got 13 children. Nine of them are saved, Brother Garland. Four of them are not. Johnny Lee Clary finishes his trial sermon and they're given the invitation. And in the country, they have what they call the mourner's bench. This bench would be the mourner's bench. It would be. Nobody would sit there except for those who were seeking salvation. Once they had the message, the doors of the church are open, and then they would just come up. Nobody had to tell them anything. They wanted to know Jesus. They come up and sit on the mourning bench. So a young man got up and sat on the mourning bench. Then another young man got up and said, on the mourning bench. Then another young lady got up and sat on the mourning bench. When Wade Watts and Johnny Lee Clary had a debate in 1980 on an Oklahoma radio station, he had a four year old daughter, and he pointed to her because she was there and said, Johnny Lee Clary. What do you have against that four year old girl? And Johnny Lee Clary said, she's an n word. That's it. 11 year old girl came and was the last one to sit on that bench. That 11 year old girl was the four year old girl that seven years earlier he had said she's a N-word. When told, what is your profession of faith? She said, now wait a minute. Her daddy's a pastor and been pastor in that church over 25 years. And she said, I want to know that Jesus, that that man knows. When Johnny Lee Clary came to Jerusalem Baptist Church. Wade Watts had four children that were not saved when he left. Wade Watts had 13 children. Saved. All four of his children. Came to Christ under the preaching of Johnny Lee. Do you see what God did? If he would have said, I have unforgiveness, then you may have four children who will go to hell. But when you forgive the unforgivable, God can now use it. And he used the very man that he used to hate and used to hate him to bring his last four kids to Christ, that now his four children who are on their way to a sinner's hell or on their way to heaven because there was a black pastor who had forgiveness of a white Ku Klux Klan member and embraced him when he said, hello, brother. This is your brother, Johnny Lee Clary. And what are you holding up from God doing in your life? Because you won't forgive. You won't let it go. What are you missing out on? Don't you realize if you don't let go of what you should let go of, you can't hold on to what you want to hold on to, that God won't give you what he wants you to have until you let go of what he does not want you to have. I'm telling you, it's time to let it go. To let it go. To get a clean slate going. It's time to let it go. Unceasing prayer. Unaffected paternity. Unconditional pardon. Look at this undergirding prophecy. What is that about Scripture? What? This is if you go back and check it. This is over at the time of Calvary. This is 700 years old. It's taken from Isaiah 53. It is the fulfillment of Isaiah 53. What's going on here? It's the Word of God that God gives us His Word. And he says, listen, I've given you everything that pertain to life and godliness. We need the word. See what happens when we go through these things. And we need to forgive people. Remember I said it's volitional and emotional. I'm going to talk about that in a minute. Don't lose that. But it is. It's both volitional and emotional. And I'll explain that in a minute. But it's based on God's Word. And so God does not open his secrets to a Christian with a closed Bible. And so what do we need to do? We need to get into the Word of God. It's the only thing that will deal with the animosity, with the bitterness, with the hatred, with the maligning, with the unforgiveness. Because when you look at it, it we this is where we get our faith to be able to stand on what God has said and tell God does what God said he would do. And so doubt says, I'm afraid. But the word says, yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Doubt says, the devil is going to get me. But the word says, greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world. Doubt Says the circumstances are all against me. But the word says, and we know that all things work together for good to those who love the Lord, those who are the called according to his purposes. So doubt says, I don't have what I need. Come on, help me somebody. Faith says, come on, but my God shall supply all my needs according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus. What does all mean? All? All means all. That's all. All means. Doubt says God has abandoned me. But the word says, I will never leave you nor forsake you. Lo, I'm with you always, even until the end of the age. Doubt says God doesn't want me to have. And the word says, how then shall he not freely give us all things who have given unto us his son? Doubt says, I can't do it. And the word says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. We need the undergirding prophecy of Scripture. God's word, read it in. Write it down. Think it through. Pray it over. Store it up. Live it out. Pass it on. Did you hear me? I said read it in. Write it down. Think it through. Pray it over. Store it up. Live it out. Pass it on.
You know you could make a song out of that. You know, it almost sounds a little bit like a nursery rhyme. And maybe that's the way to help us remember these truths that Pastor Ford is bringing today all about how to forgive the unforgivable. And we'll get back to this teaching in just a few seconds. If you ever have a question about something you hear on the broadcast, you can always send us a note through our website. Come to Treasure Truth Radio org. Go ahead and ask that question. And who knows, we might answer that on a future broadcast. Right now, let's get back to the teaching again. Here is Pastor Ford.
See? Look at what's going on here. He says, listen, it's the word. It's the word, it's the word. It's the word. Now notice the unusual For they know not what they do. Wait a minute. They knew they were going. Crucifying him didn't take him by surprise. So what do you mean? Some people don't understand the implications or the consequences of what they did to you. They don't understand the far reaching parameters that happened to you when you were six years old. Now you're 26 and been chained 20 years by a touch that was not wanting. It's an unusual perspective, for they know not what they do. Let me tell you this. See, when God asks us to forgive, it's just like anything else. See? We think it's okay. You know, I gotta feel this thing. I ain't feeling this. It ain't about feeling it. It's about willing it. God wants your obedience, Volitionally. Now here's what that's point in time. But the emotional that takes time. So is a healing process over a period of time to where your emotions catch up to your volition. And so what you're going through is very natural and very normal. All you're doing is saying to God, I trust you and you have to empower me and heal me, and God can heal a broken heart if you give him all of the pieces. And so what's he doing? He's saying, listen, what you need to do is you have to turn it over to him. The power for doing it. We don't have it, we don't have it. We don't have it. But God can work it out. I know I was unfaithful and we became believers. It took three years for God to heal my wife's heart. Three years? What happened in the meantime? I ain't got time. All kind of things. And I had to realize that I was the victimizer. She was the victim. So I had to work with God to heal her. So there were times when she said, I can't stand you. And I say, you're in good company because I can't stand myself. Well, you need me to do. Just leave me alone for a little while. I don't even want to see your face and I leave. Sometimes she say I just need reassurance. By God's grace, I'm never going to do that again. By God's grace, I'm never going to do that again. And then I put things in place. If I'm not where I'm supposed to be, I call her. Here's where I am. Am I supposed to be home at seven and I know I'm going to be late? Hey, I said, I'll be home at seven. But then the whole details. And you know what? That was 40 years ago, and I still do the same thing. I still do the same thing. Same thing. Same thing. And so what does he want us to do? Let me let me give you an example. Let me give you example. My wife and I, the first time we ever went to Mexico, we were sent to Mexico. And what a blessing it was. We were sent and it didn't cost us anything. And we flew first class, and it didn't cost us anything. As a matter of fact, the person who sent us gave us $3,000 cash to put in our pocket and didn't cost us anything. And we stayed in his condo in Puerto Vallarta in Paradise Village. It didn't cost us anything. We were there for eight days and seven nights. Don't hate. Celebrate. God may let you participate. And so we go down there. We're on a plane. My wife says, what are you looking forward to? I said, you tell me first. She said, having you to myself for eight days and seven nights, and nobody can come between us. I said, well, that's good. She said, now what are you looking forward to? I kind of disappointed her, I know. I said, not hearing Pastor Ford. She said, really? I said, I just don't want to hear Pastor Ford from God's sheep. So she was tired. We get down there the first day. It's beautiful. And and like, these ostriches was walking along with us. You remember, you remember them and they look at you, you know. And so she said, get on the other side, get in between us. It's looking at me, it's looking at me. I said, I got in between I got you, baby. And I was looking, I was saying, ooh, that thing looking at me, man. Yeah. He was walking down there looking at me. And so, you know, she said, I'm tired. I said, I want to look around. I want to look around. She said, okay, well we'll look around again, but you go by yourself because I got a rest. I got a rest. I said, okay, baby, you can rest. I went around, I was looking around, I had no I had to go to the office to get everything set up. But I'm looking around. I said, man, this is good. It didn't cost me nothing. It didn't cost me nothing. So I'm going to the office to find out some things on my way out I see two sisters. And of course, I speak to everybody. You know, it don't matter who they are. And so I was speaking to everybody. Hi. How you doing? Great day, isn't it? Oh, man, everything is just hunky dory. Yes, yes. No, I didn't go. No. What's up? What's up? No no no no. I used my economic language and my economic voice. So glad to see you today. Ha ha ha. Amen. Hey. I live in both worlds. What are you talking about? So I see these two sisters, and I say, hey, how y'all doing? They said, how are you doing? And one of them said, how are you doing, Pastor Ford? That's my wife. I said, uh, you know, and this is the way I was looking. So she said, I was one of your students at Moody. And when you were coming out of I said that look like Pastor Ford. And when you open your mouth, I said, it is Pastor Ford. I said, well, are you ladies coming or going. He said, we leave the master. Thank you Jesus. Thank you Jesus. Because, see, I have plans, I have plans, I didn't. But then let me tell you what happened. When I went into the office, I said, we're here, pastor and Mrs. Ford, we're in our room already, but I need to sign some papers. I was told I had to sign some papers. He said, okay. Yes, that's for everything that we do here. It's it's free to those who own condos and blah, blah, blah, blah. And I said, show you're right. And he said, what's your name? I said, James Ford Jr. He said, your name's not in here. What do you mean? My name's not in here, man. We done flew from Chicago. He said, I'm sorry, sir, your name is not in here. You have to vacate that room. I said, no, no, no, no, that's that's the place, he said, but your name's not here. I said, well, I don't know, because Mr. So-and-so, he didn't he didn't tell us that. He said, oh, your guests of Mr.. And he called his name. I said yes, we are. He said, well let me tell you how this works. See that's his condo. And so therefore all the amenities there in his name. So now you can go get the massages. They were $150 a half hour. I did an hour and a half. You add it up, he said, but you have to sign his name. Say, now you can get the car to go around Puerto Vallarta, but you got to sign his name. You can go to all the fiestas and siestas, all the things we're going to do with the food. But you got to sign his name. So this, these eight days and seven nights, everything you do is free to you. But you got to sign his name. I came to tell somebody you got power, but it's not in your own name that Jesus said that if you ask anything according to his will, it's forgiveness in his will, his forgiveness and his will. Its forgiveness. In his will. Its forgiveness. In his will I said its forgiveness. In his will. Then all you got to do is whatever you do, whatever you get, you got to sign his name. Lord so-and-so did this to me. But as an act of my will, I forgive them in Jesus name. Lord, I don't have a job, but I come to you asking for a job in Jesus name. Lord, my body is sick, but I come to you asking for wellness in Jesus name, my children, in Jesus name, my husband, my wife in Jesus name that you need to understand that you can go boldly to the throne of grace and find mercy and grace to help you in time of need, and you can forgive the unforgivable.
You're listening to Treasure Truth with Pastor Ford and for those of us who have been hurt so deeply. I hope that this message has been helpful and encouraging to you to to just understand that because of all that Jesus has gone through, and if we walk with him, he gives us the ability to forgive the unforgivable. I know that some of us may want to go back and listen to this teaching again, because that process of healing from those deep wounds, you may need to go back and forgive again and again and again, and it may be helpful to be reminded of these truths. So if you want to get a copy of this series, you can always come to the website Treasure Truth Radio. Org order these programs on CD. You can also download MP3's for free or even just stream the program through your computer or mobile device. You'll find that at Treasure Truth radio.org. You know, one of the relationships where it seems like a lot of wounding happens is in marriage, and that's something that Pastor Ford is passionate about. He's written a number of books about marriage and relationships. So if you're struggling in your marriage, I want to encourage you to come to the website and click on the link that says Books by Pastor Ford. You'll see the different titles available as a paperback or in an e-book format. Again, that's at Treasure Truth radio.org. And one last thing before we go. This is a listener supported ministry. All that we do is made possible because of your financial generosity. You can give a gift and help us continue to bring you Pastor Ford's teaching each day. When you come to the website, Treasure Truth radio.org and click on the link that says make a donation. And while you're there, would you go ahead and even leave a comment? Let us know how the Lord's using Pastor Ford's teaching in your life. You'll find all of that at Treasure Truth radio.org. Well, thanks for praying. Thanks for giving and for listening today. Thanks also to our producer, Amy Rios. I'm Steve Hiller. Join us again next time for Treasure Truth. A production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.