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The Pillar of Forgiveness - Pastor Randy Stephen - 6/29/008

Quoting from R.T. Kendall, from his book Total Forgiveness, “I sometimes think it would be good if I preached this message (on forgiveness) every week.”

The Reverend Hagedorn, stated: “When I was first ordained a priest, I believed that over 50 percent of all problems were at least in part due to unforgiveness. After ten years in ministry, I revised my estimate and maintained 75 to 80 percent of all health, marital, family and financial problems came from unforgiveness. Now, after 20 years in ministry, I am convinced that 90 percent of all problems are rooted in unforgiveness.”
Unforgiveness, if left unfettered, not repented of or dealt with, eventually evolves into bitterness.

The Word of God gives us a clear understanding of the consequences of bitterness:
Hebrews 12:14-15 “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” (NIV)

One of the smallest books of the Bible provides a striking narrative on the issue of forgiveness. Today’s message is taken from the Book of Jonah. The events in this book probably took place around 700 to 800 years before Christ was born. We will build the message on the pillar of forgiveness as we study this book.
Let’s talk about the important characters or players, so to speak, in the book of Jonah.
First and Foremost: God Almighty - Both just and merciful
Second: The Prophet Jonah
His name means “dove.” He is a Hebrew, an Israelite, and a prophet of the Lord
given an assignment by the Lord to preach judgment to the city of Nineveh. He had an attitude towards the Assyrians who lived in the city of Nineveh. Jonah,
members of his tribe or his family, probably had been victims of Assyrian cruelty
or captivity. “He wanted them to get what was coming to them.” A prophet in name but revenge was his game. He wanted the inhabitants of Nineveh to get what was coming to them. He was not exactly walking in the Spirit. His root of bitterness was about to cause him to sink lower, literally, than he’d ever gone and could have defiled many if God had not intervened.
Third: The City of Nineveh
The capital city of the Assyrians, it was located on the Tigris River, opposite of
what is the present day city of Mosul in Northern Iraq. It has been estimated that the city was 60 miles in circumference. The walls around Nineveh were 40 to 50 ft high. It had a population of 120,000 men, women, boys and girls. The city was founded by one of the original tough guys of the Bible named Nimrod.
Fourth: The Assyrians
Enemies of Israel and not so nice guys. Idol worshippers and bad boys of the Mideast. At this point in history, their power was probably waning a little but nonetheless they were not the type of neighbor you wanted to have. The Assyrian state had been built by war, invasion, and conquest. The upper, land-holding classes consisted almost entirely of military commanders who grew wealthy from the spoils taken in war. At one time, the army was the largest standing army ever seen in the Middle East or Mediterranean. All the peoples of the ancient world feared the cruelty of the Assyrians. They were known for piercing the jawbones of their captives in order to chain them together as they led them off to other parts of the empire. Other more perverse cruelties were described in some of what I read. Often, the Assyrians repopulated a captured territory by bringing captives from other conquered lands. Ultimately, the northern kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrians in 722 B.C. Its capital, Samaria, was destroyed and many of its people were led away as prisoners to live in other lands controlled by Assyria. Needless to say, these people were not high on Jonah’s get to know list.
Fifth: The Captain and Mariners of the ship on which Jonah tried to flee from the presence of the Lord. Lesson for them, be careful the company that you keep,
you may end up in the “same boat” as they are.
Last but not least: The fish
Don’t tell me that God doesn’t have a sense of humor. It shows in the manner in
which He chastised Jonah and disciplined him in his disobedience. One of the
false gods of the Assyrians was an idol that was part fish and part man (Oannes).
There is much irony in life and even in the Bible. God will use many an instrument
to help us to face up to what’s really going on in our hearts.

Jonah 1
Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me." 3 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
• Hebrews 4:12 “For the Word of the Lord is living and powerful, and
sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul
and spirit, and joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and
intents of the heart.”
o God’s Word to Jonah was not only directional in nature but it exposed things in his heart that weren’t quite right. It touched a nerve - the Word of the Lord cuts through all pre-tense and heads right for the core of the matter.
o It’s one thing to have a reluctance concerning what the Lord may be asking us to do, it’s another thing to rebel against the command of the Lord. (Note: The Scriptures are full of reluctant people that God used in a mighty way.)
The Storm at Sea
4 But the LORD sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up. 5 Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep. 6 So the captain came to him, and said to him, "What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish."
• Word for “Wind” in Verse 4 is “Ruwach”– which is the same Word used in others places in Scripture to mean the Breath of God or the Spirit of the Lord.
• “… the ship was about to be broken up.” God will dismantle the vehicles and tools of our rebellious ways to bring us back in alignment with Him and His will for our lives.
• Jonah couldn’t run from the presence of the Lord. He thought he could put things on hold by going down into the hold of the ship. He was trying to foolishly prolong the inevitable. God has our address and He will reach us even if we have not sent Him a change of address card: Read Psalm 139:5-12 (Page 433)
• Sleeping during a storm can mean one of two things – 1. We have the extreme peace of God or 2. We are in the slumber of spiritual indifference and dullness brought on by rebellion. Jonah’s unforgiveness and bitterness towards the Assyrians had fostered this rebellion to God’s Word.
• “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise…” sounds very much akin to a verse in the New Testament. Read Ephesians 5:13,14 (Page 813)
7 And they said to one another, "Come, let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this trouble has come upon us." So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 Then they said to him, "Please tell us! For whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?" 9 So he said to them, "I am a Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land."
Jonah Thrown into the Sea
10 Then the men were exceedingly afraid, and said to him, "Why have you done this?" For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them. 11 Then they said to him, "What shall we do to you that the sea may be calm for us?" For the sea was growing more tempestuous. 12 And he said to them, "Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me."
• God is still trying to break through to Jonah pertaining to his unforgiveness and the attitude of his heart. “Why have you done this?” “If you fear God, why are you fleeing from the presence of the Lord?” The truth is that they had a murderer and a usurper in their midst. In Matthew 5:21, Jesus equates hatred in the heart towards others with murder. In wanting revenge and judgment to come upon the Assyrians, Jonah was trying to take assume a responsibility that is God’s alone (Romans 12:19).
• Unforgiveness and bitterness will create a great tempest in our lives and in the lives of those around us.
• One of the definitions for bitter is “acrid.” Acrid means “sharp, stinging or irritating to the taste or smell.”
13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to return to land, but they could not, for the sea continued to grow more tempestuous against them. 14 Therefore they cried out to the LORD and said, "We pray, O LORD, please do not let us perish for this man's life, and do not charge us with innocent blood; for You, O LORD, have done as it pleased You." 15 So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. 16 Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the LORD and took vows.
Jonah's Prayer and Deliverance
17 Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
• God’s vehicle of chastisement, albeit unpleasant, is also our means of rescue.
It is meant to bring us back to God and our right spiritual senses.

2 Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the fish's belly. 2 And he said: "I cried out to the LORD because of my affliction, and He answered me. "Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and You heard my voice. 3 For You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the floods surrounded me; all Your billows and Your waves passed over me. 4 Then I said, 'I have been cast out of Your sight; yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.' 5 The waters surrounded me, even to my soul; the deep closed around me; weeds were wrapped around my head. 6 I went down to the moorings of the mountains; the earth with its bars closed behind me forever; Yet You have brought up my life from the pit, O LORD, my God. 7 "When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the LORD; and my prayer went up to You, into Your holy temple. 8 "Those who regard worthless idols forsake their own Mercy. 9 But I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD." 10 So the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
• Sheol – Hebrew Word referring to the place of the dead. Unforgiveness brings forth death and not life – death and separation in relationships, death to our spirits and death to our physical, mental and emotional well-being.
• It has been said that unforgiveness is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. Hundreds of years ago, if a murder was committed on a ship, the one who committed the murder was tied face to face with his victim, and with a ball and chain attached, thrown overboard into the sea. In the case of unforgiveness, we are tied to OUR VICTIM AND THE VICTIM IS US. Yes, others are victimized as well but the point must be made that we are destroying ourselves as well.
• VS 8 in the NIV states, “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.” (An idol is something that dispossesses God in our lives. We think that we possess it but it ends up possessing us. In Jonah’s case his idol was his revengeful, unforgiving attitude and root of bitterness towards the Assyrians.)

Ministry Time
1. Unholy Alliances: Read Isaiah 31:1 (Page 493)
2. Repent of Unforgiveness towards others, ourselves
3. Breaking root of bitterness

Story of Corrie Ten Boom:
Corrie ten Boom and her sister Betsie had been arrested for concealing Jews in their home during the Nazi occupation of Holland in World War II. They had been sent to the concentration camp at Ravensbruck. There Corrie saw her sister die from the inhumanly cruel treatment they received.
Following the war, Corrie returned to Germany “with the message that God forgives.” Everywhere she spoke, she explained that when we confess our sins and repent, “God casts them into the deepest ocean, gone forever.”
After one of her talks, a man came up to speak to her. She recognized him as one of the guards from the concentration camp. He stood in front of her, thrust out his hand, and said: “A fine message, Fräulein! How good it is to know that, as you say, all our sins are at the bottom of the sea!”
She recalls her reaction:
“ I, who had spoken so glibly of forgiveness, fumbled in my pocketbook rather than take that hand. He would not remember me, of course—how could he remember one prisoner among those thousands of women?
“ But I remembered him and the leather crop swinging from his belt. I was face to face with one of my captors and my blood seemed to freeze.
“‘ You mentioned Ravensbruck in your talk,’ he was saying. ‘I was a guard there.’ No, he did not remember me.
“‘ But since that time,’ he went on, ‘I have become a Christian. I know that God has forgiven me for the cruel things I did there, but I would like to hear it from your lips as well. Fraulein,’—again the hand came out—’will you forgive me?’ ”
“ I stood there—I whose sins had again and again to be forgiven—and could not forgive. Betsie had died in that place—could he erase her slow, terrible death simply for the asking?
“ It could not have been many seconds that he stood there—hand held out—but to me it seemed hours as I wrestled with the most difficult thing I had ever had to do.
“ For I had to do it—I knew that. The message that God forgives has a prior condition: that we forgive those who have injured us. ‘If you do not forgive men their trespasses,’ Jesus says, ‘neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.’

“I knew it not only as a commandment of God, but as a daily experience. Since the end of the war, I had had a home in Holland for victims of Nazi brutality. Those who were able to forgive their former enemies were able also to return to the outside world and rebuild their lives, no matter what the physical scars. Those who nursed their bitterness remained invalids. It was as simple and horrible as that.
“ And still I stood there with the coldness clutching my heart. But forgiveness is not an emotion—I knew that too. Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart. … ‘Help!’ I prayed silently. ‘I can lift my hand. I can do that much. You supply the feeling.’
“ And so woodenly, mechanically, I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me. And as I did, an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes.
“‘ I forgive you, brother!’ I cried. ‘With all my heart!’
“ For a long moment we grasped each other’s hands, the former guard and the former prisoner. I had never known God’s love so intensely, as I did then” (excerpted from “I’m Still Learning to Forgive,” by Corrie ten Boom; reprinted by permission from Guideposts Magazine; copyright 1972 by Guideposts Associates, Inc., Carmel, New York 10512).