[00:00:00] Welcome to Forgiveness Power with Don Gossett, sharing with you the Bible principle of Bold Bible Living. How to achieve health, prosperity, and personal victory through the power of the living word. And now to help us do so, here's radio teacher and friend Don Gossett with Forgiveness Power. Thank you, Mike O'Dell. Again, I take up this vital subject of forgiveness power.
[00:00:23] How important it is that you, if to have God's forgiveness, you must forgive others their trespasses against you. Jesus emphasized this in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the necessity of forgiving. And Ephesians also has a vital message. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice,
[00:00:49] and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you. In my travels to many nations, one of my encounters has been to travel to the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario to minister the word there to the dear First Nation people. In these meetings on the Six Nations Reserve came the Inuits, the dear ones who live up north in the Arctic.
[00:01:19] And pastors and leaders came also from the Northwest Territories in Northern Quebec as I was invited there to conduct special meetings. And my host pastor, a man named Larry Salt, told me the Lord used my previous meetings and my writings of my books on the subject of unforgiveness to achieve a mighty work among the leaders. For a long time, these pastors and leaders were divided in spirit.
[00:01:45] When they read my book, What You Say is What You Get, I have a chapter in that book on unforgiveness. And God used that to be, and he called it to do a heart surgery on these leaders. They began to flow in harmony, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake had forgiven them. And when brothers dwelled together in unity with no division because of strife and bitterness, God is so pleased.
[00:02:11] How sweet it was for me to impart to these dear Inuit leaders through my interpreter. They had forgiven one another then. Love flowed like a river. They could smile and laugh together as I ministered to them, for joy flowed. All old grudges that they had carried for so long were all gone and peace prevailed. In many situations, I have witnessed this manifestation of the grace of God to enable people to forgive.
[00:02:41] I can never forget the World Conference on the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem. I was there for three consecutive years as one of the leaders of the great conference. More than 5,000 persons converged on the old city of Jerusalem to meet the Holy Spirit in the very place he was first poured out. But there had been a lot of confusion due to improper organizing.
[00:03:06] Lost luggage. Separation of friends who had come together, were now staying in different hotels. Confusion about transportation. There were many problems and disappointments. Now, as I said, I was there to serve as the coordinator for this historic conference. And in my group was a lady named Mrs. Travis, pastor of a church in Tacoma, Washington.
[00:03:31] I had personally gone to her church where I preached and received an offering from her own people to pay for her pilgrimage to the land of the Bible. She, in turn, persuaded another lady pastor from Seattle, as well as her bishop and his wife from Portland, Oregon, to be a part of our group. Confusion began when the tour company handling the conference sent Mrs. Travis off to New York City on a separate flight from the rest of our group.
[00:03:58] She was told she would meet up with us at the John F. Kennedy Airport in New York, but not so. As it so happened, Mrs. Travis flew on to Tel Aviv, Israel, but not part of our group. None of us saw her again until eight days later as we were in the conference at the Congress Hall in Jerusalem. And then there was another lady from Virginia who had signed up to be a part of my group. I was also to meet her in New York City, but we never did meet until more than a week later.
[00:04:28] I walked into an elevator at the Shalom Hotel in Jerusalem to see the name tag on the lady I was to have met back in New York. When she saw my name tag, she earnestly protested, Well, similar confusing incidents happened to hundreds of persons. And after some days of touring through Judea and Galilee, the 5,000 people all assembled for the conference in Jerusalem.
[00:04:57] With the experience of having lost bags, separated friends, mixed up of rooms, there was a lot of frustrated people. Tempers were short. Disappointment was evident. But that opening night, my dear friend David Duplicy from South Africa, who was affectionately known as Mr. Pentecost all over the world, he spoke to the conference. David spoke on the absolute necessity of our forgiveness for all that had gone wrong,
[00:05:24] forgiving the tour organizers, forgiving everyone or anyone for mistakes that had been made. Over and over, this white-haired patriarch appealed to us, Forgive! Forgive! Forgive! We must all forgive in order to have this conference honor the gentle dove of heaven. The Holy Spirit will only manifest himself as we have genuine forgiveness in our hearts toward each other.
[00:05:50] Well, the action of forgiveness was a very moving event. And then it turned out to be a beautiful night, how the multitudes rose up and did exactly what Pastor Duplicy had appealed to do, Forgive! Forgive! Forgive! It was then like the Holy Spirit used a giant washcloth to cleanse away all the impurities generated by those days of frustration over inept actions.
[00:06:19] Once we all forgave, the glory of the Lord fell. And it was then that the Holy Spirit could flow in great authority. My, what an experience it was! And with all the simplicity and sincerity I can express myself, I appeal to you listening to me on this air broadcast today, Please, for Christ's sake, let go of all unforgiveness. After all, the one who has hurt you is only a fellow human being.
[00:06:47] We have no super saints. And God will give you the ability to forgive even when your old nature screams out against the idea. And again, we have the appeal of Philippians 3, 13. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended, But this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, And reaching forth in those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
[00:07:15] And in Isaiah 43, verse 18, Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, now I shall spring forth, shall ye not know it. I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. And again we read in 1 Peter chapter 4, verse 12, Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fire trial which is to try you, As though some strange thing happened unto you.
[00:07:43] But rejoice inasmuch as your partakers of Christ's sufferings, That when his glory shall be revealed, you may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye. For the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you. On their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. Well, I simply share with you this account of what happened in old Jerusalem.
[00:08:10] In our different ventures there, I have gone to Jerusalem seven different times. And having the opportunity to be a coordinator for the World Conference of the Holy Spirit, To encounter the problems, the heartbreaks, the disappointments, the frustrations In the lives of so many hundreds of people was indeed a challenge. But the message of forgive, forgive, forgive was God's answer to that problem.
[00:08:38] And I tell you today that whatever vexation is in your life, It's a good thing to stop and let the Holy Spirit search your heart. To examine your life to see if you have any bitterness in your heart toward anybody. Resentment, malice, ill will, unforgiveness in any way, It's so essential that you forgive and forgive. And God will give an abundance of grace.
[00:09:04] Now this truth of forgiveness is a message that God has led me to emphasize Throughout the years of ministry. And it's a relevant message even today for you. So let the Holy Spirit to do his office work in your life. To reveal to you any unforgiveness, ill will you have toward anybody. It matters not how justified you may be. You may feel that you've been the victim of great wrongdoing.
[00:09:31] But the grace of God will enable you to genuinely forgive and forgive and forgive. And you can move into a realm of flowing with the Lord In wonderful peace and assurance of his grace. Now I could share with you many other accounts. And I will continue to emphasize this wonderful truth of how it's important. The Bible says to follow peace with all men. And I'll share with you some of the personal encounters in my own life.
[00:10:01] When there was evil spoken. When there was wrongdoing committed. And how God gave grace. And he'll do the same for you. If you perchance are one of those persons out in Jerusalem with us. For the World Conference on the Holy Spirit during those three years. You can remember the events of how God ministered abundance of grace. And God will do the same for you today. And this is Don Gossett making the appeal to you.
[00:10:30] To let the Lord do his work in your life today. You must forgive. It's absolute. You must forgive. And God will give you the ability to forgive. And you can know the joy and delight of being a person. Who has no oughts against anybody. But you have a right heart with the Lord. Father ministered every life I pray in Jesus name. Amen. My announcer Michael Dale will give you my mailing address.
[00:10:58] How you can fellowship with us in this ministry. And be a partner with us in the ongoing of God's great work. But right now there comes that time. When I say to you dear people. Take a praise break with me. Take a break from whatever anxiety or pressures. Maybe even whatever unforgiveness you've wrestled with. And just let the Lord do his cleansing work. And as we praise him together. Remember we glorify our father.
[00:11:28] Whoso offers praise glorifies me. Let's together exalt his name. Praise his wonderful name. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.