Matthew 9:1-8
¹Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. ²Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven."
³At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, "This fellow is blaspheming!"
⁴Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? ⁵Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? ⁶But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...." Then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home." ⁷And the man got up and went home. ⁸When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men.

1. Jesus has the power to FORGIVE :
   • It's a 3 step process Believe it, Receive it, Experience it. Mt.9:1-7
   • 1John 1:9
     If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
2. Jesus forgives BUT... how can I get free from feeling guilty?
   1. Freedom from the past comes when we start believing God's word is true more than our unreliable negative feelings.
      YOU HAVE TO SPEAK OUT GOD’s TRUTH!  TALK BACK TO THOSE NEGATIVE FEELINGS!
      Psalm 103:12
      As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
   2. Don't just ask God's forgiveness but also take the time to soak-up & Receive God's forgiveness.
      Acts 3:19
      Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.
   3. Understand feeling miserable for our mistakes is just our human way of punishing ourselves until we feel we have suffered enough to pay for our own mistakes.
   4. Walking around feeling miserable for our past makes us useless to God and the people around us. The only person you make happy is Satan.
   5. In God's Kingdom "Be" comes before "Do". Worldly thinking "Do" comes before "BE".
      Acts 1:8
      You shall receive power to be my witnesses..
      Not the power to do witnessing but the power to "Be" my witness.
   6. What if we could "do" everything right?? We would be so stinking proud we would make everyone around us miserable. Experiencing God's forgiveness makes us people of mercy & grace to others.
   7. Use your faith in Jesus' forgiveness to shorten your time of miserable feelings.
      Philippians 3:13-14
      ¹³Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
   8. Spiritually mature know how to let go of the past mistakes and go on without wasting long periods of their life in guilt and misery. Philippians 3:15-16

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Preacher: Rob Flaherty | Permanent Link