A Call To The Remnant

Heb 12:15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

I watched a movie one time. In the movie there was a man who had been falsely accused of a crime and, bayed on by the angry townsfolk, three men stepped forward and took this man and stripped him and began to whip him. The crowd cheered as the man was punished and the men ferociously whipped him. At first he screamed and tried to get away, and the crowd cheered as he was pulled back and the whipping continued. Then he fell silent but the three men were in a frenzy. Now the crowd grows silent as the men continue to whip their victim, even although all resistance is gone and he lies face down motionless. One by one the crowd disappears and the man is whipped to death, unrecognizable. His tormentors are unrepentant as they finish their work, feeling nothing as they eventually kill the man. This is a graphic illustration of what Satan and his workers do to their victims. They whip their victims with the cords of un-forgiveness, bitterness, anger, hatred and murder in the heart and they will flog their victims until there is nothing left and all is lost in their soul.

I talked to a woman one time. She was caught up in a storm of bitterness, anger and un-forgiveness for her husband for what seemed like a small and reasonably insignificant incident. What I saw in the Spirit was a woman enslaved to fear and insecurity and past hurts. Each of these elements fueled the others. The original tormentors name was “past hurts.” He went out and had insecurity and fear join him and then let anger have the mastery of them as they mercilessly whipped this woman. If you find yourself today with even the slightest of these feelings, or perhaps you are caught up in a violent storm of hatred and bitterness and un-forgiveness, you must look to the anchor of your soul. He has gone ahead of you and just beyond your temper, just beyond your un-forgiveness, just beyond the outer edges of your despair, there lies the safe harbor of peace. The entrance to the harbor is forgiveness and obedience. We can find this entrance to peace in Jesus. He has come to set the captives free. Will you not be free today? Do you desire to be right with God above all things?

Take the whip out of the hands of your oppressors today as you honor God with your forgiveness. If you have made a rod for your own back then you shall suffer terribly. No saint walks in un-forgiveness without losing his or her peace. The above scripture indeed confirms that you will fall short of the grace of God. You may think you can get away with it, bury it in a compartment in your soul and forget about it. It will not work. Like a planted seed, it may seem buried and gone and day after day nothing, but then suddenly the root grows and springs up through the surface for all to see. Rip out out by the roots saints. It may seem lie an unpleasant thought to forgive someone you believe may have wronged you, but it pales in comparison to falling short of the grace of God in our lives. Father, in the name of Jesus, will you today open up the hearts of any who have fallen afoul of unforgiveness. Before the sun sets on the day of them reading this, may they decide to lay it down before your feet and walk on in peace and love and forgiveness and revel once more in your grace.