LEARN TO FORGIVE YOURSELF

I was holding a meeting in a large city. I laid hands on a particular man several times. He was a businessman and a member of the church where I was holding the meeting. Practically every healing evangelist in America at that time had laid hands on this man, but he was still sick. The Lord told me to talk to him, so I told the man to come early to the meeting the next night. I knew he had a heart condition. The doctors had told him he might live two more years if he retired, stayed on medication, and spent most of his time resting. But he was only fifty-six years old. He didn't want to retire yet.

I was shaving and getting ready to go to church the next evening, when the Lord spoke to me. He said, "DO YOU THINK I WOULD REQUIRE YOU TO DO SOMETHING I WOULDN'T BE WILLING TO DO?" I said, "No, Lord. You wouldn't do that because that would be unjust, and You're not unjust." I finished shaving and was getting dressed, and the Lord spoke to me again and said the same thing. "DO YOU THINK I WOULD REQUIRE YOU TO DO SOMETHING I WOULDN'T BE WILLING TO DO?" I said, "No. No, because if You required me to do something You wouldn't be willing to do, it would be unjust, and You're not unjust." I finished getting ready and drove off to church. In the car the Lord said the same thing to me. I answered Him the same way. Then the Lord gave me these passages of Scripture in Matthew and Luke. MATTHEW 18:21,22 21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? 22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, UNTIL SEVENTY TIMES SEVEN. LUKE 17:3-5 3 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. 4 And if he trespass against thee seven times IN A DAY, and seven times IN A DAY turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him. 5 And the apostles said unto the Lord, INCREASE OUR FAITH.

When Jesus said we were supposed to forgive seventy times seven, that doesn't mean in a lifetime— that means in one day. That should tell us we are to practice an attitude of forgiveness!
Also, notice that after Jesus talked about forgiveness, immediately the disciples said to Him, "Increase our faith." Sometimes it takes faith to forgive people, doesn't it? Also, you won't be able to increase your faith until you forgive! That's absolutely the truth. When the Lord gave me these Scriptures and said this to me, I wondered why He was telling me this. Then He said to me, "IF I REQUIRED YOU TO FORGIVE YOUR BROTHER IF HE SINNED AGAINST YOU 490 TIMES IN A DAY, BUT I WASN'T WILLING TO DO THE SAME THING, THEN I WOULD BE UNJUST."

I still didn't know why the Lord was saying this to me, but I went on to church to talk to this man before the service started. As soon as I started talking to him, I understood exactly why the Lord said all this to me. This man told me, "I have heart trouble and my kidneys are failing. The doctors told me that if I would sell my business and lie around and rest and stay on medication, I might live a couple of years. "But they said if I keep going the way I'm going, I could just fall dead at any time." Then this businessman told me, "I've been a member of a Full Gospel church for 35 years. Brother Hagin, I'll be honest with you. I know you teach faith, but every time I go forward to get healed, I know God won't heal me." "Why won't He?" I asked. "Well, I've just failed and missed it so many times. I've just sinned." Even though I knew he had committed no sin too big for God to forgive, I asked, "What awful sin have you committed? Have you robbed a bank or killed someone?" "No. No." "Well, what awful sin have you ever committed?" He said, "As far as I know, I haven't committed any awful sin. I've just searched my heart. But I own my own business, and I've made good money. I've always paid my tithes to my church and supported missions. But I could have given so much more financially than what I have given. I could have prayed so much more than I have. I've committed sins of omission." Many believers get their mind just on sins of commission, but the Bible also teaches that there are sins of omission. Sins of omission are sins of failing to do right when it's in your power to do so. The Bible does say. ". . . to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin" (James 4:17). I began to tell this businessman what the Lord told me. I said, "Do you think the Lord would require you to do something He wouldn't be willing to do?" "No, He wouldn't do that." And I began to show him the Scriptures that the Lord gave me in Matthew and Luke. Then I showed him James 5:14,15. JAMES 5:14,15 14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; AND IF HE HAVE COMMITTED SINS, THEY SHALL BE FORGIVEN HIM. Did you notice that the Bible didn't say, "If he has committed a sin"—singular. It said, "If he has committed sins—plural. Then it says, "they shall be forgiven him." It doesn't say that maybe his sins would be forgiven. It says they shall be forgiven! I told him, "God is not only willing to heal you, He is willing to forgive you, even for sins of omission. The Lord has forgiven you, so quit accusing yourself. You know what your problem is? You haven't forgiven yourself. Besides that, have you failed 490 times in one
day?" "No," he said. "Well then, you've got a good margin to operate on," I said.

Just as soon as this man forgave himself, his faith started working. The unforgiveness that he'd held against himself had hindered his faith. I laid hands on him and prayed for him, and he was instantly healed. Years later I was preaching in the same state, and one of this man's relatives told me about him. He said, "He ran his business all these years, and he finally sold his business and retired at seventy-five years of age." According to medical science, He could easily have been dead at fifty-six because his heart was in such bad condition. Until he forgave himself for his past failures, he couldn't receive his healing. (Kenneth E Hagin)