Adapted from Deliverance Training Manual, Dr. William Sudduth
Matthew 18:34-35 (KJV) “And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the TORMENTORS, till he should pay all that was due unto him. 35 SO LIKEWISE SHALL MY HEAVENLY FATHER DO ALSO UNTO YOU, IF YE FROM YOUR HEARTS FORGIVE NOT EVERY ONE HIS BROTHER THEIR TRESPASSES.”
TORTURE = “Extreme mental distress; intense feelings of suffering, acute mental or physical pain; the deliberate, systematic, or wanton infliction of physical or mental suffering in an attempt to force another to yield information or to make a confession or for any other reason.”
Tormentors or torturers are evil spirits/demons, who have a legal right to torment you if you are in a state of unforgiveness. Unforgiveness, if held onto (nurtured), will grow into bitterness, which is defined as “unfulfilled revenge.”
When we are hurt by someone, the pain is real. The person who harbors unforgiveness is in prison or in chains (under bondage). If you could see into the spirit realm, you would see that someone with unforgiveness is attached by shackles to the person who inflicted the hurt. They are bound to each other. The hurt continues the rest of your life, because every time the video replays in your mind, up comes the pain. Not forgiving them hurts YOU over and over and over . . . as many times as the video replays. Thinking you can protect yourself from being hurt again, you build a wall around your heart. Problem is that instead of protecting you FROM the hurt, the wall becomes a prison. The wall prevents others from accessing that part of your heart, but it also prevents your pain from leaving. So, the wall you created for your protection becomes your prison. You cease to “feel”—your emotions become flat lined.
WHAT FORGIVENESS ISN’T
Some believe that if they forgive, it is saying what the person did to you is okay. That is a lie from the Enemy. It is NOT ok. It will never be okay. It was wrong.
Forgiveness is obedience to God’s Word. It is not a “feeling.” It is a choice—a decision to obey God. Forgiveness is not the same as healing. Forgiveness allows the healing process to begin. If you have forgiven someone and still feel pain, it’s because you need to receive your healing. Forgiveness comes first, then the healing.
1. Forgiveness is a COMMAND (not a suggestion).
One of the biggest mistakes we make is thinking forgiveness is an option. It is not an option -- it is a commandment. If we choose not to forgive someone, we are in WILLFUL and CONTINUAL unrepentant sin which gives the Enemy and all his demons LEGAL RIGHT to oppress every area of our life which includes but is not limited to: ALL kinds of addiction (alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, food, gambling, smoking, shopping, prescription drugs, work, etc.), acts born out of compulsion, anxiety, depression, control and abuse((physical, sexual, verbal/emotional, mental/psychological, cultural/identity), despair, suicidal thoughts, inability to concentrate, sickness/disease, mental disorders, sleep disorders, financial trouble, relationship issues (spouse, family, friends), infidelity, fornication, perfectionism, etc.
Ephesians 4:32 “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.”
Colossians 3:13 “Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
Matthew 18:21-22 “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.”
2. Forgiveness releases the offender and turns them over to God.
Matthew 6:14-15 “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
As believers, as sons and daughters of God, we have absolutely no right to hold anyone in unforgiveness. God will not tolerate anyone doing so and “anyone” includes you. You must forgive yourself. “Anyone” also includes God. If you blame God or you are mad at Him, you need to forgive Him.
HOW TO FORGIVE:
1. Ask the Lord to show you the people you need to forgive.
2. Write down names of people you need to forgive, by making a list. (They may be the little girl from the third grade or your fifth grade school teacher, etc.)
3. Be sure you include yourself.
4. Be sure you include God.
5. Go over each name with the Lord and express to Him how they have hurt you.
6. Write down what they did and why you need to forgive them. (Example: Mrs. Smith, my fifth grade teacher, humiliated me, made fun of me and I was so angry. I was vulnerable and not able to protect myself from her).
7. List whatever feelings you had and the degree to which you felt them. (Example: I was so angry; I did not care if they fell and hurt themselves. I actually wish they had, etc. . . . I wished I could have died because of the humiliation).
8. Choose to forgive and release them. Say something like, “Lord, I choose to forgive and release _______________ [name the person(s)].
9. Say, I forgive them.”
10. Write a letter to each person. Start each with, “I forgive and release you from ___________”
11. Not all letters will be sent. These are an act of faith. The Lord will see you are serious.
12. This last step can be the hardest but also the most freeing. Get some tissues and go somewhere alone that has a mirror. Look at yourself in the mirror. Forgive and release yourself for everything that you need to. Have lots of tissue.
If you live in unforgiveness, you are "living in" willful, unrepentant sin, which is the kind of sin that opens a door in the hedge of protection we receive from God at the time we are saved. The open door gives legal entrance to evil spirits/demons to enter for the express purpose of your destruction.
Forgiveness releases us from the tormentors! Forgiveness allows God to make us the man/woman of God He has called us to be. AMEN!!
Crying out in the wilderness,
Delann Conrad
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