Encouragement

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SEVENTY TIMES SEVEN:
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From the book of Matthew 18:21-35 we read:

“Then Peter came to Him, and said, How oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times?
22- Jesus said unto him, I say not unto you, Until seven times: but until seventy times seven.
23-Therefore if the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
24-And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents ($52,800,000, of silver).
25-But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and his children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
26-The servant therefore fell down, and worshiped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.
27-Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion and loosed (released) him and forgave him the debt.
28-But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow servants, which owed him a hundred pence ($44.00): and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat saying, Pay me what you owe.
29-And his fellow servant fell down at his feet, and besought him saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.
30-And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, til he should pay the debt.
31-So when his fellow servant saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their king all that was done.
32-Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O you wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt, because you disiredst (ask me):
33-Should not you have had compassion on you fellow servant, even as I had pity (mercy) on you?
34-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 you from your hearts forgive every one his brother their trespasses.”

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HEAVEN’S COURTROOM:
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As I’ve been studying through the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John again recently, The above Scriptures were highlighted to me the day I read then once more. I was struck with how astronomical the debt of our individual sins were and how, like the servant who owed such a debt to his lord, there was no way that we were able to pay it. All the servant could do was to fall down in worship of his lord and cry out for mercy. That was all we were able to do as well, throw ourselves on the mercy of Heaven’s Court of Justice.

As I meditated on these Scriptures, I was so thankful in my heart that Jesus was able to pay the debt I owed and the debt you owed for sin. We’ve been set free from the obligation of this debt we each owed. And in our attitude of thanksgiving for being set free of our debt, we are to likewise set others free from debts they owe us. These would include but not be limited to, spouses, children, family, friends, church family, business partners, etc. Mark 11:25-26 tells that when we stand praying, forgive so that the Father in heaven will forgive us. If we don’t forgive, then neither will the Father in heaven forgive us. I don’t know about you, but I want to have my Father’s forgiveness and be at peace with Him first of all, then with others.

As I continued to meditate on these Scriptures, the next thing I knew, I was in a courtroom where I was being faced with the astronomical debt of sin I owed. I found myself standing before THE righteous Judge but I was so thankful that I wasn’t alone. Jesus, my advocate (lawyer) was by my side.

Being faced with this overwhelming debt that was way beyond me, I felt helpless and wasn’t sure if I should allow hope to remain alive in me. But somewhere down deep I could sense a tiny spark of hope still there, burning ever so slightly. The reason was because I knew my Lawyer was in control of my future. My life was in His hands, and He had never left me before so there was no reason why He should leave me alone now. Though I knew what I faced was serious, I felt hope rise a little higher in my heart in spite of it.

The Judge motioned for us to come near. I stayed as close to Jesus as possible as we took those few steps. Jesus stepped up to the Judge’s bench and took the long and bulky list of my debts in His hands. My thoughts were going haywire when I saw how long and how thick the list of my debts were. I felt my hope falter somewhat as I thought, surely there had to be some mistake! Surely, I had not sinned that much against God. Had I?

My mind raced back over my past doing a search through my sin file. I had not killed anyone. I had not committed any robberies or cheated on my income tax. I had not run over anyone on the street, or burned anyone’s house down. The conclusion of my search led me to see that I had not done the big things but rather so many little things that had added up to be big things.

Mentally I went down the list and I saw that it was things such as gossip, strife with a brother or sister in Christ, angry words spoken to this one or that one. Resentful and unforgiving attitude towards another person. Rebellion against God and others. And oh yes, there was the pride, the jealousy, the lying. My sins were in astronomical proportion and I would never be able to pay the debt.

There was silence in the courtroom as Jesus looked over the list. What would He do with such a condemning list of debts that I owed Heaven’s Court of Justice? I felt my throat tighten as I realized again that my life hung in the balance of the Lord‘s hands. With a pen that seemed to appear in His hand, He layed the long and bulky list down on the table in front of the Judge’s bench and began to write precisely and swiftly.

As He did, I saw that the “ink” He wrote with was “red.” It was, in fact, His own blood that He had poured out at Calvary. That living and cleansing blood that had been transferred from the cross to the mercy seat in the throne room of God in heaven. His blood, the perfect sacrifice that He had presented before God, the Father and it had been accepted as atonement for the sins of the world. Thank God, for I was a part of the world who had need of this anointed blood. From the cross, Jesus had said, “It is finished!” From the throne of God’s grace comes the invitation now, “Come boldly to the throne of grace and mercy” (Heb.4:16).

Jesus signed my list of debts with His signature in His own precious blood and it read “It is finished.” Then underneath that, He wrote even more boldly, “Paid in full!” Hope and faith arose strong in me now as my heart stirred with praise and thanksgiving unto my Lawyer. He presented the signed list to the Judge who looked it over then handed it back to Jesus. When He did, He looked at me with a twinkle in His eyes and a smile on His face. He nodded His approval at me. I nodded back, feeling so joyous and thankful for His loving kindness toward me. (I did not see the face of God, the Father clearly, it was merely an impression).

I just knew I was beaming all over the place, I was so giddy with joy knowing I was totally free from my debt. It truly was finished, just as he had said. Just then, the great Judge brought down His gavel and said with resounding authority, “Not guilty! Case dismissed!” It was the greatest sound I know I’ve ever heard because it was the sound of freedom. “I’m free,” I said out loud. Jesus responded, “When the Son sets you free, you’re free indeed.” I had no doubts about that at all.

And then, Jesus took the bulk of papers where all my debts had been listed and He did something with them that both surprised me and delighted me at the same time. He tore the list into little pieces and as He tossed them behind Him, they were suddenly blown totally away and out of sight (Isaiah 43:25, “I even I am He that blots out your transgressions for My own sake, and will not remember your sins”). Praise God forevermore! That's good news!

Once this was done, Jesus turned to look at me and putting His arm around my shoulder, He smiled and said, “Its over. Come on, let’s go.” And I walked with Jesus, my Lord and Savior, out of the past darkness of yesterday’s history of condemnation and shame. I followed Jesus, as He steered me in the direction of my destiny in Him. A destiny that would reflect the eternal Kingdom of God through me as His ambassador here on earth, being enabled to do so by His grace and His Holy Spirit.

And one day soon, all of heaven and its inhabitants and all the saints on earth would rejoice when the culmination and consummation of all things would be fully realized in Christ. When it is all concluded by His coming the second time to gather up His Church to meet Him in the air where we will forever be with the Lord. “Even so, come Lord Jesus.”

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IT IS FINISHED!
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When Jesus spoke these words from the cross, there was no question about what He had accomplished on the cross. He could speak these words with boldness and authority as He drew His last breath; even amazing some of those near the cross who heard Him speak with strength. He spoke, not weak with defeat but with the voice of one who had won a great victory, “IT IS FINISHED!

As far as the cross and the crucifixion was concerned, as far as the atonement for our sins was concerned it was finished, but Jesus still had a few things to do. He would go into the “ belly of the earth”, which is to say, He would go into the very bowels of hell for us so we wouldn’t have to go, unless we chose to. Jesus would walk through the gates of hell and take back the keys of death, hell and the grave from Satan and leave him totally defeated. And then, on the third day, the glory of God would raise Jesus to be the first born (again) from the dead. Praise God, He is alive forevermore. And because He lives, you and I can live also throughout all eternity with Him.

Because Jesus said, “It is finished,” we have to realize totally that He is no longer on the cross. When He spoke those words, He came down off the cross and His body was prepared and wrapped in fine linen then laid in a borrowed tomb. Jesus now has a glorified body and He sits on the right hand of the Father, ever living to make intercession for you and me (Heb.7:25). His intercessory prayer in John chapter 17 gives us a sample of His intercessory work on our behalf before the Father.

In no way do we ignore the cross of Jesus, as if it doesn’t matter now that He’s done His work there and its finished. Although the cross was a place of horrible pain and suffering for our Lord Jesus, it is also a profound demonstration of the love of God for all mankind. A love so great that God, the Father sent Jesus to be our substitute and cancel the astronomical debt of sin that each of us owed. If we ignore the cross of Christ, we might as well forget about John 3:16 as well where God expresses His love for the world and then demonstrates it. God’s grace and mercy was poured out on the world through the crucifixion of Jesus on the cross and through His resurrection.

So no, we never want the cross of Jesus Christ to ever get out of our heart’s view but at the same time; we have to realize that Jesus is no longer there. Do we still come to the cross to receive grace and mercy? Grace and mercy comes through the finished work of Jesus on the cross but does the Bible actually tell us to come to the cross to receive grace and mercy now? Is the blood of Jesus still at the cross? Songs have been written that tells us the blood still flows down the cross of Christ but does it literally?

Hebrew 9:12 says, “Neither by the blood of goats, but by His own blood, He (Jesus) entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.”

The holy place mentioned here is talking about heaven. Jesus gathered up His own blood, every drop, from the cross after He rose from the dead and He ascended into heaven to present it before the Father.

In John 20:16-17, “Jesus said unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and said unto Him, Rab-bo-ni; which is to say, Master (Teacher).
17-Jesus said unto her, Touch Me not; for I am not yet ascended to My Father: but go to My brethren and say unto them, I ascend unto My Father, and your Father; to My God, and your God.”

Jesus ascended into heaven to carry His own blood to be accepted by the Father and placed on the mercy seat, just as in the OT, the priest took the blood of animals and did this same thing but it was an imperfect sacrifice because it had to be repeated. Hebrew 9:24 says, “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.”

After Jesus went into heaven and His blood was accepted of the father and placed on the mercy seat, He came back to earth because the next time we see Jesus in the book of John, He’s gone through a closed door where His disciples are hiding out in fear from the Jewish leaders. Remember right after He rose from the dead, He appeared to Mary Magdalene but when she reached out to touch Him, He told her not to. Later, after He had placed His blood in heaven on the mercy seat, He told Thomas to touch Him.


John 20:27, “Then saith He to Thomas, Reach forth your finger, and behold my hands; and reach here your hand, and thrust it into My side: and be not faithless (unbelieving) but believing.”

In the Old Testament, not only did the Priest minister daily in behalf of the people but he had to go into the most holy place once a year to offer sacrifices for the people’s sins. Let us look at Hebrews again to verify where Jesus is today.

Hebrews 10:12, “But this man (Jesus), after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God.”

Hebrews 7:24-25, “But this man (Jesus, as compared to OT priesthood), because He continues ever has an unchangeable priesthood.
25-Wherefore He is also able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him (Jesus), seeing He ever lives to make intercession for them.”

Where is Jesus now? He is sitting at the right hand of God the Father, where He ever lives to make intercession for you and me. For the world. Jesus is not on the cross anymore, praise God! He’s not in the tomb with the stone rolled in front to seal it. The angel in Luke 24:5-6 asked Mary on the morning of the third day, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He’s (Jesus) is not here, He is risen.” Jesus is alive! So, what do we do now that Jesus has finished His work on the cross and He’s taken His blood to heaven and its on the mercy seat?

God tells us what to do now in Hebrews 4:14-16, “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed in to the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast (firmly) to our profession (confession).
15-For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities (weaknesses); but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
16-Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Again, let me say that we cannot ignore or try to move past the cross of Jesus Christ but neither can we look for Jesus there now. When we take communion, Jesus said very plainly, that the bread was His body that was broken (crucified) for us and the cup was the blood of the new covenant with better promises that His finished work on the cross would bring into operation. He said, every time that we take communion, “Do this in remembrance of Me.” Remember what He did for you on the cross.

Remember that He paid in full yours and my astronomical debt of sin with the shedding of His precious blood. He bought us back from the bondage of sin and slavery to Satan with His blood. He set us free. Remember all that He did on the cross for you. The Israelites were to remember all that God had done for them when He brought them out of the bondage of Egypt, a type of the bondage to sin and Satan. Everytime they ate the Passover meal, they were to remember. Jesus told us, “As often as you do this, do this in remembrance of Me.”

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SEVENTY TIMES SEVEN:
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This word was started off with the Scriptures dealing with forgiveness, the truth that we’ve been forgiven of an astronomical debt of sin against God but through the atoning blood of Jesus, we’ve been forgiven. If we want to continue to have God’s forgiveness flowing in our daily lives, that means we have to extend forgive to those who become indebted to us through offenses. Jesus told Peter, forgive the person seventy times seven in a day if need be (paraphrase). No, our flesh doesn't want to forgive the person that we feel has done an injustice to us, real or not. Our flesh screams for revenge. It wants the other person to “pay” for the offense. But of course, the spirit influence behind this is not the Holy Spirit. The devil’s way is revenge, get the person back to hurt them.

The Holy Spirit’s way is to let “love cover a multitude of sin.” It’s to forgive those you have ought against, seventy times seven if need be. But forgive them so that your heavenly Father will extend forgiveness to you and the sin of unforgiveness, bitterness and resentment won’t torment your soul.

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ACTIVATION:
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In the vision I shared about Heaven’s Courtroom of Justice, Jesus wrote “Paid In Full” on my list and then He tore it up and tossed it behind Him, not to remember them against me anymore. I’d like to challenge you to take out paper and pen and get ready to do an activation with me. Get ready to come into a place of more realized freedom.

If you have a red pen, get one of those along with a black pen to use. Plus, have a trash can handy. James 1:22 tells us to be a “doer of the word and not just a hearer only,” so that's what we’re going to do. So, you will need:
1-Paper
2-A black ink pen
3-A red ink pen
4-A trash can

Lets pray first and then I want you to take a few moments to get quiet before the Lord and allow the Holy Spirit to bring to your mind anyone in your past or present that you haven’t released into freedom through your forgiveness. When you release them into freedom, you’re released into freedom as well. If you hold them in bondage through unforgiveness, you’re held in bondage through unforgiveness as well (John 20:23).

PRAYER:
Father, in the precious and mighty name of Jesus, we humble ourselves before You, giving You all honor and praise for You alone are worthy of all honor and glory. I thank You for those who are humbling themselves before You, and who are willing to allow You to search their hearts so that they may be set free through their forgiveness of those who have trespasses against them. May we never forget the great and precious price You paid for our freedom from the bondage and power of sin.

I lift those up to You now who may be struggling with this activation. I pray that you would strengthen them by the power of Your Holy Spirit. Give them the courage to step forth in faith to forgive any that they may have unforgiveness toward from their past. Thank You that You love us beyond what we can understand but by faith, we reach out with our whole hearts to embrace You and Your love, Your grace and Your mercy this day. Thank You and praise You for setting us all free to love the Lord God with all our hearts, with all our souls, and love our neighbor as we learn to love ourselves. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

CONTINUING ACTIVATION:

1-At the top of your paper with the red ink pen write, “It is finished,” meaning your sins have
been forgiven and the other persons sins have been forgiven.

2-With those the Holy Spirit brought to your mind that you need to forgive, with the black ink
pen write out their names.

3-Take a moment to pray over each name asking God for the grace to be able to truly forgive
each person from your heart. It’s important that you speak the words out loud and not just
within yourself.

4-Once you’ve forgiven each person who sinned against you, with the red pen write over the
list of names, “Paid In Full.” You’re canceling the debt they owe you, a debt they could
never repay. Just like Jesus canceled your debt that you couldn’t pay.

5-After you’ve done this, as an act of your will and your faith, take the sheet of paper and tear it
into little pieces. Then, toss it into the trash. This represents doing the same thing that God has
done for you by tossing your sins into the sea of forgetfulness never to remember them against
you anymore. Neither will you bring up those past sins against the person you’ve just forgiven
ever again.

6-Now do one last thing, make an outward declaration by your faith to the person or persons (they don’t have to be present) that were on your list saying, “It is over. Let us go in loving unity toward our future destiny in God.” Give God praise and glory for the new freedom you’ve found through the loving act of forgiveness. Praise the Lord!

If you have a testimony to share of how God ministered has to you through this word and activation, I encourage you to send me an e-mail at [email protected] and allow me to rejoice with you.

Hallelujah, for the Lord is good!

Plain As Day Ministries

Shirley Williams
10-29-02

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