Let it Go! | Men of Valor | Stephan Piggee

Foreign.

Y' all ready to get in the word?

Cause it's preaching time.

They gave me assignment this morning.

They told me, preach the word of God, and that's what I intend

to do.

So let's pray over the sermon really quick.

Father God, thank you.

Thank you for this opportunity to share.

Thank you for each and every soul that's represented.

As I get ready to speak, allow me to speak with boldness and authority.

Allow me to speak the words that you want me to speak.

Decrease me, God, right before their eyes.

Decrease me so that you can increase, lessen me and more.

You open up their ears, open up their hearts so they receive what

it is that you want to communicate to them today.

In Jesus name, amen.

So, men of valor, are you in the house today?

Make some noise.

That was all right.

I'm not going to lie to you.

That was just all right.

Service was better.

Men of valor.

Come on, make some noise.

Men of valor.

It's the men in here.

All right.

I see the ladies looking at me side eyed.

I haven't forgot about you.

Some of you just got offended.

But it's the free women collective in the house today.

All right, that's enough.

That's enough.

Men of Valor.

This series is called Men of Valor.

So I need y' all to step it up because the free women collector

came in and they showed out.

So I'm gonna give you one more time.

On the count of three, start getting your vocal cords ready, men.

All right.

One, two, three.

Men of valor.

There we go.

There we go.

So a few weeks ago, before Pastor Mike left for his sabbatical,

we hosted our Men of Valor retreat called the Forge.

And some of the men from this house got an opportunity with.

But during that retreat, Pastor Mike spoke on the 25 characteristics

of a father.

And so some of those things, as a father, you may have different

definitions of qualities or characteristics that you may think

a father is.

But by the world's definition, a father is a male who has transferred

his DNA into a child.

And while I do not disagree with that definition, because I have

three I should know about giving my DNA away, I will go on

to say even further that that doesn't make a man a father.

And so I want to talk about today some of those characteristics

that really defines what a godly father and what a true man

of valor is.

So a godly father can be one that's an encourager, that's a leader

like Pastor Evan taught us last week, which was a great sermon

last week.

So shout out to Pastor Evan, you really allowed the Lord to use

you.

But Pastor Evans said that a true man of valor is a protector,

a provider, and a priest within his own home.

So I wanted to talk about today.

A godly father.

And a man of valor is one who shows mercy.

A merciful father displays kindness, compassion, understanding.

But most importantly, he forgives mistakes.

I'm gonna say that again for my note takers.

A man of valor, a godly father, shows mercy, and he forgives

mistakes.

So the ladies in the room, you may have just checked out.

I'm about to reel you back in and tell you lock back in.

Because although I'm talking to the men, and I'm talking about

men of valor and characteristics of a father, in all

actuality, these characteristics can be used by men,

women, or anyone who calls themselves a Christian.

So as we get into the Bible, I want to take a look at one man of

valor.

Last week, we heard about David.

This week, we're going to hear about Paul.

So Paul as we know him today was not always Paul that we know.

Paul actually was actually a very terrible guy, if I'm just being

honest.

But Paul was a Pharisee, better known as Saul.

He was on this trip going out persecuting Christians.

And he was on this trip on the road of Damascus, and he was actually

headed there to persecute Christians because he heard there

were some Jesus followers out there.

And while he was on this road, he had a holy visitation.

Kind of like today, Pentecost Sunday, he had a holy visitation

where the Lord showed him his glory.

And that really led to the transformation to the Paul that we

see and love today.

But I would like to say is, as I was thinking about the Saul to

Paul conversion, I was thinking about Genesis 50:20, where

Genesis 50:20

it said, what the devil intended for bad, God used for his

good.

And that's a story of Paul.

So if you have your Bibles, I want you to take a look.

Two look.

I want to look at two passages of scripture.

The first being 2 Corinthians 1 and 3.

And then the second was going to be Matthew 6, 14, 15.

And I'm going to just forewarn you right now.

If you're taking notes, get ready for your pen to run out of

ink.

Get ready to be flipping through your Bible and your phone.

Cause I'm about to have you all over.

So when you ask 2 Corinthians, give me a shout.

Let me know you got it.

Say got it.

And if you don't got it, you're just gonna have to Listen

to me, read it.

So Second Corinthians, it said, blessed be the God and Father

of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all

comfort.

So as we read that, there were two things that stuck out in this

scripture.

First, being the Father of all mercies.

And so when he said mercies, he doesn't say mercy.

He said mercies as in plural, meaning an abundant, available in

different ways to meet different needs.

And then next he mentions God of all comfort, meaning the one who

gives comfort and compassion.

So I want you to just take a pin there and just highlight that

and remember that.

So next, before we get over to Matthew, as I was reading that and

thinking about the Father of mercies, God of all comfort, Paul

was really describing the first true man of valor that showed

mercy, which is God, meaning God is the source of our mercy.

See God, mercy flows from the very heart of God, because he's just

not.

He's not just merciful, but he is mercy.

So now let's jump over to Matthew.

It says, for if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly

Father will also forgive you.

But if you do not forgive others of their trespasses, neither

will your Father forgive you of your trespasses.

So a little earlier I told you that I'm a father of three.

I have a 8 year old named Aria, 5 year old in Harmony, they're

watching right now in Texas, Daddy loves you.

And then just recently I got now 7 week year old baby boy.

And sometimes they want their dad to do the stuff that dad just

don't want to do.

You know, sometimes I just want to chill, have a moment to myself.

I get off work even if I am just walking from my office to the

hallway to the living room because I work from home.

Sometimes I just want to chill and debrief, but they want me to

do the things to do.

But being a good loving father, you know, a man of valor,

I try to encourage and just say, you know what, I'll do it.

So at our house, we've been watching a lot of TV together.

And so I sit down and I'm probably going to watch something

I don't want to watch.

I probably want to watch the Pacers beat New York like we did

a few weeks ago.

I'm sorry, New York family, I had to get you one time.

But what I do is I grab the remote and I turn on the greatest

invention ever, which is called Disney.

Don't be offended.

That's just my opinion.

All right?

But in our household, there's a lot of bluey being played.

And there's a movie that came out in 2013 called Frozen.

All my parents in the room.

You know what I'm talking about.

Cause your kids are playing it over and over.

But as I'm watching Frozen, it was some gold in there.

I was like, no, this is something I can actually take from

Princess Anna, Elsa and Olaf.

And there's this famous song on the movie, the Parents.

Again, you may know it line by line and your kids do, but it goes

a little bit like this.

Let it go.

Let it go.

All right, all right.

I know my lane.

I'm going to just stay here and lead a singing to ej.

So I'm not going to sing the rest.

But if you're taking notes, the title of my message is called

Let It Go.

So for the next few moments, I want to speak to you about the key

aspect of mercy, which is forgiveness.

And I broke this down in about six points.

And these six points I believe it's not just my opinion.

It's something that God imparted and downloaded to me for

me to download into you.

And it's not ideas, but it's something I believe that God has

called us to live out.

So you may be saying, what is mercy?

So point number one, Mercy.

I'm sorry.

What is forgiveness?

So you may be saying, what is forgiveness?

Point one is forgiveness is a choice to reflect God's heart.

See, forgiveness is a complex journey, meaning it's something that

we do not because we think that it's right, but it's a decision

that we make because it is right.

It's out of an act of obedience, of faith that reflects

the heart of our Father.

I wouldn't be truthful if I stood here and told you that forgiveness

and the journey of forgiveness is something easy because just being

honest with you, it's not.

We get offended as a human nature, often daily.

It's something that's bound to happen.

We're going to get.

Someone's going to offend us.

I may just offend you about the Disney plus thing.

We are going to get hurt, we're going to get persecuted, and

we may get harmed with someone else's words.

It's bound to happen.

There's nothing that we could do about that.

But the thing that we can do and can control is the willingness

to let go of said offense, resentment, and anger.

It does not necessarily mean forgetting the offense or excusing

the harmful behavior.

But again, it involves a conscious decision to let go of the

emotional Burden.

I would even go a little bit further and say it's making a conscious

decision to not remember the said hurt.

Because if I forgive you, but I still forget, I'm allowing my emotions

to be dictated by the way the wind blows.

So I may wake up and I may feel good and the wind may blow this

way, and then all of a sudden, I remember Sarah, Fitz.

And now I'm back in a state of unforgiveness.

So if I'm choosing to forget and forgive, that's the way we need

to live.

So it means we release the offense into God's hand, allowing

him to trust, allowing us to trust in him, to bring the justice,

to bring the healing and bring the peace.

So when I think about forgiveness, there are five key aspects.

Forgiveness is one, a decision of the will.

It often begins as a choice, as I said, and then not a feeling.

But if we allow our feelings to catch up with the choice that

we have made, this making a decision, which is a powerful act

of will to let go.

Forgiveness is a process.

It takes time, especially for deep wounds.

Forgiveness is a reflection of God's character.

When we forgive, we are actually mirroring the mercy God

has shown us.

Forgiveness is not dependent on the other person's apology.

You can forgive even if the person doesn't ask for it.

And so forgiveness is a gift to yourself.

If you're like me, I like buying things for myself.

My wife hates it, because whatever she thinks she's going to

get me, nine out of 10, I already got it, or I will be buying

it.

So every year for Christmas and my birthday, they're a week apart.

If she goes, look at our bank statement, she knows she's gonna

see a charge, probably from Nike for some shoes that I purchased

for myself for my birthday.

And then the next week after, I'm gonna purchase another one for

Christmas.

So she already knows.

And so essentially the same thing applies to forgiveness.

When it comes to forgiveness, it's a gift that you give yourself,

freeing yourself from the burden of holding on to resentment

and offense.

So as we talked about forgiveness, you may be sitting there

thinking, well, I'm good.

I don't need to do this.

I don't need to do that.

I'm a chain breaker.

So often we come into our worship experiences, we say, the

chain breakers in the room break every chain.

While the Lord is sitting there saying, you keep singing about

it.

When are you going to actually do it?

Because you haven't let go of unforgiveness, but you think you're

in the clear, because you let go of whatever that issue is when

the Lord actually calls us to let go, all of it, and operate in

forgiveness.

So I want to read Ephesians 4:32, because as Christians, we have

Ephesians 4:32

a calling.

And in Ephesians it says, as believers, be kind to one another,

tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave

you.

Essentially, church, we're being called to forgive as an outward

expression of God's grace and mercy working through us.

And we can't really fully live out our calling if we're bound by

chains of unforgiveness.

Even better, I'm gonna go on and say, don't even try to figure

out your calling if you haven't forgave so many times as

a church and as staff and as pastoral staff, people come to our

offices or on our teams and they want to know, can you help me

figure out what my purpose is?

Can you help me do this?

I just really want to know.

I want to be used by God.

And the plain answer sometimes we say was, have you forgiven?

Have you did this?

Have you did that?

Until you do that, that is your calling and your purpose to

forgive.

Because forgiveness is so important that even Jesus became

a model of forgiveness.

When he was hanging on that tree, he sat there and he said, father,

forgive them, for they know not what they do.

He didn't ask for the apology of man, the people that beat him,

that crucified him, that mocked him as he was bleeding and

dying of anguish.

He simply said, father, forgive them, for they know not what

they do.

So, church, who do you need to release today?

Not because they deserve it, but because Christ forgave you.

That was just point one.

Point two.

Mercy lets go of the punishment.

Forgiveness lets go of the pain.

See, when I started this, I talked about one scripture talking

about mercy and another scripture talking about forgiveness.

Because mercy and forgiveness, they're one and the same.

They operate differently, although they're very similar.

And where they are very similar at, they are two sides of

God's love just operating differently.

Mercy withholds punishment the that we deserve, whereas forgiveness

releases the offense and restores the relationship.

And God gives us both, and he calls us to do both.

So if I want to break this down in layman's terms, mercy says,

I won't punish you for what you did to me, what you said to me,

how you hurt me, how you abused me.

Whereas forgiveness says, I won't hold that against you anymore.

So mercy opens the door, whereas forgiveness allows you to

walk through it my Bible people out there.

You guys got your Bible, you're doing good.

Taking notes because I'm about to.

We about to go on another journey.

So in Luke 6, 36, 38, it says, Be merciful, even as your Father

is merciful.

Judge not and you will not be judged.

Condemn not and you will not be condemned.

Forgive and you will be forgiven.

Give and it will be given to you.

Good measure, pressed down, shake it together, running over,

Will it be put into your lap, for with the measure you use, it

be measured back to you.

I was reading this and preparing for this word and I was

like, wait a minute.

Because in church, all my years of being in church, I thought

I didn't say it earlier.

I've been in church for a very long time.

I always heard this scripture as it related to tithes and offering.

When the person come up to give tithes and offerings, they get

so excited and they talk about it and they say, give and it would

give in good to you.

But as I was reading this, Paul wasn't talking about a tithe

nor an offering.

He was actually talking about mercy and forgiveness.

So how much you give mercy, how much you give forgiveness, it

will be given to you.

How good.

Measure, press down, shake it together, and running over.

So church, I want you to think really quick, with a lot of intentionality,

are you letting go of the punishment, but still holding onto

the pain?

And what would it look like to fully forgive the way God has forgiven

you?

What would that look like?

Point three, unforgiveness doesn't protect you, it destroys

you.

So let's take a hop back over to Second Corinthians.

This time we're going to be in chapter 211 reading in the ESV translation.

Because I believe in this passage of Scripture, the Apostle

Paul actually gave us a clear definition of what the effects of

unforgiveness is.

And it says, anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive.

Indeed, what I have forgiven.

If I have forgiven anything, it has been for your sake in the

president of Christ, so that we will not be outwitted by Satan,

for we are not ignorant of his designs, his schemes.

Another way to put it is, we all know this, Satan is a liar.

He comes to steal, kill and destroy.

And as a church, we can't fall victim to his gains because he looks

for any crack to let offense sip in.

And so as I'm talking about this, I know there's probably some

people that came to church, they're sitting in church right now

that's offended.

It's some people right there in Brooklyn.

You know, you came in, you was excited, you had a good move.

You saw your friend say, hey girl, how you doing?

Hope you had a good week with so and so so and so.

You went over, got your wild house coffee, you caffeinated now,

and you went up to that second row, that seat you sit in every week

so you can be close to Pastor Eddie and everybody.

And somebody was sitting in your seat this morning.

And so you got offended, but you didn't wanna show it, so you

found you another seat.

And you up there worshiping, clapping your hands, which you can't

even worship right.

Cause you side eyeing the person in your seat.

And I just wanna say, let that go.

And Pastor Mike got a whole series on YouTube called the Unoffendable

Heart.

It's a bible reading plan as well.

So if you need to let go of that offense and you want to go deeper,

because I don't got time today.

Go on YouTube, find that series.

It may be it's a good series.

I think that may be one of my favorites.

But I say that because you may think because I'm up here on this

platform with the mic, that I've mastered the art of unforgiveness.

And I want to bust your bubble and say I haven't literally.

As I got the call that I had to speak today and I started preparing

for this message, I literally fell victim to the enemy's plans

and schemes and attacks.

You know, so I'm gonna just kind of tell you a little bit about

it.

Because me and my daughter, we wake up every morning, we get dressed

and we take the dog out, we walk around the neighborhood and

we put her back and we go to take her to the bus stop.

So this morning we did our normal routine.

We're driving to the bus stop, we got the windows down.

Cause it's feeling good.

Because you don't know what you're gonna get here in Indiana.

So if you're coming out here, bring clothes for every season.

So we got the windows down, we blasting our worship music, singing

goodbye Yesterday.

I'm looking out the river mirror so I can see her head nod

like this.

And I'm getting turnt up with it.

And we doing what we do, we pull up to the bus stop.

You know, I'm being that encouraging father, that mighty man

of valor.

And I'm telling her, like, ooh, Aria, you look good today.

You picked that outfit out.

Okay, I'm gonna need you to come help me in my closet.

And you are smart you're gonna have a good day.

And this and that.

Making sure she had everything so I don't have to double back.

And literally the devil in human form pulled up to the side

of my car and literally rolled down the window, was like, you shouldn't

be on this side of the street, and you shouldn't do this and this

that.

You people.

I'm so sick of all these people.

And so what did I do?

She's up here.

I raised up here.

The matcher.

So we literally are arguing back and forth.

I'm in my car shelf.

We argue back and forth and saying this and saying.

And she's like, I'm gonna call.

I'm like, call him.

I'm not scared.

And so all this is going on, and I'm like, I'm determined.

I'm about to win this argument.

Cause she don't know who she messing with.

And then I got the revelation and said, dude, you look like a fool.

No one truly wins in this situation.

So eventually I concede, I leave the bus stop.

But right before I tell Arica, walk around that car, don't worry

about that.

Still have a good day.

And as I'm driving, I realize that offense, bitterness, and anger,

it can transfer from one another.

So because I was in my good place, she was in her bad place,

the way she acted and that resentment transferred over to me.

And so then I'm thinking, I'm good.

And as I'm preparing this message, Aria actually hears me in

other room saying it, saying.

And I hear her in the other room say, yeah, mama, it really happened

like that.

And I don't like that lady either.

And so next thing you know, my offense and bitterness has now transferred

into my 8 year old that shouldn't even know what anger and

offense is.

So, see, sometimes we're willing to show mercy.

So I didn't want to go back and retaliate or seek revenge, but

I did have a deep hatred for this lady because how she treated

me.

So although we don't seek that retaliation, we still carry that

hurt in our hearts.

We say we moved on like I did, but we let the bitterness linger.

So I'm driving.

I'm like, that good, that situation is over.

But all day it bothered me.

In reality, we think by holding on to that bitterness, we're

protecting ourselves from being hurt in that way again.

So I'm like, if this happens again, I won't be hurt by it because

I put my guard up next time.

But in reality, we're actually causing our heart to Grow as hard

as it clay with bitterness.

And when we think it's a defense mechanism actually becomes

a disease that shreds.

That leads me to point number four.

Point number four is forgiveness sets you free.

See, God invites us to go deeper, to release the pain and make

room for healing and restoration.

So church, who or what are you holding on to that needs to be released

today?

I want you to think about that.

So so far I ask you, who do you need to release today not because

they deserve it, but because Christ forgave you.

I want you to think about, are you letting go of the punishment

but still holding onto the pain and what would it look like

to fully forgive because God has forgiven you and now I want to

ask you, who or what are you holding on to that needs to be released

today?

Number five, radical forgiveness.

See, it takes radical forgiveness to operate in forgiveness

like Jesus.

See, last week Pastor Evans said something so profound when he

said following Jesus isn't a formula, it's a funeral.

And as I was preparing this message, I was thinking forgiveness

is very similar in that same way because it's not a one time occurrence,

it's a process.

It's a daily funeral of dying to yourself to become more like Jesus.

In order to operate like Jesus, it takes doing the hard things,

the things that's going to shock people.

It takes being a wild1.

Here v1 we say we're a house full of wild ones.

It takes being a wild one that says, even though you hurt me, you

hurt you, you abused me, you slandered me, I'm going to pray for

you, I will release you, I'm going to bless you and I will not

harm you with words from my mouth or my actions because that's

what Jesus did.

When you forgive like Jesus, you are essentially becoming a living

witness of the gospel.

You show the world a love that defies all logic and you break the

chain and you truly begin to live a life that Jesus lived.

So when we come into our worship experiences and say the chain

breakers in the room, I got that sword in the mouth, I preach

the gospel and I take the devil out, you're actually doing

that from a point of view of radical forgiveness, because that's

what Jesus would have did, you guys can stand to your feet.

Ben, come on up.

Point number six, and this may be the most impactful point of them

all.

And point number six says we forgive because we are forgiven.

So I know this message wasn't one of these feel good type of messages.

You probably thought Pastor Mike was gone for the summer and

I was going to feel good and leave.

But in all reality, it was a message that needed to be said at

this point in time.

Already this morning I've gotten so many confirmations of this

was a timely message.

But if I'm being honest with you, it was a gut check message,

probably for you, but also for me.

As I've told you, I have to live through this and I have to go

through this myself.

But I know there's some people sitting here in this room and watching

online, watching in Brooklyn, Long Island, New Jersey, Miami, and

in homes all across the world.

And there are some people that you need to release today.

Like I said, who do you need to release?

For some, it may be a friend.

For some it may be an ex, some may be a spouse.

You was probably arguing last night on the way here and you're

thinking about I won.

No, they won.

No one truly wins, as I said.

But you got some bitterness and anger to them.

Some may be a friend to my youth.

And every camp is watching online and may be a parent because

for whatever reason, you may think that they didn't do this, they

didn't do that, but you need to let it go.

But I say that, and I'm not remiss of saying that there are some

wounds and so deep that that hurts more than words can express.

There's wounds that some may be carrying of a missing and absent

father, biological father.

You may not know who that person was or you grew up with the

father and they were there in the present, but they were missing

emotionally.

They were abusive, they were selfish.

I know that pain is real.

I don't know your pain because I have a father, but I know that

pain is real.

When I talk to people, I see I what the pain on their eyes.

I know it's real.

So to the fatherless, I want to tell you, you may have never heard

of your earthly father, but I want to say I love you and I'm proud

of you.

And I'm also here to remind you that your heavenly father has

always been with you.

He's never with you and he's with you right now.

And to the fathers who are carrying guilt, maybe you weren't

there.

Maybe you failed your children because some of your choices, it

has caused damage and affected your children.

I want you to hear this.

There's forgiveness for you, too.

Our heavenly Father is a redeemer of broken legacies.

And then there's another group of fathers, fathers who may have

failed.

You've been there, you've been emotionally, but you may have failed

in some form or some fashion.

I want to tell you the cross is big enough for your mistakes.

Humility, repentance, and a new start is possible.

Even if restoration takes time.

The Heavenly Father is with all of you.

And wouldn't today be a perfect day to break the chain and

the bondage of unforgiveness and take that step into forgiveness

on Pentecost Sunday, one week before Father's Day.

Today will be a perfect time for you to walk out and leave.

Not the same way that you came into this room today.

So those in the room, I invite you to the altar to come lay all

your chains of unforgiveness, of bitterness, resentment, anger,

whatever units that you need to release here at the feet of Jesus,

here at the altar.

Those in Miami, online, you may be watching in your car right

now.

You may be watching in your living room, in a hospital bed.

Make wherever you're watching from an altar before the Lord, it

doesn't take being here in this Indiana campus or in the Brooklyn

building or in our physical buildings, because God is omnipresent.

He's everywhere.

All he need is your willingness.

All he need is your yes.

So make that decision today, prayer team.

I don't want you to come up at all, because I want this to be a

moment between that person and their heavenly Father laying down

and breaking the chains and making that conscious decision to

make a move.

And some of you may be sitting there right now thinking, I don't

need to make that move.

I am good.

And some of you want to make the move, but you had a little enemy

on your shoulder telling you, like Noah, you don't need to go up

there.

You don't even listen to him.

He just told you he's trying to walk through it.

But what you didn't see was before I came up here all this week,

and even this morning when I was back in that room, I said, do

not let me take that platform without me fully giving it to you

this morning, God, so I can be a living, true witness to live out

what I'm talking about this morning.

So make that step.

Because making that step, it requires a level of faith.

See, church faith is not a noun.

It's a verb, meaning it requires action.

And so sometimes it requires you to take that first foot and put

it in front of the other one.

And then you may feel stuck, and all you gotta do is lift the

other one and take that one, and the next thing you know, you're

walking and you're walking, and then before you know it, you

find yourself at the altar laying it down at the feet of Jesus.

So, church, we know we don't do life alone.

So ask your partner, ask your neighbor, ask them, do I?

Do you need some encouragement?

Can I walk with you to the altar?

Because we know we don't do life alone.

I'm proud of those that's coming up.

I'm proud of you.

Use your own mouth, your own words.

Let the Lord know.

See, as I was preparing for this message, God gave me a vision.

And this is what I saw.

I saw this happen here at all the campuses.

I saw it.

It's not by coincidence that all these people came up and we like

to say 99% obedience is 100% disobedience.

So I gotta be obedient.

I didn't do this the first service, but I had it on my heart

all this week.

And I said, know what I had in my own head the way this was supposed

to end.

But the Lord said, there's a few more people.

There's those who carry church hurt.

Many people secretly struggle with wounds caused by people in the

pews, by pastors, leaders on a platform, or even systems that may

have failed them.

I don't know what your situation is.

Maybe it was a pastor, maybe a manita manipulated you, then used

you for your gift and not cared about your soul.

I know what that feels like.

I felt that pain before.

If you would have came to be one about three or four years ago,

you would have saw me all the way in the back or not even coming.

And now today I stand before you on staff at a church, leading

one of the biggest conferences in this nation and preaching before

you today.

Why?

Because I allowed God to take over and allow him to use me.

But there's a simple truth.

The church didn't hurt you.

People did.

God doesn't act like that.

God loves you and he truly cares for you.

And then the last group of people that my heart was longing

for, it's those that need to forgive themselves.

See, oftentimes the hardest person to forgive is actually yourself.

You go through these moments where you're thinking that I should

have been well off by now.

I should have been here.

I should have been there.

I should have did this, I should have did that.

And you beat yourself up over and over again.

And you can't truly feel live the life that's worth living because

you haven't forgiven yourself.

I want to let you know that God forgives you.

He loves you.

He cares for you.

He wants you.

He wants a relationship with you.

And you may be wondering, how can God use somebody like me with

the stuff that I've done?

And I want to tell you, God has a amazing history of using unbroken

people, unqualified people.

I think of Moses.

He couldn't speak.

He was stuttering, say, I'm gonna get it out.

God said, don't worry about that.

I am the great I am.

So God can use you today like he's using me.

So if you relate to any of those things, the altar is still

open in every campus.

The altar is open in your home.

Have a moment with Jesus.

Talk to him.

Let it go.

So we can live a life that's really worth living.

So we go from unbrokenness to forgiveness, unforgiveness to forgiveness,

and to truly live like Jesus.

I think of Jesus in his dying moment.

I mentioned it early, earlier, but in his dying moment, in his last

breath, I don't find it a coincidence or ironic that he said,

father, forgive them.

The thing that he mentioned was dealing with the Father and forgiveness.

He hung there and said, father, forgive them.

Father, forgive them.

Father, forgive them.

That's how important it was to forgive us, to enter into forgiveness.

And when I saw this vision of people on their knees at the altar,

something started rising in my spirit.

And I just wanted to declare.

I wanted to prophesy and say that because of our actions today

on Pentecost Sunday, you guys allowing the Holy Spirit to ascend

on you like a dove, I believe that next week that we're going to

have fathers walk into our services with their daughters and

fathers walking in with their sons.

They may not be speaking right now at this very moment, but people

are going to leave here with texts and calls from Father who they

haven't spoken to in years.

And next week we're going to see them coming into our services.

I believe it.

Do you believe it?

Brooklyn, do you believe it?

Long Island.

Do you believe it?

New Jersey?

Do you believe it?

I'm talking to you back there in the last room in Miami.

Do you believe it?

Do you believe it?

All across the world, online revival host.

Do you believe it?

Let me pray for you really quick because I wrote out a special

prayer as I was in my office preparedness because I was thinking

about you, Ethan.

I was thinking about you, Matt.

Renee.

I was thinking of you.

I may not know everyone by name, but the Heavenly Father does.

He's calling your name right now.

Heaven is rejoicing.

Ryan, I was thinking of you, Ryan.

I was thinking of you, Ryan.

But the Heavenly Father in the heavens is rejoicing right now because

of this decision.

And devil, you lost.

You always lose.

You thought these people were going to come in and walk out with

those same chains, but you lost.

We have living proofs right here.

So let us pray.

Father God, thank you for each and every one that has made the decision

to choose forgiveness.

Today we come before you to lay down our burdens of unforgiveness.

Help them to accept the things that they can't change.

Help them to accept what happened, but realize that it's time

to let it go and move forward.

God, cover them.

Remind them that they are not alone.

You are there with them on the good days, on the bad days, on the

days when they feel like giving up, you're there.

You're with them.

Lord, release every grudge, every wound, every ounce of offense

to you.

We release it now.

We lay it down at your feet.

Unforgiveness no longer defines our future.

We forgive, we let go.

And we choose freedom right now.

In the name of Jesus, heal and mend hardened hearts right now.

Help us walk in freedom, not just with our words, but with our

hearts.

We declare that we no longer carry what the cross already paid

for.

And I declare today as we're choosing to walk in for in forgiveness

and we are no longer bound.

In Jesus name, Amen.

Let's continue to stay in this atmosphere of worship.

If you need to have a moment, let that moment go.

But God is here and he wants to meet you.

Sa.