Forgiveness — Keith Daniel

I see we have people from all walks of life here tonight and from all backgrounds of the church. And I'm trying to learn in some places, I'm told, and I feel very happy not to have a tie on and not to have a jacket, just to do my top button up.

And I see some dear, dear people from all, I used to say you from the Mennonite and the Amish and you just look at me in the eyes and so on, we just washed in the blood Christians. So I don't know what to call you, but thank you for being here.

And then I see people with ties, I take it you're Baptists. I think I'm going to take my jacket off and I'll be half a Baptist and half a Mennonite tonight. I'm not sure how to do this. Forgive me, not knowing what to do, but they've got a video camera.

Do you know in my country, in many churches, if you don't have a jacket on, they lose respect to you forever and will never allow you in the pulpit again. That's to them reverence, not so. So you've got to be so careful where you are, what you do, and to be able to win some, you become anything for them.

And I'm willing, but God bless you from my heart, every one of you from all your different backgrounds in Christ. So long as you wash in the blood and united in Christ, then God smiles at you tonight.

The Cross as the Central Theme of Scripture

I believe that with all my heart. The central theme, the central theme of the whole Bible, the central theme of the whole Bible is the cross of Jesus Christ. The central theme of the whole Bible is the cross, the cross of Jesus Christ.

And the cross of Christ is revealed in no other chapter or passage of the scriptures as in Isaiah 53. The cross of Christ is revealed in no other chapter or passage of the scriptures as in Isaiah 53. He was wounded for our transgressions, God says.

To understand what God is saying here, listen carefully where God through Isaiah cries out, who hath believed in this building? Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?

To whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant and as a root out of a dry ground. He hath no form nor comeliness. And when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid as it were our faces from him. He was despised and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.

Yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray. We've turned every one to his own way and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and he was afflicted. Yet he opened not his mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before his shearers as gums.

So he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment. And who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the land of the living. For the transgression of my people was he stricken.

And he made his grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death because he had done no violence, neither with any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He hath put him to grief.

It pleased the Lord to bruise him. He hath put him to grief. When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed. He shall prolong his days and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

He shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied by his knowledge. So my righteous servant justify many for he shall bear their iniquities. When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he will be satisfied, God says.

When did you do that? When did God look upon you satisfied with what you brought to him to forgive you of sin? Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to the cross I cling. When did you come with nothing in your hands I bring?

Nothing else but the cross, the blood of Jesus, the sacrifice of Christ, the payment of Christ on the cross. And my grace are ye saved through faith, being justified freely through faith in his blood.

There is no forgiveness apart from grace as a result of faith in the blood of Jesus. When thou shalt make his soul his payment for sin, for your sin on the cross, when thou dost come with his death, the payment he made for me, for he was wounded for my transgressions.

I don't have to be wounded. He was bruised. The chastisement of our peace is upon him with his stripes. We are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. We've turned every one, God says, to his own way.

The Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all. None of us will pay anything for the sins we have committed. If God sees we come with Jesus Christ's death, with the cross of Christ on the cross alone, God will look at when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin.

God says he will be satisfied when thou shalt come with nothing else in thy hands, nothing in my hands. I bring simply to the cross. I cling. God will be satisfied. God will be satisfied. He will in no ways turn away anyone who comes to him through Christ Jesus, but don't come with anything else.

The Pharisee and the Publican: Salvation Apart from Religious Works

Do you remember how Christ said two men, two men went up into the temple to pray? The one a Pharisee and the other a publican. Now, you must know the difference between these two men. The Pharisee was a religious man, born in religion, raised in religion.

He believed the religion of God that God ordained. He was so sold out that he dressed religiously. He was unashamedly religious by the way he dressed. You could see him coming down the street, that that man was totally sold out to his religion.

He was unashamed that the world would see by the way he dressed that he was deeply, devoutly religious. But did that save him? Did religion save him? Being sold out unashamedly, even by the way he dressed, did that have anything to do with his salvation?

No. Here he comes to the temple to pray, and the one a Pharisee, the other a publican. The Pharisee was exactly the opposite to the publican. A publican is despised by religious people. He is irreligious.

He is not a man who frequents church. He is not a man who frequents the house of God. He's despised by the very profession. He's known he couldn't be religious. He isn't God-fearing. But now here two men, the religious, dressed religiously, sold out in religion.

He comes to pray. The other, an irreligious man, comes to pray. Look at what happens. Look who God forgives. Look who God forgives. The one a Pharisee, the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank Thee that I am not as other men are.

I thank Thee that I am not as other men are, exhaustioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week. I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God, be merciful.

God, be merciful to me, a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other, Jesus said. Why? You see, this man came as a sinner to be saved, to be forgiven. This man couldn't put himself into the category of a sinner.

How can you be saved unless you know you're lost? How can you genuinely cry to God for mercy and seek God in God's ordained way unless you put yourself into the category of a sinner? Do you know what God says concerning religious who can't be saved because they cannot see themselves as other men are, as other men who come to the house of God weeping, begging God for mercy, and he stands there reasoning in his heart why he doesn't have to do this, why he doesn't have to ever come to the house of God and do what another man will come, forgetting other people, just crying to God to be justified for forgiveness.

This man, he begins to reason and he thanks God that he's not as other men are. I don't have to be like this to reason why he never has to be put into the category of a sinner seeking God in the house of God.

I fast, I tithe, I'm not as other men are. He names the sin other men do. I'm not like this Republican. He wasn't just speaking words, he was reasoning with God. Why? You know what God says? Horrible words.

All your righteousness is as filth. Can God use a word like that about religion? Filthy rags in my sight. All your righteousness is as filthy rags in my sight. If it keeps you from salvation, if it keeps you from seeking me as a sinner to be saved, crying for mercy in a way I can have mercy, if it keeps you from looking to me for forgiveness in a way I can look upon your cry.

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. The truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins, to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. That isn't coming again and again, forgive me, forgive me.

That's to acknowledge I'm a sinner in need of forgiveness and mercy. One encounter with God in such a way in desperation. God be merciful to me, the sinner, the one who needs grace in this building. Not the one who stands saying I don't need grace and this is why I don't need grace.

This is why I don't need to come knowing I'm condemned because I'm not condemned in his eyes. If we confess in such a way our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins, to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar. His word is not in us. If you can't put yourself into the category of a sinner, you're calling God a liar for God has said all have sinned. There's none righteous, not one.

Not the Pharisee, Nicodemus. How is it you can't understand being a teacher? How is it you can't get to grasp that even you can't get to heaven unless you are born again? Unless you come to God in repentance and cry to God for mercy without nothing else in your hands but the blood of Jesus.

Do you know what your great sin is? Do you know what your greatest sin if religion keeps you from salvation? If goodness, good works, what you haven't done, what you have done, how you've been brought up, how you've behaved yourself, if that keeps you from seeking God in desperation, knowing that others deserve damnation but not you.

Your great sin is that you can't put yourself into the category of someone who nailed Jesus to the cross with the murderer because you're going to the same damnation the murderer is going to, though you never committed murder.

You're going to the same damnation as an adulterer, though in your cleanness of life. I wonder how many religious people, and God must grieve over this with a grief you and I couldn't imagine, I wonder how many religious millions as they sing into hell, cry out God I thank thee I'm not as other men are.

But they are as other men are. They need to be saved from religion and good works like the sinner needs to be saved from evil works. But no man can be saved who can't see himself as lost. That's your great sin, that you cannot realize that there's nothing God will look at in your life but Jesus Christ's blood.

And the moment you do that, that's the first thing you've ever done in your life, that God could consider you becoming his child. Consider you being forgiven. We put big sins and small sins you know. The murderers must go to hell, but do you know in Revelation when it speaks of all the people who will go to damnation, the murderers, the whoremongers, those who identify with evil spirits and witchcraft and Satanism in its context, do you know right there another sin is all liars, all liars shall have their path and make that burneth with fire and brimstone.

The Cross as the Pattern for Christian Discipleship

You lied. Do you think that's a small sin? No, in God's eyes that's sin. That's as evil as it's sin. This is echoing for some reason brother. When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed Jesus.

He shall prolong his days the pleasure of the Lord so prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, not of your soul, not what you did, what Jesus did, what he allowed him to go through, what God went through for you.

And he will be satisfied but nothing else you've ever done or haven't done will keep you from eternal damnation. When will you come with nothing but the blood of Jesus? For only then God will save your soul.

Only then. Oh, the central theme of the whole Bible is the cross of Jesus Christ. The central theme of the whole Bible is the cross of Jesus Christ. As you page through this book from cover to cover, you will find that there is the message of the cross for the lost.

You will find page upon page upon page as you go through sacrifices and offerings and everything just pointing, pointing to the cross. Everything as you go through this book from page to page in the Old Testament is pointing to the cross.

It's just the message of the cross as you go to the New Testament is everything fulfilling what the Old Testament was pointing to. As you go through this book, you will find there is the message of the cross for the lost.

But be careful now, be careful now, beloved, there is also the example of the cross for the saved. There is the message of the cross for the lost, page upon page upon page. You will just somehow find this is what God, but parallel to that page upon page upon page, Old Testament and you, you will not only find the message of the cross for the lost, you will find the example of the cross for the saved.

He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before her shearers is done, so he openeth not his mouth. Jesus said these staggering words, take up the cross and follow me.

Have you? Take up the cross. What does God mean when he says to all who would follow him, all disciples through the ages to take up the cross and follow me? Philippians 1 verse 29, for unto you it is given on the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake.

Unto you it is given on the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake. When Jesus said, take up the cross and follow me, when Jesus said, take up the cross and follow me, he meant far more, far more than to expect a life of difficulties or persecution if you follow me.

When Jesus said, take up the cross and follow me, he meant far more than to expect a life of persecutions or sufferings or difficulties. I can take you to religions across the world. I can take you to multitudes of people who do not follow Christ, but who follow other religions who would testify of persecution for their faith, of suffering, of being wrongly treated for their faith.

But when Jesus said to us, take up the cross and follow me, he meant far more than to expect a life of persecution if you follow him. He meant follow my example as they nailed me to the cross. Have you?

Child of God, have you ever taken up the cross and followed him? He meant follow my example as they nailed me to the cross. 1 Peter 2 verse 19, for this is thankworthy. This is thankworthy if a man, for conscience toward God, endure grief, suffering wrongfully.

For what glory is it when you be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? But if when you do well and suffer for it, ye take it patiently. This is acceptable with God, for even here unto where ye called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that ye should follow his steps, who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth, who when he was reviled, reviled not again.

When he suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously. Have you followed the example? Have you followed the example of the cross, leaving us an example that ye should follow his steps?

Have you? Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth, who when he was reviled, have you done what he did, sir? Have you taken up the cross and followed Christ once in your life since you've been saved?

Do you know if you take the message of the cross for the lost, you lose the right to preach the message of the cross for the lost, if you do not have the ability to live the example of the cross for the saved.

Forgiveness as the Evidence of Following Christ

You have no right to preach the message of the cross to the lost unless you have taken up and you live by grace the example of the cross for the saved. Matthew 18, verse 21,. Then came Peter to him and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me?

And I forgive him till seven times. Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee until seven times, but until seventy times seven. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king which would take account of his servants.

And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him which owed him ten thousand talents. But for as much as he had not to pay, his Lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.

The servant therefore fell down and worshiped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the Lord of servants was moved with compassion and loosed him and forgave him the debt.

But the same servant went out and found one of his fellow servants which owed him a hundred pence, and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellow servant fell down at his feet and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

And he would not, but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their Lord all that was done.

Then his Lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desirest me. Shouldest not thou also had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee?

And his Lord was wrath, and delivered him to the tormentor, so that he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. In Matthew 7, verse 1, Jesus warned, Judge not, that ye be not judged.

For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged. And with what measure ye meet, it shall be measured to you again. And James, James wrote in chapter 2, verse 12,. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.

For he shall have judgment without mercy, that has showed no mercy. He shall have judgment without mercy, that has showed no mercy. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Christ taught in Matthew chapter 5, verse 7.

And in chapter 6, verse 12, He taught us to pray, Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. I went on to say in verse 14, For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Do you believe these words? Forgive to be forgiven. Forgive to be forgiven. I don't know what point doctrinally to speak of here, but I am not going to lose the right to preach what Jesus says, for fear of trampling on people's toes who say Christians must be forgiven.

Jesus said you won't be forgiven. Was he speaking to the unsaved? No, your heavenly Father will not forgive you, if you don't forgive your brother, every one from the heart. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you.

We don't hear this preached in the pulpit, for fear of trampling on men's doctrine, you know. I don't place myself in any doctrinal camp. You know why? People don't like me to say that, but I don't want to lose the right to preach every word in this book.

A Child’s Testimony of Forgiveness

And I'm going to tell you loud and clear here, Jesus said these words. Do you believe he meant them? Forgive to be forgiven. I was here in America last year, and did a tour, and I came to a home where there was a godly man, a godly woman, and they had a large family, oh lots of children.

And I was early in the morning having breakfast with them, to have fellowship with his family, to get to know them. It was all arranged that I come there to have fellowship with his whole family. And it's my custom in a home to ask each member of the home, no matter how godly the home is, what do you say?

I came to the one child and heard one lovely testimony after the other. Eventually, we left all the ladies and the girls in the kitchen, washing all the dishes, and went to the lounge. All the men, the young boys, there was one young boy sitting there that I hadn't asked about his salvation, and I turned to him and said, and when were you saved?

When did you come to God for him to forgive your sins, that you knew that the Holy Spirit bore witness with your spirit that you saved? And suddenly I saw this little boy's eyes get big, and the little lips were quivering, and he looked fearful.

And I said, wait, don't. You don't have to tell me when you were saved, if it embarrasses you, if it's hard for you. I know you're saved, and this God-fearing home, I'm sure you're saved. You don't sit there worrying now.

I didn't mean to upset you, asking you. But you know, his father came and sat next to him, and his father looked at him, and I noticed that everyone in the kitchen stopped working, came and sat down, and looked at this young fellow.

And his father said, maybe you ought to tell when you were saved. Maybe you ought to share how God saved you. And he looked up at his father, and then he looked at me with wide eyes, and he was finding it hard to speak, but he said, sir, this is not my real father.

My real father is dead. When my real father died, I was glad. I was happy when my real father lay dead. He was so evil, the way he beat my mother and beat us. When my father lay dead, I was happy. He was so evil.

But then my mother died of a broken heart. He had so broken her, and suddenly all of us children were split apart, never to see each other again. Only my sister and I were together, and so we were sent to my grandmother, my father's mother, far across the country.

But my grandmother was as evil as my father. She didn't want us. We knew that the moment we arrived there, Granny hated us. She beat us. The first day she beat us and beat us and beat us and screamed and pushed me out the door and shut the door.

I slept in the dock the whole night. She didn't feed me. The next day, no food. The next day. So I went into the town and started opening the dirt boxes and started to eat. Eventually, the police took me, found me, took me back to my granny.

And when they had gone, my granny began to beat me again, screaming. She beat me and beat me until I thought I was going to die. I thought she wouldn't stop until I was dead. I thought I would die that night.

And then she pushed me out the door as I was whimpering in pain and locked the door, no food, and left me in the dark again. So I ran away. I left all together, went on the streets of this town, this one town, and just lived out of the dirt boxes of the restaurant with all the street children until the police found me and took me to an orphanage with all the other children.

And there in the orphanage, soon some lady and man came who wanted to be foster parents to me and took me away as foster parents. But they didn't want me for love. They were wicked, evil people. They wanted me for something else.

And I was so hurting and so fearful and so hating everything that moved. And when it was found out what these people were and how bad they were, they rescued me and took me back to the orphanage. Now he's back now in the orphanage.

And another foster parents came. And I was scared when I went to them, but they were worse, worse than the first foster parents. They were so evil. And when I finally was rescued again, when it all came out and taken back, then this man and this lady came to the orphanage.

And when they wanted to take me, I screamed, no, please don't let me go with them. I was so scared of everything that moved because everything that moved was evil in my eyes. Nothing loved me, only hurt me.

The tears were pouring down this boy's eyes as he told me this, but they took me. And it was months and months and months of me staying away from everyone in this home, scared that they'd come near me, scared, not believing anything had love.

Until one day my heart began to accept that these people are different. And I watched the love in their eyes to their own children. I watched the love in this home. And eventually I lost all the fear towards them.

And I became drawn to them and became to love them. And I loved them. And I drew near to them and trusted them. And my daddy would tell us about Jesus, preach to us every night from the Bible as a family, take us to church.

And one night I said to my daddy, this is my real daddy now, sir. I said, I want to become a Christian like you. And my father helped me to get on my knees and ask Jesus Christ to save my soul, to forgive all my sins that I go to heaven and to come into my heart and to make me his child.

But that night, God said something to me that my father didn't say. As I was on my knees, God said, I want you to forgive your granny. And so all I had lived for for years, I was living for nothing else but to grow up so I could go and find her and kill her.

All I wanted to do in life was just to be old enough to find her and kill her for throwing away her responsibility that I suffered so much. I lived to kill my grandmother. I had nothing else to live for.

But now on my knees, God says, I want you to get rid of all this hatred, all this murder in your heart. I want you to forgive her as wicked as she was. And I fought with God. I said no. And after a long time of fighting and reasoning with God, I came to my father and told him what God was saying in my heart.

He prayed for me and talked to me. One night, as I was on my knees, I said, God, I cannot forgive. I cannot forgive. But I want to forgive. Give me the grace that I don't have, God. I cannot forgive in my own self.

But if God has helped me, God, give me the grace. I don't have to forgive. I want to forgive. And suddenly, suddenly a peace came on my heart, sir, a peace that passes all understanding. It was like a wave of divine love just swept through me.

And I knew that I was right with God. And only then did I know for sure that I had the smile of God in my life, that I was walking with God, that I was right with God. And from then onwards, I've known that God has saved my soul.

And I'm living now for my father to say to me, now you're old enough for me to take you to your granny because all I want now is to go to her to tell her I've forgiven her and to tell her that I love her and to tell her that I don't want her to be judged by God.

I want to find forgiveness, that she doesn't go to judgment or hell. I want her to be saved. And I want to live now, sir, for the day my father said I'm old enough that he'll take me to my granny. I want to tell her that God can forgive her like he's forgiven me.

Tell me something. If that child could find the grace from God to forgive that woman, what is it that you can't forgive, sir, in this world of others? Tell God what it is, the reason you can't forgive people who've harmed you.

If that boy could forgive by God's grace because he allowed and wanted grace he didn't have, and God gives. When? When does God expect us to forgive those who hate us and wrong us? When does God expect us to forgive those who hate us and wrong us?

Beloved, they were not standing there crying out, forgive us for the wrong we're doing to you. When Jesus cried out from his heart, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Jesus forgave while they crucified him.

He forgave them while they crucified him. He left us an example in the cross that is staggering. Can you? Can you, child of God? You only have one chance. You only have one chance to forgive as Christ forgave while you were being wronged, while you were being wronged.

Then comes the second chance, the second opportunity, the second best in Christianity to take up the cross and follow Christ. Later, after you revealed anger and bitterness and self-pity and resentment, you know I can tell you how crucified a man is with Christ by how he forgives those who wrong him.

You think you have the right to say the words, I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. You know, preachers, most of this book, we have no right to preach unless it's written across our lives by the Holy Ghost.

You have no right to quote such a scripture unless it's written by God across your life. I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, through me in its context.

Christ forgives through us. He gives us the grace to forgive, and the ability you have to forgive evils as they're done to you reveals how much Christ is in control of your life. He gave grace to that boy when that boy wanted grace.

Loving Enemies While They Do Wrong

Do you want to take up the cross and follow Christ? Agree with thine adversary quickly whilst thou art in the way with him. What does that mean? Forgive your adversary while you're with him. Reveal Christ to him while you're with him.

Let Christ reveal himself. Why? Oh, so that judgment doesn't come on you for not forgiving. You read the verses that follow. They're horrifying. Jesus calls out to us, forgive your enemy while you're with him.

Why does God say that? He doesn't want to just prove the point that you can forgive those who wrong you. He wants to win them. He wants to win. He died for them as much as he died for you. He loves them as much as he loves you.

He wants to win them. Listen to what he says a few verses later. You have heard that it hath been said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say unto you that ye resist not evil. But whosoever so smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Tell me, have you ever done that? Have you ever turned the other cheek right then, right then, while people are wronging you? Not a year later after you've hated them and undermined them and kept a distance from them and don't reveal Christ.

When do you take up the cross and follow Christ? While you're being wronged. You've heard that it hath been said, thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, love your enemies.