There are many  broken-hearted, bruised people on planet earth. In the gospels, they are referred to as bruised reeds, and smoking flax (Matt. 12:20). These are people that have soul-damage. Whether or not you realize it, you run across these people and deal with them all the time! The start of their answer is forgiveness, for that will connect them to the anointing resident in the love of God.

• How does soul damage manifest itself?
• It helps to note this principle: rotten fruit comes from rotten trees.
• Rotten trees have rotten roots.
• The roots of a man’s tree are in the soul.

Matt. 12:15-21 (NKJV)
18 “Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased! I will put My Spirit upon Him, And He will declare justice to the Gentiles. 19 He will not quarrel nor cry out, Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. 20 A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench, Till He sends forth justice to victory 21 And in His name Gentiles will trust.”

• We mentioned to you in the last post about what bruised reeds, and smoking flax were.
• We told you that they are representative of broken-hearted bruised people.
• These are people that have soul-damage.
• Whether or not you realize it, you run across these people and deal with them all the time!
• The start of their answer is forgiveness, for that will connect them to the anointing resident in the love of God.

How Does Soul Damage Manifest Itself?

• Note this principle: rotten fruit comes from rotten trees.
• And rotten trees have rotten roots.
• The roots of a man’s tree are in the soul.
• Here are some ‘rotten fruit’ symptoms, or in other words bruised reed and smoking flax symptoms.
• In other words, this is how bruised reed and smoking flax people can sometimes be.

General:

• Depression
• Negativism
• Low self-esteem
• Lack of self confidence
• Anger-hostility
• Hatred
• Self-Pity
• Confusion and Inner Turmoil
• Critical & Judgmental
• Chip on the Shoulder

Addictive Behaviors

• Substance Abuse – alcohol & drugs
• Obsession With Money – excessive spending & hoarding
• Food disorders – bulima (binge-purge), anorexia (self starvation), gluttony    leading to obesity.

Feelings

• Rage
• Sadness
• Fear
• Excessive excitement
• Religious righteousness

Joy Fixation

• Always smiling
• Wearing a continuous frozen smile
• Never appearing to be angry
• Laughing at inappropriate times
• Speaking of only happy things.
• There is a difference between his and the real joy of the Lord.

Thoughts

• Detailing
• Worry
• Non-stop talking
• Lustful thoughts – promiscuity
• Unsettled mind – never at rest, always figuring out what to say and do, and how to react, etc.

Obsessions

• Work
• Sports
• Reading
• Gambling
• Exercise
• Television Viewing
• Owning and caring for an excessive amount of pets

Power People

• People who feel they must have their way in every situation.
• And who do not submit their emotions to logic or reason.
• They feel safe only when they are in control.

Passive People

• These give their will over to people and do whatever anyone says.
• They can even become possessed with devils because they are so passive.
• They are so shame based, they feel they deserve nothing – not even the right of choice.

Flashback People

• Having been abused themselves, they, because they flashback to a similar scene, take on the role of the abuser so as not to fell the painful memories of abuse.
• Also in this person is the individual (most times a woman) who marries a man or a succession of men who treat her the same way as the abuser treated them.
• She may feel as if she doesn’t deserve any better or that she deserves being mistreated, perhaps even provoking the one who will abuse her.

Caretaker People

• People who find their sense of self-worth in taking care of other people.
• They feel so worthless that they become addicted to taking care of people, helping, people-pleasing, and being nice because doing so makes them feel so good.
• Now, you can see from this list that the topic of forgiveness is not a light subject matter.
• This is way more than dealing with hurt feelings because someone didn’t address you properly or because someone sat in your seat at church.
• Sometimes the actions of ‘bruised people’ are not nice.
• Their output is unkind.
• But the Bible is clear: Jesus will not lift His voice against the person who exhibits these kinds of ‘rotten fruit’.
• Having some understanding in this area will help you better navigate personal relationships.
• You know how to pray and what to say to lead people to the answer.
• Since you now realize that forgiveness is the door to deliverance from this stuff, you know how to begin to help these people that are part of your life.

Jesus Personally Understands This Area of Forgiveness.

• Consider His life and ministry.
• All Jesus ever did with all of His time on planet earth and all of His energy, and every breath that He had was to help and heal people.
• And how was he repaid for these daily sacrifices of time and energy?
• How was He rewarded for denying Himself and putting God first in His life?
• You understand the fact that Jesus did not just give His life on the cross.
• He gave His life every day of His life.
• He carried His cross on the way to the cross.

Jesus Himself Experienced Abuse

• They persecuted Him.
• They insulted Him.
• They made fun and mocked what the Spirit of God said to Him.
• They disdained the consecration of His life that He set aside just so He could hear God in His spirit.
• They accused Him.
• They reviled Him.
• They brought false accusations against Him.
• He was tortured for those accusations.
• He was beat up for trying to show people the way.
• And after all was said and done, they killed Him.
• And hung Him on a tree like a common criminal.
• Ask yourself this question.
• After all of the abuse that He experienced, why was Jesus not soul-damaged?
• Many would not even think to ask a question like this because, after all, this is Jesus the Son of God that we are talking about.
• But, you must realize that Jesus was not only the Son of God, but He was also the Son of Man.

Hebrews 4:15 (KJV)
15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

• Jesus was tempted to be offended.
• He was tempted to operate in unforgiveness.

QUESTION: Do you think Jesus has ever had a conversation with His Father over what the Roman soldiers did to Him?

• Do you think He told or retold the story?
• Do you think He carries around all the pain and insults and abuse the Pharisees and religious leaders heaped on Him?
• Do you think He exhibits any of this bad fruit behaviors because He experienced rejection by the entire nation of Israel when all He ever did was love them?
• Why doesn’t He have soul damage?
• Why was He not marred by all that He experienced?
• How come it didn’t affect Him?
• Here is the reason…

Luke 23:33–34 (KJV)
33 And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. 34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

• Father forgive them for they know not what they do!
• Jesus operated in forgiveness at the most critical junction of His life.
• He was on the cross when He uttered these words.
• He uttered words at the pinnacle of His pain.
• At the apex of the abuse.

Being an Imitator of God

• Now Jesus, in His life, imitated His Father God.
• He said so, and it is recorded in John’s gospel.

John 14:9 (KJV)
9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

• What is the Father like?
• Does the Bible tell us?

Exodus 34:6–7 (KJV)
6 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

Look at the fruit of the Father.

• The fruit that comes from the excellent roots of His tree.
• Look at these ‘God the Father’ traits.
• Merciful
• Is forgiving people, showing mercy? Sure it is.
• Gracious and longsuffering
• Are these indicators of a forgiving nature? Absolutely.
• Keeping mercy for thousands… Not just having mercy on the single person that may have offended you but God the Father extending mercy to 1000’s upon 1000’s upon 1000’s of people.
• Forgiving iniquity.
• No matter the size.
• Forgiving transgression
• No matter the frequency
• Forgiving sin
• These are the qualities of our God.
• We are commanded in the Bible to be just like Him.
• We are admonished to be just like Jesus.
• Scripture string in the NT showing forgiveness.
• Look at this thread of forgiveness running through the New Testament.

Thread of Forgiveness

Acts 2:38 (ESV)
38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 5:31 (ESV)
31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.

Acts 10:43 (ESV)
43 To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.

Acts 13:38 (ESV)
38 Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you,

Acts 26:18 (ESV)
18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.

Ephesians 1:7 (ESV)
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,

Colossians 1:14 (ESV)
14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Colossians 2:13 (ESV)
13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,

Colossians 3:13 (ESV)
13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
This is how the Father is and Jesus is just like Him.
Now look at the commandment to the children of God… to the children of the Father God.

Ephesians 5:1–2 (ESV)
1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

• Forgiveness at every turn of the page!
• We are to imitate God.
• We are to walk as He walked.
• Live as He lived.
• Speak as He spoke.
• Forgive as He forgave.
• Forgiveness is a family trait.
• What does this translate to?
• God forgave the sins of the whole world – you are to forgive the sins that are in your world.
• Forgive those people that have sinned against you.
• Holding grudges, then, is unbecoming to a child of God.
• Holding animosity in your heart against people is indecent Christian conduct.
• Intentionally not speaking to people because of offense shows a carnal behavior that should never be named among us.
• The nature of God is to forgive.
• The character of God is to show mercy.
• Let’s look at this verse in Luke again.

Luke 23:33–34 (KJV)
33 And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. 34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

• Notice also the phrase, ‘for they know not what they do.’
• This phrase implies that there were other forces behind all that abuse that Jesus experienced.
• The people that rejected Jesus had help doing it.
• They were not alone.

1 Corinthians 2:6–8 (ESV)
6 Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. 7 But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

• The ‘rulers of this age’ are demon forces.

Ephesians 6:12 (ESV)
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

• There may have been other forces motivating the actions of the person that transgressed against you.
• Saying it another way; Devils are behind some of this stuff.
• Eight thousand people died building that railroad and bridge during WWII mentioned in the testimony above. Don’t you think demons were involved in that?
• In some cases, there is direct influence of demons.
• In all cases, there is at least indirect influence.
• The enemy’s desire is to damage and mar God’s creation.
• He cannot get at God so He strikes the man created in the image of God.
• But there is also another thing at play and that is… Separating people.

Reconciliation: The Bottom Line

• The importance of forgiveness and the possibility of reconciliation between two people, knowing that the scripture teaches that two are better than one, two are more powerful exponentially so than one, is undeniably a reason why the enemy motivates disharmony between peoples on planet earth.
• What is the bottom line of forgiveness?
• Is it not about restoration of relationship?
• Didn’t the Lord forgive you so that He could have a relationship with you?
• Look at how completely He did this.

Isaiah 38:17 (ESV)
17 … for you have cast all my sins behind your back.

Micah 7:19 (ESV)
19 He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.

Jeremiah 31:34 (ESV)
34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

Isaiah 43:25 (ESV)
25 “I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.

Psalm 103:12 (ESV)
12 As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

• Look at how completely God eradicates the offense committed against Him.
• As stated previously, God forgave the sins of the whole world.  You forgive the sins that are in your world.
• But also now in extension, God forgave the world so He could have a relationship with anyone in the world.  You do the same. Forgive so there is a possibility of relationships in your world.
• Now it may be that you are unable to resume a relationship because of a number of factors.
• Memory is one reason. It takes ‘two people to work on a relationship’, may be another. The time to build trust is yet another.
• But, total reconciliation between people is the nature of things in heaven.
• That is the track that we are on.
• Offender and offended will not be on separate sides of heaven not talking to each other.
• There will be total reconciliation in glory.

Call to Action:

We are to imitate God. We are to walk as He walked. Live as He lived. Speak as He spoke. Forgive as He forgave. There should not be a hint of malice or holding things against any human person in any area of our lives. Start right now, pray right now, release people in Jesus name right now.

Question: Do you have a life changing ‘forgiveness’ story that you are comfortable sharing? Would you please leave it in the comments section below?