It was 2:45 in the morning on October 12, 1984.  The British
Conservative Party was having a convention in Brighton.  Prime
Minister Margaret Thatcher had just left the bathroom of her
suite, preparing for the events that were to happen that day.  

At that minute, a 100 pound bomb ripped through the hotel,
destroying the bathroom that the prime minister had just left, 
ripping open the front of the hotel on the top floors and
sending masonry crashing down on guests sleeping below.

Among the injured were Trade and Industry Secretary Norman
Tebbit, his wife Margaret and Government Chief Whip, John
Wakeham.  

Firemen used BBC arc lights after cables were cut to rescue Mr
Tebbit from the rubble, in a painstaking operation that took
several hours.

That morning breakfast television showed pictures of the rescue
and a conscious Mr Tebbit, clearly in pain, being stretchered to
safety. His wife suffered neck injuries.

 Five people died and 34 were injured.  Among those killed were
Anthony Berry, a member of parliament, who left behind 5
children.  One of his daughters was Jo, who married a man named
Tufnell.

This daughter who lost her father became a very controversial
person.  

Jo was 27 years old when her father was killed.  Jo remembers
knowing that she did not want to blame and become bitter.  She
knew that she wanted to find a way to bring something positive
out of the death of her beloved father.

Jo tells that she started a journey with no map but with a trust
that step-by-step she would find her way.  In November 2000 she
met Patrick Magee, the man responsible for her father's death.
He had been released from prison as part of the Good Friday
Peace Agreement.

When Jo looked back on that day, she remembered being scared.
Would she regret meeting him?   Then the door opened, Patrick
arrived and they sat and talked together for three hours.  This
visit had a sense of intensity that Jo had never felt before. 
Finally Patrick said, "I have never met anyone like you before. 
I don't know what to say.  I want to hear your pain."  

Although there were many difficulties, Jo and Patrick continued
their meetings and became friends.  This made a profound change
in both of them.  Jo came to realize that if she had lived
Patrick's life, she might have done what he did.  Patrick came
to realize how many innocent victims were created by his
violence.

This friendship has been healing for both Jo and Patrick.  They
now travel the world telling their stories.  A play, The Bomb,
has been written about them.  Jo often does workshops after the
play is shown, especially for young people.

Jo and Patrick now work together for peace.  They speak for The
Forgiveness Project. They have spoken in Spain, Austria, South
Africa and Palestine/Israel.  

(http://www.catherineblountfdn.org/rsof.htm)

Today we speak of forgiveness.  It is not as easy a topic as it
might seem at first. Because at first glance we all appreciate
forgiveness --  if we are on the receiving end.  ON THE OTHER
HAND.......

Forgiveness makes a lot of people nervous.  Perhaps you remember
the case of the woman who had been assaulted a number of years
ago.  Her attacker had joined AA and in the process of making
things right with other people, he wrote her a letter confessing
his deed, and asking forgiveness.  She did forgive him, but she
turned him over to the police and he was convicted and sent to
prison.  

I do not know if you remember that or the furor over what she
did.  Some said that what she did was right.  Others strongly
accused her of not being forgiving when she turned the man into
the authorities.

Perhaps it is at this point that we need to look at the trusty
dictionary.

Forgive: 1.  To give up resentment against. To give up the
desire to punish:  Pardon.

2.  To overlook an offense.  3.  To cancel a debt.

As we continue, I would like to do what some may say is putting
the cart before the horse.

I ask the question, "Why should we forgive?"  

(allow some answers)

Would you like to do a vote?  

Who thinks that we forgive for God?

Who thinks that we forgive for others?

Who thinks that we forgive for ourselves?

How many of you are scared to vote?

In a PBS interview a Dr Mack said the following:

I think that churches have missed the mark in a few ways. We've
asked people to forgive for the wrong reasons. We've ask them to
forgive out of some kind of obligation to another person because
of some kind of divine entity will punish us if we don't, when
really we need to forgive for ourselves. And the other part of
that is, we haven't taught people how to forgive. We have told
them that they need to forgive, but we haven't shown them how to
do it.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week438/cover.html

Does any of that resonate with you?  

Let me share a couple of more quotes about forgiveness:

Forgiveness is that quality in a human being which separates him
from the animals and the lower forms of living beings. To preach
forgiveness is a simple task but to practice forgiveness in real
life is the essence of life.

Practicing forgiveness is the biggest boon to mankind from God
Almighty. One can exercise this power and reach for the higher
goals of life by discriminating between the good and the bad.
Harboring ill will against one never yields positive results.

In present times when the values in the society are in their
lowest ebb we need to exercise this special power of
discrimination (practicing forgiveness) quite often. We have no
other remedy if we are to rise to a higher bracket in life.

http://www.godrealized.org/Forgiveness.html

3 John 1:2  Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things
and be in health, just as your soul prospers.

We cannot prosper if we are consumed with hatred, anger, or
grudges.   Our mental attitude will affect our physical health.  

God wants us to be healthy.  We talked about temperance last
time.  Perhaps we should talk of intemperance this time.  

Peter came to Christ.  He had a question.  

Matthew 18:21  Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often
shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven
times?"

22  Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times,
but up to seventy times seven.

Let us analyze this for a moment.  Peter probably felt himself
very generous when he asked if he should forgive 7 times.  He
was probably expecting a pat on the back from Jesus for his good
work.  

But Jesus blew him away.  He commanded 70 times more forgiveness
than Peter was suggesting!!  

Then Jesus tells a story about forgiveness.

23  "Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who
wanted to settle accounts with his servants.

24  "And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought
to him who owed him ten thousand talents.

25  "But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he
be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and
that payment be made.

26  "The servant therefore fell down before him, saying,
'Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'

27  "Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion,
released him, and forgave him the debt.

28  "But that servant went out and found one of his fellow
servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on
him and took him by the throat, saying, 'Pay me what you owe!'

29  "So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him,
saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'

30  "And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till
he should pay the debt.

31  "So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they
were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had
been done.

32  "Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, 'You
wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged
me.

33  'Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow
servant, just as I had pity on you?'

34  "And his master was angry, and delivered him to the
torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.

35  "So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you,
from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses."

Here Jesus is telling His disciples that forgiveness is good for
the forgiver.  Not just for emotional health, or the ability to
sleep nights, but for the ability to escape damnation.  

Forgiveness is one of the characteristics of God.  If we are
going to live with God for eternity, we need to reflect this
character trait, also.  

This story does not leave a lot of wiggle room.  Well, what if.
Well, they did so and so.  Well I was hurt.  You fill in the
blanks.  

How important was the teaching of forgiveness to the early
Christian church?  

Let them speak.

Acts 5:29  But Peter and the other apostles answered and said:
"We ought to obey God rather than men.

30  "The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by
hanging on a tree.

31  "Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and
Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.

32  "And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is
the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him."



Acts 13:38  "Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that
through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins;

39  "and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all
things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.

40  "Beware therefore, lest what has been spoken in the prophets
come upon you:

41  "Behold, you despisers, Marvel and perish! For I work a work
in your days, A work which you will by no means believe, Though
one were to declare it to you.'"



Acts 26:12  "While thus occupied, as I journeyed to Damascus
with authority and commission from the chief priests,

13  "at midday, O king, along the road I saw a light from
heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who
journeyed with me.

14  "And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice
speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, 'Saul, Saul,
why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against
the goads.'

15  "So I said, 'Who are You, Lord?' And He said, 'I am Jesus,
whom you are persecuting.

16  'But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you
for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of
the things which you have seen and of the things which I will
yet reveal to you.

17  'I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from
the Gentiles, to whom I now send you,

18  'to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to
light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive
forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are
sanctified by faith in Me.'

19  "Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the
heavenly vision,



What is God's purpose for forgiveness?

Ephesians 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the
heavenly places in Christ,

4  just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the
world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in
love,

5  having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to
Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,

6  to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made
us accepted in the Beloved.

7  In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness
of sins, according to the riches of His grace

8  which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,

9  having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to
His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself,

10  that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He
might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which
are in heaven and which are on earth; in Him.

His forgiveness is for the purpose of setting the world back as
it once was.

How is it done?

 Colossians 1:13  He has delivered us from the power of darkness
and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,

14  in whom we have redemption through His blood, the
forgiveness of sins.

Forgiveness is important because it delivers us.

Note:  HAS delivered us.  Not will deliver us.  The forgiveness
that he displayed on the cross was deliverance from sin for all
who believe.  Those who believe in God.   Those who believe in
forgiveness.  Believe to the extent that they are freed from the
shackles that Satan attempts to keep us bound up with. Believe
so much that when they read John 3:16 they see: "For God so
loved ME that He gave His Only Begotten Son that I might have
eternal life."

 Ellen White wrote:  "O how many souls are starving for words of
tenderness, for words of brotherly kindness, for words of hope,
of faith, of forgiveness, of Christlike love, that will not
quench the last spark of hope: "And the Lord shall guide thee
continually, and satisfy thy soul in drouth, and make fat thy
bones; and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a
spring of water, whose waters fail not."  {RH, January 22, 1895
par. 3}

Which brings us to the last purpose of forgiveness.  It is to
grow the church of God.  A person who recognizes his faults, but
also can accept the forgiveness of their Lord and Master, is one
who has the ability to share the truly good news in a truly
powerfully way.

But first we have to accept God's forgiveness.  

Some of you may find that hard.  You know your failings.  You
know your weaknesses.  But today, I invite you to look beyond
yourself to the cross.  The cross that took into account every
failing, every shortcoming, every sin, and nailed them solidly
there in the form of our Elder Brother, Jesus Christ.  

Today are you willing to accept that forgiveness?  Are you ready
to reflect that forgiveness in your life?

What is your response?