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Radical Forgiveness

It Is Written with John Bradshaw

November 8, 2020

27:29

It Is Written seeks to impact lives for Christ.

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Radical Forgiveness

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♪[theme music]♪
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-John Bradshaw:This is It Is Written.
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I'm John Bradshaw.Thanks for joining me.
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In an age of shocking crimes,
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in an age where,where mass shootings
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just don't reallysurprise us anymore,
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in an age of unhinged peoplecommitting heinous acts,
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this one was reallyvery shocking.
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Charleston, South Carolina,was founded in 1670.
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It's situated righton the Atlantic coast
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and was named in honor of theEnglish monarch at the time,
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King Charles II.
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A city with roots that deep
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is clearly a place withsome interesting history.
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And, given the timeperiods involved--
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colonization, slavery, theRevolution, the Civil War--
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some of that history is painful.
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Just a few days beforesummer began in 2015,
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a 21-year-old South Carolinaman traveled to Charleston
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with malice on his mind.
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The young man who cameto Charleston that day
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possessed a sickenedmind and a gun.
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A combustible mixture.
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He came here toEmmanuel AME Church
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fully intending to do harm--
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or more to the point, fullyintending to take life.
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Motivated by racial hatred,he mingled with worshipers
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at the mid-week Bible study,
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biding his time untilhe fired almost 80 shots
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and took nine lives.
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He murdered six womenand three men.
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He was arrested the next dayalmost 250 miles away.
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It's not easy to imagine theimpact of an event like this.
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Think of it this way.
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In September of 1989, at leasttwo dozen South Carolinians
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died when Hurricane Hugobattered parts of the state.
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Now, of course, atragedy is a tragedy,
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but this was nature;things happen.
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Earthquakes and tornadoes andhurricanes are to be expected.
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But what happened in Juneof 2015 was different,
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very different, in fact.
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When a person dies in anatural disaster, for example,
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there are somesurvival mechanisms,
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some psychologicalmechanisms survivors
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or those affected by thetragedy can default to.
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In spite of,"This isn't fair."
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In spite of, "Why didthis happen to us?"
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In spite of, "Lifeis rough right now."
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In spite of a senseof helplessness and anger,
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what we know is thatnatural disasters happen.
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We know thatcancer, for example,
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heart disease,strokes, they occur.
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It was terribly sadthat Grandma died,
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but, after all, people do die.
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But how do you wrestlewith something like that?
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Nine people didn't simply diehere in Charleston that night.
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They had their lives snatchedaway due to a deliberate,
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thought-out,planned act of hatred.
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Children were leftwithout parents.
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Parents lost their children.
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Siblings and friends andneighbors and colleagues,
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all had to wrestle with aradically altered existence,
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one that contained nowsome very big holes.
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People went to churchthat night--to church--
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to worship, to pray,to study the Word of God.
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This was hideous.
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We know how Godfeels about murder.
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The sixth commandment isprobably best expressed
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when it's translated,"Thou shalt not murder."
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This is truly disastrous.
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So how do you go on whensomebody you love is murdered
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in circumstances like these,
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by a person who soughtout innocent people
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for the purpose of doingsomething ultimately hateful?
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Well, we're about to find out.
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Myra Thompson was therethat night at the church
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often referred toas "Mother Emmanuel."
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She was among thenine people murdered.
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Her husband Anthony has madethe remarkable decision
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to forgive the man whokilled not only his wife,
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but eight others.
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Thank you so muchfor joining me.
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I appreciate it greatly.
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It was June 17, 2015.What happened?
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-Pastor Anthony Thompson:Someone called me
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from the church--
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not from the church--
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it was a member of EmmanuelAME Church called me
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and, and told me that shootingwas going on at the church,
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and somebody wasshooting outside.
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That's, at least, I thoughtit was outside.
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So I, I took offout of my house.
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I, I drove down, found outthat shooting was taking place
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inside the church,not outside the church.
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Then I was told that familymembers had been moved
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from the church to a hotel.
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So I thoughteverything was okay,
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until I got there,
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found out that ambulanceswere parked outside.
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Nine.
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So I thought, had to be more toit than what I had been told.
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And once I searched,trying to find my wife,
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frantically searching,trying to find her,
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and trying to get intoEmmanuel AME Church,
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I discovered...I lostmy best friend,
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the one I love the most.
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And, uh...[inhales and exhales]
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it kind of tookeverything out of me.
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-John: You made a remarkabledecision, however.
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This was a crime intentionallyperpetrated by a hate-filled man
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bent on causing pain,perpetrating violence,
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and, and starting a race war.
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-Pastor Thompson:Mm-hmm.
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-John: But you didn'ttake the bait.
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And somehow you and othersmade a decision to forgive,
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a decision I'm sure somepeople would think is crazy.
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Let's get to that in a moment,but I want to ask you,
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how were you able to make thedecision to forgive, and why?
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-Pastor Thompson: Well, thedecision to forgive Dylann
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came easy.
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Not for me, but easy in a waythat God stepped in and,
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and made it possible,
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because He put me in a placein the bond hearing,
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a place where Ididn't want to be.
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Then when I got there,He had me to say something
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that I had no ideaI was going to say.
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And that was to forgive him.
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And so, that's what I meanwhen I say it was easy.
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But then...you know, afterthinking about it for some time
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after actually doing it,
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I realized that He had beenpreparing me for that moment
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for a long time.
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-John: Why do you think it wasthat you chose to forgive
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when so easily youcould have said,
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"I'm not going to forgive,"
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and you, you could havestood up in that hearing
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and said all mannerof unkind things?
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Why did you make that choice?
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-Pastor Thompson: Well...
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first, I didn't want Dylannto have control over my life.
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I didn't want him to havecontrol over my children's life.
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I wanted to just be rid of him.
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And one way of being ridof him was to forgive him
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so that then his intentions ofstarting a race war wouldn't,
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wouldn't happen.
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And, if I'd gonethe opposite way,
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well, I would havegave in to him,
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and he would havebeen in control.
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And so forgiveness wasa way of releasing myself
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from his control.
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-John: And clearlythat's what you've done.
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You've released yourself fromthe control of the person
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who committed thisterrible act of violence.
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I wonder if some people wouldsay you let him off the hook.
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-Pastor Thompson: Yes.Some people have said that.
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Some people saidthat they don't see how
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I could forgive himbecause it's like saying,
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I don't want anythingto happen to him;
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I don't want himto be punished.
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And, um, my answer was, "No,it was letting me off the hook."
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Dylann is being punished.
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Dylann is in jail--
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nine, nine counts of, uh,the death sentence.
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And so I'm not lettinghim off the hook;
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I'm letting myself off the hook,
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you know, from havinghim have control,
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from, from me being angry,
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and from me hating him andjust making my life miserable.
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Because if I had not forgivenDylann, you know, the anger
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and harboring angerand hate in my heart for him
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would only destroy my life.
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-John: What sort of manwould you be today
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if you'd not madethe choice to forgive?
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-Pastor Thompson: I probablywouldn't be at this church.
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Because, first thingcame to my mind was,
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what, what am I going to do?I have no more purpose.
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And I was thinking, well, doesthat mean leaving the church?
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So, I probablywouldn't be here.
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Could have just continued topity myself and pity myself.
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I don't think itwould have been good.
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My life probably wouldhave changed drastically.
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You know, I probablywould have gone from God
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to not depending on Him,depending on myself.
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Could have led to drinking,drugs, uh, I don't know.
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You know, it could have gonequite the opposite.
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-John: Here's another unknown,
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although people havespeculated on this.
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Your decision to forgive, thedecision made by you and others,
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to forgive a murderer had avery powerful effect on a city.
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-Pastor Thompson:Mmm.
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-John: Tell me about that,
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how the city of Charlestonwas impacted by forgiveness.
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-Pastor Thompson: Well,the city of Charleston
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was not lookingfor forgiveness.
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They were lookingfor us to start a riot,
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to start the race warlike Dylann wanted.
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And from that not happening,it just put everybody in awe,
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gave them time to think--what, what just happened?
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You know, why?
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What was that?You know.
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And, and then immediatelyeverybody just hold hands
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and hugged, cried together,
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you know, uh,brought flowers
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and put them in frontof the church together.
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And spent days, I mean, the cityof Charleston was crowded;
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the downtown area was so crowdedtraffic couldn't even move
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because the peoplewouldn't move.
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The people just wantedto be attached to somebody.
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And it didn't matter what yourrace was or what your color
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or your culture was orhow different you spoke.
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You know, we, we justwanted to communicate.
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We, we, you know,it was like,
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it was like we all hada sense of family
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'cause somebody came andjust destroyed and killed
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some people in our family,like brothers and sisters,
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and so we came togetherlike brothers and sisters,
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like, you know,"Oh my God," you know,
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you know, "Myra's gone."
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You know, "Tywanza,he's gone."
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You know, just like you,like they lost somebody, too.
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And so it gave everybody a senseof just wanting to be together,
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being a, beinga family,
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and that's what we'retrying to work on now.
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-John: There's powerin forgiveness.
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There is powerin forgiveness.
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Looking forward to talking morewith Pastor Anthony Thompson
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about this in just a moment.
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♪[music]♪
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-Announcer:We hear it all the time:
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God is all-powerful,and God is love.
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But if God is sopowerful and loving,
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why is there so much suffering?
00:11:22.303 --> 00:11:24.339
Discover what the Biblesays on the subject
00:11:24.372 --> 00:11:26.307
by requestingtoday's free offer,
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"Why Does God Allow Suffering?"
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It's absolutely free.
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Just call800-253-3000,
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800-253-3000,
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or write to the addresson your screen.
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You can also makeyour request online
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atiiwoffer.com.
00:11:41.656 --> 00:11:43.992
-John Bradshaw: Thanks forjoining me on It Is Written.
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My very special guest isPastor Anthony Thompson,
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whose book,"Called to Forgive,"
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recounts the terrible tragedyin Charleston, South Carolina,
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in 2015 and its aftermath.
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Uh, tell me about theprocess of writing that book.
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It had to be painful,therapeutic.
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How was that for you?
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-Pastor Anthony Thompson:Well, initially,
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I didn't want towrite immediately
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because...we hadpeople coming at us
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from all differentkind of directions,
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and didn't havetime to mourn,
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barely had time to thinkabout what had happened.
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And I didn't want to re-livethat, you know, not at the time.
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And so, um, I gave itsome prayer,
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with the help of otherpeople praying with me.
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And then, eventually,I started speaking,
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started speaking todifferent crowds,
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different churches,organizations,
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and as I spoke,it was like venting,
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and I could feel myselfbeing relieved day by day.
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But then after a while, afterrealizing the real purpose,
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that God wanted thisto be a mission
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and spread the gospelof forgiveness,
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is when I heard the peopleseeking, seeking something,
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some kind of peace,
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wanting to know how--"What is forgiveness?"
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"How does it work?"You know, "What can I do?"
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And then it kicked in.
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You know what, yeah, I needto write this book.
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-John: It's interesting,as a minister of the gospel,
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forgiveness is your thing;it's what you talk about.
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It, the, the gospelis about forgiveness.
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A sinful world, we needreconciliation with God.
00:13:21.623 --> 00:13:24.926
So talk to me aboutyour understanding,
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your experience in God'sforgiveness towards us.
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How do you understand that moredifferently or more completely,
00:13:31.332 --> 00:13:33.801
now that you've been calledto forgive in a very real,
00:13:33.835 --> 00:13:39.507
very raw sort of a way?
00:13:39.540 --> 00:13:41.676
-Pastor Thompson: Beforethis actually happened,
00:13:41.709 --> 00:13:43.945
before Godintervened...you know,
00:13:43.978 --> 00:13:48.049
I didn't give forgiveness a realthought, a real deep thought.
00:13:48.082 --> 00:13:53.054
All I knew was that I wasa forgiven person,
00:13:53.087 --> 00:13:55.990
and some of the things thatI experienced in my life
00:13:56.024 --> 00:13:59.060
from my childhood--I wentthrough some things that,
00:13:59.093 --> 00:14:01.162
uh, some people whooffended me, you know--
00:14:01.195 --> 00:14:04.432
I forgave them in the past.
00:14:04.465 --> 00:14:06.968
And, but never reallyexperienced the kind of peace
00:14:07.001 --> 00:14:11.639
that I experiencedwhen I forgave Dylann
00:14:11.673 --> 00:14:14.142
at the bond hearingthat day, you know,
00:14:14.175 --> 00:14:16.678
because what he did to my wife,it was completely different.
00:14:16.711 --> 00:14:21.249
Um, and so, I sawforgiveness then as,
00:14:21.282 --> 00:14:27.155
well, something I'msupposed to do, you know.
00:14:27.188 --> 00:14:30.625
And I knew that it, if I did it,
00:14:30.658 --> 00:14:33.261
something good wouldcome out of it.
00:14:33.294 --> 00:14:35.663
But then when I forgave Dylann,
00:14:35.697 --> 00:14:37.098
it was more than somethinggood came out of it.
00:14:37.131 --> 00:14:39.500
It was, I receiveda peace, you know,
00:14:39.534 --> 00:14:44.939
I mean, a, a calmness,
00:14:44.973 --> 00:14:47.909
a more sense ofletting God have control,
00:14:47.942 --> 00:14:52.347
knowing that I couldtrust Him, you know,
00:14:52.380 --> 00:14:56.517
because of what Hebrought into my life,
00:14:56.551 --> 00:14:59.387
where He gave menew purpose.
00:14:59.420 --> 00:15:01.756
And so it was that, that,it was different...
00:15:01.789 --> 00:15:06.027
at the tragedy than it wasprior to the tragedy.
00:15:06.060 --> 00:15:09.530
-John: Undoubtedly there aremany people watching us
00:15:09.564 --> 00:15:11.165
right now who are struggling toforgive, refusing to forgive.
00:15:11.199 --> 00:15:16.404
"I know I shouldforgive, but I won't.
00:15:16.437 --> 00:15:19.040
It hurts too much."
00:15:19.073 --> 00:15:20.341
This and that.
00:15:20.375 --> 00:15:21.409
What would you say to thatperson that's wrestling
00:15:21.442 --> 00:15:23.144
with forgiveness?
00:15:23.177 --> 00:15:24.278
How does someone go aboutforgiving another person?
00:15:24.312 --> 00:15:28.149
-Pastor Thompson:I would say,
00:15:28.182 --> 00:15:29.283
right now, I knowyou're hurting.
00:15:29.317 --> 00:15:32.320
You know, I know somebodydid something to offend you,
00:15:32.353 --> 00:15:35.289
and, and it hurts you, and youprobably want to get them back.
00:15:35.323 --> 00:15:39.527
You know, you probablyhate the person.
00:15:39.560 --> 00:15:41.629
You're probablyangry at that person.
00:15:41.662 --> 00:15:43.731
And you feel you'vegot to do that
00:15:43.765 --> 00:15:46.934
because it's going tomake you feel better.
00:15:46.968 --> 00:15:49.504
Well, I'm going tolet you know now:
00:15:49.537 --> 00:15:50.838
It won't make you feel better.It'll make you feel worse.
00:15:50.872 --> 00:15:54.275
Because harboring angerand harboring hate,
00:15:54.308 --> 00:15:57.478
it affects your health;it affects your mind;
00:15:57.512 --> 00:16:00.648
you know, it justaffects your soul.
00:16:00.681 --> 00:16:02.183
And you just getdeeper and deeper
00:16:02.216 --> 00:16:04.685
and deeper anddeeper until, till,
00:16:04.719 --> 00:16:07.088
till wanting to dosomething bad.
00:16:07.121 --> 00:16:09.390
But forgiveness is,it may be hard to do,
00:16:09.424 --> 00:16:13.394
but God can help you.
00:16:13.428 --> 00:16:16.064
All you need to do is toask God to forgive you;
00:16:16.097 --> 00:16:20.635
then ask God to help youforgive the person
00:16:20.668 --> 00:16:22.870
you can't seem to forgive.
00:16:22.904 --> 00:16:24.806
And that's all He'llrequire of you,
00:16:24.839 --> 00:16:26.340
and He will help you do it.
00:16:26.374 --> 00:16:28.242
You will do it.
00:16:28.276 --> 00:16:29.477
And when you do it, Iguarantee you 100 percent
00:16:29.510 --> 00:16:33.214
that He will give you thatpeace that you've been trying
00:16:33.247 --> 00:16:35.983
to find through other meansof being angry and revenge.
00:16:36.017 --> 00:16:39.320
-John: How about,though, though--
00:16:39.353 --> 00:16:42.090
someone's going to say, "Yeah,my neighbor backed into my car
00:16:42.123 --> 00:16:45.259
and then lied about it.Cost me $1.100."
00:16:45.293 --> 00:16:48.763
But that's that.But what about the big things?
00:16:48.796 --> 00:16:54.035
And you're qualifiedto speak about this
00:16:54.068 --> 00:16:55.636
'cause you wentthrough the biggest thing.
00:16:55.670 --> 00:16:58.039
Help someone getover that hump.
00:16:58.072 --> 00:17:00.141
'Cause I can justimagine somebody saying,
00:17:00.174 --> 00:17:02.210
"Yeah, I, I understand that,
00:17:02.243 --> 00:17:03.611
but you don't know whatI've been through."
00:17:03.644 --> 00:17:06.581
How do we address that withthe really difficult things?
00:17:06.614 --> 00:17:09.784
[inhales and exhales]
00:17:09.817 --> 00:17:11.919
-Pastor Thompson: We canmake things difficult,
00:17:11.953 --> 00:17:13.554
because we, we, wedefine sin as small sin,
00:17:13.588 --> 00:17:19.060
as big sin.
00:17:19.093 --> 00:17:20.495
We look at lyingas something small.
00:17:20.528 --> 00:17:22.630
"Well, I can do that.I can forgive them."
00:17:22.663 --> 00:17:24.198
Then we look at murders.
00:17:24.232 --> 00:17:25.333
"Oh, that's, that's just too,that's just too much.
00:17:25.366 --> 00:17:27.568
I can't forgive him."
00:17:27.602 --> 00:17:29.036
But sin is a sin.
00:17:29.070 --> 00:17:31.873
You know, wrong is wrong;bad is bad.
00:17:31.906 --> 00:17:34.976
There's no greater;there's no lesser;
00:17:35.009 --> 00:17:37.111
they're all the same.
00:17:37.145 --> 00:17:38.112
So, you've got to takea look at that first.
00:17:38.146 --> 00:17:40.648
You know, then you've got totake a look at your own life.
00:17:40.681 --> 00:17:43.084
You've got to examineyourself and say to yourself,
00:17:43.117 --> 00:17:46.821
"Who have I done wrong to?Who have I lied to?"
00:17:46.854 --> 00:17:48.723
What, you know, you know,was it, was it a big sin,
00:17:48.756 --> 00:17:51.692
or was it a small sin?
00:17:51.726 --> 00:17:53.027
There's no, no greater.
00:17:53.060 --> 00:17:54.795
And then if you can seeyourself as a person
00:17:54.829 --> 00:17:58.366
who's done somebody wrongor said something wrong,
00:17:58.399 --> 00:18:00.434
then it makes it a little easierfor you to see the person
00:18:00.468 --> 00:18:03.137
that did you wrong,
00:18:03.171 --> 00:18:04.238
no matter how big, how smallyou may see it to be.
00:18:04.272 --> 00:18:06.941
But there's no bigger sin,and there's no smaller sin.
00:18:06.974 --> 00:18:09.010
Sin is sin.
00:18:09.043 --> 00:18:10.678
-John: And if we lookat the Bible,
00:18:10.711 --> 00:18:11.979
we understand that Jesus died,not because of your sin;
00:18:12.013 --> 00:18:16.250
He died because of my sin.
00:18:16.284 --> 00:18:17.952
So, I'm responsible forthe death of the Son of God,
00:18:17.985 --> 00:18:21.022
and surely that oughtto motivate me somehow
00:18:21.055 --> 00:18:23.524
to exercise forgiveness.
00:18:23.558 --> 00:18:25.493
Jesus said, didn't He,"Father, forgive them."
00:18:25.526 --> 00:18:30.198
"Father, forgive them."
00:18:30.231 --> 00:18:31.799
As a minister of the gospel,
00:18:31.832 --> 00:18:33.701
what does that exampleof forgiveness
00:18:33.734 --> 00:18:35.670
exercised or demonstratedby Jesus mean to you,
00:18:35.703 --> 00:18:38.172
and how do you share thatand relate that to others?
00:18:38.206 --> 00:18:41.809
-Pastor Thompson:It means a lot to me,
00:18:41.842 --> 00:18:43.611
'cause first of all, the painand the suffering that He took.
00:18:43.644 --> 00:18:48.616
I mean, He, He was, He, He wasbeaten as He walked to Calvary.
00:18:48.649 --> 00:18:54.322
You know, He, He, they,they took a whip with,
00:18:54.355 --> 00:18:57.925
tied with bones and,and, and, and like glass,
00:18:57.959 --> 00:19:01.395
like metal on the endof the tips of it,
00:19:01.429 --> 00:19:03.531
just tore Him, ripped His body.
00:19:03.564 --> 00:19:05.499
Then they put crownsof thorns on His head.
00:19:05.533 --> 00:19:07.235
Then they took, set the spearin His side, you know,
00:19:07.268 --> 00:19:10.471
where the blood and the watersurrounding His, His heart,
00:19:10.504 --> 00:19:14.242
you know, just camedown His body.
00:19:14.275 --> 00:19:16.244
And then, they nailed Him tothe cross, hands and feet.
00:19:16.277 --> 00:19:20.448
I mean, that's realpain and suffering.
00:19:20.481 --> 00:19:22.917
But He didn't have to do it.He did it for you and me.
00:19:22.950 --> 00:19:26.187
And He said,"Father, forgive them."
00:19:26.220 --> 00:19:29.156
So, if He can do all that forme and do all that for you,
00:19:29.190 --> 00:19:35.129
then we should be able toforgive someone who does,
00:19:35.162 --> 00:19:38.132
who's done somethingso small to us.
00:19:38.165 --> 00:19:42.803
You know, I mean,
00:19:42.837 --> 00:19:45.640
for God's sake, you know,forgive that person.
00:19:45.673 --> 00:19:48.943
-John: "Called to Forgive."
00:19:48.976 --> 00:19:50.911
If anybody knowssomething about forgiveness,
00:19:50.945 --> 00:19:53.247
it's Pastor Anthony Thompson.
00:19:53.281 --> 00:19:54.582
We'll have a little morein just a moment.
00:19:54.615 --> 00:19:56.617
♪[music]♪
00:19:56.651 --> 00:20:02.823
-Announcer:We hear it all the time:
00:20:05.826 --> 00:20:07.762
God is all-powerful,and God is love.
00:20:07.795 --> 00:20:10.598
But if God is sopowerful and loving,
00:20:10.631 --> 00:20:12.833
why is there so much suffering?
00:20:12.867 --> 00:20:14.969
Discover what the Biblesays on the subject
00:20:15.002 --> 00:20:16.971
by requestingtoday's free offer,
00:20:17.004 --> 00:20:18.806
"Why Does God Allow Suffering?"
00:20:18.839 --> 00:20:20.608
It's absolutely free.
00:20:20.641 --> 00:20:22.209
Just call800-253-3000,
00:20:22.243 --> 00:20:25.680
800-253-3000,
00:20:25.713 --> 00:20:28.716
or write to the addresson your screen.
00:20:28.749 --> 00:20:30.384
You can also makeyour request online
00:20:30.418 --> 00:20:31.886
atiiwoffer.com.
00:20:31.919 --> 00:20:34.322
-John Bradshaw: Thanks forjoining me on It Is Written.
00:20:36.624 --> 00:20:39.293
As we talk aboutforgiveness, let me ask you.
00:20:39.327 --> 00:20:41.696
You preach about it;you've written about it.
00:20:41.729 --> 00:20:43.364
Forgiveness in the Bible,where do we see it?
00:20:43.397 --> 00:20:45.866
-Pastor Anthony Thompson:The two servants.
00:20:45.900 --> 00:20:47.735
There was a servant whoowed his, his master.
00:20:47.768 --> 00:20:51.138
In today's money, it'd be likea million or more dollars.
00:20:51.172 --> 00:20:53.941
And the master was ready tocollect, and the servant said,
00:20:53.974 --> 00:20:57.111
"Well, you know, Lord,I don't have it."
00:20:57.144 --> 00:20:59.580
You know, and he beggedfor mercy, you know, said,
00:20:59.613 --> 00:21:01.115
"Hey, look, I'll payyou later, you know.
00:21:01.148 --> 00:21:03.217
I'll pay youas soon as I can."
00:21:03.250 --> 00:21:05.086
He said, "But justhave mercy on me."
00:21:05.119 --> 00:21:07.455
And he had mercy on him.
00:21:07.488 --> 00:21:08.489
And he relinquishedhis servant's debt.
00:21:08.522 --> 00:21:11.792
I mean, he didn't evenhave to pay him back.
00:21:11.826 --> 00:21:13.294
In other words, he forgave him.
00:21:13.327 --> 00:21:15.363
And then that same servant,he was master to a servant,
00:21:15.396 --> 00:21:19.066
and his servant owedhim maybe a few bucks.
00:21:19.100 --> 00:21:21.635
And he told the man,
00:21:21.669 --> 00:21:22.870
"I'm going to throw youin jail until you pay me."
00:21:22.903 --> 00:21:26.240
Now, the ridiculouspart is that,
00:21:26.273 --> 00:21:27.875
well, while he's in jail,he can't pay him.
00:21:27.908 --> 00:21:30.711
So it means that he wasnever going to pay him,
00:21:30.745 --> 00:21:32.279
so he was alwaysgoing to be in jail.
00:21:32.313 --> 00:21:35.082
Then the master whoforgave him found out
00:21:35.116 --> 00:21:39.220
that he had thrown his servantinto jail, and then he said,
00:21:39.253 --> 00:21:42.323
"You know, I forgave you,
00:21:42.356 --> 00:21:43.691
and you could notforgive your servant?"
00:21:43.724 --> 00:21:45.893
He says, "So now I'm goingto throw you in jail,
00:21:45.926 --> 00:21:48.362
and you're going tostay there, you know,
00:21:48.396 --> 00:21:49.897
until you can pay me back."
00:21:49.930 --> 00:21:51.599
Meaning that, you know,it was over for him.
00:21:51.632 --> 00:21:54.969
And so, the story is that,you know, God is saying,
00:21:55.002 --> 00:22:00.241
"If you want me to forgive you,
00:22:00.274 --> 00:22:03.244
then you have to forgive theperson who did you wrong."
00:22:03.277 --> 00:22:06.313
-John: Forgiveness is sofundamental to the gospel,
00:22:06.347 --> 00:22:08.516
but we wrestle with it.
00:22:08.549 --> 00:22:09.483
Forgiveness sometimesseems so very hard,
00:22:09.517 --> 00:22:11.919
but as you know,unforgiveness is much harder.
00:22:11.952 --> 00:22:15.756
-Pastor Thompson:Much harder.
00:22:15.790 --> 00:22:17.124
-John: Tell meabout your wife, Myra.
00:22:17.158 --> 00:22:18.592
What was she like?
00:22:18.626 --> 00:22:19.693
-Pastor Thompson: Mmm.Myra was a beautiful woman.
00:22:19.727 --> 00:22:22.029
Uh, very extraordinarywoman, very loving.
00:22:22.062 --> 00:22:24.732
She wasn't astranger to anybody.
00:22:24.765 --> 00:22:27.067
She was a giver.
00:22:27.101 --> 00:22:28.402
Everybody loved Myra.
00:22:28.436 --> 00:22:30.004
Myra loved everybody.
00:22:30.037 --> 00:22:31.405
-John: What do you thinkshe'd say to somebody
00:22:31.439 --> 00:22:32.873
wrestling with a decisionto forgive or otherwise?
00:22:32.907 --> 00:22:36.710
-Pastor Thompson: Mmm.She would tell them,
00:22:36.744 --> 00:22:40.581
"I don't know why youdrank that poison,
00:22:40.614 --> 00:22:42.516
think it's going to killsomebody else."
00:22:42.550 --> 00:22:44.251
[laughs]
00:22:44.285 --> 00:22:45.820
"You need to go aheadand forgive them."
00:22:45.853 --> 00:22:47.621
You know, you just need to goahead and forgive them.
00:22:47.655 --> 00:22:50.524
Because that, you, you,
00:22:50.558 --> 00:22:53.360
you drinking the poison notgoing to kill them, you know.
00:22:53.394 --> 00:22:56.063
You holding hate in your heartor anger in your heart,
00:22:56.096 --> 00:22:58.766
that's not going to doanything to them.
00:22:58.799 --> 00:23:00.534
It's going to makeyour life miserable.
00:23:00.568 --> 00:23:01.836
You're going to die fromthe poison, not them.
00:23:01.869 --> 00:23:04.572
So, don't drink thepoison. Forgive.
00:23:04.605 --> 00:23:08.342
-John: Thanks so very much.
00:23:08.375 --> 00:23:09.343
I appreciate youtaking your time.
00:23:09.376 --> 00:23:10.344
-Pastor Thompson:Amen. God bless you.
00:23:10.377 --> 00:23:11.479
-John: God bless you.
00:23:11.512 --> 00:23:12.680
-Pastor Thompson: Thank youfor taking the time to come.
00:23:12.713 --> 00:23:13.647
-John: Sure.
00:23:13.681 --> 00:23:14.448
-Pastor Thompson:I appreciate it.
00:23:14.482 --> 00:23:14.949
-John: Thank you.
00:23:14.982 --> 00:23:16.083
♪[soft music]♪
00:23:16.116 --> 00:23:17.318
What we know is that lifeis going to challenge you.
00:23:17.351 --> 00:23:20.020
Most of the time, thosechallenges, relatively small.
00:23:20.054 --> 00:23:23.591
Sometimes big,occasionally massive.
00:23:23.624 --> 00:23:26.827
The question is,how do you respond?
00:23:26.861 --> 00:23:29.330
In this case, hatewould serve no purpose.
00:23:29.363 --> 00:23:32.266
It's certainly not goingto bring anyone back.
00:23:32.299 --> 00:23:35.069
A man has been sentenced to die.
00:23:35.102 --> 00:23:36.837
His executionwon't raise the dead.
00:23:36.871 --> 00:23:40.140
The living will still haveto go on through life
00:23:40.174 --> 00:23:42.776
without people thatthey love the most.
00:23:42.810 --> 00:23:46.280
Regardless of the wrong,
00:23:46.313 --> 00:23:47.915
irrespective of the issueinvolved, forgiveness matters.
00:23:47.948 --> 00:23:51.552
Forgiveness setsthe forgiver free.
00:23:51.585 --> 00:23:53.387
Forgiveness is God's way.
00:23:53.420 --> 00:23:55.689
Now, I understand; sometimes thepain just seems way too great.
00:23:55.723 --> 00:23:59.827
Sometimes the wrongjust seems way too wrong.
00:23:59.860 --> 00:24:02.496
But forgiveness was given by Godso that you can be made whole.
00:24:02.530 --> 00:24:07.801
Anthony Thompson shows us thatwe don't have to go through life
00:24:07.835 --> 00:24:10.471
hanging on to anger and hate.
00:24:10.504 --> 00:24:13.207
We don't have to carry with usthe weight of unforgiveness.
00:24:13.240 --> 00:24:17.811
So how's thatworking out for you?
00:24:17.845 --> 00:24:19.780
It seems that most everybodyhas something to forgive.
00:24:19.813 --> 00:24:24.418
Which might just meanthat most everybody
00:24:24.451 --> 00:24:26.320
is hanging on to something thatthey might ought to let go.
00:24:26.353 --> 00:24:29.523
Most people are far less wholethan they ought to be
00:24:29.557 --> 00:24:32.593
simply because they'rechoosing not to forgive.
00:24:32.626 --> 00:24:36.830
Think about the big picture.
00:24:36.864 --> 00:24:38.599
As sinners, God has forgiven us.God has forgiven us so much.
00:24:38.632 --> 00:24:43.404
Jesus died for our sins, andwhen we confess our sins,
00:24:43.437 --> 00:24:47.207
the Bible says,
00:24:47.241 --> 00:24:48.609
"He is faithful and justto forgive us our sins."
00:24:48.642 --> 00:24:52.212
Further, "to cleanse usfrom all unrighteousness."
00:24:52.246 --> 00:24:56.550
After what God has done for you,
00:24:56.584 --> 00:25:00.020
can you extend that sameforgiveness to another?
00:25:00.054 --> 00:25:03.290
And through exercisingthe kind of forgiveness
00:25:03.324 --> 00:25:06.360
that God has exercisedtowards you,
00:25:06.393 --> 00:25:09.396
you can experience the peace
00:25:09.430 --> 00:25:11.432
that Anthony Thompsonexperiences,
00:25:11.465 --> 00:25:14.134
the peace that God wants youto have now and forever.
00:25:14.168 --> 00:25:19.840
-John: Thank you forremembering that It Is Written
00:25:20.674 --> 00:25:22.576
exists because of the kindnessof people just like you.
00:25:22.610 --> 00:25:26.046
To support this internationallife-changing ministry,
00:25:26.080 --> 00:25:29.183
please call us now at800-253-3000.
00:25:29.216 --> 00:25:33.454
You can send yourtax-deductible gift
00:25:33.487 --> 00:25:34.955
to the addresson your screen,
00:25:34.989 --> 00:25:36.323
or you can visit us online atitiswritten.com.
00:25:36.357 --> 00:25:40.327
Thank you for your prayers andfor your financial support.
00:25:40.361 --> 00:25:43.097
Our number again is800-253-3000,
00:25:43.130 --> 00:25:47.334
or you can visit us online atitiswritten.com.
00:25:47.368 --> 00:25:50.371
-John Bradshaw: Let mepray with you now.
00:25:51.372 --> 00:25:53.107
Father in heaven,we thank You in Jesus' name
00:25:53.140 --> 00:25:55.009
that You are a Godof great forgiveness.
00:25:55.042 --> 00:25:57.411
We thank You for the gift offorgiveness that You give to us.
00:25:57.444 --> 00:26:00.114
I ask that right now as someoneis wrestling with a choice
00:26:00.147 --> 00:26:03.617
to forgive or otherwise,impress that heart to forgive.
00:26:03.651 --> 00:26:07.221
Show that person thehealthy way forward.
00:26:07.254 --> 00:26:09.923
Friend, is that you?
00:26:09.957 --> 00:26:10.991
Would you open your heartup to God now and say,
00:26:11.025 --> 00:26:12.626
"God, give me that graceto forgive another,"
00:26:12.660 --> 00:26:14.328
or "God, I choose to forgive"?
00:26:14.361 --> 00:26:16.497
You can choose to forgive.
00:26:16.530 --> 00:26:18.399
Don't consult your feelings.
00:26:18.432 --> 00:26:20.534
Choose to forgive and expectthat God will take care
00:26:20.567 --> 00:26:23.303
of the feelings inthe fullness of time.
00:26:23.337 --> 00:26:25.873
Thank You, Lord,that You forgive us,
00:26:25.906 --> 00:26:28.008
that Your forgivenessis full and free.
00:26:28.042 --> 00:26:31.078
Give in our lives theability to forgive others.
00:26:31.111 --> 00:26:35.949
We pray, we thank You,we claim it,
00:26:35.983 --> 00:26:38.352
and we believe,in Jesus' name.
00:26:38.385 --> 00:26:41.822
Amen.
00:26:41.855 --> 00:26:43.190
Thanks so muchfor joining me.
00:26:43.223 --> 00:26:44.558
Looking forward to seeingyou again next time.
00:26:44.591 --> 00:26:46.193
Until then, remember:
00:26:46.226 --> 00:26:48.395
"It is written, 'Man shallnot live by bread alone,
00:26:48.429 --> 00:26:51.832
but by every word that proceedsfrom the mouth of God.'"
00:26:51.865 --> 00:26:57.004
♪[theme music]♪
00:26:57.037 --> 00:27:02.976

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Radical Forgiveness

Radical Forgiveness

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Radical Forgiveness

Radical Forgiveness

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