Victimization – Part 6
The Redemption Coin
2 Corinthians 5:17-21, “So that if anyone is in Messiah, he is a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new! 18And all things are from Yahovah, the One having reconciled us to Himself through Yeshua Messiah, and having given to us the ministry of reconciliation, 19for Yahovah was in Messiah who has reconciled the world with His majesty, not charging their sins against them, and has committed to us the Word of reconciliation. 20Then on behalf of Messiah, we are ambassadors, as Yahovah is exhorting through us, we beseech on behalf of Messiah, be reconciled to Yahovah. 21For He who did not know sin, for your sakes made Himself sin, that we might through Him become the righteousness of Yahovah.”
Matthew 6:9-15, “So, then, you should pray this way, Our Father who is in Heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10Your kingdom come; Your will be done, as it is in Heaven, also on the earth. 11Give us the bread of our need this day, 12and forgive us our offenses as we also have forgiven those who have offended us. 13And do not lead us into trial, but deliver us from the evil one, for Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. 14For if you forgive men their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you will not forgive men their transgressions, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.”
Mark 11:24-26, “Therefore I say to you, All things, whatever you ask, praying, believe that you will receive, and it will be to you. 25And when you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive it, so that your Father in Heaven may also forgive your transgressions. 26But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in Heaven forgive your deviations.”
In this short post, we will attempt to answer the question, why we are victimized over and over. The redemption coin is Yahovah’s redemption plan. It is a two-sided coin, one side is forgiveness, the other side is reconciliation. You cannot have one without the other. In Yahovah’s redemption plan, He allows you to be victimized over and over again, so that you will learn to forgive sinners and be reconciled to sinners, over and over again. So you will become like Yahovah’s Son, Yeshua!! So you will become like Yahovah Himself. So you will become the righteousness of Yahovah. So you will grow up into the maturity of Messiah.
The Apostle Paul, while he was still the unsaved Jewish Saul, learned forgiveness and reconciliation first hand. He had been severely persecuting and murdering the saints in Jerusalem. Then he received authority from the chief priests to go after the saints in Damascus, Syria. Well, you know the story, Yeshua appeared to Saul on the Damascus highway, and converted Saul on the spot. But it was not easy for the saints to immediately accept Saul. Read the story in Acts 9. But Saul turned Paul was forgiven and reconciled with the disciples in Damascus, verse 19, “And taking food he was strengthened. And Saul was with the disciples in Damascus some days.” Paul immediately switched sides in the spiritual war, from working for/with the Devil to working for/with Yahovah. But he had to be forgiven by the saints and reconciled to the early church of Yeshua. Acts 9:26-27, “And Saul arriving in Jerusalem, he tried to be joined to the disciples. And all feared him, not believing that he is a disciple. 27But taking hold of him, Barnabas led him to the apostles and told them how he saw our Master in the highway, and that He spoke to him, and how in Damascus he spoke boldly in the name of Yeshua.” It’s difficult to imagine what kind of life Paul would have had if the saints had not forgiven him and been reconciled to him. The early church, the FIRST church understood Yeshua’s teaching about forgiveness and reconciliation. They lived it out with one of their greatest persecutors! Acts 9:28, “And he was with them, going in and going out in Jerusalem, and speaking boldly in the name of our Master Yeshua.” Paul went from being against the saints as Saul the persecutor, to being with the saints as Paul the greatest Apostle who ever lived. The early church was living proof that the redemption plan of Yahovah was working on earth.
I’m not totally convinced that the modern church in America is doing the same, or as well as the early church saints. Something the church today misses is that when people sin against others, they are sinning against Yeshua. When someone molests, rapes, kidnaps, or murders your sister, they are doing that to Yeshua! When a drunk driver kills your relative, they are murdering Yeshua. When a terrorist blows up your child on the street corner, they are murdering Yeshua. When a policeman shoots a child playing with a toy gun, he kills Yeshua. Matthew 25:40, “And answering, the King will say to them, Truly I say to you, In so far as you did it to one of these, the least of My brothers, you did it to Me.” Matthew 25:45, “Then He will answer them, saying, Truly I say to you, in so far as you did not do it to one of these, the least, neither did you do it to Me.” So you saint, are obligated under the Redemption Plan of Yahovah to forgive the perpetrator and be reconciled to them, for the furtherance of the Gospel of Yeshua! You saint, have no right to hold onto racism, hatred, or unforgiveness. Yeshua’s blood covers all these horrible sins and crimes against humanity. But his blood will not do you any good if you hold onto other people’s sins by not forgiving and being reconciled to the perpetrators. Saint, you must see, discern, and understand in the spiritual kingdom in which you are to live. You must let go of other people’s sins so your sins will be forgiven you. Matthew 25:46, “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into everlasting life.”
Saints, we have been given the ministry of reconciliation. Paul understood this ministry of reconciliation first hand. He understood that the entire Word of Yahovah is the Word of Reconciliation. Do you understand it? We don’t get to pick our time, place, or circumstance of victimization; it just seems to happen to us, but we do get to choose whether or not we will forgive and be reconciled to the perpetrator(s). Yahovah is in total control of your life. Learn to trust Him. Yahovah is the Divine One of reconciliation and restoration. I highly recommend that you learn to choose life, learn to choose to forgive and be reconciled to Yahovah and His created humans. Your eternal destiny depends on your choices in these matters.
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