Now that you know what God wants, you are ready to put it into practice. Expect this training to take time. It may take weeks, months or longer to conquer stubborn habit patterns. The promise in the Bible is:

"I can do everything through Him who gives me strength."
(Philippians 4:13)

 Implementing the Plan for Good Interpersonal Relationships:

Make a list of those principles which represent a challenge to your relationships at the present time:

Principle broken: Specific challenge: Person involved:
_______________ _______________ _______________
_______________ _______________ _______________
_______________ _______________ _______________

It’s important to remember that we are working with relationships here, therefore each of the areas listed above would need to be confessed to God and then to the person involved. Forgiveness is the basic principle needed by you and for you. It is the foundation for all interpersonal relationships. That is just where we will start!

There are three parts to complete forgiveness:

Part 1: Forgiving others

Part 2: Seeking forgiveness from God

Part 3: Seeking forgiveness from others.

We will deal with each of these separately…taking one step at a time.

Part 1 - Forgiving Others:

    1. Ask God to reveal to you as He desires, every person that has ever hurt or offended you.
       
    2. Now look at the cross. To help you understand what Jesus did at the cross, read Luke 23 and John 17. Jesus took the sins of the whole world upon Himself at the cross and died "once for all". He did the same for the person He has asked you to forgive. 
    3. Decide that you will not: 

      1. retaliate (1 Peter 2:23)
      2. use the information in the future against the people you forgive (Proverbs 10:12)
      3. allow this offense to separate you from a potential or continuing friendship. (Proverbs 17:9)
    4. You are now ready to forgive or not forgive. This is a crisis of the will. It is your choice to let the other person off the hook and free yourself from the desire to hate and seek revenge. 
    5. If you have been bitter for some time, it would be wise to find a righteous and trusted counselor friend who will pray with you and for you according to James 5:16. Otherwise this is between you and God privately. Go down the list and pray aloud: 
       
      "I forgive________________________ (name) for ________________________ (list the offenses)." 
    6. Now destroy the list and do not mention to the offenders that they are forgiven. This could create more conflict. Your forgiveness of others is between you and God. You are now free no matter how you feel! 

Part 2 – Seeking Forgiveness from God:

There is a difference between confessing and asking for forgiveness.

Confessing is agreeing with God that what you have said or done is wrong.

Asking for forgiveness follows confessing the sin.

You are now ready to take responsibility for your part of the sin in your life that has separated you from people or from God. As God brings them to your mind:

  1. Make a list of those sins by confessing: "I did ________________ " (name the specific sin. 
  2. Purpose to ask forgiveness and begin with those whom you have offended the most. Whenever you offend a brother or sister, you have offended God the most.
  3. Stop and pray:
    "O Lord, I have sinned against You by my lack of love for You which is manifested by my offense toward __________________(name or initial). I now confess this sin to You and thank You for Your faithfulness and justice to forgive this sin and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness through the blood of Your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen." 
  4. Claim His forgiveness and do not dwell upon the past. (1 John 1:9; Psalm 103:12; Philippians 3:12-14)

Part 3 – Seeking Forgiveness from Others:

When preparing to ask forgiveness from others, it is most important to identify the attitudes you had that may have caused the hurt even before you identify wrong words or actions. These attitudes must be confessed before the words or actions because:

  1. They are usually more hurtful than words or actions.
  2. You may repeat the offense if the attitude is not corrected.

You are doing this based on the principle in Matthew 7:1, 5.

You are now ready to seek forgiveness from those whom you have wronged:

    1. Determine whether a phone call or visit is best, whichever is possible, based on the principles in Matthew 5:23-24, Mark 11:25-26 and Matthew 18:15.  
    2. Communicate the following in your own words based on Ephesians 4:15, 25: 

      "I recognize that I have sinned against the Lord and you by       (name the specific sin). It is my intention never again to repeat this offense against you or anyone else. I repent and will change by doing the following. (Explain your specific plan for change and restitution.) I have asked the Lord to forgive me, and I want you to know that I desire your forgiveness as well. Will you please forgive me?"  
    3. Do not expect to receive forgiveness! If you do receive forgiveness, express genuine appreciation.
  1. Look at the principles listed under the "How Does God View My Challenge?" section and compare with your basic lifestyle. List and repeat the previous procedure for each one on your list.
  2. Look at the "put-on" characteristics in the "Does God Have a Plan for Me?" section and memorize the Bible verses that apply to your situation. Then pray the following prayer or something similar:

"Lord, I confess that I have not loved ______________ the way You’ve asked me to; therefore I have sinned against You and ______________. I ask that You cleanse me of my ________________ toward _________________and give me a new heart as you promised in Ezekiel 26:36. Show me how to manifest the love of Jesus toward ______________because of myself I cannot do it. And I thank You that You are even now answering my prayer, as it is according to Your will and desire for me and that You will carry to completion the work You’ve begun in me. (Philippians 1:6). Amen."

 

It is suggested that if this is your first time through this lesson, that you work through the above links in the order they are given as there is a sequence. For your convenience, these links are offered to give you faster access for repeated reviewing.

If you have questions or need prayer support,
feel free to contact us.
 

Permission is given to print this material providing this tag line is attached.
This page provided by VictoriousLiving.com

Site design by Ministerial Sites
Visit us at www.ministerialsites.com