Relationship or Rights

Mike Connell

Page 7 of 10
The more grace you receive, the more you're able to give to others; the more God forgives you through humbling yourself, coming to Him, the more you can give to others. Now notice what happens here. Notice carefully what happens; this man had received an abundance of grace. Here's the thing that just is stunning. He was at one place, in a position where he was going to be thrown into jail, and his family, for all that he had done; then he was moved and came into a position of grace and blessing. He and his family were in a flow of blessing and life.

Then he came and faced a fellow servant. When he faced the fellow servant, this is what he chose: he did not choose to continue in grace. He chose to despise the spirit of grace; so when he despised the spirit of grace, there's only one place you can be now, you're back under the law. He put himself under the law when he judged, found fault, and stood on his rights, and made demands. He put himself under the law. That meant, if he's put himself under the law, he's no longer under grace; and notice what happens, notice carefully in the passage what happens. All the debt that he had been forgiven, now legally stands again, and becomes operative. He's no longer walking in the grace of forgiveness. Not only that, now it says: the Father, he was put in prison, delivered over to tormentors. So now demonic spirits have free access into his life. Is he still saved? I think he is, but here's the problem. He's not living in blessing, he's living in cursing; and why is he living in cursing? Because he refused to live and walk in the grace of God, and extend grace to others. What he chose to do instead was, to hold to his rights, place a demand, hold anger in his heart, stand on his rights, and put someone - which he was legally entitled to do - put them into jail to pay the price. That's a person who holds unforgiveness in their heart, judges the other person, and has a demand on them to do something to put it right.

He took himself out of grace and put himself under law; and listen, Jesus works with grace. Grace and truth came by Jesus. The one who works with the law is the devil. The devil is the fault-finder. The devil is the accuser. The devil is the judge. When you don't extend grace to others, you remove yourself from grace, and you come directly under demonic judgement over your life. They are then able to find every fault that you have, every failure you have. They're able to come in the courts of heaven and say: we have a right to get into this guy's life and mess him up - and heaven says: you have, because he's no longer under grace. He's under the law, and he removed himself from grace of God when he mistreated the fellow Christian. Now in case you think it doesn't apply to you, Jesus applies it: so also shall my Heavenly Father do to each one of you, if from your heart, you don't forgive each one his brother their trespasses.

So God has forgiven each of us so much. He has put us in a place where we have access to a throne of grace. Did someone upset you? You can come to God, find the grace to overcome your attitudes and to impart grace to the person, instead of jumping up and down on your rights and being angry, which is holding onto your rights; yield your rights and say: God, he didn't understand what he was doing. I just forgive. I release blessing. I'm going to flow into blessing. I choose to stay in blessing, not to stay in judgement and cursing. Or you can choose to stand on your rights - I'm right, that person needs to put it right. We can put ourselves in a place we're demanding the person puts it right, we're finding fault, we're holding judgement over them, and then we ourselves are open and exposed to demonic powers. What does that mean?