Forgiveness | Ep. 112

Imagine standing face-to-face with your most destructive enemy, your own thoughts. This episode challenges us to confront our inner critic, as we navigate the murky waters of personal sin and self-doubt. We take an unflinching look at how sin, in its many forms, permeates every facet of our lives, causing decay, corruption, disease, and death. Yet, it is through this raw acknowledgment of our shortcomings that we can begin to appreciate the life-altering power of God's mercy and His promise of forgiveness.

It's not enough to merely recognize our sins; it's crucial to seek genuine repentance and to feed our minds with God's Word continually. Together, we dissect Jesus' teachings on forgiveness as conveyed in the book of Matthew. We discuss the profound lessons from King David's life and his journey from transgression to redemption. Through these discussions, you'll discover the true depth of repentance and the hope that even our worst transgressions can be forgiven.

In our pursuit of wholeness, we explore how our desperation for physical and spiritual healing can signify our faith. We take you through the stirring tales of the impotent man at the pool of Bethesda and the leper, whose sincere desire for healing echoes our own yearnings. 

We urge you to walk in the light of His Word, confess your sins, and experience the joy of abiding in His reservoir of mercy and grace. Remember, no sin is beyond Jesus’ forgiveness, and He is ready to meet us where we are if we are ready to change our ways for His.

Transcript

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 0:03

The vision received was that of blood cells traveling throughout the body, supplying the much needed oxygen and other nutrients to the differing members of the body to fulfill their purpose. Once the blood cells are spent, they must return back to the heart to be refilled before being sent out again and fulfill their purpose. Good morning, brothers and sisters. As always, it is an honor and a privilege to be before you and to share the word with you that he has given me, and I pray, father, that as much as it's been a blessing to me to receive of your word, that it would be even more so for those that are listening here today. It's good to welcome those that are from the state that's round at the end and high in the middle. You got that one, y'all know that one. All right, it's good to have those from Arizona, the sun what do they call that state? Death Valley? I guess that's a desert. I was thinking of the sunshine state, but I feel like there's a team there, arizona, that sun, something, the sun devils. Yeah, I was thinking of them. I was thinking of them, all right. So we're here and, of course, we have our southern Georgians here and those that have come from Miami into Georgia. It's always an honor and a privilege to be with you.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 1:34

I think I'd like to start with a sobering scripture that came to my mind this morning. It wasn't actually a part of the study, but it'll kind of set the stage for the rest of what I'm sharing today. Spring Romans. And it applies to every single old, middle aged or not. And it says in Romans, chapter 3, verse 20 for all of sin and that's that's kind of where I want to springboard off for all of sin, yeah, it says in all the fallen short of the glory of God, the key that I want to focus on is that all have sinned. That means you. That means me. It means my children. It means my parents, my grandparents, my great- grandparents. I don't even know them, I never met them, but it applies to everyone. It applies to the people that you hate and hopefully that's not you. It applies to people that you love. It applies to people that you love, love dearly, dearly.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 2:53

All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Then it also says in Romans 3, verse 10, that it is written in the old covenant that there is none righteous. And, just to be clear, it repeats it no, not one. There is none righteous no, not even one. And so when I think about that, it's sobering to me because I've had my experience in life. My experience is made, not as bad as your experiences, but that's all relative, that's all a matter of perspective, that's all subjective. We've all had a life that we've suffered, because sin has infected everything that we have experienced in life. That's why there's decay, that's why there's corruption, that's why there's disease, that's why there's infirmities, that's why there's death, for the wages of sin is death and the sting of death is sin. Sin is what caused that and all have sinned. There's none righteous no, not one.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 4:07

When I think about my life, I think about where I came from and some of the things that they don't haunt me. But if I were to just sit back and kind of consider where I was delivered from, you know I'd have a list of things that I have faltered. I think of all the vows and the promises that I broke. And if I wasn't born again, it would still sting me, those vows and promises, because some of those vows and promises were to the Lord and I broke them. And it's sort of stinging If I wasn't born again, if I wasn't bloodbought, if I wasn't forgiven, like I know what happened, it would still sting that I made vows, I made promises that were sincere, they were genuine, and I still broke it.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 4:54

There are times in my life, and sometimes still now, that I may be insensitive, that I may be still abrasive at times, and so I see how I've sinned. I recognize where I've come from. I recognize where I still stumble and I still fall every once in a while. I recognize how, in times past and I've told you before and I won't go into it, but when my mom died, I judged her. I was so angry with her, and so I had the sin of judgment upon me when he said, in the way that you judge others, that same judgment will be cast upon you. And so I was stuck in a rut because I had judged my mom for some time and she died when I was 20, for those that didn't know about it. But I think about my life. I think about the times that I remember there was a period of my life where and you wouldn't think of it now that you know me the way that you know me now, but I was a cursor I could curse up a storm and develop in my teenage years I just foul and I think about oh my God, you know I was it would just come out like nothing. It was like my normal everyday adjectives and adverbs that come out of my mouth now and my these and my ofs, you know that would come out of me. I lied Another sin I'm sharing with these all of you, because I know that some of you have done these things.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 6:32

I remember when I first stole something in my life, I was in Lucille's kindergarten school. Don't ask me why I stole it. I do. I still to this day don't know like why I stole it, but I took somebody's matchbox card. It was, I don't know. It was just there and I took it. I took it home, no-transcript, and my mom recognized it. Hey, where'd you get that car? And you know what she made me do? She made me go right in the next morning as soon as the kindergarten opened. I don't remember everything because it was really on me. I was in kindergarten, but I remember the shame that I felt because I had to go inside and I had to apologize, I guess, to the person that I stole it from or to the person that was running the kindergarten thing and I just had to apologize for what I'd done, and I had to do it in front of everybody. It wasn't like I could just give it back and leave and act like nothing happened. No, I had to take responsibility, take ownership of the things that I have done, and my mom made me do that and my mom wasn't a Christian but, for whatever reason, she brought me up in Christian schools and I've shared with you many times before.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 7:51

I know that I have been and can be selfish. I can't just like want to just satisfy myself. I know that there have been times in my life where I have been disobedient, willfully. I know that there are times in my life where I've heard the Lord and I disobeyed out of fear. I can honestly tell you it's been mostly out of fear, like he wanted me to say something, he wanted me to do something. And all of these sins that I've committed over so many years, and I think about my list and you could think about your own list as you consider,

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 8:36

what I want to share with you today is that I have done these things before I was born again, obviously, and I did some of these things after I was born again. And it's led me to, unfortunately, be my own worst critic. I don't know about you, but I am more. I'm harder on myself than I am on anybody else. I just expect more of myself. I expect myself not to be that type of person. You know all the things that I hate about other people or not hate people but the things that they do are the very same things that I probably see in myself and that's probably why I hate it. So I just don't like it.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 9:20

But there was a man I ran across because I'm a soccer coach and I always try to find things that are motivating to my team, and one of the things I found recently and I didn't even know where it came from, but I guess the Lord brought it to my mind. The quote says make sure your worst enemy is not living between your own two ears. Now, somebody said that was Laird Hamilton. Anybody know who Laird Hamilton is? No, he's a surfer. For whatever reason he said that. I don't even know why he said that, but it was just one of those things that you know. If you're an athlete, that's the worst thing that you can have at work in you, because you lose all your self-confidence. And when you lose your self-confidence, you are fit for nothing, you are good for nothing, you can't execute the things that you know you can do because you're constantly beating yourself. And I read a book recently of a soccer player. There was a woman soccer player and that's what she was to herself Constantly beating herself because she didn't execute, she didn't do this, she didn't do that, and she always saw herself as failing at all of these little things. But that's so true.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 10:35

Sometimes in our spiritual life, sometimes we can't see beyond our faults, our sins, our stumblings, our failures, things that are just willfully disobedient to the Lord. But that's why we have the Word and that's why we need to continually feed ourselves with the Word. Because in the Word it says in Ephesians 4, 23,. And be renewed in the spirit of your mind. Yes, the Lord has fulfilled a promise in you if you're born again, that he will renew a right spirit within you, he will give you a new heart, he will indwell you with his spirit. But yet, even in the new covenant, by the Word of the apostles letters to churches, it has been said in Ephesians to the church of Ephesus and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, even though they were all born again. It's absolutely essential and necessary that if you are a Christian and you've been born again of the blood, of the water and of the spirit, that your life is not over, your walk is not over. Your maturity, your growth, your development is not over. You just simply started the walk.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 11:59

It says in Romans 12, 2, and do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by what there it is again. That's written to Christians, that's written to those that are born again. And so it's our obligation, it's our responsibility to make sure that we are renewing our mind according to his word. Our thoughts, our paradigms need to be shifted. Sometimes they don't even need to be shifted. They need to be torn down. They need to be cast down, because what are they? They're vain imaginations of the enemy that fly in the face of the knowledge of Jesus Christ. They've got to be torn down. But that doesn't happen in and of yourself, because you can't get your mind. Your mind is a soul thing. Mine cannot be renewed without the word of God. What's the whole reason?

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 13:02

You repented because you heard the word of God and you were convicted and you recognize something, and so that led you to repent. But otherwise, that wasn't your bright idea. It wasn't your bright idea to go get baptized in the name of Jesus. You heard that from somewhere, from somebody, from something. Well, that source was God himself. And so I consider all these things and you dwell on this too long, you get depressed. So don't do that. But it's important that we remember where we came from, because it causes us, if we do it in the right manner, if we are led by the spirit of God, we develop an appreciation for what all God has done for us. And so I identify with what the Psalmist said.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 13:55

In Psalm 25, verse six and seven, he said remember, oh Lord, thy tender mercies and thy loving kindness, for they have been ever of old. Remember not the sins of my youth. Oh, I just so want to hold on to that. I just so feel that shared thought that David had when he prayed these prayers and he wrote them down for our benefit, for our edification. Oh God, please do not remember the sins of my youth, for they are many and they are foul and they are corrupt. They are. If it wasn't for God, they are unforgivable. He says remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions. According to thy mercy. Remember thou me for that goodness sake. Remember me for thy goodness sake. No, remember me because I'm such a good guy. Remember me because you're so good, God, I want to be remembered by you through the blood.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 15:01

And then we have his son or not his son, I'm sorry a prophet named Jeremiah. He was the weeping prophet and he was lamenting and lamentations three, twenty two, twenty three. He says it is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because he recognized how foul, how evil, how corrupt, not only he as a person but his whole people, israel, was. We were foul and we were corrupt and if it were not been for the Lord's mercies, he would have just consumed us in fiery vengeance, as it says, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them who what do not know God and what do not obey the gospel. I don't want that to happen to me, to my loved ones. And he says because his compassions fail, not, they are new every morning.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 15:57

And when I read that that it just sort of floors me, it humbles me that every day his mercies are new for me, as if I never done anything wrong. Can you? You need to. If you can't imagine that, you need to sit down at some point and just meditate on that alone, that every single day his mercies are renewed for his people. It's what we saw in the old covenant. Why did they have to come, year after year after year, to bring a sacrifice? Because that blood sacrifice was to cover the sins of the people. For how long? Temporarily, for a year, and then they have to do it again. So for the people of God in the new covenant says his tender mercies are renewed every day.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 16:51

Every morning I wake up and I should be thankful that my tender mercies, that his tender mercies, are renewed for me, because I flubbed up yesterday, somehow, some way, some way, somehow. You see, I'm an amen, somehow, some way. I flubbed up and I said sensitive, selfish, still have those bits of carnality that the Lord is dealing with me and he's dealing with this. All he dealt with all the Israelites. Remember that 40 years he dealt with them.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 17:23

And then what did he do? He cast them into the wilderness because he's not going to wrestle with man forever. He gave them 40 years to repent. They still didn't repent. They walked in unbelief all those 40 years. They had a fire by day Excuse me, a fire by night. They had a cloud by day. None of their raiment was worn, worn or no. The same raiment they left, each of them the same raiment they had when they were about to walk into the province until they died. None of them needed to be replaced. His tender mercies were renewed even in that state.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 17:57

But at some point the Lord said I had enough and I'm going to take your, your, your, your descendants, not you. And so that's sobering to think that. Yes, it's humbling that that, yes, his tender mercies are renewed for us and, yes, he doesn't remember our sins against us. But if we continue to walk in unbelief and rebellion, it's sobering to know that at some point, god is to say I had enough, I'm not going to wrestle with you forever, but this isn't one of those messages where I'm just trying to get you to just feel all down and depressed. I'm really not. I don't promise things, and you'll understand why because I have broken promises before it. And the Lord said to me after a while, when I started getting into the scriptures, he had my rhyme renewed and he said don't make promises, don't swear, you don't need to do those things that you're yes but yes, and you're no, be no. So that's what I need to be doing, so that that took some mind renewing. But I want you to know and this is really where the crux of everything is that Jesus said in Matthew 12 31, wherefore I say unto you and just focus on this part, because there's more to it, but just focus on this are all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 19:17

I know we all have our different backgrounds, we all have our different experiences. It may not look like it, but but as far as you can see me, does it? Does it look like I was raised in the ghetto? Probably not, but you know what my cousins were. My cousins were Hispanic. My uncles and aunts section a welfare. You probably wouldn't think that you know, looking at me right here right now, but I was close enough to have a taste of what that was like, to not necessarily live on the streets like you're homeless, but if you've ever been in the ghetto, you know. You know when you're in the city and you're on that section 8 and welfare and all of that stuff, you really live enough streets and you just trying to get by and you, just you do things that maybe you normally wouldn't do had you had a different opportunity in life and again, maybe you would have.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 20:13

Oh who knows, because we're all have sinned right and fallen short of the glory of God. But I know what it's like to be that close to it and and to see where, where my family came from, and to appreciate what my mom did, even in her ignorance, even when she wasn't a Christian, how she tried to keep me away and out of that. But when I read the word and I see that all manner of sin Shall be forgiven unto men, that should spark up some hope that maybe you didn't have before, maybe you never considered, maybe maybe you thought that you were just so bad that ain't no way in heaven and earth that anybody, much less God, is gonna forgive me. But yet Jesus, from his own mouth, said all manner of sin and blasphemy Shall be forgiven unto men. And I could read the next verse. I'm sure it's up there, but that's not my focus. You know about the blasphemy against the holy ghost and shall not be forgiven, and that's not the point I want you to focus on that. Every single thing that you have ever done in your life that has been wrong, that has been evil, that has been sinful and wicked, that you have an opportunity to be forgiven. How can we be forgiven is kind of where we're getting at.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 21:29

In Matthew, chapter 18, peter came up to Jesus after so many different teachings. You know, if you read Matthew and that's kind of where I'm at right now, so that's why some of the Matthew scriptures are coming out but you read about the sermon on the mount and the beatitudes and, and, from five to seven, all of these wonderful characteristics that the children of God should have and how they should be. And in Matthew 18, peter comes to him after all of these different teachings that have been that he's been hearing and listening to, and for some reason he wants to know. Lord, lord, way, you just said something recently and I just can't get over this. He says how often Must I forgive my brother who sins against me? He says do I do it seven times?

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 22:11

Think about why Peter might have chose seven. I'm gonna throw at Jesus the perfect number I just seven times, right, lord? That's all I gotta do is just just forgive seven times, because that's a perfection number, that's a completion number. And then Jesus turns around and says no, 70 times seven. How about that, peter? I say into the until seven times, but until 70 times seven.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 22:41

So you think about what's the principle underlying that Jesus is teaching as he's answering this question no, not seven times, but 70 times seven. It's almost like perfection magnified, perfection multiplied. Yeah, you use seven, no, I it's over, like I. You know you play in poker and you, what would you say when you say I raise it? You know Jesus saying I raise your seven with 70 times seven. How about that, peter? You know that's 490 if you just think mathematically. But don't think mathematically, because that's carnal. That's not what he was trying to intend to say. It's not 490.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 23:18

He's giving a principle and, to be honest with you, it's very difficult to accomplish this when you have somebody that Hurts you and continues to hurt you. It's hard to forgive Because you in pain and every once in a while you keep feeling that pain. But how many of you are married here today? Okay, I don't care whether it's before two years, like CJ was saying, or after two years, or at least 38 years. In every marriage, each spouse has hurt one another Somehow, some way. It just happens. You hurt me, some of you, something you said, something you did, maybe something you didn't do. I was expecting that and you didn't do it. You know that hurt. So how is it that we forgive when, in that relationship, whether it be how much? Was yours 34, 38? Hey, okay, yours was 30, so the other one was 60. That's right, that's what I was thinking of you, no matter how long you've been together, how is it that you continue to forgive someone that has, over that time period, hurt you In some way, some fashion? It's very difficult to do that.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 24:36

In our house we have three children. You all know them well. Most of you do Um 17, 15 and now 13, sorry, 14. That's right, 14 because she was 13. Sorry about that. Um, I can't tell you how, like, like, my wife and I are like, really tired of hearing. I'm sorry. Why are we tired of hearing? I'm sorry Because they did it again the next day, hey, and the next day and the next and the next month, and we're Years. I'm so tired of sorry. I would just rather you and I tell them this, so it's not like it's it's any. Um, I'd rather you just not do it again. Don't tell me sorry, no, but just don't do it again.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 25:31

If you don't do it again, it's very easy to forgive, see, because you're not hurting me anymore, you, by doing the same thing over and over again. You know it's, and then, and then it's, it's like, it's like one of your children, you know, as they playing around, they flip you in the eye, ow, I'm hurting, and I'm hurting, and they're walking around and they're just having fun, and you still in pain. And then they come and ask you hey, mama, can we go get some ice cream? You're not even gonna knowledge, you hurt me, you know. So sometimes, sorry, we don't even want sorry, but but but if we did and we we do, I mean we want to hear that. Um, we want it to be sincere, I want it to be genuine and appropriately timed. So think about that. Appropriately timed. But when we say I'd rather not hear sorry, I'd rather you not do it again, what we're saying is I'd rather you repent, that's right, I'd rather you just repent. And that's not a me thing, that's a god thing.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 26:44

In 2nd Timothy 2, 25, there's something that that needs to be understood about repentance, because that's why we keep getting the same mistakes over and over and over again. And it's not to say that I'm there yet and I don't make those mistakes. But when we truly repent, when it's sincere and when it's genuine, it's because it has this element or this attribute, an aspect, as I read it "in meeknes s, instructing those that oppose themselves. If God, perad venture will give them repentance. What? To the acknowledging of the truth. That's right. Maybe because sometimes you hear and I'm just using my kids because it's a great example you hear the sorry, you hear it, but then they keep doing it over and over again. Well they weren't really sorry! They're sorry, they got caught. But if they were really sorry, even if there were tears of remorse, if they were really sorry Like a sorry is really meant they wouldn't do it again Because they would recognize that what they did is what caused the offense, the hurt, and so they were. They would try their best not to do it again. But that's the same way with God. I mean all of those listed.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 28:03

I only listed a few sins I could have listed. I could have gone forever. I could have gone forever with sins, but though there weren't one time sins that I committed Multiple times, multiple times, and yet the lord Still loves me, why? Well, I have to look at the scriptures, because and a great example of that is king David. I can't. I'm thinking, maybe I'll come correct me and I'll come bring somebody up, but I can't think of another saint that is so popular, that is so high of monopetistal on faith, yet was their. Their shame of sin was so glaringly obvious.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 28:53

David, yeah, he took out galaid. Yeah, he defeated the army of the phyllisines. He also looked upon a woman that was naked, taking a shower, and Before he ever committed adultery, he was already committing adultery in his heart, because he had planned to invite her over to his palace, knowing that she was married, and take her in and commit adultery and fornication with her. But he didn't stop there. He took it a step further, and maybe he didn't put the knife of the sword in Uriah's chest or back, but he made it so he would not return back alive, and that's murder. He just committed adultery. He committed murder against somebody who was innocent Of any wrongdoing, against him personally.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 29:50

But David, when he was confronted by the prophet Nathan, what was his response? That should be what communicates to us, that should be what renews our mind, because it's how he responded that made all the difference in the world, which is why God can still say of David he was a man after my own heart. But he says to the chief musician a psalm of David. When Nathan the prophet came unto him after he had gone to Bathsheba, he said have mercy upon me, oh God, according to the loving kindness, according unto the multitude of the tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. That's how he responded.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 30:34

Psalm 51, he said wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin, for I acknowledge my transgressions and my sin is ever before me. I can't wipe it out. I can't, I can't go back in time and change it. I can't cover it from you, like Adam and Eve tried to cover themselves from the Lord against the the only, have I sinned and done this even in thy sight. That's the acknowledgement to the truth that needs to be had in a child of God, in a true saint, that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest and be clear when thou judges, because you see, you have every right to judge me and to cast me into the lake of fire. I fall upon what your tender mercies, because the judge has every right to cast down judgment into the lake of fire, because all have sinned All.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 31:40

It doesn't matter what your sin was. Your sin may be slightly different looking than mine. Yet if I had a meter stick that represented the law, does it matter whether I broke it at the 35th inch or at the 12th inch? If I broke it at the 12th engine, is it broken? If I broke it at the 35th and maybe you got to the 35th law or whatever, and then it broke, is it still broken? It's broken, it's done. It doesn't matter what your sin was. It doesn't matter how foul, how evil it is in your own sight. If you come to the Lord with this type of response acknowledging that what you did was absolutely wrong, not only was it wrong against who I committed it with, with Bathsheba, or against your ryer or whatever but know that you recognize I sinned against you, a holy God, the holy God, and you required greater of me, and I failed. So I fall upon your tender mercies. I ask you to wash me clean, because I can't.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 32:50

And remember what happened when David was found out by Nathan the prophet, what happened when the baby was born? But what was he doing? He was fasting. He was fasting and praying, and asking for what? Mercy. But he still suffered the consequences of his sin, didn't he? The baby died, and that was his judgment. And did David argue with God about taking away his son? No, he did not. He accepted it because sometimes, even though we may be forgiven eternally, we have to pay for the consequences of our sin and we have to accept it. And that's a man who's humble, recognize it, acknowledging his sin and accepting whatever the penalty is, because there are times where we have sinned and we really didn't feel the penalty right. May have gotten away with it. Right, he was merciful then. Right, and you're happy about that, you didn't get caught. Then you can't go against him, because he allows you to pay a penalty the next time around.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 34:14

See, when we wrong the Lord, or anyone else for that matter, if someone falls in the same sin, sometimes we excuse them and we say, well, you know what I did. That too, it's okay. I mean, we've all done that. Is that really our response? You think King David, if he ran against anyone that committed adultery in Israel's camp, would have said oh, you're okay, you know I committed the same sin, but unfortunately that's what the enemy wants us to get to, because then we begin to lose that standard, that plumb line. It doesn't matter if we've committed the sin and you commit the same sin where you're just as guilty, you don't get a free ride. Maybe because I did it too, then you can get a free ride because you know I committed it too. No, we need to recognize that it's sin period. You missed the mark, you failed.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 35:23

Now sometimes the penalty is different for different people, but that's God. He did say I will have mercy. Upon whom I will have mercy. I will have compassion, on whom I will have compassion. And if two people committed the same sin and he gets this type of judgment and he gets a different judgment, who are we to tell the Lord hey, you did something wrong there. You know who tried to do that Job. He tried to argue with God. Remember, job was a blameless, upright man in the sight of the Lord and he just couldn't understand why. Why am I going through this? Why did I lose my children? Why did I lose my belongings? Why do I have all these sores all over my body? I just want to know why. Because I don't understand. And in that questioning of God's judgment, you are then defying and saying well, Lord, I think you made a mistake, but you don't make mistakes and his judgment and his mercy and his compassion is always righteous, whether we like it or not. Personally, it doesn't matter whether we loved this person, our family, our relatives, our friends. When they sin, if judgment comes upon them, we can't get mad at God because he did that way with them.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 36:57

The issue that we really want when we sin is to have a good conscience toward God. We want to be feel like we're okay again or safe again, because when we sin, our relationship is broken. You can't be in the presence of a holy God when you have sinned and feel comfortable. You can't. You're not going to feel comfortable, not in your mind, not in your heart. You can't be in the presence of a holy God in sin and feel comfortable and feel at peace. You're not going to feel at peace. You're not going to feel uncomfortable. You're going to feel like something is wrong and you're going to want to fix it. You should want to fix it. You should want to find a way not to appease him. But fixing it is David's response, because David couldn't fix it. He had already done it. You can go back in time, like some sci-fi movie, and fix it and redo something else, like back to the future. It doesn't work that way. The only thing you can do when you have sin is fall upon the tender mercies of a holy God and ask him to cleanse you, to wash you thoroughly, to clean you.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 38:18

Now I want to bring up these scriptures because I believe there's a parallel to this and it feels like it's going to change a little bit. But it's really not, because these scriptures talk about healing. But I believe there's some underlying principle that I want to kind of show out and hopefully it'll be that blessing that I desire it to be, that I believe God has given it to me. So in Matthew 9.22, there was a woman that was desperate, desperate upon desperate, upon desperate, to be healed. She had an issue of blood that she had been suffering for years and years and years and years. And she went through the crowds and she I mean she did whatever was necessary. She probably pushed people around and said, hey, what are you doing? And she was on the floor and she just touched the hem of his garment and moment that she did that, she received her healing. And Jesus was looking around and he said to her, when he found her, she said daughter, be of good comfort, thy faith have made the whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour. But there was another time that Jesus did another healing and that was in Matthew 15.28. And he said oh woman, great is thy faith. Be it unto thee as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 39:44

And the reason why I'm bringing that up to you is because, when we are sick, how many of you had a stomach ache? Okay, you've had a hand that's had a stomach ache. She immediately raised her hand. Okay, how many of you just? Maybe wasn't a stomach ache, maybe you just felt, god awful, headache, fever, burning up.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 40:07

I don't want to be in this body. I've been there. It doesn't happen very often, but I remember I had a stomach ache. I was just in such discomfort and pain that I was just like crying oh God, please take this from me, please take this from me. Have you ever been that way with any kind of sickness or disease? And you want the healing. I mean you just, I need the healing, lord. And you're just crying out Okay, and that's where these people were at.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 40:36

They were just at the end of themselves. They cannot go anywhere else. Medicine ain't working, medicine's working. I just need to be. I need this divine healing. And Jesus says to them greatest I faith, be it unto thee as thou wilt, meaning you desire this so much, I'm going to give it to you and that's from you. You just want it so badly. You need it. It's not you want. You need it so badly that you're crying out in desperation. That's how we have to be with our sin. If we come to understand that sin has diseased and affected our life, then there has to be an extreme desire to be made whole again. And we turn to John five, verse five through 15. We're going to look into this some more.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 41:39

There was a man there. He had an infirmity for 38 years and he wasn't looking for Jesus. He was sitting by a pool, because when an angel came and stirred the pool, if you dipped your hand or touched it, you would be healed Again. He wasn't looking for Jesus, he was just at the pool, he was just. You know, he was just there waiting for that that angel to stir it and Jesus came to him. And Jesus asked him willed thou be made whole? Do you want to be healed? Do you desire to be healed? Is this what you want? And the impotent man answered him and said sir, I have no man. When the water is troubled, to put me into the pool, I have no one. In other words, I'm here, but I don't even have a person that helped me get into the pool.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 42:35

He was an impotent man. He says, and every time that the angel comes and stirs it, someone else steps in front of me and gets the healing. And Jesus said unto him rise, take up thy bed and walk. Just like that. He wasn't even asking for Jesus, he wasn't looking for Jesus. He says is that what you want? Is that what you want?

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 43:07

And when Jesus meets this man, because this man took up his bed, he walked, he went around in the Pharisee's soles. What are you doing? It's a Sabbath day. How can you be rising? Take up your bed and walk. And he said well, this man just cured me. Well, who is this man that told you to do this? I don't know. I don't know. I never met him before. He just told me to take up my bed and walk, and I was able to, and Jesus had had gone away. But then he came back and he saw him and he told the man behold, you are made whole. But look at the next couple words sin no more, less the worst thing come on today.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 43:54

What we don't understand, maybe, is that when we come to Jesus and he does give us the opportunity to be healed and I'm not just talking about physical healing, I'm talking about spiritual healing he requires something else. There is an expectation on his part in regards to you. It's what we call a covenant. He's made covenant promises to his people and those promises are available to all others if they will Keep their part of the covenant. A covenant is a pact. It is an agreement that two parties make and one party says I'm gonna do this and I'm gonna do this and I'm gonna do this For you, but you must do this. So there's an agreement, there's a pact being made. That's what a covenant is. We call it a testament, last will and testament. It's a covenant.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 44:51

The biblical word is a covenant. You made an agreement and you have certain obligations and God has certain obligation. The only problem is, god never fails to uphold this side, because he says I will bless you if you do this and you do this and you this. But he also said I will curse you if you do this and you do this and you do this, and he upholds both ends of the market, but it's up to you what you get out of it, because it's your choice.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 45:19

You want to be blessed. Do you want to be blessed? Look at the beatitudes, look at all of the qualities that you should have as a person. He said blessed is the man. Blessed is the man. Blessed is the man you want to be blessed? Look at those blessings of how it is to be blessed. Blessed are that? What pure and heart, for they shall see God. Well, if you don't have a pure heart, then don't expect to be blessed. You need to be those things. You need to have those things that be attitudes, to have this type of attitude so that you can be blessed. Because he's more than willing to Bless. He is more than willing to do what we read him doing with physical healings. He's willing to do it for you spiritually.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 46:02

Let's look at another scripture Matthew, chapter 8, verses 2 and 3 there was a leper that came to him and worshiped him, and this leper said to the Lord and the reason why I'm bringing up this scripture is because when we're sick, there is no doubt that we want to be healed I'm talking about physical he has when we're feeling pain, when we're feeling discomfort, especially of a prolonged period. We just need to get healed because we're done with what we're suffering. Okay, so the willingness is there for us, but some of us question whether God is willing, and Sometimes that is what it's holding us back from receiving the blessing. So I read you this scripture because I want you to know what his thoughts are on the matter. He said to this leprous man who asked him Lord, if thou will, if you will, jesus, you can make me clean. All you have to do is will it, jesus? And Jesus put forth his hand and touched him and said this I will. And that's what I want you to walk away with, knowing that the Lord wills to heal you. He wants to heal you as much as you want to be free of the sickness and the disease or the infirmity or the pain or the discomfort that you're going through in the physical, and you need that physical healing,

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 47:35

if you come to him with that same desire for your spiritual healing, for the forgiveness of your sins, I'm telling you that the Lord wills to forgive you, to cleanse you, and to make you white as snow, as if you've never done anything wrong. He wants to do that. He has an extreme desire to do that very thing. For, he said, the Lord is not slack concerning his promise. Some men count slackness, but it's long suffering to us. Word not willing. The Lord is not willing that what any man should perish. You see, if we we bring to him with this spiritual need of forgiveness, of cleansing, I'm telling you that the Lord is not not willing that you should perish and he's more than willing to forgive. He is more than willing to cleanse you of your sins and to make you white and bright as snow.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 48:43

Now I've been talking about a lot of physical healing, and so you may come away with this thinking. Well, you brought up a lot of physical healing examples. So that's really what it's about. He wants you to be healed physically. Let me give you another example Matthew 9, verses 2 through 8. There was a man sick of the palsy. He was lying on a bed and Jesus seeing their faith because they were gonna bring him to him. Remember that man come through the roof Seeing their faith set into the sick of palsy. What? Let's ask this question before we go on. What were they coming to him for his friends? We're bringing the man sick of the palsy to Jesus. What did they want from Jesus? Heal him from what? The policy right.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 49:32

But look at what Jesus says. He sees them and he says son of, be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven of thee. He didn't bring up the palsy. He said thy sins be forgiven of thee, knowing they wanted to come for his physical healing. And and then you know, the certain of the scribes in the Pharisees, always blaspheming and all that stuff. Who is he who think he is doing? Forgiveness, sin and Jesus, knowing their thoughts set into them, why do you think this evil in your hearts? Is it easier to say Thy sins be forgiven, or to take up your bed and rise and walk? It's as easy to say the same thing. But you see, he's making a principle there. I Could, he said, I could just as easily have said I'll rise, take up your bed and walk, but no, I wanted to say thy sins are forgiven. He is more than willing to heal you of your physical infirmity, but he's just as willing to heal you of and forgive you of your sins. And he arose and he departed in his house and when the multitudes saw, they marveled, they glorify God which had given such power unto men. And so I'm talked about covenant and I'm not really emphasizing physical healing here, I'm emphasizing spiritual healing, the forgiveness of sins.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 50:59

If we say that we are fellowship with him and we walk in darkness, we're liars. We're liars, we can't say we love Jesus and we're walking in darkness in ways that are contrary to him, ways that we know that he is not condoning, ways that we know that he is not for. We're liars, we're. But who are we deceiving when we say that, oh, I love Jesus and I'm here walking in sin? Who we lying? Who we deceiving, only deceiving ourselves, and in the end was only gonna get us right into the lake of fire With a, with a red carpet rolled out. So we go walking right into the lake of fire because we're deceiving ourselves.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 51:48

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, notice that if word, that means there's a condition. Always think of if, then you read the scriptures and you see the word, if there's gonna be a then coming, or you'll somehow see that, oh, it leads to that. So here it is. If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, and have fellowship with one another, then the blood of Jesus, his son, cleanses us from all sin. There's your if, then, if you really want to be forgiven of your sins and you really want a new start, a new life, a new birth, then you have to decide that you are no longer going to walk in the darkness and you're gonna walk in the light that he provides you, the light of his word, the light of his will.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 52:46

For if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So you see, it's not just a matter of confession. It said if we walk in the light meaning we've got to do something, we've got to walk in the light and if we turn away from our darkness, which is repentance, and we start walking in the light, as he is in the light, and we confess our sins, then he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteous, because all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. But he also said that all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven of men. So you have great hope Because he is willing to forgive you of any and all sin, no matter where you come from, whether it's the ghetto or Park Avenue, you know rich places, poor places, places in the middle, it doesn't matter. Sin is sin in God's eyes and you are separated from him. But if you will walk in the light, as he is in the light, if you will confess the things that you have done as sin and Ask for forgiveness, he will forgive you. He will forgive you.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 54:12

In John 15, 3 through 4, it says Jesus Was saying to his disciples is very into the into the last supper he said now you are clean Through the word which I have spoken unto you and you've just received a lot of word tonight. And if you take it and you hold on to it and you walk in the light of this word, you shall be clean. Jesus wills to clean, he wills to forgive, he wills to wash us all thoroughly, thoroughly from our sins, to make us white as snow. And then look at the next sign I'll buy it in me and I in you. Abide in his word and his word will abide in you. In other words, if you come to him according to his word, then he is now obligated to fulfill his word to you.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 55:13

I will forgive all manner of sin and blasphemy.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 55:17

What's your part? Repent and confess it. Acknowledge that what you've done is wrong, acknowledge that it is a sin against me, and I'll gladly receive you unto myself. And so then we can sing as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is the father's love for me. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he taken our sins from us. Amen, hallelujah. The Lord has given us the power to be a man. Thus is the ministry of our father's heart through us. Our utmost desire is to be in the father's heart, to know the father's heart and express the father's heart to you.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 56:10

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