LETTING GO TO LIVE FREE
I’m so glad that I have finally found a church where everyone is good to everyone all the time and no one ever gets their feelings hurt or does mean things to one another.
The truth is that we face the potential for hurt everywhere we go – even within the church
Ecclesiastes 7:20 “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.”
The difference should be that as Christians we offer forgiveness more often than the rest of the world…
Colossians 3: 13, “Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”
This morning I want us to look at how we can better deal with our hurts and bitterness and how if we hold on to these hurts…no matter how bad they hurt…they can change for the worse…
your relationships with others and most importantly our relationship with God…the fact is… that with unforgiveness in the way the Holy Spirit cannot fully direct our lives…how do I know that is true…because God is faithful and true and is willing to forgive us of any and every offense…
C.S. Lewis is quoted as saying, “Everyone thinks forgiveness is a lovely idea until they have something to forgive.”
But yet…WE ARE CALLED TO FORGIVE EVERY PERSON WHO OFFENDS US…no matter what their offense against us is.
That may seem like an impossibility to you right now. And perhaps you’re right…it IS impossible for YOU to forgive.
But we’re going to talk today about allowing the forgiveness of God to work IN you and THROUGH you.
The Bible has a lot to say about the importance of mercy, grace, and forgiveness toward others:
Hebrews 12:15, “See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.”
FORGIVENESS IS A SALVATION ISSUE.
I read that a man named General Oglethorpe once said to John Wesley: “I never forgive and I never forget.” To which Wesley replied: “Then, sir, I hope that you never sin.” For you see, the scriptures seem to state that, if we are unwilling to forgive another person, we are choosing to cut off our own access to GOD’S forgiveness.
Matthew 6:15
15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins
Jesus told a parable that illustrated how hypocritical it is of us to refuse to forgive another person.
Parable of the unmerciful servant in Matt 18…where we find a man standing before his human master owning a debt that he could not pay and the master ordered that he and family be sold to pay the debt…so he fell to his knees and begged for forgiveness…and the master had pity on him…but then it was his turn to offer the same kind of forgiveness…
Matthew 18:28–30, “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. 29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’ //30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.”
What a Hypocrite!
Yet, that’s just how ridiculous and offensive our unforgiving hearts must seem to God.
So Jesus restates the point that our lack of forgiveness can nullify God’s forgiveness for our sins.
Matthew 18:31–35, “When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened. 32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. 35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
UNWILLINGNESS TO FORGIVE HINDERS US FROM CONNECTING WITH GOD.
Mark 11:25
25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”
What is the result of unforgiveness in your heart…let me give you a few examples…
Your time in communion is expressing something less than genuine.
Your songs of praise are just noise (like clanging symbols).
Your prayers are just powerless chatter.
Your desire to enjoy intimacy with God will most likely be unfulfilled.
We are to be the ones to INITIATE (not just wait for) an opportunity to reconcile.
As Christians, are called to be peace makers. What is keeping you from being a peace maker?
Perhaps it’s PRIDE that keeps you from initiating it. Oh yea that first thing we had to clean of our porches so that we could better see the rest of the mess we needed to clean up…we find our selves saying things like
“They’re going to have to come to me and say, ‘I’m sorry,’ or else I’m done with them forever.”
Or perhaps it’s a FEAR of confrontation that keeps you from initiating it. You just don’t have the courage to face them.
You worry that it might not go well and could end awkwardly. You’re right, it could.
But we are called to do what we can from our end to SEEK reconciliation.
In some situations, maybe YOU are the one who was in the wrong.
I encourage you to reach out in some way. It might be through a phone call, an email, a letter, or through Facebook.
Even if they totally blow you off you can say that you have done these action steps…
- To acknowledge what you did and the pain that it caused (own it)
- To express your regret and remorse
- To ask for forgiveness
James 5: 16, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed...”
Even if they don’t grant forgiveness, you have taken an important step in being set free from the mistakes of the past. You can’t control another person’s reaction to you, but at least you can find closure in knowing that you’ve done everything you can do to make amends for the past.
Romans 12:18, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
In other situations, you may be the one who was hurt.picture
It could be something that happened recently, a few months ago, or even something from years ago.
You may be still carrying scars from something that happened during your childhood.
Maybe you were abused physically, emotionally, or sexually.
Maybe you were abandoned by someone who was supposed to love you more than anyone in the world.
Maybe someone hurt someone you love or took something from you that you cannot get over.
Chances are that you feel very entitled to carry the grudge that you’ve carried for all these years.
The vast majority of people wouldn’t blame you either!
But today you hear the voice of the Holy Spirit saying, “Forgive.” I encourage you to begin the process of reconciliation today.
Forgiveness begins with a CHOICE to forgive.
Maybe you need to personally go and forgive someone…
Finally, put the icing on the cake of forgiveness by going out of your way to BLESS your former enemy…that’s a hard one…
Luke 6: 27, “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you…”
Proverbs 25: 21, “If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.”
Pick up bible
As you follow the guidance of God’s Word for the process of healing he will give you power to do what you thought was impossible for you to do…you will be able to reach out and be good to those that have hurt you…
That is when they see Jesus in you…then you have given them reason to believe in the healing power of the Holy Spirit. Watch this video clip of one such story
Romans 8: 28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
We need to know that though many of ius have endured great hurts…God can and will use those hurts for GOOD if you just have the faith to DO WHAT HE CALLS YOU TO DO…
Genesis 50:20, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”
When we hold a grudge against someone:
We are endangering our own salvation
We are allowing emotional baggage to remain in our heart and rob our joy
We are hindering the work of the Holy Spirit in our heart
We are crippling our prayers
It is time to let go of those hurts and those grudges and live really live a life that God desires for us to have…be a forgiving person…be more and more like Jesus…when you let go then you are truly free
Invitation
