Video Transcript: Forgive Wrongs

I want to begin today by giving you an observation. Now this is I've met 1000s  10s of 1000s of people in my life as a minister, and as a leader, as a pastor,  here at Christian Leaders Ministries, and I got to know 1000s of people and talk, long conversations. And you know, when you have someone who has a great  attitude, when someone who has a blaming, shaming, complaining attitude, and  I've noticed some unique characteristics that I would say, applies in every case  that I can think of. And I'm sort of a philosopher, so I am making theories and  observing and all of these things about life. And here's one of the things I've  noticed that people who have great attitudes, forgive others of their wrongs, and  truly forgive them and move on into a new reality. Hebrews 12:15, see to it that  no one misses the grace of God, and that no Bitter Root grows up to cause  trouble and defile many. That would make sense, a bitter root would definitely  hurt. A great attitude, a positive and uplifting attitude. What is a bitter root? A  bitter root is when someone has hurt you, someone has offended you, that  offense goes deep into your heart. And when you think about that person, you  think, negative emotion, you don't see them as a fellow image bearer of God  who has a sinful nature. And because that sinful nature causes them to selfishly  act even against you. You think of them as that is my enemy. And what they've  done to me is unforgivable. That is a bitter root. How do you get rid of bitter  roots? Well, first of all, realize that you have been forgiven. I John 2:12, I want to write you, dear children, because of your sins have been forgiven, on account of his name. It's the gospel earlier we said, the foundation of a great attitude is to  know that your sins are forgiven, that Jesus rose from the dead, the gospel, but  that core is very practical too in real time in real life with real names. But to  understand how to forgive them, your real name, your real core, needs to  understand that you, you, you have been forgiven. There's so many amazing  stories in the Bible about this, like the story of the ungrateful servant who has a  huge debt and he goes to the Master, Jesus tells the story, and the master  forgives his debt. And then there he has another person another servant of this  servant, who is his servant so down the chain of servanthood and when that and there's a small debt any won't forgive that debt and that master comes and sees this wicked servant who's not forgiving the debt and says that forgave you big,  you can't even forgive little. That's the truth. If we start comparing our wrongs to  someone else, and don't take responsibility that we have offended God and  others, in that we have been forgiven, and then taking the truth, the spiritual  truth of that and start applying it to every relationship in our life that is walking in  the Gospel, Forgiveness is ongoing. You see interesting real quick, it's  interesting to think about, okay, right now I'm just gonna clear the deck on  everything. But no, forgiveness is ongoing. Stay in a positive attitudes space.  Uplifting, a great attitude space. Our sins stay forgiven in real time. I John 1:9, If  we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us  from all unrighteousness. So, remember, our sins in real time, continue to be 

forgiven by God, as we confess our sins. There is a real time nature of so it  creates in us the lifestyle of forgiveness. Jesus said, If your brother offends you,  how many times do you forgive him and 70 times not just seven times. So you  do see it's not like Cain in Genesis seven times it's 77 times that the point is, is  as an ongoing lifestyle. Forgiveness is your lifestyle, Colassians 3:13. Bear with  each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another  forgive as the Lord forgave you. So is that your lifestyle? Do you have a series  of bitter roots? Do you have a garden filled with weeds? If you want to cultivate  a great attitude uprooting those bitter roots is essential because that lack of  Nforgiveness will drag you down. Now somebody may say, Well, do you forgive  an abuser? And I want to be really clear. Boundaries are very important. If  someone is abusing you, don't be around them to be abused. Forgive them and  change your situation, if you are able to move on to a different situation. Now, I  am going to be clear about something here. mean many people live their life in  their situation because they're protecting others. And it's difficult. And I  understand that a mother protecting her children and then figuring out a way to  create boundaries, it gets messy. We read that in Galatians 6:1, brothers, if  someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently but  watch yourself that you are you may also be tempted. Keep blessed boundaries  that serve the offender. So to not offend and keeping focused on more  productive pursuits. What am I mean by that? Is don't stay in abusive situations  in it, if it is in your power to change that. Yet, pray for the abuser. Create new  boundaries. But walk in the lifestyle of forgiveness. There's that fine line that  somebody may say So are you saying just forgive the abuser and stay in that  situation? No, I'm saying is understand that people who offend, they will be in  your life and the offenders themselves. need Jesus Christ. You' know the Gospel is about this. We are called to reach the whole world. The whole world. Many in  the world don't know Lord and they are the offenders. We are called to reach  them. But we're also called not to be influenced by them see, notice the  boundary. So while we reach them, we don't do as they do. Their abusive  attitudes of sin. We don't hang around that's a boundary. But if someone abuses us, of course, we do not just hang around there. However, we pray we strategize in our heart and mind on how to restore that person gently. Now, this truth is a  truth that can be dangerously understood. Where you can think you know, let go of responsibility here or blame it on Pastor Henry for talking like this. Don't take  it this way. All I know is live a lifestyle of forgiveness. Where even the abusers  are prayed for and loved. Where boundaries are created. They're blessed. To  the boundaries that serve both the abusers, and you, and Christ, and others,  and all of those that God has put in your life. So, to develop a great attitude is to  become a person of forgiveness. So, here's my assignment. If you haven't  thought this through yet, who are you bitter against? Who needs to be forgiven 

by you? How can your garden be cleared out of the weeds that you make thrive  in the fruit of the joy of life in Jesus Christ?