Let It Go
Supernatural 4
We tend to carry painful parts of our past: resentment against people who’ve hurt us, mistakes we’ve made, and even bitterness toward God.
The pain we hold on to weighs us down and keeps us from stepping into the presence of God and the freedom He has for us.
A practical approach to letting go of the past for good and embracing true forgiveness for the future.
Line in the Sand Moments
How New Is Made…
A Whole New World
Creation – Spirit ->Word ->Spirit
SPIRIT
The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.—Genesis 1:2
WORD
Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.—Genesis 1:3
SPIRIT
Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.—Genesis 2:7
A Whole New Person
SPIRIT
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’—Isaiah 30:21
WORD
So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.—John 1:14
SPIRIT
But it is actually best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Counselor won’t come. If I do go away, he will come because I will send him to you.—John 16:7
WHAT WILL THE COUNSELOR DO?
Comfort you.
Counsel you.
Convict you.
Toward what? – Who Jesus is and What He is Doing!
He [the Holy Spirit] will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.—John 16:14
To what end? – Who the Father is and What He is Doing!
Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.—John 14:8-9 (ESV)
TO BE THE NEW, YOU HAVE TO STOP BEING THE OLD.
“Out with the old and in with the new.”
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.—2 Corinthians 5:17
We don’t feel like we can live the supernatural life in the presence of God because we don’t allow the process of renewal in our lives.
Salvation is a process of renewal.
Attitudes need renewing.
Behavior needs refreshing.
LET IT GO FOR A NEW LIFE
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.—Romans 12:1 NLT
“living”
…to live, breathe, be among the living (not lifeless, not dead), to enjoy real life, to have true life and worthy of the name, active, blessed, endless in the kingdom of God, to live or pass life in the manner of the living and acting of mortals or character, living water, having vital power in itself and exerting the same upon the soul, to be in full…
“holy”
…set apart, different, peculiar, aligned to, prepared for a specific task, clean, not contaminated.
“sacrifice”
…to offer ourselves entirely to Jesus.
True life (new) comes then from living subject to Jesus and not bound to or by our old hangups. HOW?
DON’T DO IT LIKE WE HAVE ALWAYS DONE IT
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.—Romans 12:2 NLT
WHEN WE PARTICPATE IN THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE, WE LIVE THE ULTIMATE LIFE.
Jesus, taught to us in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who is helping us put down the old, is the only power on earth that can transform us into the new, from the natural (worldly) to the wondrous presence of God (supernatural).
The most simple expressiom about sacrifice would be one we have all heard…
TO LOVE LIKE JESUS LOVES
To love was not a self-fulfilling (natural) transaction to Jesus.
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.—John 13:34-35 NKJV
If we submit (I do) to the process of love, we are truly BEING His disciples (I am doing).
The ability to sacrificially love like Jesus sacrificially loved, to let go of things for no benefit to himself but solely benefitting others, has become a foreign concept.
As soon as we hear the word sacrifice, we immediately start to think of the natural things we will have to give up, but spiritual sacrifice is about who we worship and not who benefits.
THE SACRIFICE – WHAT DO WE NEED TO LET GO TO GET GOING?
1. OFFENSE
OFFENSE: The bias to attribute our behavior to our circumstances while attributing someone else’s actions to their character.
The supernatural calling ahead of you is far greater than the offenses behind you.
If you are on a continuous search to be offended, you will always find what you are looking for!
Your life is too short and your calling too great to live offended.
A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.—Proverbs 19:11
When there is a gap between what we want and what we get – we close the gap with LOVE!
Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.—Proverbs 10:12 ESV
We get to CHOOSE what we PUT IN THE GAP!
The devil wants you to fill the gaps with accusations. (accuser)
God wants you to fill the gaps with love!
Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.—Proverbs 17:9 NIV
Letting go of offense is a decision. It is a posture we adopt to step closure to the new life.
2. UNFORGIVENESS
Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come… So watch yourselves. “If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.” The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”—Luke 17:1, 3-5
Forgiveness is giving others what God gave you!
God’s forgiveness is at the heart of our salvation.
If we confess our sins, he [God] is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.—1 John 1:9
The Gospel isn’t just receiving forgiveness – but giving forgiveness!
Forgiveness doesn’t just flow to us!
Forgiveness flows through us!
God asks you to forgive because HE—LOVES—YOU!
God doesn’t ask you to forgive to heal the other person.
God asks you to forgive to heal you! Set you free!
THE FAITH TO LET OFFENSE GO AND TO FORGIVE
Faith enables us to see an opportunity for freedom where others only see an offense!
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