Participants: Jill Morikone
Series Code: HLFT
Program Code: HLFT000004A
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00:27 Hello, and welcome to Heart Lift.
00:29 I'm Jill Morikone and I'm so glad 00:31 that you've joined us today. 00:33 We're on a journey toward healing, 00:35 toward wholeness, 00:36 toward the transformation and forgiveness 00:39 that the Lord Jesus Christ 00:41 wants to pour into my heart and into yours, 00:44 as woman of God, as His special daughters. 00:48 If you missed the last couple of programs, 00:51 were in the middle of our journey 00:52 dealing with forgiveness. 00:55 Last program we talked about the seed, 00:57 the word of God that He wants to plant 01:00 into each one of our hearts. 01:02 We talked about how the seed is sown on the wayside. 01:05 And sometimes we become resistant, 01:07 hardened to the work of the Holy Spirit. 01:10 God says, He wants us to open up our hearts. 01:13 He wants us to surrender. 01:16 So that He can come in 01:17 and begin to break up that fallow ground. 01:21 Sometimes we might not be resistant or hardened, 01:24 but the seed is trampled on in our hearts. 01:29 Maybe the seeds been trampled on 01:31 in your heart through Satan confusing the character of God. 01:35 Maybe it's been done through some sort of abuse or pain 01:38 that you have experienced in your life. 01:41 Today, I'm excited about this program 01:44 because we're going to look at the keys, 01:46 the steps that we can take to experience forgiveness, 01:51 to be able to truly, and from our heart 01:54 forgive those who have hurt us. 01:57 Our scripture is found in Ephesians Chapter 4. 02:01 Ephesians 4: 31. 02:05 The Bible says, "Let all bitterness, wrath, 02:09 anger, clamor and evil speaking 02:12 be put away from you with all malice. 02:15 And be kind one to another, tenderhearted, 02:19 forgiving one another, 02:21 even as God in Christ forgave you." 02:25 Let's pray. 02:26 Father, we come before You and we thank You. 02:30 We thank you for the forgiveness 02:31 You have poured into our hearts. 02:34 And Lord, right now we come before You 02:36 with our bitterness, with the issues we have 02:40 with our brothers and sisters 02:41 and we say we can't take it out. 02:43 We can't get rid of it. 02:46 But we ask You to release us from that. 02:50 And we open up our hearts to the work 02:52 Your Holy Spirit wants to do in us. 02:56 And we thank You, 02:57 in the precious and holy name of Jesus. 02:59 Amen. 03:02 A sharp scream interrupted me 03:05 as I was in the kitchen working on my dishes. 03:09 When I work on the dishes, 03:11 there's a window right above the kitchen sink. 03:14 And I peered out. But I couldn't see anything. 03:17 And then all of a sudden the scream came again. 03:21 I didn't know if it was a person screaming. 03:25 It sounded a little bit like a baby crying. 03:28 But we live in the country so I know 03:30 we really don't have any close neighbors. 03:32 I had no idea what that sound was. 03:35 I ran to the front door, I threw it open. 03:38 I went outside. 03:39 And there stood our cat, 03:42 our darling Pebbles on the ground 03:46 with something brown and furry in her mouth. 03:50 And she was shaking her head from side to side. 03:54 I ran down the steps and I said, 03:56 "Pebbles, drop that now." 03:59 And amazingly, she obeyed. 04:02 That's kind of rare for her. She dropped it. 04:05 And I went over and I looked and it was a baby bunny. 04:10 It lay there, limp. 04:12 It's a little wet side is heaving in the grass. 04:15 Pebbles wandered off. 04:17 She wasn't really interested at all in eating. 04:20 She wasn't hungry. 04:21 It was just the thrill of the chase. 04:23 She wandered off and I tried to approach the bunny 04:26 and said, "I'm so sorry you got hurt." 04:29 And I looked at him and even as I did, 04:31 I scared him by me, coming up. 04:34 And he started to run away. 04:36 He was itty-bitty may be this big. 04:38 As he tried to run I realize that 04:41 she had snapped his spinalcord I guess, 04:44 in the shaking. 04:46 Because his back end didn't work. 04:48 He couldn't make the back legs work. 04:51 All he did was pull up his head with his front legs 04:53 and he dragged his little hindquarters 04:56 into the shade of my lilies. 05:00 And I didn't want to follow him 05:01 because I didn't want to scare him more 05:04 and so I did the only thing I knew how to do. 05:07 I knelt there in the grass and prayed. 05:10 Tears falling on my jeans. 05:13 The thought came, 05:14 you could put him out of his misery. 05:16 But as soon as that thought came, it vanished 05:18 because I couldn't do that. 05:22 And so as I prayed, 05:23 his little front legs quit running, 05:26 his little sides quit heaving. 05:29 And he lay still. He was dead. 05:33 Just as I realized that my kitty cat Pebbles came up 05:36 and she rubbed her face against my knee 05:40 and I thought you just killed that bunny rabbit. 05:43 And soon as I had that thought, I thought it was instinctual. 05:47 She was trained to kill since kittenhood. 05:52 So I reached out. And I began to pet her. 05:55 And as I did, it was like I felt God speak to my heart. 06:00 And He said. That's exactly how I feel. 06:03 When my children hurt each other. 06:06 I love them both. 06:08 The gossiper and the one gossiped about. 06:12 The murderer and the one murdered. 06:15 The child molester and the one molested. 06:21 I shuttered How is that even possible. 06:24 But God wasn't finished yet. 06:27 He said, "That's how I can love you Jill, 06:29 my precious daughter. 06:31 Even when you disobey, 06:33 even when you walk outside of my will, 06:38 even when you turn your back on me. 06:41 Since I have forgiven you don't you think 06:45 you could love and forgive your brothers and sisters?" 06:50 I don't know what pain is bottled up 06:52 in your heart right now. 06:55 Maybe someone lied about you or they belittled you. 06:58 Maybe you're experiencing abuse or some other trauma. 07:03 Forgiveness does not mean that what the person did was right. 07:07 I want to be clear about that. 07:08 It does not mean what the person did was right. 07:11 It simply frees us 07:13 from constantly being damaged by that person. 07:17 Forgiveness sets us free. 07:21 We want to go to a self evaluation. 07:23 How do I react towards those who hurt me? 07:27 Am I still holding on to bitterness? 07:30 We have four different options here and there again, 07:33 as always, I want to encourage you to be honest. 07:36 Just simply put down 07:38 where you feel you are right now. 07:41 Number one. 07:43 "I feel physically sick 07:45 when a certain person crosses my path. 07:48 I can't stand to see them, to be around them 07:51 or even to think about them. 07:54 Why should I forgive them? It was all their fault anyway. 07:58 My bitterness burns fiercely." 08:02 Maybe this is where you feel you are right now. 08:04 What about number two. 08:06 "I've tried to forgive the person who hurt me 08:10 but I can't seem to let it go. 08:12 Every time I see them, 08:13 all my resentments come to the surface. 08:16 My bitterness is smoldering." 08:20 I would say in my own experience, usually. 08:22 I would probably be at number two 08:24 where I know I should forgive and I've tried to forgive. 08:29 But I can't. 08:30 And my bitterness just-- it has me tightly held, 08:34 clutched in its grasp. 08:36 Maybe you're at number three. 08:38 "There are times I feel free from the spirit of bitterness, 08:42 times when I truly believe I am forgiven. 08:46 Then, suddenly, something will come up 08:48 that reminds me of that person, 08:49 and I realize there is still unforgiveness inside. 08:53 My bitterness is buried." 08:56 Or maybe you're at number four. 08:58 "I walk in complete love and forgiveness 09:01 toward those who have hurt me. 09:04 The moment a hurtful thought arises, 09:06 I surrender to Jesus and He fills me with His peace. 09:11 There is no root of bitterness left in my heart. 09:16 No matter where you feel you are today, 09:18 none of that really matters. 09:20 God takes us wherever we're at. 09:23 So you don't have to feel like I should be over here. 09:26 That doesn't matter. 09:27 Wherever we are, God says I take you. 09:30 I can transform you. 09:33 So how do we forgive? 09:35 How do we let go of that pain and that bitterness 09:39 that is bottled up inside? 09:41 In my own experience, I've found five keys, 09:45 five steps that have helped and enabled me 09:48 to break free from that bondage, 09:51 that cycle of bitterness. 09:53 And the first one is to ask for God's forgiveness. 09:57 If you're taking notes number one, 09:59 ask for God's forgiveness. 10:02 We go to God and we ask forgiveness for ourself. 10:05 1 John 1: 9 10:06 "If we confess our sins, 10:08 He's faithful and just to forgive us 10:10 and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 10:13 We've already addressed in our previous program 10:15 how we can experience walk by faith, 10:18 truly believe that we are forgiven. 10:22 But we don't just ask God for forgiveness for us. 10:25 We ask for Him to give us 10:27 His forgiveness for other people. 10:30 For those people who have hurt us. 10:34 Remember Jesus when he was on the cross, 10:37 when He was, before He went to the cross, 10:39 I should say, when they went up there 10:41 on Golgotha's hill, He laid out on the cross, 10:45 stretched out his arms. 10:48 And they, as they drove those spikes 10:50 into His hands and into His feet, 10:54 He said, we see this in Luke 23: 34. 10:59 "Father, forgive them. 11:02 For they do not know what they're doing." 11:05 He chose to forgive 11:07 and He asked God's forgiveness over them. 11:12 Number one is to ask God for His forgiveness. 11:16 We can't conjure up forgiveness ourselves. 11:19 And we can't seek to create forgiveness, 11:23 or to even feel that forgiveness 11:25 because it doesn't come natural to us. 11:27 We are human. We're sinful. 11:29 But God, by the power of His Holy Spirit, 11:32 when we ask Him, 11:33 can pour His forgiveness into our lives. 11:37 Number two is to pray for that person. 11:40 Now I'm not talking about a simple prayer, 11:43 "Lord, I just ask that you blessed Mary today 11:46 in Jesus' name, amen." 11:47 We're not talking about that type of prayer. 11:50 The type of prayer I'm talking about is radical, 11:53 it's painful but it produces amazing results. 11:59 There was a woman I will call. Janie. 12:01 That's not her real name but we'll call her Janie. 12:04 We were friends after a sort. 12:07 I never quite felt free to be me. 12:09 I always felt a little bit like I was on egg shells with her. 12:13 Perhaps you've experienced this or felt this 12:16 with one of your friends or acquaintances. 12:19 And I remember one day I was walking into her room. 12:22 And as I walked into the room, she had her back to me. 12:26 And there, in the other side of the room 12:28 she was talking to a whole group of people. 12:32 I say a whole group because it seemed dramatic to me. 12:35 There was probably ten people. 12:38 She had her back to me she's talking to ten people. 12:41 And just as I came into the room I realized, 12:44 she's talking about me. 12:46 Words poured forth, critical words, 12:50 belittling words, cutting words. 12:55 And I stood frozen, rooted to the spot. 12:59 I didn't even know what to do with it 13:01 and I went home, I prayed. 13:05 And I went to God. And I said. 13:07 I don't even know what to do with this. 13:08 I want to ask for your forgiveness 13:10 but I don't even know how do experience 13:13 Your forgiveness in this situation. 13:16 And I thought, as a good Christian, 13:20 I was handling it well 13:21 because I did not gossip about her to someone else. 13:24 I didn't talk about her. 13:26 I just kept it, bottled up and buried inside. 13:30 In fact, my bitterness was bottled up, 13:33 it was buried so deeply 13:36 that I think even I didn't sense it. 13:38 One day I was doing dishes. 13:40 And above our kitchen sink is a window. 13:44 And I like to put my favorite scriptures 13:47 or the scriptures I'm working on memorizing 13:49 taped to that window. 13:52 So the Scripture I was working on at that point was Hebrews. 13:56 Hebrews 12. 13:58 And so I was working on my memorization of Hebrews. 14:01 I was scrubbing plates in the kitchen. 14:03 And it begins with this. I learned it in King James. 14:06 "Follow peace with all men and holiness. 14:09 Without which no man shall see the Lord." 14:13 And as I was reciting that, working on memorizing it. 14:17 I'm scrub and plates and I thought. 14:19 Thank you, Jesus, that I'm walking in peace 14:22 toward my brothers and sisters. 14:25 My bitterness, my anger against Janie 14:28 was buried so deeply, I didn't even know it existed. 14:32 Then I went to the next verse. 14:34 It says, "Looking diligently 14:36 lest any fail of the grace of Christ; 14:39 lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, 14:43 and thereby many be defiled." 14:47 As soon as I read that scripture, 14:49 it was like God spoke to my heart. 14:52 And He said, "Jill, my precious daughter, 14:56 you've got bitterness bottled up in your heart. 14:59 If you don't let me take it, it's going to ruin, 15:04 ruin your marriage, 15:06 and it's going to ruin your ministry." 15:09 And I said, "God. 15:11 I don't want it but I don't even know how to get rid of it. 15:13 I can't take it. 15:15 I can't yank it out and give it to You. 15:18 What am I supposed to do?" 15:20 And so He led me on this journey 15:22 of step number two, pray for that person. 15:25 And I began a radical prayer for Janie. 15:29 Every day, I knelt down and I prayed. 15:32 Now I have to be honest with you. 15:34 In the beginning I felt very fake. 15:37 It felt fake. I wanted revenge on her. 15:40 And it felt fake for me to be saying, 15:42 "God, I pray that You will bless Janie. 15:44 Bless her and her husband and their marriage and home. 15:48 Bless their children. 15:50 Father, I pray that you would bless her 15:53 with financial blessings. 15:54 I pray that you would expand her ministry 15:57 that today she would feel special hug 15:59 and a special sense of Your presence. 16:02 I pray that You would have many people 16:05 come into the kingdom of heaven as a result of her ministry." 16:08 The whole time I prayed this prayer. 16:11 I felt fake because it didn't match my feelings. 16:15 But remember, our feelings are no criterion for anything. 16:18 All that matters is we bring our thoughts into line 16:22 with the Word of God. 16:23 And so I prayed this. Day one, no change. 16:26 Day two, no change. Day three, no change. 16:31 Along about day four of five, the incredible thing happened. 16:35 God changed my heart. 16:37 It was amazing I was praying for her. 16:40 And that morning, as I was praying for her, 16:42 it was like God released 16:45 and took that weight off my chest 16:48 and gave me in its place peace and even love for Janie. 16:53 Number one, we go to God. 16:55 We ask God for His forgiveness for ourselves 16:58 and for the person who has hurt us. 17:00 And number two, 17:02 pray for the person who has hurt you. 17:05 This is incredible. 17:07 And I know you're going to feel fake in the beginning. 17:09 But as you experience this, as you pray for them, 17:14 it's gonna bring tremendous results. 17:16 Number three, surrender the desire for revenge. 17:21 Trust God to bring out good in the end. 17:24 Romans 8: 28. 17:26 "We know that all things work together for good 17:29 to those who love God, 17:30 to those who are called according to His purpose." 17:34 Now this scripture does not say that all things are good. 17:37 Of course, they're not. 17:38 We experience very painful things in our lives. 17:42 But it does say God can turn whatever is bad, 17:46 whatever is evil, 17:48 whatever we have experienced from the enemy, 17:50 He can turn it out for good. 17:52 I also like Romans 12: 19. 17:55 Jesus says, "Vengeance is mine. 17:58 I will repay." 17:59 Says the Lord. 18:01 We can trust God to bring justice. 18:03 We can trust him to even those scores of justice in the end. 18:08 Surrender is essential. 18:11 We pray for the person 18:12 but then we have to surrender those feelings in our heart, 18:15 those feelings of bitterness, those that desire for revenge. 18:21 My sister has four little boys and her house is very active. 18:25 She lives in the mountains of North Carolina. 18:28 When this story occurred she only had three boys. 18:31 Her husband works nights. 18:34 And he's a nurse and so she's alone 18:36 with the boys at night. 18:38 Well, this one particular night she heard, beep, beep, beep. 18:43 You know what that means? 18:44 "The National Weather Service in Paducah, Kentucky," 18:46 is what ours would say here, has issued a-- 18:50 Now they might see a thunderstorm watch, 18:52 thunderstorm warning. 18:53 This time it was a tornado warning. 18:56 That means a funnel cloud activity 18:58 has been spotted in your area. 19:01 She jumped out of bed. 19:02 She ran to the boys' rooms, she grabbed the first son. 19:05 Now he's sleeping. It's the middle of the night. 19:08 Grab the first son, she ran underneath the house. 19:13 They have a crawl space 19:15 and she deposited him under the house. 19:17 That would be the safest place for that. 19:18 She dashed back up stairs grab the next son, 19:22 ran underneath the house, deposited him under the house. 19:26 Dashed upstairs for son number three, 19:28 ran underneath and put him under the house. 19:31 Now the amazing thing to me 19:33 is that none of the boys woke up 19:37 during that flight to shelter, 19:39 during the jostling from their mom, 19:41 none of them woke up. 19:43 And to me, that is a picture of surrender. 19:47 If I am totally surrender to Jesus, 19:50 if I say "God, take my feelings of revenge, 19:53 I know I can trust You for that, take them." 19:56 If I do that with God, it would be like I'm asleep. 20:01 I'm totally at peace. 20:04 Because I'm trusting my Heavenly Father. 20:06 Number one, we go to God and ask for forgiveness. 20:09 Number two, we pray for that person 20:14 and blessings over their life. 20:15 Number three, we surrender the desire for revenge. 20:19 Number four, we choose. 20:21 Choose to process steps number two and three. 20:24 That is the prayer 20:25 and surrendering the desire for revenge 20:28 until God changes your heart. 20:30 In addition, we choose 20:32 not to bring up the offense again 20:34 in judgmental or accusatory way. 20:37 We don't bring up the offense again to other people. 20:40 We don't gossip about the person who has hurt us. 20:44 Number two, we don't bring up the offense again 20:48 to the offender to the person who hurt us. 20:51 This is especially true say, in a marriage 20:53 and it's easy to bring up all the past hurts. 20:56 No, we don't bring that up again. 21:00 Number three, we don't bring it up to ourselves. 21:03 We choose not to dwell on the offense. 21:07 For me personally, this is probably my biggest battle. 21:10 Because my thoughts can run like a hamster, 21:12 in a hamster cage, 21:14 going back over and over the pain 21:17 and God says, "No, break that cycle." 21:20 Choose to pray for the person. 21:21 Choose to surrender the desire for revenge and those thoughts. 21:26 Choose to surrender that. 21:27 Number five, allow God to change your feelings. 21:32 Feelings don't change overnight. 21:34 But allow God to change your feelings in His time. 21:38 I want to touch briefly on forgiveness versus trust. 21:42 Forgiveness does not mean 21:43 we allow the person to keep abusing us. 21:45 I want to be clear on that. 21:47 We still, we can pray for that 21:49 we can be relieved from that bitterness. 21:51 But we still need to be careful who we trust. 21:55 So I want to give that as a caution for you. 21:56 Be careful who you trust, who you can trust. 22:00 I hope that the keys that we have shared today, 22:03 that we have discussed, 22:05 the Lord Jesus can work in your heart and life, 22:08 to bring about a radical transformation, 22:11 to bring about peace, and even joy 22:15 to release you from those chains of bitterness 22:18 and unforgiveness for Satan has you bound. 22:21 We're going to take a short break right now 22:23 and we will be back with an application, 22:25 something you can do this week. |
Revised 2018-09-12