Transcript

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Hi, welcome to the Christian point was Zack and Linda, and today we’re going to be talking about what do you need to let go? So we’re gonna be talking about letting go of your worries, fears, anxieties, past hurts, struggles. Forgiveness, says that something to think about. What if someone asked you? What do you need to let go? So today I’m with my husband, Zack McConnell. Hi, everybody. Hello, and we’re here in Texas. And my day lilies are in full yellow blooms, and I have white, cotton flying in the air, and those annoying cottonwoods are all over our property. And I clearly need to get over my angst toward these cottonwoods. So stay with us, as we have this discussion on letting go on the Christian point. Welcome to the Christian point podcast, where we are all about growing your relationship with God. As lifelong Christian believers, your hosts Zack and Linden McConnell explore topics that affect your world. Together, they are relearning and redirecting our path as we walk through struggles hangups, sins and purpose. The Christian point is a lively discussion that will help equip you with tools provide focus and encouragement from a biblical perspective. Always remember, Christ is the point. Now here are your hosts, Zach and Linda, welcome to the Christian point. Thank you for listening today. We look at God’s word, and we take today’s hot topics. And we’re going to be talking about a topic of forgiveness and renewal and letting go. And that’s really hard for some people. And they’re either like they could be stuck in trauma. Maybe they’re just stuck, and they’re not moving forward. Maybe they don’t even know why they’re stuck. And maybe they haven’t really even forgiven themselves for something they’ve done in the past. And God has so much more in store for your life if you just trust Him and let go. That’s right, Linda, we we can be like small children. We want to do it ourselves, right? So we’ve got to get the Let It Go mindset. And that can be a great opportunity to share ways to just let go of issues, right, that those issues are beyond our control anyway. And it can help you forgive yourself and others for past mistakes. Right. It can also equip us to move forward in faith into God’s promised plan. So we can all benefit of just letting go of the past. Right? Absolutely. In Philippians 313 through 14, Theo writes, brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do, forgetting what is behind in reaching forward to what is ahead. I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Jesus Christ. So the Bible tells us just forgive the past and look forward to the future. Absolutely. But it’s impossible to move forward. If we’re still holding on to in worrying over yesterday’s mistakes. We all need to think of this pack passage to be reminded that your goal ahead is ahead of we shouldn’t waste valuable time staring back with regret it moments that have already passed us learn from merge stakes and move on. Absolutely, yeah, there’s times when I would sit there. And I’ll think about that. And that fall would get stuck in my head and you probably to Zach, right. And you’re like, Yeah, half aggravate. And you’re like I just have to let go of that. It doesn’t matter. It’s in the past. The past is the past, we have to move on. So get those angry things and you just want to squeeze them and hold on to them and make them tight. Maybe you wish you hadn’t said some words or something. You know, like, oh, wow, that wasn’t very smart. That was a very godly have made those words. I wish I hadn’t said Yeah, exactly. So absolutely. We have to let go of bitterness, we have to let go of unforgiveness and Ephesians 431 And 32 says, all bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander must be removed from you, along with all malice And be kind to one another, tender hearted forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you. And there is a wise quote that states bitterness is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die. Wow. bitterness and resentment in the heart of the believer can fester. And it can leave that person spiritually sick and depressed. You know, it’s kind of we hold on to bitterness and we think well, it’s okay. I’m just mad at that person. You know, but we think we’re good Christians because we’re saying no, I’m not murdering anyone. I’m not stealing from anyone. But we overlook bitterness or anger or holding a grudge of just our humanity. Right. God’s clearly saying you’re not supposed to do that. Try

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You’re supposed to let it go. And forgiving is sometimes so hard it especially depending on how traumatic this was that this person did to you. But it is what is commanded by God for us to do. So the good news is you can ask God for help to forgive others and to forgive yourself. And that will help you move forward in your life. I try, you know, pretty much I’ve always been an entrepreneur, so I have to let go of worry a lot. Yeah. You know, in Matthew 633 34, it says, But seek first the kingdom of God in His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. Therefore, don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Absolutely. Each day has enough trouble of its own. And I’m bad about that. I will worry, you know, what’s going to happen? How are we going to manage this? What are we going to do in this situation? And it’s kind of part of the road for an entrepreneur. But clearly God’s saying here and Matthew, don’t do that. Right. You know, we can argue that this is just human nature to worry. But God clearly tells us not to do it. He wants his children to live in faithful obedience, knowing that He will take care of us, we can do what we can to avoid trouble, but when it comes, and it will dry welcome, we should take our concerns to God and leave them in his very capable hands. Exactly. Well, I’ve seen it a church event in the past, uh, let it burn event. And this was done around a bonfire. And gosh, we can do a bonfire here at our house, we have plenty of old wood that needs to be burnt. And you can make it a family thing around a fireplace or a burn barrel. And you write down a list of things that you have been holding on to and stressing over on a piece of paper, and you pray over them. And then you throw your list into the fire as a symbol of letting it go and giving these issues to God. He knows how to handle it. And I’ve also seen the dissolving paper trick where you write down a list of everything you need to let go of and pray over it and then drop it in the water and the entire piece of paper dissolves in the bowl. I don’t know if you’ve seen it or not. But it’s really cool, it would be cool. So we need to look to the Lord’s Prayer which sets the agenda for our prayers. And it puts First things first. And first of all, it’s the father’s name, the kingdom and His will will take priority. And God’s name is holy. And when we His Word is taught and truth without distortion, and we live lives and conformity to His truth. And his kingdom comes without our effort. Or yeah, we’re surprised without our effort, his kingdom comes and aids as He gives us His Holy Spirit, so that we can trust His promise promises in this life and inherit the life to come and His will is done. And he breaks the grip of the devil and of the world and of our flesh. And we pray these three petitions of the Lord’s Prayer, we pray dangerously, we pray against the old Adam and each of us who puts himself in the position of the Pharisee. And the price not to God but to himself. Were in contrast the tax collector prize rightly and he recognizes himself as a sinner and he crawls out to God for only one thing and that is mercy. And when sinners pray like that, God’s name is honored, and his kingdom comes and his willbe will be done. Amen. And then the pur ends and Amen. And did you know that means truth? Its truth to all that has been prayed. And we can only pray thee Amen when our prayers are in line with God’s commands and promises. And when we pray Jesus words, we can be sure our Father in Heaven hears us, just as Jesus himself entered his Amen and his truth to the request of the dying thief who pray Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom, when you come into paradise that’s in Luke 2342. So he gives us truth and certainty to our prayers. You know, that’s great. The only way we can get better at this is praying over our list, blessing our enemies as God says to do, there’s no way around it. As Christians. We’re called to love our enemies. The one way to show that love is by praying for those that persecute you, right? You know, in Matthew five, you’ve heard it said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. You know, we’re retold repeatedly in the Bible of letting go of our issues and trusting God in faith. And in Proverbs 16 seven it says, when a man’s ways pleases

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The Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. Were called to be peacemakers, right? And I know that’s, that’s really hard. But when you pray blessings over your enemies, it helps me to release the anger and that hurt and it heals your own heart, and moves things forward in peace. And it’s not always easy to let go. Even when we want to stop agonizing over the issue.

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We need to relinquish that control to the God in we’re reluctant to do that, and we shouldn’t be. So you have to keep your concerns to God. It can be the first step in finally moving beyond past mistakes, unforgiveness, and crushing anxiety that will propel you into the peace of knowing that God can and will take care of you. Absolutely. I think of past hurts by people. And maybe you thought they were a friend, and they went off the rails and they really hurt you. They could have hurt you physically or emotionally, it doesn’t matter. But that’s a lot of trauma to recover from. And that can take time. And I think a proverbs 2417. And it says, Do not rejoice when your enemy falls. And let not your heart be glad when he stumbles. And then in first Peter three, verse nine, it says, Do not repay evil for evil, or insult for insult. But on the contrary, were pret repay evil with a blessing that you may obtain also a blessing. Hey, I want as many godly blessings as I can get me to sign me up for that. Exactly. So when we forgive and let go, the Bible says we will be blessed. Oh, that’s amazing. So it’s good for us to recover and get better to carry out His will. Yeah, Linda, you know, my, my favorite go to verse For letting go makes me think of Romans 12. And it says, Bless it. Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse. Do not repay any one evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. And if it’s possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath for it is written. It’s mine to avenge. I will repay says the Lord. And, you know, how are we going to do this? How are we going to make that happen? So I look to First Timothy, a second chapter. And it says I urge then first of all the petitions and prayers, and the intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people, for kings and for all of those in the authority that we may leave peaceful and quiet lives in all goodness and holiness. And here, here’s a current real life example. It’s natural for us to pray for those in Ukraine. Right, right, or any place dealing with a natural diskette disaster or mass shooting in the aftermath of all that. But if we’re to truly love our enemies, that means loving our boss, loving our co workers, loving those who take advantage of you. And yes, even religious extremist, like the Taliban, we had to pray for them or the attacks that Russia is making on Ukraine. And here’s a harder one, even Putin that he turns from his evil ways we need to. Absolutely, that’s harder to do. Right. Right. We do it every night. Just whatever can change to change his heart and his soul, his mind, the Holy Spirit can intervene. Absolutely. Whenever we’ve wronged or observed injustice, whether we’re being slandered against or watching in horror, the attacks on Ukraine, we need to refrain from giving ourselves over to hatred and contempt. And that’s hard, but that’s what we’re called to do. And so I have to meditate on these Bible verses and spend my morning reading my Bible and praying since the Bible commands us to pray for our enemies. And Jesus was persecuted repeatedly, while he walked on this earth. I mean, when you just think about it, it just kept on happening. And in his final moments on the cross and Luke 23, verse 34, Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Wow, what an amazing Lord, we serve. It really is amazing. You know, it also makes me think in job 30 a 31. It says, If I’ve rejoiced in the ruin of him who hated me, or is exalted even when evilness overtook him,

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I’ve not let my mouth sin, asking for his life with a curse. You know, he’s saying even those people that that are trying to tear you down, you need to not tear them down. You need to build them up in prayer. And in Proverbs 24 Do not rejoice when

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Your enemy fails, and let your heart be glad. And when he stumbles,

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so, you know, again, it’s, we need to, we need to build those people up, even though there’s someone that’s trying to tear us down. And that makes me think about that we’re to love our neighbors as ourselves, and make peace with all men. We have to stop being critical and complaining when our agenda is not met. Then stop and pause and try to put yourself in their shoes. And think through why is this person acting badly, and be quick to listen and slow to act? That’s hard. But that’s God’s best strategy for our lives. Sometimes you hear a conversation or a social media post about politics or growing violence, moral decay, corrupt greed, world crisis, a dark future, but after listening to all this, the star still shine. Moral blackness may cover the earth, but it cannot snuff out the stars. And Christ is like that people may lie, cheat, robbing kill. They may ban the Bible and despise the church but Christ still shines. His message and power continue unchanged forever. spiritual darkness may cover human life, but Christ’s perfection and atoning death and resurrection continue to illuminate our darkness. Christ comes to light in our secret corners, in brighten our darkest moments. He forgives our blackest sins and gives eternal life. He promises to live with us forever. We do not despair. Christ, the light of the world cannot be snuffed out. So I read in John 1246. I have come into this world as like that. So whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. Oh, absolutely. I love that. Moral blackness cannot snuff out the stars. Wow, that’s just so vivid in my mind. And I pray that our Almighty God will fill us with His light of salvation. And help us to forgive all and strengthen and encourage us that Christ may enlighten our world through us a man a man. Hey, guys, thanks for listening to the show today. So Zack, I’m going to thank everybody for joining us and I hope this message spoke to your heart. And we’d love to hear from you. Write a review, subscribe or share this podcast through Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, or go to the Christian point.com. And thanks so much for listening to the Christian point with Zach and Linda, and let us know your thoughts by leaving a review. And be sure to subscribe and share these episodes. And we’d love for you to check out our website, the Christian point.com You can make a donation you can help spread the message. And we encourage you to leave your testimony and give us a review. And we would love to pray over you. God’s blessings and peace be with you. And remember until next time, Christ is the point. Thanks for listening to the Christian point. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and connect with us on Instagram, Facebook, or visit us on the web at the Christian point.com. If you enjoyed the show, please share it with your friends on social media. Until next time, always remember Christ is the point

Transcribed by https://otter.ai